Jeff Niemann:
With Hammel out of town, Niemann was officially announced as the 5th starter in the Rays rotation this season. Last year in AAA, Niemann posted a 3.59 ERA and 1.14 WHIP with a 8.7 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 in 133 innings. Niemann’s a top prospect who has been lost in a slew of Rays top prospects, but he’s always post good K and GB Rates. His struggles have come with his command, but he’s honed those rates into acceptable levels the last few years at the minor league level. At the major league level he posted a 4.5 BB/9 in 16 innings last season that suggests he’s still learning. Most think Niemann is simply a place-holder for David Price when the Rays are ready to re-start his arbitration clock, but Niemann has the raw stuff to hang around. In AL-only formats he’s worth keeping an eye on as any pitcher pitching in front of the Rays elite defense is worth consideration.
Joey Devine:
Devine was officially placed on the 60 day DL on Sunday, note the 60 not the 15. We hadn’t heard much about Devine’s elbow other than he was going to see Dr. James Andrews, but this news in itself is telling. If the A’s had any semblance of confidence in Devine’s elbow we’d see the typical 15 day DL stint. It’s a small note, but very important in assessing Devine’s health and the A’s bullpen going forward. As I’ve mentioned throughout spring training, the A’s tend to utilize multiple closers over the course of the season, so while Brad Ziegler gets the big boost in value now, keep an eye on Santiago Casilla.
Jed Lowrie:
Jed Lowrie finished the spring in a big way with a grand slam off of Oliver Perez on Saturday. Lowrie’s final spring line finished at .343/.400/.657 and with Julio Lugo on the DL to start the season, Lowrie’s got some terrific sleeper potential in Boston. Lowrie posted a .287/.381/.446 career minor league line and in a super-friendly park for LH hitting and a deep lineup, Lowrie should have nice Run/RBI production out of the SS/MI slot.
BJ Ryan:
Ryan got the “vote of confidence” from GM JP Ricciardi on Sunday when Ricciardi specifically addressed Ryan’s dips in velocity this spring, noting “it’s more about the results, than the velocity”. Shockingly Ricciardi’s comments seem to suggest the two aren’t tied to one another. Regardless for fantasy purposes there was some question how tight a hold Ryan has on the closer’s role in Toronto and this suggests at the very least he’ll be starting the season in the role. I’ve rolled the dice on Scott Downs in a few Roto formats this weekend in my generous use of middle relievers, and I still think he’s worthy MR candidate for rosters and at the very least a must have insurance policy for those heavily invested in BJ Ryan.\
Robinson Cano:
Cano finished off a tremendous spring with a HR on Friday night off of Ted Lilly. He hit .351 with 4 HR’s and a .667 Slugging %. Typically a slow starter the last few seasons, Cano looks locked in early on and the Yankees will need it without Alex Rodriguez early in the season. For years Cano had been overvalued as a 2B who didn’t run, didn’t provide consistent batting average and provided generally low Run totals in large part due to OBP issues. But this year, Cano has found himself lasting into the 9th round in many drafts, a more appropriate draft day value for the 2B. Cano owners biggest early season focus should be on his exbh rate and slugging %. Both have been on the decline for 3 years running and much of Cano’s batting average contributions are dependent on strong extra base hit rates.
There are over 100 player news blurbs posted in the member area each morning, members can read the rest of today's player news by clicking here link:www.fantistics.com/baseball00/. Not a member? Join today link:www.fantistics.com/join/join.php3
