Player News – Page 120 – FantasySP Blog

What Does Neftali Feliz’s Change of Heart Mean for You?

After stating just a week ago that his heart was focused on closing, the Rangers fireballer pulled a complete 180 yesterday, telling reporters that his goal was to make the starting rotation out of camp.

Analysis: Talk of Feliz eventually joining Texas’s rotation began as soon as the Dominican righty hit the scene in 2009. After saving 40 games en route to a World Series berth last year, however, those rumors cooled off a bit but not for long. As soon as pitchers and catchers reported last month, speculation about the AL Rookie of the Year slotting in behind the likes of C.J. Wilson and Colby Lewis heated up once again. Althouh Feliz has been absolutely dominant as a closer, the thought of him starting every fifth day is intriguing to the Rangers brass. An arm of his quality would soften the blow of losing Cliff Lee, and visions of a future ace are certainly no pipe dream. The team has not committed to this move, but they may choose to accommodate the 22-year-old’s desire to return to the role he occupied in 53 minor league starts from ’06-’09. Ron Washington’s club has more to consider, though, as Feliz is by far their best in-house closer option.

Projection: Striking out nine in as many innings so far this spring, Feliz has picked up right where he left off in October. Mixing in a newly refined cutter last week, it appears as if the Rangers phenom is attempting to widen his pitch array. If the Rangers feel comfortable with one of their other bullpen options taking over the ninth, or if GM Jon Daniels can get his hands on a more experienced stopper, then Feliz in the rotation should and will happen. While he’s bound to experience minor growing pains as a starter, the youngster’s stuff and guile alone may be enough to get him through even the rockiest of patches. Backed by a fundamentally sound defense and a prodigious lineup, Feliz would be in position to win 15 games with a 8.5-9.5 SO/9 rate. Although Fantasy owners may miss his save numbers, they’ll practically drool over his future numbers as a member of the Rangers staff.

Head for the Hill, Aaron Hill

Going into the 2010 fantasy baseball season, there were two prime breakout candidates at second base, Robinson Cano and Aaron Hill. Both players were coming off career years, and both players were worth selecting in about the 5th round. Cano went on to expand on his 2009 season, while Hill regressed, hitting below the Mendoza line with a drop of 40 RBI’s. Cano enters 2011 as a late 1st to early 2nd round pick, while Hill is available much later.

Analysis: Hill was a victim of bad luck more than anything else last season. His BABIP was .196, easily the lowest in baseball. In comparison, 110 major league players had BABIP of .290 or higher last year and only 7 were below .250.

What’s encouraging is that is the only stat that seems to be out of line for Hill’s career averages. In fact, he walked almost as many times in 2010 (41 in 528 at-bats) as he did in 2009 (42 in 682 at-bats). And despite his horrific batting average and on-base percentage, Hill hit the third-most home runs for 2nd baseman in 2010. He’s slotted to hit 5th behind Bautista and Lind, so there should be plenty of RBI opportunities.

Projection: Even if Hill raises his BABIP to the lower-end of “average”, he’ll still add 50 points to his batting average. He has elite power for his position, and with teams pitching cautiously to Jose Bautista, Hill will get every opportunity to drive in runs. As a 13th round pick, Hill will easily out-perform his draft ranking.

.265 / 31 home runs / 101 RBI’s / 91 runs / 4 steals

Chris Pronger Officially Out For Regular Season

After coming back from a right hand injury for four games, Chris Pronger has missed his last two games and is officially out for about a month.

Analysis: Chris Pronger originally suffered the small fracture in his right hand on Febuary 24th against the New York Islanders. He went on to play the next four games with the injury but now Philly is doing the wise thing in shutting him down. The Flyers last regular season game is April 9th so Pronger should be able to get back into action at the start of the first round of the eastern conference playoffs. From a fantasy perspective this leaves a pretty big hole on your team to fill. Pronger contributes in every fantasy category for skaters and is easily a top 10-15 defenseman.

Projection: Andrej Sekera of Buffalo is still hot and is widely available. He’s mostly good for points and shots on goal. Also, Andrew MacDonald of the Islanders is a good choice to pick up. He’s gets tons of ice time, his plus/minus has been great as of late and he too is widely available.

Mike Stanton Brings The Lumber

After a historic .248 ISO as 20 year old, Mike Stanton is poised to bring the lumber in 2011 but what exactly should we expect?

Analysis: Mike Stanton hit 22 homers in just 100 big league games last year and he also hit 21 bombs in just 53 Double A games. That’s 43 homers combined as a 20 year old, nearly unheard of. His walk rate of 8.6% with the Marlins wasn’t as expected but it should be around the 12% mark this year which will help his run and stolen base totals. As long as his strikeout rate doesn’t go up from 34.3%, Stanton will hit 35 home runs rather easily. Like many power hitters he’s not going to give you any batting average help in roto leagues but a handful of steals should help ease a batting average that should fall in the .260-.270 range. Stanton is a high reward outfielder with his seemingly limitless home run power so grabbing him over guys like Andre Ethier or Alex Rios who will be down this year may be in order. Don’t be disappointed if Jay Bruce falls into your lap after Stanton goes early. Bruce’s home run potential this year is in the mid thirties.

Projection: I don’t think Stanton is capable of hitting less than 33 homers this year which makes him the low risk outfielder that he is, but I doubt he can reach 45 bombs as a 21 year old with the pitching in the NL East. Expect a .265 BA, 38 HR, 105 RBI, 90 R, 6 SB.

The Terrific Rebounding of Reggie Evans is Back

After missing a big part of this current season Reggie Evans is back in action for the Toronto Raptors.

Analysis: Reggie has always been a great rebounder, always in the top when it came to rebounds per minute statistics, but that didn’t exactly help his case for fantasy basketball. That is because per minute boards doesn’t mean a thing for fantasy stats. This season he has had a bit of a resurgence actually getting a significant amount of minutes for the Raptors. Now his rebounding stats are actually worthwhile, and if you need boards he is a great option. Reggie is averaging over 12 boards a game this season, which actually ties him for fourth in the NBA in rebounding (he’s tied with Blake Griffin). Pretty impressive numbers for a undersized power forward with a career average of 19 minutes a game. He’s back with the Raptors after missing a big part of the season and looks like he hasn’t missed a beat, when it comes to rebounding anyways. Today against Charlotte Reggie ripped down 17 boards. Despite his amazing rebounding Reggie doesn’t do much else. His shooting percentages are awful, he can’t block to save his life, and he can’t put up points very well either. The only other redeeming quality that Reggie possesses is getting the occasional steal.

Projection: With Reggie Evans you get a guaranteed bunch of rebounds, but he hurts you in almost every other category. If you need to catch up in rebounding and can take a hit everywhere else than take a chance on Reggie. Otherwise his hustle doesn’t really translate into the fantasy realm.