Category: MLB

Buying Low- Jose Tabata

Jose Tabata is off to a slow start for the Pittsburgh Pirates which makes him a great buy low option.

Analysis: Jose Tabata is hitting just .133 on the season but there is plenty of reason to expect a turn around. Tabata is a career .280 hitter who does not strike out much and is always looking to make contact. Tabata is also fine in the speed department. He has 37 career stolen bases in just 199 games played. His power should be surfacing soon as well. While he may not be a twenty home run guy, he will hit fifteen or so homers when he does reach his prime. Tabata is fully capable of hitting double digit home runs this year so don’t let the slow start fool you.

Tabata does have two stolen bases this year in seven games. If he stays near the top of the Pirates’ batting order runs scored should not be a problem for him either. Tabata is available in tons of leagues across the country and you will not find his stock any lower than it is at the moment. If he can stay healthy he can steal nearly thirty bags this year.

Michael Morse Out Six Plus Weeks

Michael Morse will be out at least six weeks before he can even begin to rehab his strained right lat.

Analysis: The estimated return of Morse seems to be in mid to late June. That’s two months of raw power that will be missing from fantasy lineups across the country. Morse hit .303 last year with 31 bombs, 95 RBI and most reliable projections had him hitting 25-30 home runs this year. With his temporal loss it gives some the chance to add some first base depth to their squad.

Justin Morneau makes a solid replacement for Morse. Morneau hit his first home run of the season Thursday night and appears to be healthy. He has not played over ninety games in a season in two years but you just need him to last until June. He’s hitting .281 for his career and he also sports a solid .498 career slugging percentage. In deeper leagues it appears Jesus Guzman will have plenty of value with tons of plate appearances. Guzman may be playing left field for the Padres but he has first base eligibility and he’s hitting cleanup right now.

Stock Rising- Omar Infante

Omar Infante is off to a red hot start in the first week of the 2012 season.

Analysis: Omar Infante is just five games into his year but he already has 3 HR, 5 R and 4 RBI. He’s hitting in such an athletic and deep batting order that he can get away with flying under the radar a bit. His RBI opportunities with be plentiful even if he doesn’t move up in the order. As it stands now, Infante is available in over half of fantasy leagues and he is the trendy pick up on the wire at the moment.

Infante has hit over .290 in three of his last four years in the bigs. He only hit .276 last year but his BABIP was twelve points below his career average. Infante does not strikeout or walk much but that will have little impact on his RBI total and batting average which are his true strengths this year. Right now he makes a perfect sell high option in mixed leagues or a solid “keep for now” second baseman in NL only leagues. Considering he has only reached the double digit mark in homers just once in his career(2004), don’t go expecting twenty bombs.

Buying/Selling Luke Hochevar

Luke Hochevar pitched very well in his first start of the season against the Angels.

Analysis: Hochevar pitched 6.1 innings and allowed just two runs while striking out four batters for the win. He has never come close to becoming the ace he was projected to be but can he help your fantasy squad this year?

Only time will tell but he makes an interesting watch.

On the negative side of the debate, Hochevar has posted an ERA north of 4.6 each of the last four years. However, his xFIP hovered in the 4.0 range from 2010 to 2011. He is not much of a strikeout artist but he does not walk tons of batters either. On the positive side, Hochevar’s fastball velocity has been up the past two years and he did pitch 198 innings last year. Hochevar is the definition of a hit or miss lower tier starter this year but it will pay to keep an eye on him. Another one or two solid starts and you have to ride the hot hand and hope it turns into something more. His last three starts in 2011 were very good so hopefully he can carry that into this April. He’s available in just about every league so you have time to monitor his starts.

Under The Radar- Dexter Fowler

After an awful spring training hitting just .138, Dexter Fowler has flown under the fantasy radar.

Analysis: Spring training stats are pure garbage. If you take a look at what Dexter Fowler did in September last year- .287 BA, 3 HR, 3 SB with 9 RBI, he was improving. What I liked most about his play in the last two months of the 2011 season was the twenty-nine walks. For a guy with a career 11% BB rate you just have to love the improvement. Fowler is quite capable of a 10 HR/25 SB season this year and if he can stick at the number two spot in the batting order he just may put up those numbers. In Fowler’s first game of the year he already has a stolen base with a run but more importantly he drew a walk.

Dexter Fowler is owned in just 28% of ESPN leagues and that number should be rising over the course of April. He will be a solid run provider and stolen base threat if he gets his fair share of playing time. A .270 batting average would be ideal for the toolsy outfielder since his career mark sits at .262. His power like Cameron Maybin over the past two years is coming this year.