"April 2011" Monthly Archives

AL Quick Pitch: A few rehab appearances have fantasy owners hopeful for the return of Jake Peavy, Andrew Bailey, and Aaron Hill, but I wouldn't hold your breath for fantasy week #5. The catchers had a big night on...

Jason Marquis (SP--Nationals) Not an easy feat to knock off the world champion Giants, much less shut them out altogether. And it's particularly noteworthy when your name is not Roy Halliday or Josh Johnson, but rather Jason Marquis. But that's...

Brett Wallace (1B - HOU): I've never been enamored with Brett Wallace as a fantasy option, but with his strong start to the season I figured it was time to pay a little respect to the early season improvements...

Jeremy Guthrie- BAL- Hot- Guthrie tossed 6 shutout innings against the Red Sox, but didn't factor in the decision, leaving his record at 1-3 while his ERA is a sparkling 2.53. Guthrie gave up 7 hits and 1 walk while...

NL Quick Pitch: Here's a quick look at today's National League daily notes. Ian Desmond returns to the lineup after paternity leave. He's good for stolen bases right now and nothing else, so he remains an upside candidate at...

* Please note that this isn't a comprehensive list of my top prospects - it's merely a sampling. For the complete lists, please don't hesitate to subscribe... We provide 70+ updates each week. Here is a sample of 20: American...

Delmon Young OF (MIN) - I haven't lost faith in Young despite his slow start. In fact, I'm encouraged last year was not a fluke. Young is getting loft on his swing (38.8FB%), which is very important for his...

Lance Berkman (OF--Cardinals) There were a lot of naysayers (myself included) when the Cardinals intended to play Lance Berkman in the outfield. But Berkman has proven more than capable and his bat has been on fire. Going to into Tuesday's...

Raul Ibanez - Another 0-3 from Ibanez last night drops him to 0 for his last 21. Curiously, there has been no mention of Domonic Brown coming off the DL and splitting time with Ibanez. For me, out of the...

AL Quick Pitch: Max Scherzer out-dueled John Danks on Sunday as the White Sox continued to spiral downward. Within the notes this morning we'll take a look at some alarming indicators surrounding Scherzer's early season success. We'll also dig...

Hanley Ramirez (SS-FLA) - Ramirez was passed this year in fantasy drafts by Troy Tulowitzki as fantasy's #1 shortstop (at least we did here at Fantistics), but the disparity is growing by the at-bat. Tulo leads the NL in slugging...

Ricky Romero - In his first 3 starts, all against weak-hitting clubs (MIN, OAK, SEA), Ricky Romero cruised to a 1.66 ERA and 20:4 K:BB mark. However, in his last start against Boston, Romero struggled with his control, walking 5...

Cole Hamels SP (PHI) - Two nights ago Hamels dominated the Padres, and after a brutal first start of the season (6 ER, 2.2 IP) Hamels' ERA is all the way down to 2.92. For some reason, people tend...

AL Quick Pitch: Some old names return to today's quick pitch. Will 2011 be the breakout year for "old" names like Alex Gordon and Jeff Francoeur? Both have gotten off to hot starts in April and deserve ownership in all...

Anibal Sanchez (SP--Marlins) Close but no cigar. Looking for his second career no-hitter, Anibal Sanchez took a no-hitter (not the shutout) into the 9th inning on Friday night. Rockie Dexter Fowler took Sanchez's first pitch offering and fisted a slow...

NL Quick Pitch: Daniel Hudson's early-season struggles continued in a tough matchup against the Reds. Hudson hasn't had problems generating K's at the same enormous rate he posted after moving to the NL last year, but has struggled with command....

Alex Gordon – Is this the year Alex Gordon finally puts it all together and becomes an impact, middle-of-the-order hitter? If he maintains his current .426 BABIP, the answer is a resounding yes. However, considering Gordon’s career BABIP is...

Jeff Francoeur- KC- Hot- Francoeur raised his average to .333 by going 2-for-4 and hitting his 3rd homer of the season. His average is being boosted by a .345 BABIP so that may not hold. The power numbers have a...

National League 29 Jerry Sands LAD 1B B+ Gets the call to help desperate offense and doubles off Tim Hudson in AB #1. Nice start. 31 Yasmani Grandal CIN C B+ .276 in the early going with 6 of 8...

Roy Halladay- PHI- Cold- Halladay got lit up for the first time in 2011, allowing 6 runs on 10 hits and 2 walks while striking out 3 in 6.2 IP. He got hit hardest in the 7th inning and ended...

Daisuke Matsuzaka SP (BOS) – Despite Daisuke’s successful Patriot’s Day start, I remain very skeptical and am even dropping him in some deeper leagues after delving into some of his swing data. Here are some very disturbing numbers. First of...

Jonathan Lucroy - Lucroy has hit in all five games since coming off the DL, and for me he's a bit of a sleeper as likely the sixth best bat in a decent offense (once Hart returns). Not only do...

Summary: Ryan Franklin has blown 80% of his save chances, so expect a change to Mitch Boggs or (less likely) Jason Motte. … Speaking of closers, Jonathan Broxton has five saves, but his 1.58 WHIP indicates it’s been a struggle....

Jeremy Hellickson (SP - TB): Hellickson continues to show some growing pains at the major league level. In his third start of the season on Sunday Hellickson made it 0-3 in the quality start category by allowing 4 ER’s on...

Derek Holland - I thought Ron Washington should have yanked Holland after 7 strong innings yesterday, and definitely after allowing a single with one out, over 110 pitches, and with a lefty in the bullpen. Instead, a two-run Cano HR...

Yovani Gallardo – With the Brewers vs. Nationals game postponed Saturday due to rain, Yovani Gallardo had his start pushed back to this afternoon, which gives his fantasy owners a chance to go to church and pray that the big...

Charlie Morton (OF—Pirates) Charlie Morton pitched a complete game on Friday against the Reds, allowing just one earned run on five hits, two walks and struck out three. It took him 110 pitches to dispose of the Reds, throwing over...

NL Quick Pitch: We got some positive updates on injured NL players on Thursday. Corey Hart progressed to live batting practice and should be heading out on a rehab stint soon. His current target date to return is April 22nd....

Francisco Liriano- MIN- Cold- Liriano’s Grapefruit League issues (20 H and 9 BB in 18.2 IP) have continued in the regular season. A good thing from yesterday’s effort was that his control was much improved. Liriano only walked 1 in...

NL Quick Pitch: For today’s quick pitch, we’ll take a look at the up arrows, down arrows, injuries, and recent trends in the National League. I’ll go over why I’m not giving up on guys like Carlos Pena, Ian Desmond...

Highlights include a 2-HR game from Mike Trout and Jerry Sands homering in four straight... American League 1 Mike Trout LAA OF A+ .214 through four games and then a 2 HR outburst. That's more like it. 39 Nick Franklin...

Ryan Zimmerman (3B—Nationals) The Nationals will be placing Ryan Zimmerman on the DL with an abdominal strain that will likely keep him out somewhere around three weeks. This is a big blow to the Nats and to fantasy rosters as...

Delmon Young OF (MIN) – Young went 0-4 last night to drop his average to .167 and has now struck out 9 times versus just one walk. Truth is, with a free swinger like Young, cold stretches like this are...

Mike Pelfrey - Pelfrey improved from hideous to poor yesterday, as the Met #1 starter allowed four runs (three earned) and eleven baserunners in 5 1/3 innings against Colorado. Pelfrey's control has escaped him thus far this year, and he's...

NL Quick Pitch: In the National League, Cole Hamels rebounded with seven strong innings after a tough debut, while Anibal Sanchez and James McDonald continued their struggles. … Matt Holliday (appendectomy) returned after just nine days on the shelf, while...

AL Quick Pitch: Jered Weaver and Josh Beckett put together two of the best starts of the young season. Weaver struck out 15 and saved the Angels pen that had thrown nearly 10 IP the night before, while Beckett man-handled...