Player News – Page 73 – FantasySP Blog

Last Call On Vance Worley

Vance Worley now has two impressive outings in three starts for the Philadelphia Phillies this year. In 19.0 innings of work Vance has a 1-1 record with a 2.37 ERA and 21 K’s.

Analysis: Worley was a huge surprise last year after posting an 11-3 record with a 3.01 ERA. Flash forward to this year and you have yourself a legit right hander. Despite some questions concerning Worley’s game he did sport a 3.32 FIP in over 130 innings in 2011. His fastball may top out at 91-92 MPH but his slider and curve give him three plus or very close to three plus pitches. Offensive support will be a problem for the righty with the injury concerns to Howard and Utley but he seems to be doing quite fine at the moment.

Vance Worley is also very consistent in the WHIP department as well, he posted a 1.23 WHIP last year. Despite not being a flamethrower, Worley still strikes out eight batters per nine innings and only walks three batters per nine. I would not expect his WHIP to finish over the 1.37 mark this year. He is still available in about half of leagues and he doesn’t give you much to dislike about his game.

Selling High- JD Martinez

JD Martinez has been lights out at the plate this year as he becomes one of the early surprises of the young baseball season.

Analysis: JD Marinez is hitting .333 at the moment with three home runs and ten RBI. He’s also hitting third in the Houston batting order behind Carlos Lee, which isn’t a bad place to be. The twenty-four year old can flat out mash, he hit over .300 all three years he was in the minors but his BABIP was unusually high. Martinez also slugged .546 in Double-A last year while hitting six bombs in 53 big league games. His future is bright and in keeper leagues I would not think to trade him, however, he will not sustain the pace he is currently on.

Martinez is primarily a fastball hitter and when teams give him a heavy dose of the breaking stuff he will struggle. He is walking at over a ten percent clip but it is early in the season. He will hit about twenty homers this year but to expect thirty bombs with a .300 plus batting average is way,way too much. The great thing about fantasy baseball is the ability to sell the hot players early and Martinez’s value will not get any higher. Happy selling.

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.

Glen Davis Is Surging

With just a little over two weeks left in the season it’s time to make your final tweaks to your fantasy roster.

Analysis: Glen Davis is on fire and the fantasy world is taking notice. Davis has averaged 19.4 PPG, 11.0 RPG and 1.6 SPG in his last five games for the Orlando Magic. In four of those five games he has played at least thirty-five minutes. Davis is available in over seventy percent of leagues but he is going fast. A power forward who is averaging a double-double recently and is getting thirty plus minutes per game is a rare commodity on the wire, so take advantage.

If Glen Davis is not available in your league other solid rebounding bigs may be. Brandon Bass and Marcus Camby are still available in a few leagues but they do not possess the offensive potential we have seen from Davis over the past few weeks. Ed Davis is another power forward who has been rebounding quite well lately but his minutes remain in the 18-24 range.

Glen Davis may not be a shot blocker but he does shoot around 70% from the stripe. There is not a better power forward so widely available on the wire.