Fantasy

Ultimately, a player's career determines his value come free agency; however a big contract year can draw attention to a player and force a bidding war where a player gets paid, the more than he would have expected when the season started. Use Danny Tartabull as an example.Tartabull had two great seasons leading up to the off season of 1991-2. One of those great seasons was the 1991 campaign which was parlayed into one of the biggest contracts in baseball (Only $5 million a year, but it was 1992).

Drafted in the first round of the 2009 draft, outfielder Mike Trout instantly entrenched himself among the team’s best prospects. Opening the season at Single-A, he has done little to disappoint:

257 At Bats
.370 Batting Average (95 Hits)
6 Home Runs
35 RBI
59 Runs
34 Stolen Bases
.449 On Base Percentage
.553 Slugging Percentage
.420 Batting Average on Balls in Play

Zack Greinke is beginning to look like himself again.  Mike Pelfrey and Jered Weaver continue to excel in 2010.  Of course, the biggest story of the day, however, was Edwin Jackson’s 8 walk, no-hit performance.  Let’s look at these stories and all the rest from yesterday’s games:

Edinson Volquez, or is it Edison Volquez, or Julio Reyes? Ah, Whatever. Number 36 on the Cincinnati Reds is ready to put Tommy John surgery, a 50-game suspension and not knowing his own name behind him. He is tentatively set to return to MLB action around the All-Star Break barring any further setbacks.

It’s time once again to check in on some of the bigger prospects in baseball.  Who’s hot?  Who’s not?  Are any of them on the cusp of getting recalled?  Let’s take a look:

Brett Wallace: Toronto Blue Jays —Third Base

Triple-A: .298 (87-292), 13 HR, 41 RBI, 46 R, 0 SB

A.J. Burnett’s recent struggles are not a secret.  When you have a June ERA of 10.35 and WHIP of 2.00, it’s kind of hard to hide.  Let’s dissect his numbers in June and see if we can pinpoint where things have gone off course:

Some reasonably available players to assist you in the Strikeouts category. Realize that some of these will come with high ERAs and WHIPs because if a pitcher has low numbers in those categories and a good K total, he's already spoken for.

R.A. Dickey, New York Mets

Earlier this week we looked at hitter’s who were struggling in the luck department in June (click here to view the article), so today let’s look at the pitchers who have been plagued with poor luck and determine if there are any buy low candidates (the BABIP statistic is through Tuesday):

Stephen Strasburg continued his unbelievable start to his career.  Ubaldo Jimenez struggled for the first time in 2010.  Kerry Wood and Aaron Heilman could be on the cusp of losing their roles as closers.  Let’s look at these stories and all the rest from yesterday’s games:

Sex and the City 2 and Jonah Hex have not been the only flops this summer. Fantasy baseball has had its fair share as well.  

We are more than two months into the 2010 baseball season, so its not too early to label certain superstars as busts. Sure, they could turn things around. They could play phenomenally from here on out and salvage their seasons, but right now they are giving their fantasy owners ulcers every time they go 0-for-4, blow a save, or get torched for seven runs in four innings.   

Here are the ten biggest busts in fantasy baseball!