Josh Willingham
Willingham went 3-3 on Sunday and upped his average to .296 on the season. Willingham's a bit underrated as far as OF options go; he always showed great power at the minor league levels slugging .562 at AA and .676 at AAA. He followed that up by Slugging .496 in his first full major league season and so far in 2007 is at .515. This season he's showing slight improvements in his EYE and in his Extra Base Hit Rate, he's on the verge of becoming a consistent .280 hitter with 30 HR's and hitting in the middle of the Marlins underrated lineup should push for 90-100 RBI's. Willingham's hot start isn't getting as much respect as it deserves, he's this years Michael Cuddyer, act accordingly.
Ted Lilly
At some point you have to wonder when NL Central GM's are going to figure out the exchange rate between the AL East and the NL Central. A year after Bronson Arroyo went from league average and moderately appealing fantasy option to a player on the cusp of fantasy ace, Ted Lilly seems to be accomplishing the same thing. Lilly pitched another strong 8 innings on Sunday striking out 6 and only allowing 1 earned run on 3 hits and 1 walk. The outing lowered Lilly's ERA to 2.53 on the season as he improved his record to 3-2. While many pundits might tell you Lilly's not going to be "this good"because as the weather warms his fly ball tendencies will lead to more HR's allowed, I'm hear to tell you why he will be "this good". Lilly went from pitching in quite possibly the most selective division in all of baseball when it comes to wearing opposing pitchers down and has now moved to a division filled with free swinging teams. With the switch he's seen his K Rate jump to .90 while his BB Rate has plummeted to .15 (nearly 30 points below his 3 year average). The moderate jump in his K rate can be explained just by the difference in league (facing a pitcher instead of a DH etc) but the more important factor is Lilly's control has improved considerably and this comes as a result of playing teams that are less selective at the plate. Lilly's ERA will rise a bit as the summer winds off of Lake Michigan begin to blow out, but he's going to be this year's Bronson Arroyo and for those who are in leagues with owners thinking they'll sell Lilly high now is the perfect time to take advantage. A good NL Central GM who needs pitching should think about calling the Blue Jays about Josh Towers... I'm just saying.
Wandy Rodriguez
If you're looking for a sleeper starting pitcher that hasn't gotten a lot of attention and may still be available even in deeper leagues look no further than Wandy Rodriguez. Rodriguez only lasted 5 innings on Sunday but he picked up his 1st win of the season improving his record to 1-3. The record's a bit of a mirage as Rodriguez has posted 4 quality starts already on the season. In addition he's struck out 40 batters in just under 44 innings, showing a significant boost in his K Rate. Similarly Rodriguez has shown improvements in his control as he's only walked 12 during that span. Rodriguez's main problems in the past have come from spotty control and this season he's cleaned it up while striking out more batters and his numbers haven't shown the big improvements because of a low Strand Rate of .64 and a higher than average BHIP% of .299. Rodriguez also pitches in the aforementioned weak NL Central and should provide plenty of attractive matchups this season. If Wandy's floating around on your waiver wire in those deeper leagues take the chance that this early season performance is a trend and Rodriguez could reward you with a 13-4.00-165 type season.
Chris B. Young
Those who know me best know I have an unhealthy obsession with power-speed combo OF's and more specifically CF's. Grady Sizemore and Carl Crawford top my list (don't worry Mets fans I respect your boy Beltran I'm just scorned my Cubbies didn't pursue him harder a few years back) and a little further down on the list but creeping up quickly is Chris B. Young. Young brought about a lot of hype coming into the season as the potential ROY candidate waiting to happen in ARZ, but he slumped out of the gates and owners lost a lot of the love for him. Hopefully you stayed with him, because Young is coming on fast and there might not be too much more of a time to buy into the young man (bad pun, I know). Young's hitting .304 in May and Slugging .522, he's stolen 5 bases and hit 6 HR's on the season and will finish around 20-20. While his EYE has struggled a bit his big problem in the minor leagues has been a tremendously high K Rate, which he's yet to struggle with. At the major league level he's drawing less walks than he did in the minors but this too will come as he learns the league a bit more. His talent is immense and at 23 he's the next Carl Crawford type of fantasy player with more power and a little less speed. This season his batting average is being suppressed by an unusually low .193 BHIP%. If the BHIP% regresses to an average .250 type area he'll be hitting close to .300 and this is a guy with plus speed, which means his average BHIP% should be closer to .270. Young is performing fine and right now and is on pace to be one of the better rookies in all of baseball.
Carlos Gomez
Gomez was brought up to take Pelfrey's roster spot as the Mets needed some insurance with Moises Alou possibly heading to the DL with some Knee issues. Gomez is an intriguing prospect in the mold of Fernando Martinez and Jose Tabata (the two other NY OF super-prospects). He has tremendous speed and projectable power in his wiry 6'4 195 lb frame. For now though, he's incredibly raw as he's only spent 3 full seasons playing professionally and has difficulty controlling the strike zone. In his debut, he excelled going 2-4 with 2 Runs. He's got the potential to be something special and with Alou potentially heading to the DL he's got a nice opportunity. Those in deep keeper leagues should consider Gomez an immediate add as he's flown under the radar a bit as far as elite prospects go, but the skill set is there. I think he's too raw too have sustained success this season, but a few years down the road he could be something special.
