May 4, 2010 - AL Fantistics Blog
1. Frank Francisco (RP - Rangers) - The closer situation in Texas continues to be a big soap opera. While Neftali Feliz continues to look like the best option to everybody but one man, manager Ron Washington went with Frank Francisco last night to begin the 9th. After giving up a single and a HR to pull the A's within one, he then walked the tying run and was removed and replaced with Feliz. I obviously have strong opinions about this one, but other than the $3.3 million the Rangers are paying Francisco, I am not entirely sure why they keep opting for him over the fireballer Neftali. His ERA is 7.15, WHIP is over 2.00, and he has two "official" blown saves in just four opportunities. I understand not wanting to over-use Feliz, but he can certainly pitch in back-to-back games. Francisco's fantasy value continues to have a big down arrow next to his name.
2. Travis Snider (OF - Blue Jays) - Snider is his 4th HR of the season last night, giving him an AB/HR of 19.5. Not bad for the 22-year-old outfielder, but unfortunately there has been little else to celebrate from him. He's hitting just .167 with an OBP of .278, 6 RBI, and 1 SB. He has 19 K's and just 12 BB's, averaging a K for every 4.7 plate appearances. While the K rate is high, his ISO of .218 and overall power is intriguing enough to make him a decent AL-only option and someone to watch in mixed leagues if he gets hot. We may be another year or even two years away from him having his big breakout year, but at this rate, he may still be good for 22-25 HR for 2010.
3. Jake Peavy (SP - White to Sox) - Peavy put the month of April behind him on Monday night and pitched a gem, going 7.0 quality innings, 4 hits, no runs, 9 K's, and 1 BB for his first W of the season. He's now 2-for-6 in quality starts and finally looked like the old Jake Peavy. For the most part, he has terrible, but Monday should be a good sign that he may be turning it around. He has had a few slow starts recently followed by great Mays. In 2009, Peavy posted an ERA of 5.74 ERA and 1.47 WHIP in April followed by 2.13 ERA and 0.87 WHIP in May. In fact, if you look at all April performances for Peavy's entire career, he has a 3.63 ERA and 1.24 WHIP. Still decent, but not nearly as well as his combined May starts of 2.81 ERA and 1.08 WHIP. Is this indicative a notoriously slow starter? Perhaps. But the good news is as the weather warms up, it certainly looks like Peavy does as well.
4. Javier Vazquez (SP - Yankees) - The Yankees have decided to "give Javy a breather." Translation: "We think Vazquez is mentally weak and we're afraid that another rough outing in a stressful Yankees vs. Red Sox series could completely destroy his confidence." The Yanks have decided to skip Vazquez's upcoming spot in the rotation, which was originally scheduled for Friday night at Fenway Park. He'll make his next start on Monday against Detroit which will make him a 2-start fantasy pitcher for Week 6. Vazquez is just a completely different man when he puts on the pinstripes. In his 5 starts as a Yankee this year, he has yet to have a quality start and is posting a 9.78 ERA, 2.04 WHIP, HR/9 of 3.13, and a K/BB of just 1.33 (not good for a guy who has a 3-year K/9 avreage of 9.1 and the 2nd most K's from 2000-2009 than any other pitcher). Its tough to tell if skipping him in the rotation will help or hurt him, but at this point there is little a fantasy owner can do to help the situation. He has too much potential to outright drop and his value his way too low for trade. The result? Be patient and see how next week pans out.
5. Kevin Kouzmanoff (3B - A's) - I get a lot of e-mails looking for cheap 3B options given the scarcity at the position this season. Look no further than The Kouz. Over the last 10 games, Kouzmanoff is hitting .333 (13-for-39) with 9 RBI, and a HR (last night). In San Diego, a notoriously tough hitters park, he had a 3-year AB/HR rate of 27.7. With only 2 HR this season, he is due for a bit of a power surge and should have a better chance of hitting 20-25 in Oakland than he did in San Diego (ballpark factor of 91 in Oakland compared to 74 in San Diego). He's worth the cheap pick-up if you're looking for help at the hot corner.
Follow me on Twitter all season @jribando.
