Roy Oswalt agreed to be traded to the Phillies after his son, Roy Oswalt Jr., broke it down to him, “Dad, the Astros suck, Ed Wade’s toupee’s been at half mast for years now and Ryan Howard Jr. promised to protect me from bullies.” Well, the first thing you know ol’ Roy’s a millionaire… Kinfolk said Roy move away from there… Said Philadelphia is the place you ought to be… So the Oswalts pack up their stuff and are moving to Philly. The Phils that is. You’re looking at a guy that is a top 20 pitchers right now and that shouldn’t change. Only thing that will change is a switch in where he’s getting his value from. Oswalt will take a bit of a hit with his ratios. The Juice Box’s stats only look like a pitchers’ park because the Astros’ offense is so pathetic. It’s more neutral than anything. Citizens Flank is a hitters’ park. That’s a slight disadvantage for Oswalt, but the addition of a team that actually might score him runs is a positive. The addition of Hamels and Halladay could help Oswalt since he no longer has to be the guy. But the subtraction of Brett Myers from his life will mean he’ll need to defend himself in any barroom brawls. For the rest of the season, I’d give Oswalt a line of 7-2/3.55/1.20/70. I.e., a strong number two fantasy starter.
Going the other way is J.A. Happ. He has 12 walks to 9 Ks on the year in 15 1/3 innings. That’s a recipe for your Mom’s meatloaf that tastes like wet cardboard. Him going to a team that won’t give him any run support is an additional setback to his value. I wouldn’t pick up Happ with your team.
