Author: TJ Streett

Stock Rising- Melky

Melky Cabrera notched his third home run of the season Sunday afternoon against the New York Yankees.

Analysis: Melky has 3 home runs through 7 games this year… he had 3 home runs all of last year in 88 games. Who knows if Melky is back on his “vitamins” or if last year was just an injury plagued off year? What we do know is that the Melk Man is a solid ballplayer and that he is leading off for the Blue Jays which will mean his run total should be great considering his lifetime OBP is a respectable .337 and he has Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion to drive him in each game.

Melky Cabrera can produce in all five categories as a solid middle tier fantasy outfielder. He was banged up for most of last year and it is easy to forget that the Melk Man is just twenty-nine years old. Currently, Melky Cabrera is available in 30-60% of fantasy leagues. He’s not likely to sustain this kind of power but he is capable of 15-20 bombs, a solid batting average, some speed and plenty of runs.

Fowler Playing Well Early

We are in the first week of April which means it is once again time to guess if this is the year Dexter Fowler finally breaks through. Fowler already has three multi-hit games so maybe this is the year or maybe he’s just toying with our fantasy baseball hearts… again.

Analysis: Dexter Fowler has 6 hits through three games this year which include 2 doubles, 1 triple and 1 home run. He’s leading off for Houston which is great for his run total but there isn’t much pop in the Astro lineup behind him. As mentioned many times before- Fowler has all the raw tools you could ask for but he just hasn’t put it all together yet. He did steal 19 bases and hit 12 home runs last year in just 119 games and he also hit .300 in 2012.

Fowler has 20/20 potential this year and it is certainly a wise decision to pick him up now. He may be on the verge of a huge 2014 campaign or just another borderline fantasy relevant season. Currently, Dexter Fowler is available in 45-55% of fantasy leagues.

 

Under The Radar- Almonte

Abraham Almonte and the Seattle Mariners are both off to great starts.

Analysis: Abraham Almonte is hitting leadoff for Seattle at the moment so he certainly deserves mention early on this year. Thus far this season Almonte is 3 for 10 with 2 doubles, 2 runs batted in and 1 run scored in 2 games. Not many people are familiar with the twenty-four year old Dominican so here is a brief overview.

He hit 15 home runs and stole 26 bags last year in 123 combined Double and Triple-A games. He definitely has 20/20 potential in the future but not this year. A big reason why he won the job this spring is because he puts the ball in play, walks enough and doesn’t strikeout at an absurd clip(see BJ Upton/Drew Stubbs).

It is hard to project what Almonte is capable of this year but he has pop, speed and Robbie Cano should be driving him in a ton. Almonte makes a fine buy low outfielder at the moment but at the very least he certainly needs to be monitored in the coming weeks. He is available in 95-99% of fantasy leagues.

 

What To Watch For- Pineda

Michael Pineda has not pitched in the big leagues since 2011 which was a dominant rookie campaign. That fact alone makes him one of the most intriguing fantasy starters this year.

Analysis: Pineda is scheduled to make his first start on Saturday against the Toronto Blue Jays. Pineda struck out 173 batters in 171 innings as a rookie in 2011. He also posted a 3.74 ERA, a 3.53 xFIP and a 1.10 WHIP that season. Last year in the minors as he continued to recover from his devastating shoulder injury he pitched well in the small sample size. He posted a 3.86 ERA in Triple-A last year with a 10.03K/9 rate and a 1.03 WHIP in just 23.1 innings of work.

We also have to consider that Michael Pineda had a wonderful spring. He posted a sub 2.00 ERA and had great command in 15 innings of work this spring. We know the Yanks will score tons of runs so Pineda can remain fantasy relevant putting up a 4.00 ERA with lots of strikeouts to go along with the run support and wins.

Currently, Michael Pineda is available in 15-70% of fantasy leagues.

Jones/Lin Still Available

The Houston Rockets are dealing with some key injuries at the moment, so expect Terrence Jones and Jeremy Lin to produce as the season winds down.

Analysis: Terrence Jones is still available in 10-15% of fantasy leagues. He has had a productive March, averaging 13.9 points, 6.8 boards, 1.3 blocks and 0.9 steals while shooting 61% from the field. Jones is the 18th rated fantasy power forward this month. Expect the former Kentucky Wildcat to keep filling the stat sheet especially with Dwight Howard sidelined for the next week or two.

Jeremy Lin is still pedestrian but with the Patrick Beverley injury… he has to produce more, right? Regardless, Lin will see 30 plus minutes of action per night the rest of the way with Beverly likely out the remainder of the regular season. Lin is averaging 11.5 points, 3.6 assists, 0.9 threes and 0.6 steals in the month of March in about 23 minutes of action per night. Jeremy Lin is available in 10-20% of fantasy leagues.

Houston has three games this week(BKN, TOR, OKC), five games next week(DEN, LAL, DEN, MIN, NO) and two games in the final week of the season(SA, NO).