Don’t look now, but David Price might have found his way in the major leagues.
After keeping the Yankees in check for more than seven innings in his first start, Price dominated the Orioles for more than seven innings in his second. He gave up just one run and struck out seven O’s while walking just two on his way to his second win in two starts.
You all know about the hype surrounding Price so I don’t need to tell you what he is capable of. I think this is obvious, but if he happens to be available in your league right now, don’t hesitate to go out and grab him before you finish reading the article.
Joel Pineiro spoiled the second home game in Yankee Stadium in 2010 with a dominating performance as he allowed just one run over seven innings and struck out seven without walking a batter.
I am so-so on Pineiro this year and while I think he will be a nice fourth or fifth starter, I don’t see him matching his numbers from his season with the Cardinals last year. I also would not expect him to get the strikeout numbers throughout the season like he did today (105 Ks in 214 IP last year).
So while this was a nice surprise, I do not think it is indicative of how his season will go. There may be another few games like this in 2010, but overall you can expect Pineiro to be solid but unspectacular.
Javier Vasquez now has two starts as a Yankee and he is the proud owner of a 0-2 record with an ERA of 9.82.
This is just not typical Vasquez.
Even more indicative than the bad record and ERA is that he went only 5.1 innings. Vasquez has been an innings eater throughout his career and has surpassed 200 innings in nine of the last 10 years. Of course the one season that he didn’t was the last time he was on the Yankees and he threw 198 innings.
Overall, I am still a long way from being worried about Vasquez, and you should continue to throw him out there regardless of the opponent or any other factor.
Jose Guillen is off to a pretty hot start, but I would be careful about putting too much stock in him.
Guillen was 3-for-4 and connected on his fifth home run of the season on Wednesday to bring his average up to .361. However, he is a soon-to-be 34-year-old hitter who is what he is.
He is somewhat injury prone, and when he is healthy he is a .265-to-.275 hitter with 20-to-25-homer power. To expect more than that would just be chasing a hot start, so don’t let go of someone who you expect more from or a hot young stud to pick up old-ass Guillen.
Speaking of old, Magglio Ordonez is enjoying his own little resurgence as he hit his third homer of the season Wednesday to bring his average up to .368.
Just like Guillen, Ordonez is what you expect him to be. A guy on the downside of his career who is never going to give you the numbers he did just a few years ago. If you have him or picked him up, I would be trying desperately to take advantage of this hot streak and find yourself a trading partner for Maggs. He was an utter train wreck last season and at age 36 I just don’t see it turning around.
Well, we got a first-hand look at why it was a dumb idea to put a stadium with no roof on it in Minnesota on Wednesday as the rains came down and definitely had an effect on starter Kevin Slowey .
It wasn’t overly cold in Minny so they didn’t get the full effect of an open air stadium, but the mound was a mess and Slowey labored. He allowed three runs over five innings and struck out five, but in a very non-Slowey-like day he walked four guys.
This was a very good offensive Boston team he was playing in adverse weather conditions. Don’t hold this one against Slowey as he should continue to be a good fantasy starter.
B.J. Upton clubbed his first two homers of the year on Wednesday and his owners are hoping that this will catapult him into having the season we have been dreaming about for years.
The positive sign for Upton owners is that he is hitting .273 with two stolen bases, so it isn’t like he has been totally stinking the joint out and not hitting home runs.
He has never been able to string together any kind of consistent stretch of time, but hopefully 2010 will be different. I want to believe in Upton so badly, but his past few seasons still make me hesitant to jump into the deep end of the pool.
Alcides Escobar isn’t stealing bases like we thought he would (hell, he still doesn’t even have one yet), but he is hitting much better than I anticipated and driving in runs like I didn’t think possible.
His batting average is just .286, but he has already driven in five runs. If he can continue to hit like this, the stolen bases will come soon enough, so perhaps Escobar will be more valuable than I initially thought.
Don’t go running out and dropping a great player for him, but if you drafted him, you might have a good little player on your team late in drafts.
Erick Aybar is another speedster who hasn’t found his groove on the base paths just yet, but you need to stay patient with him. He is hitting slightly better than Escobar in the batting average category, but drove in just his second run of the season Wednesday.
Aybar should have the green light whenever he is on base, but only has one steal attempt so far and was unsuccessful. Hold tight on the Angels’ starting shortstop. Obviously with the past success of Chone Figgins , the Angels like to run, so it is just a matter of time before Aybar takes his wheels out for a spin.
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Now a guy who is not stealing bases OR hitting is Rangers rookie Julio Borbon .
He finally got his first swipe of the year, but he is hitting less than it costs for a cup of coffee or the daily newspaper (.074).
I would maintain patience with Borbon as well, but I have to say that his leash is getting shorter. He is still playing most every day for the Rangers, which is a good sign, but not sure how much longer they will keep sending him out there at the top of the order if he keeps putting up the goose eggs. Hopefully today’s steal will get him off the schneid.
Geovany Soto is doing his best imitation of his 2009 season as he finally hit his first home run of the season on Wednesday, and is hitting just .176.
I think it is too soon to pull the plug on Soto if you drafted him, but I would say the watch is on.
The good news for Soto is that if you got him, you likely got him late and don’t have a solid backup option, so you will likely hold on to him. However, if you do have Soto, I would be watching the minor leagues for when Carlos Santana or Buster Posey gets called to the majors and jump on them like hotcakes, as I expect Soto to improve, but not enough to be a great fantasy catcher.
Jonathan Sanchez was straight dealing on Wednesday as he scattered three hits over eight innings against the Pirates and struck out 11. Sure, it was against the hapless Buccos, but there is no doubt that Sanchez has the ability to shut down a team and overpower them.
He isn’t an elite pitcher, and probably isn’t a second-level guy either, but he is just 27 and coming into the prime of his career. He is a good third starter in standard leagues and a great No. 4, and you can expect more good games from him in the near future.
Colby Lewis had a great performance in a moved-up start due to a case of food poisoning with C.J. Wilson. In just 5.1 innings, Lewis whiffed 10 Indians and allowed only two runs.
He hasn’t been a starter much in his career, and even in the bullpen he was never a big strikeout guy, so this isn’t anything to get excited about.
Justin Masterson allowed a lot of base runners against the Rangers, but only two of the four runs he allowed were earned in his second straight more-than-adequate start. Masterson also was able to strike out nine guys in just six innings.
He was once a fairly highly touted prospect in the Red Sox system, so outside of pitching for a horrible team in Cleveland, I like Masterson to be an end-of-the roster kind of pitcher. He will certainly still have some bumps in the road, but he should be able to eat some innings and get a decent number of strikeouts for those of you in deeper leagues.
John Baker had his second multi-hit game of the season for the Marlins, as he was put into the 2-hole with the injury to Chris Coghlan .
Baker showed some flashes of his potential last season and had a reasonable minor league career. He might not be a bad option if you have Miguel Montero or a catcher who is struggling or injured. Give him another couple of days to see if this is just a quick spurt or if he will be consistent.
Carlos Quentin smashed a grand slam and dropped in a two-RBI double to give him six ribbies on Wednesday. That is now 10 RBI on the season for Quentin, and he is going to have a huge season as long as he can stay healthy. Now is not the right time, but when he goes on a little cold streak I would try to see if you can get him on your team.
Chris Volstad was not even assured a rotation spot for the Florida Marlins coming into the season, and while he hasn’t been Cy Young in the early going, the 23-year-old former first-round pick has been better than expected.
Against the Reds on Wednesday, Volstad allowed three runs over 6.2 innings and struck out five. He did hand out four walks, which as been his problem throughout his career, but so far Volstad is looking like a guy who might be able to help you at the end of your roster.
I might not make the move just yet unless you are in a deep league, but certainly keep your eye on him.
Alfonso Soriano had another atrocious day in the field, so bad that he was taken out of the game in a late double switch. I know we don’t think that defense matters most of the time in fantasy baseball, but when it is so bad that it affects your playing time, then you have to take defense into consideration.
Soriano bobbled another fly ball and let a ball off the wall go flying past him. Hitting .214 isn’t helping his cause either.
Soriano is certainly on the downside of his career, and I would pretty much try to get anyone to give me anything to take him off my hands.
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