Category: MLB

Carlos Ruiz To The Rescue?

With Joe Mauer on the 15 day disabled list with “bilateral weakness” in his legs it’s time to find a replacement.

Analysis: Obviously if JP Arencibia is available he is the premier power option on the wire. With Arencibia you’re looking at a guy that has hit 53 bombs in just 220 Triple A games. He seems to be a lock to hit 20 plus jacks this year and he’s available in about half of fantasy leagues. After Arencibia you’ve got the steady Carlos Ruiz. He may not be the best for batting average but he produces. The .263 lifetime hitter is coming off of a 53 RBI year on just 433 plate appearances. He’s not going to light the league on fire but he will get the job done, get his at-bats and put up some numbers that shouldn’t hurt you. He puts the ball in play a ton and that’s all you can ask from a lower tier catcher at this point in the season. The big concern has to be with Mauer though. Does this injury last more than the fifteen days or will he be fine? Will the injury come back and linger all year or will he win another batting title? Regardless, by this time next year JP Arencibia will be a top eight catcher so act now if he is available, if not Ruiz will keep trucking along.

Deep League Help- Alberto Callaspo

With Washington third baseman Ryan Zimmerman on the 15 day disabled list with an abdominal strain it’s time to look for his fantasy replacment, Alberto Callaspo.

Analysis: Alberto Callaspo has been one of the most underrated fantasy infielders over the last two years. Callaspo is a career .280 hitter just now entering his power prime and chip in second base eligibility in some fantasy leagues and you have a winner. Callaspo strikes out less than ten percent of the time for his career and he only swings and misses at strikes at a 3.7% clip. Thus far this year Callaspo is hitting .324 with two bombs and five runs batted in. He’s a fine replacement for Ryan Zimmerman for the time being and if this is his breakout power year then you have some trade bait down the road. Callaspo is a very underrated third basmean especially in roto leagues where his batting average is consistently good and yet he still puts up the counting stats hitting in the middle of that Angels order. Callaspo does have the potential to hit well over .300 this year as he sports a career .290 BABIP which is bound to come up.

Projection: Expect at least a .290 batting average with 14 home runs and 70 RBI. This isn’t a guy who should be available on the wire yet he’s available in over sixty percent of fantasy leagues nationwide. This just may be the year Callaspo breaks out but even if he doesn’t he will quietly produce.

Josh Hamilton out 6-8 weeks

Josh Hamilton fractured his right shoulder in the first inning of Tuesday’s game against the Tigers trying to score on an unconventional pop-fly. With Hamilton on 3rd base, Adrian Beltre popped up to the left side of foul territory that sent Brandon Inge and Victor Martinez scrambling. Inge made the catch but no one covered home plate, so Hamilton took off. Inge tossed the ball to Martinez and tagged Hamilton just before he touched home plate.

It was a gusty move, and that’s the kind of intensity that wins pennants. However the Rangers will have to wait until June before they get their MVP back.

In the meantime, you don’t have to look very far to find a fantasy stop-gap for Josh Hamilton. Just look down the roster and you’ll find David Murphy.

Analysis: After Julio Borbon’s gaffe and Murphy’s game-winning double opening day, many people were clamoring for Murphy to replace Borbon. Well, “Murph’s” going to get his shot just 11 games into the season.

Murphy has always had talent. He was a 1st-round draft pick in 2003 by the Red Sox. His minor league numbers weren’t all that great (.273, 39 home runs in 1900+ at-bats), but has proven himself as a very capable major league hitter. His career batting average is .283 and his OPS is .804. Unlike most left-handed hitters, Murphy ISN’T abysmal against left-handed pitchers, putting up a very modest .266 batting average. That means he won’t sit against a pitcher just because they’re left-handed.

David is a line-drive hitter, hence why is BABIP is well above .300 for his career. There will be plenty of RBI opportunities in that Rangers lineup and should score plenty of runs.

Almost every player of fantasy value in the Rangers’ lineup should have been scooped up by now, so the possibility of 200 at-bats from a player in that lineup is well worth the risk. Murphy is worth adding to your roster across any format, regardless of if you had Hamilton on your team or not.

Projection (while Hamilton is out – about 50 games): .280, 9 home runs, 38 RBI’s, 7 steals, 38 runs scored.

Furcal To DL With Broken Thumb

The Dodgers have placed shortstop Rafael Furcal on the 15 day disabled list with a broken left thumb. He may be on the 15 day disabled list now but I would expect him to be out two months with this kind of injury. The injury shouldn’t shock anyone, Furcal has only played in more than 100 games just one of his last three seasons.

Analysis: There’s a big injury risk when you draft Furcal and it didn’t take him long to get banged up this year. He’s still a solid top twelve option at shortstop when healthy but there are plenty of options on the wire. Asdrubal Cabrera is still not yet owned in all fantasy leagues and he is red hot. He isn’t a twenty home run hitter although he is mashing like one. Cabrera is perfect to pick up off the wire and package in a trade. The real choice is Yunel Escobar if he is still available. With Escobar you’re talking about a career .291 hitter in a great lineup and a player that hasn’t reached his full potential yet. Yunel Escobar should end up being a better fantasy shortstop than Furcal this year. The buy low option is Atlanta’s Alex Gonzalez. Gonzalez has just one homer and two runs batted in this year but he’s hit over twenty homers twice in his career so you have to love that potential from the veteran shortstop.

What’s up with the Texas Rangers? Not their ERA.

The Texas Rangers and “offense” have been synonymous since the 1994 strike, producing five MVP seasons, three more than any other American League team. And through 10 games in 2011, that doesn’t seem to change. The Rangers lead the majors in home runs and slugging percentage and are top 8 in most other offensive categories.

With Alexei Ogando’s gem Monday (7 innings (on only 79 pitches!), 2 hits, 1 walk, zero runs, 4 strikeouts), the Rangers’ team ERA dropped below 2.50 and their WHIP is hovering just above 1.00. Ogando out-dueled Justin Verlander, who was good enough to win (complete game, 6 hits, 1 walk, 2 runs). Ogando’s story is a unique one, filled with a rule-5 wavier claim, human-trafficking scam, and a five-year ban from the US, all of which is wonderfully chronicled here.

Ogando was excellent as the right-handed setup bullpen arm last season, with a 1.30 ERA over 41.2 innings, and was forced into the rotation when Tommy Hunter injured himself. If Alexei keeps pitching like this, the Rangers will have an awesome predicament: too much pitching.

The Texas Rangers pitching staff currently lead all of Major League Baseball in ERA, hits allowed, batting average against, WHIP, have 8 quality starts (and are one out away from nine), and opposing OPS is 60 points lower than the next-best team.

It seems like every Rangers pitcher has an interesting story. C.J. Wilson is a converted reliever and known for his social media exploits. Colby Lewis spent a few seasons in Japan after flaming out with the Rangers and Tigers in the early part of the decade. Derek Holland was a 25th-round draft-and-follow player who showed up in A-ball with a 95 mph left handed fastball. Matt Harrison’s wife heckles umpires from the stands while other players’ wives talk about redecorating. And then there’s Ogando.

Alexei will not hold up over the entire season. He’s a converted outfielder with jerky mechanics. He’s best suited for the bullpen, where he was immensely successful last season. It’s also being reported that Ogando has fluid under a callous from a blister he developed during his last start. Obviously his pitching hand is not going to hold up over 150+ innings. If you took a flyer on him already, try to sell high. Otherwise, stay away.