Playoffs. More like payouts. That’s what I am looking for right now. I know foosball starts on Sunday and I am pretty geeked up, but when there is money on the table I’m excited. I feel like Jimmy Conway after the Lufthansa heist. Now this list isn’t for everyone, I understand this. I’m from the school of, if you have the pitching that got you there then good, but one or two extra starts can really put it away for you. So take a peak, but don’t stare, you may go blind. I give you the semi-beneficial two start pitchers for the playoff push this week in fantasy baseball.
Trevor Bell (@Cle vs. Masterson) (@TB vs. Price)
Yeah, I know what you’re saying, “I’m in the playoffs and I want to pick up Trevor Bell?” You probably don’t, but just in case I put him on here. 3 ERA last 3 starts.
Travis Wood (Ari vs. Hudson) (@Hou vs. Myers)
Playoff pitchers pitch with guts. Cincy has shown that they can and will be able to hold off the ‘Lou. WHIP is a question mark but for quantity versus quality he is atop the list this week.
James McDonald (@NyM vs. Gee) (Ari vs. Enright)
I like him on any other team, besides Pittsburgh. I can say with confidence that he will be the only SP that will be draftable next year for the Pirates. ERA is mid 3’s at home, and the Mets pretty much gave up in June.
Jeff Francis (SD vs. Luebke) (@LA vs. Billingsley)
Playoff contender again, Colorado has it. They get it done when they need to, steal home, sacrifice in weird spots. Jim Tracy is an awesome player’s manager. 3.30 ERA last 6 starts.
Chris Narveson (@Hou vs. Myers) (@SF vs. Zito)
Pitching well without getting noticed, maybe should where a pink tutu and a clown hat. 1.5 K per inning in last 3 starts. Tough matchups maybe a sit and wait for Sunday pitcher.
Barry Enright (@Cin vs. Arroyo) (@Pit vs. McDonald)
Based on matchups you could do worse, cough Zach Duke. ERA still under 3, and it is barely above 2 in road starts. Guy’s numbers are pretty silly, minus one start, for a rookie that came out of nowhere.
Joe Blanton (@Fla vs. Mendez) (Was vs. Maya)
Love pitchers that are in a playoff push, have I mentioned this before. Numbers are mediocre and has burned you probably twice this year already. Pitches 2 runs better at the Citizen.
Carlos Silva (@StL vs. Garcia) (@Fla vs. Mendez)
Yeah, the poster child for “Why am I even reading this?“ Wouldn’t trust him farther than I could throw him, which is about 3 inches. Was 8-0 and ERA at 3.00 at one point this year, which seems like a decade and three heartbeats ago. A Sunday grab vs. Marlins.
Last week my borderline fantasy starter post regressed to the mean, if ‘the mean’ means getting pantsed in the six grade in front of the girl you have a crush on, but you’re wearing skintight gotchies so no one actually sees anything except your stained underwear. You know, not great, not terrible. My line for last week was: 3.43 ERA in 84 IP. The innings were low because guys were bumped or injured. Masterson pitched well (7 IP, 1 ER), but it was two days after I recommended him, so I didn’t count it (but I did mention it — natch!). The WHIP was 1.31 with 5 Wins and 52 Ks. To recap, these aren’t guys I’d drop anyone worthwhile to get, these starters are meant for streaming purposes and all of their ownership in ESPN is under 50%. These streamers are in no particular order. Also, in the final month of the season, managers juggle their lineups more, so there’s no guarantee all of these guys are listed on the right day. Anyway, here’s some borderline starters for this week in fantasy baseball:
Friday, September 10th
Clayton Richard – Unfortunately, there weren’t a whole lot of guys to recommend on this first day. Richard should be started every time out in Petco and that’s where he is on Friday.
Saturday, September 11th
Nick Blackburn – Don’t really like Blackburn, but he’s thrown three straight quality starts and gets the Indians.
Madison Bumgarner – The Bum goes to Petco in what will be a barn burner of a series if you’re into pennant chases and that sorta thing. Is it weird that I follow baseball daily for six months and I barely know what teams are in first? You’re right, Murray Chass, fantasy bastardizes the sport! (And I’m a bastard.)
Jake Westbrook – I’m recommending him because the Braves aren’t hitting, but they did hit yesterday. If they hit again tomorrow, I’d be cautious.
Sunday, September 12th
Jhoulys Chacin – It’s actually a bit insane that he’s only owned in 10% of ESPN leagues, but there ya go.
Kevin Slowey – Might not be able to go more than 5+ innings, but gets the Indians, which is always nice.
Jordan Zimmermann – Had some control problems in his last start, but gets the Marlins on Sunday who aren’t the most patient team.
Monday, September 13th
Joe Blanton – In his career, he has a 3.35 ERA vs. the Marlins, who he just happens to face next Monday. Coinkydink, huh?
Chris Narveson – Chris Narveson has two things going for him. 1) He gets the Astros. 2) His name sounds like the Christian name for the Domino’s advertising icon, The Noid.
Tuesday, September 14th
Trevor Bell – When you see his name in the box score listed as “T. Bell,” you pray he doesn’t give you heartburn.
R.A. Dickey – He gets the Pirates and he has a 2.91 ERA on the year.
Jason Hammel – Has a 3.43 ERA at home and gets the Padres. And, yes, it’s insane that I’m recommending Hammel, Dickey and Bell on the same day. I realize that.
Justin Masterson – Okay, if I get out of this day without some serious bombings, I’d be shocked and you’ll be awed.
Carlos Zambrano – The problem with recommending guys this far in advance is things change between now and then. Big Z goes out and loses his shizz in the start before this or if the Cards start hitting, this start then isn’t as enticing.
Mike Minor – I wouldn’t be surprised to see him bumped before this start happens. A minor issue. Hehe, who-who, haha… Um, yeah.
Thursday, September 16th
Jake Westbrook – Yeah, he got the patented double recommendation for this week. Hopefully it doesn’t haunt me. Twice.
Los Angeles Angels 2009 Minor League Review
Overall farm ranking via Baseball America:
2009 (25) | 2008 (10) | 2007 (4) | 2006 (4) | 2005 (1) | 2004 (3)
Major League Record and Minor League Affiliates Records
MLB: 97 – 65 (AL West – Won Division)
AAA: 72 – 71 (Pacific Coast League)
AA: 61 – 79 (Texas League)
A+: 61 – 79 (California League)
A: 78 – 60 (Midwest League)
A(ss): 51 – 25 (Pioneer League)
R: 38 – 18 (Arizona League)
The Run Down
The tragic loss of Nick Adenhart hurt on both a personal and organizational level. Adenhart was clearly their most major league ready player and could have provided an immediate impact (ignoring for the moment that Brandon Wood could do much the same, however he is no longer a rookie). The Angels truly don’t have a pitcher in their minors that is going to provide the dynamics that Adenhart would have. Now the Angels have to decide what to do with John Lackey and Chone Figgins pending free agency scenarios. Just recently, the Angels resigned Bobby Abreu to a three year contract that addressed a need that their minors aren’t quite ready to do. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Angels sign Lackey and let Figgins walk giving Wood his shot at the everyday starting third baseman. The trade for Scott Kazmir removed an above average hitter in Sean Rodriguez and one of their left-handed pitching prospects in #24 ranked Alex Torres. Torres finally put together a good year this year and I will mention him in the Rays Minor Review in the end of January/February.
Graduating Prospects
#5 – Sean O’Sullivan, #6 – Kevin Jepsen
Players in Arizona Fall League
Pitchers – Marco Albano, Jeremy Haynes, Tim Kiely, Tommy Mendoza
Hitters – #7 – Hank Conger (C ), #14 – Ryan Mount (2B), PJ Philips (SS)
Players of Interest
*Reminder that the “Players of Interest” section includes prospects that may have the ability to be called upon in the upcoming season. However, this doesn’t mean they will.
Hitters Brandon Wood | 3B | 24 | AAA | .293/.353/.557 | 386 AB | 28 2B | 4 3B | 22 HR | 80:36 K:BB | .264 ISO
He has been the Angels’ number one prospect from 2006 to 2008, however, he accumulated enough at-bats in 2008 to remove his rookie label. Not to be dismissed from any promising young players conversation, Wood has the talent to produce at the major league level, it’s just a matter of playing time. In 1237 career at-bats in Triple-A, he has hit .287/.354/.547 with 76 homers (that’s about one homer every 16 at-bats) and a 310:126 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Halos Heaven had a good article about being patient with minor league prospects, talking about how Chase Utley and Ryan Howard weren’t up and producing in the majors until they were close to 26 and 27, respectfully. With Figgins possibly leaving in free agency, Wood may finally get his chance to play every day. Think a full season of Gordon Beckham – my predictions 80/22/75/.275/2. (I would bet the house that Grey will write about him sometime this winter.)
#3 – Peter Bourjos | CF | 22 | AA | .281/.354/.423 | 437 AB | 16 2B | 14 3B | 6 HR | 32/12 SB/CS | 77:49 K:BB | .142 ISO
MLB prints two top 50 prospect lists during the year. The first one at the beginning of the year, the second at the trade deadline. This year, Bourjos was ranked 42nd overall at the trade deadline re-rankings. Bourjos stole 50 bases in 2008, so those 32 steals this year aren’t a fluke. Additionally, he had seven outfield assists this year (11 in ’08 and 10 in ’07). Baseball America states that he has “… plus-plus speed,” but he’s a pretty hit-or-miss batter – struggling with plate-discipline. This year, he marginally improved his strikeout rate, and stepped up his walk rate by a far amount. Not that the Angels need him immediately, but they have a speedy outfielder on their hands that projects to be able to defend in center for years to come.
#7 – Hank Conger | C | 21 | AA | .295/.369/.424 | 458 AB | 20 2B | 11 HR | 68:55 K:BB | .129 ISO
Conger doubled his walk rate from 2008 (4.5% to 10.7%), and improved his caught stealing rate (to 30% from near 13% in 2008). However, he did regress in the power department as he did have an ISO of .214 in 2008 and .183 in 2007. He has had a string of injuries (hand, back, hamstring and a shoulder injury). Supposedly, he has immense power in his bat, but he tends to have poor plate-discipline (this was the first year he played a full season) – though he was considered the best hitter for average in the Angels farm system. Baseball America states that Conger, “… has All-Star potential if he can stay healthy.” With Napoli and Mathis still behind the plate, Conger may need to switch positions to see major league playing time in the near future. (Side note, his defense is sketchy at times and the Angels have already thought about switching his position.)
Pitchers Trevor Bell | SP (RH) | 22 | AA/AAA/(MLB) | 5.7 K/9 | 2.2 BB/9 | 140 IP | 2.70 ERA | 1.14 WHIP | 1.36 GO/AO
Bell pitched 20 1/3 innings of major league baseball, but was annihilated to the tune of 9.74 ERA and a 2.51 WHIP. He split time at Double and Triple-A almost evenly (68 2/3 IP at Double-A and 71 1/3 IP at Triple-A). Not a high strikeout pitcher ever in his minor league career but he induces quite a few ground balls and keeps the ball in the park. Nothing spectacular, but he may get a shot out of spring training with the possibility of Lackey leaving (unless the Angels sign another starter). Or he may get called up if an injury occurs.
#2 – Jordan Walden | SP (RH) | 21 | AA | 8.6 K/9 | 4.4 BB/9 | 60 IP | 5.25 ERA (3.77 FIP) | 1.68 WHIP
I mention Walden because he throws a 101 mph fastball that usually sits between 91 to 94 mph and a 87 mph slider. His fastball is considered one of the best fastballs in the entire Angels farm system. His change-up (prior to the 2009 season) was nearly non-existent. He may end up becoming a reliever with only two plus pitches.
#4 – Trevor Reckling | SP (LH) | 20 | A+/AA | 7.1 K/9 | 4.5 BB/9 | 2.68 ERA | 1.33 WHIP
I believe that Reckling may have passed Walden as the top ranked prospect in the Angels system (they traded Alex Torres away when they acquired Scott Kazmir). His control will need to be refined, but he has a nasty curve and a fastball that sits between 87 to 91 mph with a change-up considered his best offering. His ceiling is supposedly a #3 starter. Nothing special, but if he can control his curve better and build up his stamina, Reckling could be a serviceable fantasy pitcher.
Honorable Mentions Hitters Dillion Baird | 1B | 21 | R | .372/.452/.567 | 215 AB | 17 2B | 7 HR | 33:28 K:BB
Just drafted this year in round 11, Baird bombarded his rookie league with good plate discipline, gap power and a few homers. Kendry Morales definitely has his powerful swing sitting at first base for several more years, but Baird may eventually replace Morales.
Pitchers #12 – William Smith | SP/RP (LH) | 19 | A | 7.4 K/9 | 1.7 BB/9 | 115 IP | 3.76 ERA | 1.16 WHIP
I was tempted to put him in the above section, but he probably won’t sniff the majors until late next year. He has amazing control (in 2008 his K:BB was 76:6 – good for a 9.4 K/9 and .74 BB/9). Not quite as good as he was last year, but his talent and skills (a 87 to 93 mph fastball, a plus curve, and an average change-up). Keep an eye on this youngster, maybe he’ll become their next John Lackey.
Josh Blanco | RP (LH) | 19 | R | 11.3 K/9 | 2.3 BB/9 | 50 1/3 IP | 3.04 ERA | 1.05 WHIP
Michael Kohn | RP (RH) | 23 | A/A+ | @A – 14.5 K/9 | 2.29 BB/9 | 37 IP | 2.19 ERA | .86 WHIP | @A+ – 13.5 K/9 | 4.40 BB/9 | 28 2/3 IP | .94 ERA | .94 WHIP (6 SV overall)
He is a bit old to be playing at High-A, but that strikeout rate is jaw-dropping, near drool worthy. He was drafted in 2008, and his BABIP is near league average at Single-A (.300) and was quite low at High-A (.256). However, his stat line was nearly identical. I don’t have much information on him, but stats like that shouldn’t go unnoticed.
