Phil Hughes was named the Yankees’ fifth starter. The good news, he’s a solid fantasy 4th starter with 3rd starter appeal. He can put up over an 8 K/9 with a near-4 ERA. Rudy’s Hughes’s (say that fast seventeen times) starter projections have him at 10-5/4.18/1.32/130 in 140 innings, which brings us to the bad news. There’s no way the Yankees throw him for more than 140 innings. That could mean instituting a new “Hughes Rules” doctrine, where he’ll be skipped on occasion, won’t throw more than five innings, won’t start after August, can’t eat after midnight, etc. Anyway, here’s some other fantasy baseball news:
Aroldis Chapman – Dusty will be deciding between Aroldis, Travis Wood and Mike Leake for the fifth starter job. Honestly, if you would’ve said, name the one that is not a professional baseball player out of these three: Travis Wood, Mike Leake or Jimmy Fakename. I would’ve had no idea. Would love to get a glimpse of Dusty Baker’s decision making process for picking a fifth starter. I know there’s equal parts eeny and meeny. There might also be a dunk tank. I’ve compared Aroldis to a young Randy Johnson. Wanna see where? Here, “His stuff is wicked awesome and his control is wicked awful. But he wouldn’t be the first guy to struggle there. Hello, Randy Johnson. That’s a tall order, literally. But he’s someone I’m excited about in keepers and deep leagues. He should be owned in keepers from the jump. In one year leagues, I’d take a flier on him in the final rounds to see if he breaks camp. If he doesn’t, then you drop him. No harm, no foul. If he does break camp, then you’re looking at a Volquez-type season. Not great WHIP, decent ERA and great Ks. Think 3.75/1.37 and a strikeout/inning.” And that’s me quoting me! Should you own Aroldis if you’re drafting this weekend, even with his starting job up in the air? Yes, you should.
Cristian Guzman – Now the Nats are giving Guzman two straight starts to see if he can be the starter over Desmond. Hopefully by Sunday we have some good news about Desmond. Otherwise, I’m going to have a lot of hearts to cross out on my Trapper Keeper.
Brett Myers – Left the game after tweaking his left groin (hehe, Myers has two groins). He plans to make his next scheduled start. I’m avoiding Myers in all of my leagues coming out of drafts, but I could see grabbing him during the season. The NL Central should have some nice match-ups for him and he’s always been capable of punching out guys (and girls). A near-4 ERA and a 7 K/9 wouldn’t surprise me. Will he be more valuable than Tim Hudson? I could see it.
Ted Lilly – Rather than the late-April ETA, now looks like he could be back as early as mid-April. Might only miss three starts. Still, he’s coming back from shoulder surgery and has already complained of knee pain this spring. I’m having a hard time buying.
Derrek Lee – He should return Friday, but he hurt his back yesterday after falling out of a chair. The equipment man obviously forgot to get rid of the breakaway stunt furniture they had for Milton Bradley.
Scott Kazmir – Scratched with shoulder tightness. Kazmir with arm troubles? C’mon! No way!
Emmanuel Burriss – Out for 10 weeks after having a screw inserted into his foot. That never slowed down Number 5.
Russell Martin – Says he’ll be ready for the start of the season since his groin is feeling better (Thanks, Alyssa Milano!). I’d never own Martin, but I think everyone who drafted him in the last week or so probably got a great bargain. Martin’s still nothing but Crapolanco at catcher, but in the final rounds that’s nothing to sneeze at, unless you’re allergic to that sorta of thing.
Brad Lidge – Will be out at least a week of the season. Madson should fill in for him. Both should be owned in all but the shallowest of leagues. In deeper leagues, I’d own Danys Baez too. He could see some saves.
Brandon Morrow – Set to throw off the mound today. Could be the final determination on whether he starts the year on the DL. It sure wouldn’t be the first time. He’s worth a stash on the DL but expecting more than 100 innings out of him is Fool’s Gold (which is not the Matthew I’m-Kinda-Gay movie).
Vicente Padilla – Before Padilla heard he was going to be the Dodgers’ Opening Day starter, this was him. This is him after.
