Richie Sexson
My name is Drew and I'm a Richie Sexson owner (Hi Drew!), alright so there's not any meetings for us Sexson owners just yet that we can attend, but I'm here to help you guys through it. Sexson is currently sporting a .145-.244-.362 line that is about as appetizing as the bout of food poisoning I suffered this weekend. Well since that line pretty much tells it all with regards to the bad news, let's get to the good news and hopefully talk some Sexson owners back from the ledge. First off Sexson does this every year, alright not this bad, but he's a notorious slow starter and does about 55-60% of his production every year in the 2nd half. Sexson's K Rate and BB Rate are in line with his career totals. His HR Rate is in line with last year's first half and Sexson still managed 34 HR's and 107 RBI's last season. And finally, Sexson is currently sporting a BHIP% of .023 (that's not a typo), he's having the worst luck I've ever season with regards to BHIP%. Out of the 43 balls he's put into play that have been outs or 1B's there's been exactly 1 that's gone for a hit, that's absurdly unlucky and almost assuredly will change. Sexson's peripherals don't suggest any deterioration in his skill-set, with patience the dividends will come, I promise.
BJ Upton
For those BJ Upton owners in yearly leagues, I'm begging you to sell high if you can. Upton put together another 3-4 day with a HR, 3 RBI's, and 2 more SB's. This raises Upton's season totals to 5 HR's, 5 SB's, 16 Runs, and 20 RBI's with a .365 Average. Upton's doing all of this right now with a .22 EYE while striking out in 36% of his AB's AND he's sporting a .411 BHIP%. His peripherals suggest he's closer to a .260 hitter than a .360 hitter and while his power-speed combo is certainly intriguing there's plenty of risk associated with the free-swinging youngster. If you can land a more established fantasy star for him, I'd do it without asking any questions.
Brandon Wood
Brandon Wood's 101 Extra Base Hits in 136 minor league games in 2005 still goes down as one of the legendary minor league seasons and his 71 extra base hits in 118 games last year is nothing to sniff at either, but the one knock on Wood throughout his minor league career has been his high K Rate. With 4 strikeouts in his first 8 major league AB's it appears Wood is going to have his share of growing pains at the major league level and with Chone Figgins set to return this week its likely Wood will be sent back down to the minors. For those in deeper leagues with plenty of reserve slots or those in dynasty leagues snatching up Wood is a no brainer and likely he's already taken, but for those of you that used an early waiver pick or snatched him up this week in yearly leagues should temper your expectations as the young stud may not be given much of an opportunity to prove himself immediately.
Mike Lowell
Lowell's 0-2 Sunday brought his average down to .314 on the young season. While Lowell's been raking over in Boston it seems many fantasy owners haven't been paying attention. Lowell's been a 2B's machine throughout his career in FLA and seemed to lose a lot of his luster in the fantasy community after the atrocious 2005, which seems more and more to be the anomaly. After an underrated 2006 season in Boston with 20 HR's, 80 RBI's, and another 47 2B's, Lowell's started off the 2007 campaign with 4 HR's and 8 2B's in the first month while posting an impressive 1.80 EYE. Lowell's an underrated option at 3B this season and hitting in a loaded Red Sox lineup should be able to post another 20+ HR's, 40+ 2B's, and 80+ RBI's.
Nick Markakis
Another 0-4 dropped Markakis' average down to .235 on the young season. Markakis' huge 2nd half last season put him on many fantasy owners' radars as a premier sleeper candidate, but the slow start may have them questioning his ability so let's check out the peripherals. Markakis is currently sporting a measly .205 BHIP% while his HR Rate and his EYE are relatively in line with last year's production. Markakis is just suffering from some bad luck early on in the season and as long as the Orioles remain patient and keep Markakis hitting in the 3 hole, he'll end up around the .300-20-80-80 projection we put forth, just stay patient.
