For those of us this year that drafted Tim Lincecum in the early rounds of our fantasy draft or used a nice chunk of our auction budget to pick him up, we are all probably asking ourselves the same question, “Will the real Tim Lincecum please stand up?”
Through 12 starts so far this season, Lincecum’s ERA (5.83) is almost double what his career ERA (2.98) was coming into this season.
Please, blog, may I have some more?I got the sense from comments and other non-scientific criteria that people were looking to get a feel for Trevor Bauer. Or at least get their grubby little hands on him. I did say to buy him back in April and again in May, but who can remember that far; I can barely remember how this sentence started. With a preposition? I don’t know, let’s forget the whole thing and have a pina colada! What, you don’t like coladas? How about dancing in the rain? Not into YoGa? Yeah, his ERA is shizz. Let’s see what Scott, our prospect writer (his actual last name), said in the past about Bauer, “Bauer profiles as a top-of-the-rotation starter with an upper 90s fastball and a devastating curve. But all I keep thinking about is what Grey would taste like slathered in teriyaki sauce.” Huh? Not sure how that slipped through my strict editorial process. In the past, I said about Trevor, “Bauer & Skaggs opened for Big & Rich.” Well, that wasn’t the best quote from me. Shoot me! Now, you just shot your computer screen. You’re silly! On our preseason top 25 fantasy baseball prospect post, the only pitchers above him were Moore and Darvish. Okay, Moore’s had some struggles, but those two names give you an idea of how valuable Bauer could be. He’s blown through the minors about as good as anyone. Right now, he’s sporting a 11+ K-rate and a low-2 ERA between Double and Triple-A. The only concern for him is his walk rate (over 4), but he has the Ks to make up for it. He looks like the pitching version of the hitters the Diamondhacks are famous for. High Ks, crazy upside, might call crap on a table a Pu-Pu platter. In 2012, I’ll give him the line of 7-5/3.60/1.30/100 in 90 innings, but there’s obviously room for huge upside (and risk of some downside (though the Ks will be good (how many parentheses am I inside of here (Anyone?
Please, blog, may I have some more?New York Yankees: On Friday, Jon Heyman reported that Rafael Soriano will remain the closer, even after David Robertson returns from his oblique injury in a week or two. I was a little harsh in my assessment of Soriano two weeks ago, as his May K/BB was a solid 3.67, vastly superior to his awful 1.17 ratio in April.
Please, blog, may I have some more?Ryan Zimmerman’s summer feels out of reach. Now that he’s supposedly healthy, it’s difficult to be pleased with his .650 OPS. I hate to give up on a 27-year-old with considerable potential, but I’m questioning whether he’ll ever again produce at the near .900 OPS levels he had in 2009 and 2010.
Please, blog, may I have some more?Where in the world did Ryan Vogelsong come from? No, no, I don’t want the birds and the bees, the stork, or the miracle of life answer (at least, definitely not the latter).
After a five-year absence from the majors, Vogelsong had a huge season in 2011, going 13-7 with a 2.71 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and a 6.96 K per 9. He allowed over three earned runs in only three outings. And while he was a huge waiver-wire add for multiple teams, he was an afterthought yet again for fantasy owners drafting this year.
Please, blog, may I have some more?By this point of the season, most useful players are owned. Alejandro De Aza types were gone by the third week in April, assuming they weren’t drafted by a savvy owner. Guys like Dexter Fowler are gone too, even if they’re close to useless in half of their games (.290 AVG, .885 OPS at home, .239 AVG, .684 OPS on the road).
Please, blog, may I have some more?Seattle Mariners: After surrendering 6 ER and 13 baserunners in 4 appearances, Brandon League is out as the closer in Seattle. His 13/12 K/BB is not going to cut it, and his 7.6% swinging strike rate and career-worst 45.8% zone percentage don’t offer much hope moving forward.
Please, blog, may I have some more?Lance Berkman was a renaissance man. Last year he reached 30 home runs for the first time since 2007 and his .959 OPS was his highest since 2008. I credit this turnaround to him staying healthy, and, despite his age, remaining incredibly talented.
Please, blog, may I have some more?What better way to commemorate Memorial Day than a Communism pun? Hey, at least McDonald didn’t pitch against Brandon McCarthy.
And just like we pounded down the Berlin Wall (well no, we didn’t, but go with it), James McDonald is pounding the strike zone. Worth bearing with me for the metaphor? No? It’s better than my other “pounding” joke…
With a walk rate above 4 per 9 entering the season lending to a career WHIP above 1.40, I never would have thought McDonald would’ve taken the strides we’ve seen so far.
Please, blog, may I have some more?Sometimes an intro just isn’t necessary, and occasionally a picture really is worth 100 words:
Featuring a face not even his mother could love is this week’s Creeper, Colby Rasmus. Owned in 38% of ESPN leagues and 31% of Yahoo leagues, Rasmus and the Blue Jays are slated for six games in week 9, all at the Rogers Centre, with five of those coming against right-handed pitchers.
Please, blog, may I have some more?
