It’s analogy time. Stolen bases = candy. Chris ‘Tall’ Young = baby. Dexter Fowler‘s 5 SBs are thus like taking candy from a baby (or, as Steve Rogers would sing, like takin’ can-dee from a bay-bee). It’s hard not to love Dexter Fowler right now. He’s everything we hoped Cameron Maybin would be. He’s now to the point where he’s must own in 10 and 12 team leagues especially when facing the man we shall now call Cristal (Chris Tall) Young (as opposed to his doppelganger Krispie Young). But he’s still a rookie OF straight from AA (insert trite Josh Hamilton joke). His .335 / 9 HR / 20 SB line in 400 ABs at AA does not equate to much more than a 5th OF when equivalized for MLB. But neither did Hanley Ramirez’s. And you never know in Colorado. So if he’s available in your league, you’d be more of a Dexter if you didn’t take a chance on him. If he’s already snapped up, look to trade that bottom starter, reliever, or OF you’ve got. Anyway, here’s what else we saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
Brad Hawpe – Left on a stretcher after Hundley hit him in the neck with a pickoff throw. Sounds like someone had some misplaced aggression about Fowler. Hopefully Hawpe’s okay… Because I have him on a team! No, I’m kidding. I don’t own him.
Chris Young – 3 IP, 8 ER. Starting a flyball pitcher in Coors is a risky propostion as it is, then throw in he’s clocked at about 17 seconds to home.
Hanley Ramirez – Hit by a Maine pitch in yesterday’s game, sending fantasy baseball owners to the ground screaming, “Why don’t you hit Maybin?!” The x-rays came back negative, which is oddly positive — why they don’t just say it’s positive is a modern mystery for The Jonas Brothers to solve in a bad Disney Channel movie. Hanley will probably miss a few days to give his hand time to be less boo-booish.
Joel Hanrahan – 1/3 IP, 3 ER. Hanrahanananananan is one of my biggest disappointments this year. All you have to do is save a game every 8th day, is that so hard? Someone in the comments yesterday mentioned Julian Tavares as a possible replacement. With a WHIP under 1 and a 3.12 ERA, it’s possible. I don’t think Mock, who also gave up 3 earned in two-thirds of an inning, is the answer. Kip Wells may be the answer. Though the question is unprintable.
Ryan Madson – Got the save. Brad Lidge has knee inflammation. Which doesn’t sound bad until you realize that he had an MRI last week that was just disclosed yesterday. So Lidge’s hurting for over a week with knee problems? This smells like a future DL stint. Own Madson in every league you can.
LaTroy Hawkins – The Valgreen’s is shut down again for a few days. A DL stint seems likely here, as well.
Troy Tulowitzki – The Rockies made a questionable move yesterday benching Tulo because of his slump. He just needs to hit his way out of it and, as they say in the third grade, stop making a federal case out of it. His BABIP is saying he’s been extremely unlucky. Maybe he sits out for a few days, but I don’t think they’re boneheaded to hold him out for that long. The good news is Barmes will play short and Stewart will see time at 2nd base. I’m not paying a lot, but I am buying into a rebound.
Ryan Zimmerman – One N, 2 HRs. I hated him so much last year that I’m finding it hard to get excited about Zimmerman this year no matter what he does. Maybe if he stole 5 bases in a game…
Brian Bannister – 7 IP, 1 ER, 1 hit. And six walks. Belch. You do what you do, but I wouldn’t start him in any league.
David Purcey – 5 IP, 6 ER. Jose Guillen hit two home runs off him. Someone needs to be on Bully Beatdown!
Anibal Sanchez – 6 IP, 6 ER. Sticking with the theme of starters I’m not crazy about, here’s number three.
Rickie Weeks – HR and 4 RBIs. Just stay healthy…. Or at least have an injury right before Gordan Beckham gets called up.
Johnny Cueto – 7 IP, 1 ER. 2.19 ERA on the year. Was really impressed with what I saw yesterday with Cueto. He seems to be very composed on the mound and his stuff is filthy. He won’t stay under a 3 ERA all year, but 3.50 seems attainable.
Carlos Delgado – News is this Latin 36-year-old is having trouble with his hip. When Tatis took the field to replace him, Delgado yelled, “Stay off my lawn!”
Scott Baker – 6 IP, 4 ER, 7 Ks. Hey, it’s an improvement, right? Now see if you can trade him.
Raul Ibanez – Grand slam, has 6 HRs on the year and a .342 average. Sure, he’s not hitting .340 this year. He won’t break 30 HRs either, but I don’t think he’s necessarily a sell high guy either.
Justin Verlander – 7 IP, 9 Ks. Well overdue bounceback start from Verlander. He’s a 4 ERA pitcher, so when you have a 9 ERA, you have some correcting to do. Also, King of the Obvious says, “The Yankees are currently reeling.”
Tim Wakefield – 7 IP, 0 ER, 1 Hit. That’s Wake on waivers. Here’s you picking up Wake. Here’s Wake giving up 8 earned in 2 1/3 innings.
Carlos Pena – 9th homer yesterday. Could he hit 50? Maybe there’s a 10% chance, but 40 is in his sights. ‘Member when Sosa hit 20 HRs in June of ’98? Now some of my entire teams don’t have 20 home runs. They do have 5 steals though. AmblyDexterous!
