Paul Konerko – The White Sox first baseman sat out on Friday after getting beaned in the face Thursday. He should be back in today’s lineup. The big question regarding Konerko is where do you grab him in next season’s auction or draft? He’ll turn 35 before the season starts and is coming off a 2010 season where he set career highs in ISO (.280), batting average (.323), SLG% (.604) and OBP (.402). However, he’s also enjoying the best BABIP of his career (.337) so he’s certainly been fortunate. Konerko’s OPS numbers the past 5 seasons look like this: 1.006 (’10), .842 (’09), .783 (’08), .841 (’07), .932 (’06) which tells us that a good player is having an excellent season late in his career. Congrats to Pauly for finding the fountain of youth, but for fantasy baseball purposes, don’t expect the big first baseman to match his 2010 totals in 2011. He should regress back to the .800-range OPS guy he’s always been and hit 25-30 HRs while driving in close to 100 runs. Those are very solid fantasy numbers and Konerko is a nice first base option after the first tier guys go off the board.
Kevin Slowey – In his two starts since returning from the DL, Kevin Slowey has tossed 9 innings and allowed just 2 ER (against the Royals and Indians) to lower his season ERA and FIP to 4.24 and 3.98, respectively. The Twins’ right hander faces Oakland today in hopes of picking up his 13th win in 2010. A fly ball pitcher (28% GB% in ’10) with mediocre K/9 numbers (6.58 mark in ’10), Slowey survives by handling weak-hitting opponents such as the likes of Cleveland, Baltimore, Oakland, Seattle and Kansas City while struggling against better-hitting clubs. In 49 2/3 innings against the aforementioned teams, Slowey has yielded a mere 7 ER this season. In contrast, he’s allowed 50 ER in 62 2/3 innings against the rest of his opponents. That means you can feel comfortable starting Slowey today against the A’s but he should be avoided next week when he squares off against Detroit. This is also sound advice to follow for next year’s auction/draft – only consider acquiring Slowey if you’re willing to spot start him all season.
Ricky Romero – A great sleeper pick for 2011, Ricky Romero showed significant improvement between 2009 and 2010, going from a decent pitcher to an under-the-radar impact fantasy SP at just 25-years old. After pitching great in the first half of 2009 (3.00 ERA/1.26 WHIP), Romero tanked in the second half (5.54 ERA/1.77 WHIP) but he’s been able to maintain his excellence for all of this season. In 191 innings, Romero owns a 3.64 FIP, 7.63 K/9 and 0.66 HR/9 to go along with a 54% GB%. He’s also managed to lower his BB/9 from 3.99 in ’09 to 3.49 in ’10. Looking toward next season, Romero could post a K/9 in the low 8.00s with a sub-4.00 ERA which would make him one of the better SP options in the American League. He won’t be good enough to anchor your fantasy team’s staff but he can certainly be a decent No. 2/strong No.3 in most league formats.
Justin Masterson – Oh, Justin Masterson, how you frustrate me. On those special nights when he’s got his stuff working, Masterson can shut down anyone. Unfortunately for Tribe fans and his fantasy owners (if any remain), most nights are a combination of too many walks, lots of runs and disappointment. However, hope remains. For the season, Masterson holds a respectable 4.06 FIP with a 6.87 K/9, 3.80 BB/9 and 0.73 HR/9. He continues to thrive at inducing ground balls, owning a 59% GB% this season. And in his defense, Masterson’s dealing with a .331 BABIP and his 66% LOB% leaves much to be desired. The point is that Masterson has shown enough potential in 2010 to make him worthy of sleeper status next season. A pitcher with strong strikeouts numbers (historically) and an ability to garner tons of ground balls is worth risking a few auction bucks or late round draft pick. Keep an eye on Masterson in his final few starts and don’t let his ugly ERA scare you away in ’11.
Alex Rodriguez – A-Rod smashed two HRs on Friday, including a game-winning 3-run shot off Koji Uehara and now has a .502 SLG% and 111 RBI in 2010. The Yankees’ third baseman has been a disappointment for fantasy teams this season as he entered Friday’s game with his lowest ISO (.220) since the 1997 season and lowest OBP (.338) since 1995. Rodriguez’s BABIP has dipped to just .280, which is down from his career mark of .319. He’s also making contact on a higher percentage of pitches than ever before (65% compared to a career mark of 52%). Perhaps A-Rod is chasing more pitches and not making solid contact which has resulted in his power decrease. At 35, Rodriguez is no kid anymore and he should drop in your rankings for 2011. The years of Rodriguez being a sure first round pick may finally be over.
Follow me all offseason on Twitter
