Tag: Michael Morse

Last Call On Morse

It’s about that time of year where we give Michael Morse some love before he gets injured and frustrates fantasy owners nationwide.

Analysis: Michael Morse homered and knocked in 2 runs Friday night against the Indians. Morse now has 6 home runs and 17 RBI this year. He currently ranks 8th in baseball in home runs and 14th in runs batted in. This does not come as a surprise but as we all know he does land on the disabled list quite often so play him while you can.

When healthy there are zero concerns regarding Morse’s fantasy value. He remains a must own power bat capable of 30 home runs and 100 RBI. As for the negatives which are well documented- he has only played an average of 95 games over the last two years. In addition, his walk rate(6.8%) is extremely low for a power hitter. His isolated power over the last few years is a concern but he is mashing thus far this year.

Michael Morse is available in 12-20% of fantasy leagues. He currently ranks as the 21st best fantasy outfielder this season.

Buying Low- Michael Morse

Seattle did not move Michael Morse at the trade deadline but he still makes a viable fantasy option going forward.

Analysis: Morse now has two games under his belt since returning from the disabled list with a strained quad. Morse is 0-9 in those two games but that isn’t the point. He has 11 bombs, 23 RBI and 24 runs in 58 games this year. He will see plenty of RBI opportunities the rest of the year hitting fifth or sixth and he is playing for a new contact which means if he stays healthy he will continue to mash.

Morse is available in 35-50% of fantasy leagues primarily because of his most recent stint on the disabled list. His kind of power isn’t common on the wire at this point in the season. In addition to Morse there are a few other power bats available on the wire that are of note- Carlos Quentin, Dayan Viciedo, Brandon Moss.

With all the hype surrounding the trade deadline Michael Morse is not getting the fantasy attention you would expect coming off of the DL. Expect 7-10 home runs and a .270 batting average the rest of the way.

Undervalued- Michael Morse

Michael Morse isn’t getting much love this year from fantasy owners. Keep in mind that the fences at Safeco Field are significantly closer this year and the left field wall is shorter.

Analysis: Michael Morse’s average draft position in the 150-160 range is fine if he plays in 120 games but if he stays healthy he will easily outperform it. Morse has played in 248 games over the past two years but he does have 49 home runs during that span. All Morse needs to do this year is stay healthy. He’s back in the American League which is always a plus for a guy like Morse who can DH in addition to playing the outfield and first base. Let us not underestimate the Seattle offense this year. Kendrys Morales, Kyle Seager and Justin Smoak can mash, Jesus Montero should finally tap into his potential and Dustin Ackley is poised for a break-out year.

The biggest problem I have with Morse’s fantasy value is that a few surprising outfielders are being taken ahead of him. Alejandro De Aza(28 years old) has never hit 10 home runs in a season nor has he stolen more than 26 bags. Torii Hunter is 37 years old and coming off of a 16 homer year in 140 games played. Hunter’s .389 BABIP in 2012 was 82 points above his career average… expect a huge dip in his batting average.

 

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.

Buying Low- Jayson Werth

Jayson Werth is being dropped from some fantasy rosters across the country but there is reason to hope.

Analysis: Over the past month or so Jayson Werth has seen his batting average dip thirty points and he has not homered. However, in Werth’s last two games he is 4-8 with a home run, two RBI and a run scored. Regardless of being overpaid by Washington in the offseason Werth is still a solid fantasy option in the outfield and you do not have to look further than his last three years with the Phils averaging nearly thirty homers and seventeen stolen bases to see why. This year Werth is only hitting .212 with ten homers but if his last two games are an indication of things to come then Jayson Werth is back. All of his stats are in line with what he was doing in Philly except for his slight power outage hitting in Washington and his unusually low BABIP. Now is the perfect time to buy the slugger low and what is not to love about that talented lineup he is hitting in? Espinosa, Morse and Zimmerman are all studs and when Werth turns it around many will regret straight up dropping him from their fantasy squad.