The fantasy gods can be a cruel mistress, and after dealing a crushing blow Thursday night in a frustrating (ie stupid) brawl-induced injury, taking Zack Greinke from us, the gods have claimed their next victim, another newly acquired player and top fantasy shortstop, Jose Reyes. The gods work in mysterious Reyes. I know. Let it out. It hurts me too. Jose was 1-for-4 with 2 RBI last night and his league-leading fifth stolen base. Sigh, I guess you can forget about that 60 SB season now, or just keep holding out for Billy Hamilton. Reyes left in the top of the 7th with an ankle injury after sliding into second on a successful steal attempt. He’s heading to the DL for up to 3 months. Huge blow to Reyes owners and B-Jays fans alike. I had a feeling this team they assembled in the off season would never actually be on the field at the same time. Damn my soothsaying ways! Brett Lawrie is due back next week just as Reyes heads to the DL, and you know Bautista is no stranger to the injury bug either. But let’s focus on the silver lining, Bradley Cooper, I am no doctor, but judging by the OMFGPAIN-face Reyes was making and the reports I’ve read one month is a best case scenario. And naturally an ankle injury like this could seriously affect his ability to steal bases upon his return. Bad news all around. Womp womp.
Emilio Bonifacio and Maicer Izturis, as well as fresh call-up Munenori Kawasaki, should fill in for Reyes at shortstop in the meantime, but Jays GM Alex Anthopolous also mentioned the possibility of a trade. If I am you, and I own Reyes, I am devastated right now. But I also need to wipe away the tears and replace him. Can you replace Reyes production? No way Jose, but there are some options out there. Marwin Gonzalez has 5 hits and 2 HRs in his past three games and is owned in less than 10% of leagues. Jean Segura has some serious speed and is batting .458 through the first 8 games. Jean is owned in just over half of leagues. Brandon Crawford is available everywhere and is in the midst of a six game hitting streak. All three were featured in this weeks BUY. Those in deeper leagues might even consider Stephen Drew, who is available in over 95% of leagues. Drew returned from the DL this week and as long as he can stay healthy he looks to see plenty of time in an above average Boston line up. He’s not Jose Reyes, but very few are. My condolences for your loss, Reyes owners. Hopefully you find some other Reyes of light to replace him sooner rather than later.
Here’s what else happened in fantasy baseball last night:
Giancarlo Stanton – DNP. Uh-oh. Getting an MRI after feeling discomfort in his left shoulder and will sit Saturday as well. Pretty much the last thing Stanton owners want to hear right now. They’re already in panic mode thinking Giancarlo will never see a decent pitch again in that lineup. Without Stanton, who will Marlins fan have to route for? Poor Marlins fan, he’s had a year.
Coco Crisp – 2-for-4 with 2 SB. Now has 4 HR and 4 SB, and as of Friday night he was the no. 1 player on the player rater. Go Go Co CO! Oakland wins their eighth game in a row, now how did that happen? Sadly, things like this do not last and despite his magical season thus far Covelli left this game late with a strained left groin and is expected to hit the DL. It was fun while it lasted Coco owners. No.1! If only for a day…
Yoenis Cespedes – 0-for-2, 2 BB. Double blow to the Athletics. Left with a hand injury. X-Rays were negative but he’s day to day. He did play the first 11 innings so not much cause for concern here. Expect Seth Smith and Chris Young to fill in in the interim, but I’d expectpedes Yoenis to play next week. UPDATE: Cespedes to DL.
Justin Masterson – Complete game shut out, 5 hits, 7 Ks and moves to 3-0. Nick Swisher scored the lone run in the bottom of the ninth to give Masty his third win, and with this fierce Injians line up behind him, Justin is a good bet for a 15ish win season with not much else.
Jose Quintana – 7.0 IP, 1 hit, 7 Ks. Quintana flashed some sexy streamer value with some serious K-potential late last season and could be carrying that over to 2013. He’s got the Blue-Kays next week. Not adding Quints just yet, but I’ve got my eye on him.
David Dejesus – 3-for-5 with a HR. Just because Theo Epstein likes him doesn’t mean you have to.
Starlin Castro – 2-for-5 with the game winning double off Sergio Romo. The Cubs tried hard to lose this one, too, but Starlin was like, “No, not today! Today, we fight!” Just the kind of mentality those Cubbies need.
Carlos Villanueva – 7.1 IP, 3 hits, 3 ks. Grey told you to BUY him and Chuck Newtown goes out and does this. Grey’s a wiiiiiiitch!
Kyuji Fujikawa – 1.0 IP, 3 hits, 3 ER and the win. Carlos Marmol was quite impressed. But also concerned. It looks like the Cubs may really have found his perfect replacement.
Sergio Romo – 0.2 IP, 2 ER, 2 K, BS. Taking a cue from Tony and choking big time, Romo-style.
C.C. Sabathia – 8.0 IP, 8 hits, 1 ER, 9 Ks. Yankees win their fourth straight. Wait — what? How? New York actually pulled off a triple play in this one, which I guess could help your fantasy team if you own Sabathia. Let’s give it up for defense! woot woot!
Kevin Youkilis – 3-for-3, 1 run, 1 RBI. I dunno, but Yankees fans cheering “Yoooouk!” It just don’t seem right. Am I wrong?
Manny Machado – 2-for-4, 1 RBI. Grey told you to BUY him. Wow, Grey’s buys are popping up everywhere this week. Well, right now Manny is hot hot hot, he is mashing and he is awesome. Machado Man Manny Machado! Oh Yeaaaah! Eat slim jims, kids!
Julio Teheran – 6.0 IP, 6 hits, 4 ER, 3 BB, 6 Ks. Gave up a two-run homer in the first to Harper and it was downhill from there. Can we really blame the guy, I mean, do Harper home runs even count anymore, really? The stuff is there, so I’m not dropping him yet, but if he can’t get it done in Pittsburgh next week I might.
Bryce Harper – 1-for-4 with a 2-R HR and SB. His first slam & legs of the year! To all the doubters who said he wasn’t stealing bases, hard to steal bases when your hitting bombs y’all. Asked post game if Bryce thinks the HR/SB game will be a common occurence Bryce responded, “That’s an awfully silly question, sir? Would you mind rephrasing it?”
Ross Detwiler – 7.0 IP, 4 hits, 1 ER, 5 Ks. Not the most exciting pitcher on waivers, but now has back to back solid outings against offensive powerhouses Cincinnati and Atlanta and he could be sneaky good on this Nats team. He’s available in about 80% of leagues and gets Miami next week. What are you waiting for! Det-wile you’re waiting here, someone else could be picking up Ross.
Ricky Nolasco – 6.0 IP, 7 hits, 1 ER, 1 Ks. Oh Ricky, your starts have been fine, but just fine, you do not blow my mind. He gets the Nats next week, and if I’m a betting man, I’m betting on someone else.
Brandon Phillips – 2-for-5 with his 3rd and 4th HRs and 3 RBIs. That’s four more than Joey Votto, for those keeping track, ie me.
Mike Leake – 6.0 IP, 10 hits, 5 ER, 2 BB, 2 Ks. Let the countdown to Tony Cingrani begin! In all seriouslyness, as much as we want to see the young flamethrower, Leaker settled down after a 4-run second to pitch 4 scoreless innings.
A.J. Burnett – 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 8 Ks. Now has 27 strikeouts in his first three games. *drools. Not bad for a sneaky late round pick. And by sneaky I mean he stole Garrett Jones wallet while he was in the shower.
Jason Grilli – 1.0 IP, 1 hit, 1 BB, 2 K and his 4th save. It was a shaky outing but Grilli got it done (he did face a tough 1-2-3 of Choo, Phillips, Votto). My gut tells me the Grillimaster has 35+ saves this year. Really! Jason Grilli! If the P-Rats can win that many games.
Starling Marte – 2-for-4, SB. Oh Starling! Please believe me. I’d never drop you, so soon. But I’m seeing Marte is just 30% owned, and I’m also seeing he has 6 straight games with 2 hits, along with two stolen bases in that stretch. Has Starling found his groove? More and better stats to come, grab him if he’s out there. Grey told you to BUY him, so you might as well.
Andrew McCutchen – 2-for-4, HR, 3 RBI. Hit a go-ahead homer in the 7th inning. More like Andrew McCLUTCHen, right?
Justin Upton – 3-for-5 with an RBI in the ninth to tie the game. Justin Upside is in the zone right now. Maybe he just prefers the beaches and peaches of GA to the desert sun and sand of AZ. Who would’ve thought?
Craig Kimbrel – 1.0 IP, K, with his 5th save. Don’t pay for saves! Except, of course, the 45+ saves you get from Craig Kimbrel.
Shelby Miller – 7.0 IP, 1 hit, 8 K. Another one of Grey’s BUYs. Moves to 2-0, and the rookie struck out Ryan Braun twice in this one, too. St. Louis’ second straight shutout and Shelby Miller Time is currently living the High Life. Kind of funny since he pitches his home games at Busch Stadium. Can only dream what he’d have done if this was a road game at Miller Park.
Mitchell Boggs – 1.0 IP, 1 hit, 1 BB, 2 Ks and his 2nd save. I guess you should pick him back up now?
Evan Gattis – 0-for-4 and started at first base. Grey told you to BUY him. You can learn everything you need to know about the young catcher just check out, “Who the F#@* is Gattis?” Errr, trust me its very informative. The outfield and possible future first base eligibility is intriguing but Gattis’ real value is at catcher. Whoever he is.
Chris Johnson – 3-for-5 with his 1st HR. If your looking for a corner infielder, Johnson is available in over 90% of leagues and is batting .357 with a homer. He also had 110 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
J.A. Happ – 5.0 IP, ER, 3 BB, 4 K. Good new, Jays fans. Happ got his second win but needed 110 pitches to get through 5 innings. Aaron Loup pitched 3.0 IP for the save. Win a game, lose a Reyes. I keed, Toro, at least you didn’t lose a Zack Greinke and a Kobe Bryant in 24 hours like the LA fans. That’s gotta sting.
Lorenzo Cain – 1-for-4, RBI. Zo is available in over 85% of leagues and has a nice little five-game hitting streak. He has power and speed potential and could warrant a spot as your 4th or 5th outfielder. He Cain do it!
Glen Perkins – 1.0, 2 ER, 2 hits, BB. Entered the ninth with the Twinkies down 14-5, so you can blame Ron Gardenhire for ruining your ERA and WHIP this week.
Hisashi Iwakuma – 6.2 IP, 3 hits, 1 ER, 6 Ks. Hishashi won the battle of the Japanese pitchers (Yu Darvish – 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 6 Ks) but the USA won the war.
Carlos Quentin – 0-for-4, 2 Ks. That was for you Greinke-owners. Karma is a 3-2 purpose pitch. Will serve an eight game suspension, which I’m guessing is about half as long as it will take you to forget about Greinke
Ian Kinsler – 2-for-4 with the slam & legs. Don’t ever say Kinsler doesn’t do anything for Yu.
Dexter Fowler – 2-for-4 with his 5th and 6th HRs. Well, cock-a-doodle-doo, Fowler.
Josh Rutledge – 1-for-4 with a HR. Fowler and Rutledge’s home runs came in the ninth off Huston Street, who blew the save. It was Street’s 3rd HR in just 3.0 IP . Luke Gregerson is the handcuff if you’re feeling kinky.
Patrick Corbin – 6.0 IP, 3 hits, 0 ER, 4 Ks and his second win. Corb’s second quality start in a row and gets the Yankees in New York next week. The way the Yanks have been playing, its hard to say yet if that’s a good match up or not, but I’d probably hold off.
Peter Bourjos – 0-for-3 with 2 Ks as he hit lead off. Deeper leaguers and AL-only take note, Bourjos has some serious speed if he can ever get on base.
Tommy Hanson – 5.0, 8 hits, 5 ER, 2 Ks against the Lastros. Holy Schnikes, Tommy boy. Maybe the Stros aren’t as bad as we’ve been making them out to be. Still, Hanson is unownable in 12-team leagues and is looking worse by the start. Even with Hanson getting the Twinkies next week I’d stay away, there are better options on the waiver wire, so go check it out.
Bud Norris – 7.0 IP, 3 hits, 0 ER, 5 Ks. If you had the asteroids to start him vs. the Angels, this Bud was for you. He gets a cushy matchup in OakCo next week, so he could be worth a flier if he’s out there.
Vance Worley – 7 hits, 7 ER. Didn’t get out of the first inning. Yeesh. That will kill your fantasy week. If you can’t start him against the Mets, who can you start him against? No one. The answer is no one. Not yet.
John Buck – 1-for-5 with a grand slam. His 6th HR. Another WTB! Buck now has more homers than all the Mets catchers had combined in 2012 (5). Depending on who your catcher is, Buck shouldn’t be on waivers during his power binge so I can’t blame you for making a switch if your starting a catcher is outside the top 10.
Daniel Murphy – 4-for-5, 3 R, 4 RBI. Partner in crime and bro for life David Wright did his best Murphy impression going 3-for-5, with 2 R, and 4 RBI, just one hit shy of duplication. But really, you should have heard Wright’s Murphy-voice, he had the impression down pat. Classic DWright/Murph hijinks.
Prince Fielder – 4-for-5 with his 3rd HR. He’s just like Prince Joffrey–except he hits home runs instead of women, and I don’t hate him with the passion of all the fire and steel in all the seven kingdoms of Westeros. So I guess, he’s nothing like Joffrey. I admit, that was a shameless Game of Thrones mention. I can’t get enough of this fantasy crap, baseball or otherwise. Unlike Joffrey though, I own the Prince Fielder everywhere and think he’s primed for an easy 40 HRs. If there is such a thing as an easy-40 homers, Prince could do it. Last year was the adjustment period but now Prince is partying like it’s 2007, ie the year he hit 50. I say he does it again in 2013. That’s 50! 50 home runs! #boldpredictionsthatarentallthatbold
Questions? Problems? Complaints to management? Advice, small gifts or large bribes? Please leave it in the comments below, or you can get at me on twitter @dandemanco. Join us next Saturday for another Friday recap as fantasy baseball continues next week, all week long!
