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Last Call On Will Middlebrooks

With Kevin Youkilis officially out of the picture now with the Chicago White Sox, the future looks bright for the emerging Will Middlebrooks.

Analysis: Will Middlebrooks projects as a power bat for quite some time. He hit 27 HR in the Red Sox organization last year in just 129 games as a twenty-two year old. He also stole twelve bags last year so he can contribute in all five roto categories. Thus far this year Middlebrooks is hitting .326, slugging .583 with nine bombs and 34 RBI in just 41 games. He will not sustain this pace the rest of the year but in the future he will be an elite RBI machine.

He finds himself in a great situation, he has plenty of protection in a deep Boston batting order. There also isn’t too much pressure on the rookie yet and he will benefit from that. He does need to walk a bit more and hit sliders better but he is the real deal. Middlebrooks still hasn’t found a steady spot in the Red Sox order but RBI opportunities abound in that lineup, so no worries. Middlebrooks is available in over forty percent of fantasy leagues, get him while you can.

Rajai Is On The Rise

Rajai Davis isn’t getting much love from fantasy owners this season yet he continues to put together another solid year.

Analysis: Rajai Davis has 16 SB, 24 R, 4 HR and is batting .272 thus far this year. The speedster stole thirty-four bags in just ninety-five games last year and the previous year saw Rajai hit the fifty steal mark. Davis is a career .272 hitter which is where his 2012 average is at the moment, so you cannot say he is an inconsistent ballplayer. Yes, his average was awful last year but his BABIP was also thirty points below his career average.

It also appears that Davis’ power is peaking. His isolated power of .175 is a career high this year, sixty-six points above his career average. In fact, he’s only one bomb away from his career high in home runs and we aren’t even at the All-Star break yet. It is absolutely baffling how the sixth leading base stealer in all of baseball is only owned in twenty percent of fantasy leagues. He’s a solid contact hitter who is having his best power year, yet he still gets no love. To put it in perspective- Rajai has more homers and stolen bases than Jose Reyes in 153 less at-bats.

Last Call On Carlos Lee

Carlos Lee has one game under his belt after a hamstring injury landed him on the disabled list.

Analysis: Carlos Lee drove in two runs in his first game back from the disabled list. He is coming off of two relatively down years for him but he is still productive. Lee’s average is up over .300 and he has 25 RBI in fifty games played this year. His slugging percentage is down but he will still get his fair share of home runs. You have to love that he’s only striking out at a 5.2% clip this year, absolutely impressive.

Keep in mind that Lee has outfield and first base position eligibility. He is only available in twenty percent of leagues so now is the time to pick up the aging slugger. He still has a bit left in the tank and who couldn’t use a little batting average and power depth on their squad? He will continue to get plenty of RBI opportunities hitting cleanup in the Houston batting order and hopefully JD Martinez can offer some protection for him. Lee won’t last long on the waiver wire so snatch him up now before it is too late.

Deep League Help- Ben Revere

Ben Revere’s batting average is up to .331 at the moment as he continues to put together a solid 2012 season.

Analysis: Ben Revere may not have a home run this year but his slugging percentage is up over .90 points and his isolated power is up .33 points from last year. Revere has his strikeout rate down to 6.2% thus far this season, which is third lowest in all of baseball. The outfielder simply puts the ball in play and uses his speed. He stole thirty-four bags last year and is on pace to steal nearly thirty again this year. His batting average and speed numbers are enough to justify a roster spot on most squads in deeper leagues. Revere is hitting in the two spot in the Twins order in front of Joe Mauer which is always a good place to be for a solid run total.

There isn’t much to dislike about Revere aside from his lack of power. He puts the ball in play, steals bases and as long as his BABIP doesn’t dip below .320 he will remain a valuable outfielder. Revere is available in sixty percent of fantasy leagues and he is certainly worth a look.

Not Buying Ubaldo

Ubaldo Jimenez has pitched two great games in the past week but I’m not buying it and here is why.

Analysis: Ubaldo Jimenez has allowed just two earned runs in 13.2 innings of work over his last two starts. That still leaves Ubaldo’s ERA at 4.91 with an xFIP of 5.56. When Ubaldo was at his best he was a flamethrower with a bit of command, now it is just the opposite. Ubaldo’s average fastball is just 92.3 MPH, down 4 MPH from his 2009-2010 prime. The strikeouts are obviously down as well. This year he’s averaging 5.6K/9IP compared to over 8K/9IP over his last three seasons. His walk rate of 5.7BB/9IP is concerning as well, it’s second most in baseball among qualified pitchers. In year’s past he was walking just 3.7 batters per nine.

A few solid starts and a 6-4 record isn’t going to fool anyone here. His velocity is down, his strikeouts are down, his walks are sky high and he has yet to strike out eight batters in one game this year, something he did seven times last year in a down year.