Welcome back all. @Jewish_Jeff here with your Wednesday May 08, 2013 MLB recap. All 30 teams were in action yesterday, which means plenty of notes for all my fellow fantasy baseball managers. Take a look and enjoy…
***All Owned Percentages are from Yahoo! as of 5/9/13 AM
OF Michael Saunders (SEA) (34% Owned): 0-1 R, SB, 3 BB
Saunders absolutely needs to be owned in more than 1/3 of leagues right now. He has 15 runs in only 58 at-bats, and of course is the Mariners’ leadoff man. In the eight games since his return from the DL, Saunders is hitting .267/.389/.600 while going 8-30 with six walks, a double, three homers, six RBIs and nine runs. Useable numbers, that I believe will increase while he gets back into form. If you need OF help, here’s your man.
OF Jordan Schafer (ATL) (1% Owned): 3-5 3B, R
With Jason Heyward on the come back trail (heading to a Triple-A assignment as we speak), Schafer’s already limited at-bats will become scarce. He’s a player to certainly keep an eye on, especially if the Braves’ outfield suffers any more injuries in the future. If he can crack the lineup regularly, he’s a player that will definitely produce as evident by his .310 average and well noted lightning speed. Unfortunately, he can’t crack the lineup.
1B/OF Garrett Jones (PIT) (34% Owned): 1-3, BB
Similar scenario to Saunders above, Jones is a guy that’s some how flying under the radar despite putting up solid and useable numbers throughout the first quarter of the season. Jones is hitting .287 on the season to go with his four homers and his very strong .829 OPS. While his RBI and run totals are lower than I’d like to see, they will pick up if he can hold the OPS numbers. He also has very valuable 1B/OF dual eligibility, enabling him to play first, outfield or utility in standard leagues, and of course infield or corner infield for those of you in deeper leagues, in which his value is even higher. With the OPS factor, and knowing he always finds himself in the middle of the Pirates’ order, he’s got to be owned in more than 1/3 of fantasy baseball leagues fellas.
3B David Freese (STL) (72% Owned): 1-3
I know, I know. He’s the 2011 World Series MVP. He was the guy charged as the future face of the St. Louis Cardinals. He plays a highly desirable fantasy baseball position at third base. Cool story bruh… What have you done for me lately David? Zero home runs, four RBIs and six runs on the season, while hitting a dreadful .208 now on the season. It’s well noted of Freese’s inability to stay on the field in the past due to injuries, though this season manager Mike Matheny has been benching him almost as much as he’s played Freese just because of his terrible slump. With other bats out there, I’m ready to dump Freese and cut my losses.
OF Nate Schierholtz (CHC) (14% Owned): 2-4 2B, R, 2 RBI
Surprise surprise. Schierholtz has become the Cubs’ regular five-hole hitter, and he has surpassed everyone’s expectations. He’s at a very strong .299/.343/.546 on the season with four homers, 17 RBIs and 14 runs. Most surprisingly might be the four stolen bases he’s logged to boot. Schierholtz suffers from the same prejudice that Garrett Jones seems to be suffering from. Maybe when the Heat eliminate Nate Robinson and the Bulls next week from the NBA playoffs, Schierholtz will finally get his due. While Robinson was spotty all NBA season, Schierholtz will prove to be a useable piece all season long in Chi-town.
SP/RP Carlos Villanueva (CHC) (37% Owned): 6.2 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 2 K
Only two strikeouts for Villanueva yesterday, but it was against a veteran offense in Carlos Beltran, Matt Holliday, Yadier Molina and the Cards. Villanueva continues to post strong percentages in ERA and WHIP, and has proven through his first 47.2 innings that he’s reliable. If you’re looking for back end starting pitchers to strengthen your rotation’s depth, Villanueva is a solid bet. The only thing he won’t bring to the table is wins; the life of a North Sider.
SP Jason Marquis (SD) (3% Owned): W, 8.0 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, BB, 3 K
Make that five quality starts now for the soft tossing righty, including four of his last five starts being of the quality type. Marquis has never claimed to be a strikeout pitcher, although his K/9 is a decent 5.32. He’s been hot lately, although his next two starts will be on the road @BAL and @ARI. It’s reasonable if you don’t want to make the add now, but certainly keep an eye on him against the Orioles the next time around. If he continues his hot streak, I’d be ready to start him against the D-Backs.
OF Juan Pierre (MIA) (30% Owned): 1-3, BB
In 2006, Jay-Z opened on Beyonce’s “Déjà vu” song saying, “…I used to run base like Juan Pierre…” Nice strong lyric back then, as Pierre had led the league in steals twice before that song’s debut, with six straight seasons of at least 45 steals leading up to the song. Who would believe that seven years later, Juan Pierre would still be stealing bases like Juan Pierre of the ’03 World Champion Marlins? Pierre is the current stolen base leader with 12 on the season, and last night marked only his second time getting nabbed, as he was gunned down at second by Nick “Not Todd” Hundley. While his average on the year is a lowly .239, Pierre has been tearing it up over the last two weeks, hanging up nine of his batting gloves (shout out to Willie Mays Hayes) while hitting .311. Pierre is a career .296 hitter, and hit .307 last season with 37 steals. Make the add before he starts bagging girls like Birkin Bags.
OF Andy Dirks (DET) (3% Owned): 1-3, BB
Who? Yup… Andy Dirks finds himself in the Jewish Journal this week. Dirks may not look worthy of a mention here at first glance with his .247 average, but luckily I brought my shovel. Digging a little deeper, Dirks finds himself heating up over the last 14 days hitting a scorching .379 with seven runs and two homers. Dirks routinely finds himself hitting in the top half of the Tigers’ high octane offense, which is an excellent draw considering the “supporting cast” around him in A-Jax, Hunter, Miggy and Prince.
OF Denard Span (WAS) (20% Owned): 2-4 3B, R
Span’s foot is “much better” and he’s right back to work. Span notched two hits, including a triple, off Anibal Sanchez, and is now hitting a tidy .286 on the season. His run total is low for my expectations, at only 11 so far, but hitting leadoff for the Nats should bring him around the 100 run milestone in my opinion. Span’s major draw that compliments his career .284 average, is his approximate 25 steals per 162 games. With his average and steals numbers in mind, and major run potential, Span needs to be owned in more than one in every five leagues folks.
1B Ike Davis (NYM) (59% Owned): 0-4, 2 SO
Another beautiful 0-fer from a fellow tribesman of mine. Ike Davis is looking to become the modern day Adam Dunn, unless of course Adam Dunn has anything to say about it (and if you’ve looked at Dunn’s numbers, he’s trying to stay close with Ike it’d seem). Davis has only 17 hits in his first 100 at-bats of ’13, and a K:BB ratio of… wait for it… 35:13. Of his 17 hits, he has a total of five XBH (four homers, one double). I’ve been ready to cut Davis, as I stated last week, and would prefer the likes of Adam LaRoche, Adam Dunn, Justin Morneau and/or Paul Konerko at first base—all of which I trust to finish the season better than Davis in everything but fly swatting and sombrero wearing. This is the guy we were putting in the same sentences as Paul Goldschmidt in the pre-season? HA!
3B/OF Trevor Plouffe (MIN) (22% Owned): 3-5 2B, 2 R, 3 RBI
Plouffe now has 12 hits in his last 38 at-bats, good for a .316 average and .912 OPS over his last 14 days. Prior to that, Plouffe had started out with only 11 hits in his first 54 at-bats for a .204 average. Owners hanging on to David Freese… your replacement has emerged. Dual position eligibility and batting fifth in the order, better attributes than the oft-injured Freese.
OF Oswaldo Arcia (MIN) (2% Owned): 4-5 R, RBI
Might be a name to get to know. Arcia is hitting .300 to start his MLB career, and Minnesota insiders are saying he’s now solidified his roster spot as an everyday outfield with his bright start. Currently Arcia is hitting in the bottom half of the order, but that may change if he continues his hot start (currently owns a six game hitting streak). He wasn’t overly great anywhere in the minors (17 homers last year between High-A and AA ball), although he did sport a career .316 average and an even more attractive .539 slugging percentage in the minors. He’s a watchlister for now.
RP Junichi Tazawa (BOS) (49% Owned): 1.0 IP, 2 H, ER, K
Tazawa appeared in the ninth despite the fact that Boston trailed 14-8 entering the inning. Tazawa faltered, giving up singles to Jamey Carroll and Joe Mauer, followed by a sac-fly to Justin Morneau that gave up run number 15 by the Sox. Tazawa has a solid 1.04 WHIP, along with solid ERA and K/9 numbers, but seems to lack the “it-factor” to be a big name closer (as is needed when playing for Boston). While Koji Uehara has the experience closing, the true closer in waiting to me is Andrew Miller, who has legitimate strikeout ability that is needed to be a closer. Miller’s main detractor has always been his WHIP, and the fact that he just can’t consistently throw it over the plate. For now, Tazawa is the man, and Uehara is considered next in line. But I believe Miller will get his turn, should the two Asians prove incapable. Watchlist Miller now, and keep an eye on him.
2B/OF Emilio Bonifacio (TOR) (18% Owned): 1-4
Short and sweet, Bonifacio has not been what the Jays thought he would be when he crossed the border with Buerhle, Reyes and Josh Johnson over the winter. Lately, he’s been batting at the bottom of the order—when he can even crack the lineup. Boni has only three steals on the year, while hitting well .165 on the season. Time to cut bait, and don’t look back.
1B James Loney (TB) (11% Owned): 2-5 2B, R, 2 RBI
A change of area code seems to be exactly what Loney needed all along. While he was labeled an underachiever while with the Dodgers, Joe Maddon has seemingly handled Loney exactly how Joe Torre and Don Mattingly couldn’t. In case you haven’t noticed, Loney is hitting a stellar .385/.427/.531 on the season, with a very surprising 11 doubles through only 33 games this season (he had 20 doubles between Boston and LA last season in 144 games). He’s been hitting in the middle third of the lineup mostly for Tampa, and has been getting on base at a rate he won’t be able to keep up. However, there’s plenty of room for that owned percentage to go up while he’s doing this, and it is highly likely his average stays closer to his career number of .285 in comparison to the .230 he hit with Boston and .254 he hit with LA in ’12. Solid bench bat or stop-gap at first while you wait on underwhelming 1Bs like LaRoche, Hosmer, Konerko, etc.
SP Bud Norris (HOU) (13% Owned): W, 8.0 IP, 9 H, ER, BB, 2 K
Different yet dominant start for Bud yesterday. While the strikeouts weren’t there, the overall “stuff” was. Norris continues to be a solid streaming option, although I don’t yet trust him against offenses like Detroit, who he’ll see next time up.
1B Mitch Moreland (TEX) (8% Owned): 2-4 HR, 2 RBI, BB
Moreland has been very good to start the year, as we thought he might had he ever gotten the playing time. So far, he has. Through 115 at-bats so far, Moreland has a .285 average and .845 OPS, with six homers on the year. With Pierzynski landing on the DL, it only furthers Moreland’s ability to get playing time. He’s in an above average offense, and the power has always been there.
SS Dee Gordon (LAD) (25% Owned): 2-4 R, CS
He’s now 6/19 to start his 2013 MLB campaign with three steals in four attempts. The speed is there without question, but the determining factor to whether Gordon will remain a big leaguer when Hanley returns will be whether or not he can get on base (he couldn’t last year). The fact that he’s 25% owned already tells you the potential that everyone knows he has. I have a close eye on him right now, and if he can continue to be respectable at the plate, I’ll be making the move where I can within the next two weeks. It’s said that if he can show he can hit, the Dodgers would entertain shifting Hanley to third upon his return, to allow Gordon to hold down short. We will see.
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