|
|
| WEEKLY REPORTS |
| September 10, 2008 |
| September 3, 2008 |
| August 25, 2008 |
| August 18, 2008 |
| August 10, 2008 |
| August 3, 2008 |
| July 26, 2008 |
| July 13, 2008 |
| July 5, 2008 |
| June 29, 2008 |
| June 21, 2008 |
| June 11, 2008 |
| June 4, 2008 |
| May 28, 2008 |
| May 20, 2008 |
| May 13, 2008 |
| May 6, 2008 |
| April 29, 2008 |
| April 22, 2008 |
| April 14, 2008 |
| April 9, 2008 |
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
| FREE FANTASY BASEBALL REPORT |
| April 9, 2008 |
| CATCHERS - A.J. Pierzynski & Ryan Doumit are the two hottest catchers out of the gate. Pierzynski earned American League Player of the Week honors while posting a season average of .458. Doumit has been chipping away at Ronny Paulino’s playing time more than expected, even starting against left handers. As long as he keeps hitting, the trend will continue. One big game from Gerald Laird is leading some to rethink the Saltalamacchia demotion, but Laird’s upside is still limited to AL only leagues. Kenji Johima and Russell Martin have been absolutely dismal at the plate compiling 2 hits each. There’s too much talent there to get nervous this early. |
|
| FIRST BASE - Derrick Lee is displaying the power he lacked at times during 2007. He has 3 HRs and appears destined to return to his pre-injury form of 30 HRs. Both Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder are without a single homerun, but batting well over .300, don’t worry one bit. Nick Johnson has been solid in the early going. An average around .290 is within reason, but it’s hard to see him hitting 25 HRs - be happy with 15. Jason Giambi has been slowed by a sore groin and is 1 for 12 on the year. Justin Morneau went 0 for 13 to start the season, but is 6 for 15 since. David Ortiz has 3 hits and 1 HR while 2 of Mark Teixeira’s 5 hits have gone long. |
|
| SECOND BASE - Brian Roberts posted 3 steals in the first week. Mark Ellis has 2 HRs, but batting .115. It will increase, but you’ll have to put up with a sub par average around .250 all year long to get power from a middle infielder. Kazuo Matsui is expected to start a rehab assignment on April 8 and be back within a week. Matsui is due to receive a fair amount of playing time, and is a decent NL only middle infielder. Robinson Cano has sputtered early on, even causing Joe Girardi to move him to the sixth spot in the lineup. Howie Kendrick compiled a quick 12 hits, but recently fell victim to a hand injury. |
|
| THIRD BASE - After suffering a back injury in 2007, Joe Crede appears to be regaining previous form hitting .393 with 10 RBI. Josh Fields will remain in the minors for now, unless/until Crede is traded. Annual breakout candidate Edwin Encarnación is 2 for 20. Last year, he came back strong after a demotion to the minors, let’s hope it doesn’t come to that again. Miguel Cabrera has struggled in his new home. Owners must grit their teeth and bear it. Bill Hall is enjoying his position change to third base. Don’t look for 30 HRs, but a solid NL contributor with 20 is possible. Mark Reynolds is among the early power leaders. He’s a streaky hitter and Chad Tracy will return sometime, but he has earned his chance to stay in the lineup. Chone Figgins appears to be fine after recently experiencing hand cramps. |
|
| SHORTSTOP - Jeff Keppinger is excelling during Alex Gonzalez’s absence. Dusty Baker prefers the veterans, but will keep Keppinger in the lineup if he can stay hot. After a disappointing 2007, Rafael Furcal has been fantastic this season. As always, avoiding the injury bug is his key to returning to 2005/2006 form. Yunel Escobar leads all second basemen with 7 RBI, the versatility makes him even more valuable fantasy asset. |
|
| OUTFIELD - Nate McLouth takes top billing as the sleeper du jour. A combination of speed and power is a nice tool for owners looking to sure up their outfield. Luke Scott is making most of the increased playing time, batting .500 for Baltimore. He had 18 HRs in 369 ABs for Houston last year. It may not be enough for Minnesota to forget about Johan Santana, but Carlos Gomez has 5 steals with .333 average. Michael Bourn has 7 hits and 6 SBs, he’ll run every chance he gets. In Arizona, Justin Upton posted 3 quick HRs. As a youngster, he’ll struggle at times throughout the season, but the upside is tremendous. The Dodgers outfield is messy and Joe Torre seems to be throwing darts. Mixed leaguers need to sit back and let things unfold, there’s better value elsewhere. An injury-shortened season last year soured some on Vernon Wells. Wells has a season line of .308, 3 HRs, 8 runs, and 8 RBI. JD Drew missed a couple games with back issues, but is now batting .368 with 2 HRs - the roller coaster continues. |
|
| STARTING PITCHERS - Cincinnati’s young arms, Joey Cueto and Edison Volquez, have exploded with a ton of fantasy attention. Both mixed and NL only owners are required to take a shot at each.
Rot Oswalt and Josh Beckett are a couple of veterans slowed by injury. Beckett is essentially in spring training mode and is apparently pain-free. Oswalt has a hip bruise that must be contributing to his poor start. If it’s really just a bruise, he can work his way out of it. Barry Zito needs to be benched in NL leagues and cut in mixed leagues. Let him “reinvent” himself on someone else’s roster. Don’t get too excited over Livan Hernandez’s 2 early wins. Livo may post double-digit victories, but he has 5.00 ERA written all over him. Brian Bannister has 2 quality starts for the Royals under his belt. He can get you 10 wins with an ERA in the low 4.00’s. |
|
| RELIEF PITCHERS - Brandon Lyon appears to be Bob Melvin’s closer for now, but it’s really a matter of time before Tony Pena gets the nod. Trevor Hoffman’s early season performance is certainly disturbing. If it’s not due to an injury, owners might be only looking at 20-25 saves with an ERA above 4.00. Early season success from the Royals and Orioles have propelled Joakim Soria and George Sherrill onto the save leader board. Even if the teams regress, closers can still post stats on mediocre squads (Kevin Gregg had 32 saves for the 71-win Marlins in 2007). Chad Cordero is due to be back by 4/11. Keep Joe Rauch around for a bit until Cordero’s proves his health is in order. JJ Putz is eligible to come off the DL 4/17, the Mariners have been going committee in the meantime. BJ Ryan in currently on a minor league rehab stint and will initially share closer duties with Jeremy Accardo upon his return. |
 |
|
|
 |
| DOWNLOAD FREE FANTASY BASEBALL STRATEGY RESOURCES. |
 |
 |
| CHECK BACK THROUGHOUT SPRING TRAINING FOR THE MOST UP-TO-DATE FANTASY DRAFT ANALYSIS. |
| MORE BASEBALL STRATEGY |
|
 |  |
| 2010 CHEATSHEET | 2010 RANKINGS |
| Mixed League | 1B - 2B - 3B |
| NL Only | SS - C - OF |
| AL Only | SP - RP |
| |
| |
 |  |
| SPEEDY SHORTSTOPS | BOUNCEBACK CANDIDATES? |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
