Ubaldo Jimenez: I tweeted earlier this week that I thought Jimenez may be on the verge of hitting a rough patch (rough is a very relative term for Ubaldo). We’ve touched on some of the early season abuse Jimenez has...
Delmon Young: Delmon Young just keeps on trucking. He extended his hitting streak to 10 games on Sunday with a 3 run HR, his 8th on the season, and is now posting his 2nd consecutive month with an OPS above...
Jhoulys Chacin: Chacin lost for the 3rd straight time and 5th time in his last 6 starts on Thursday as he allowed 4 hits, 3 BB’s, and 4 ER’s over 6 innings against the Astros. Chacin continues to rack up...
Nick Markakis: Markakis has been a huge disappointment this year and a close look at his peripherals reveals a 3rd straight year of declining ISO and SB attempts. His plate patience skills are still good (.97 EYE, 19% LD Rate),...
Stephen Strasburg: Strasburg made his final minor league start on Thursday, throwing another 5 shutout innings and lowering his minor league ERA to 1.30 and 0.80 WHIP in 11 starts. He posted a tremendous 65/13 K:BB Rate over his 55...
Dan Haren: I thought this was the Dan Haren we got during the 2nd half? The guy who struggled to keep the ball in the park and as a result struggled to pitch to his peripherals. This year the situation...
Mike Napoli: Napoli homered for the 4th time in May and the 2nd time this week, raising his May line to .298/.365/.649. The power is coming back in a big way as he’s picked up 12 extra base hits in...
Rickie Weeks: Weeks is mired in an extended and painful slump as another 0-4 on Thursday dragged his average down to .243 and made him just 20 for his last 109 with 37 K’s in that span. The extremely high...
Joel Pineiro: Our own Thomas Massimo suggested Pineiro was due for some positive regression in this space earlier in the week and sure enough Pineiro tossed a complete game shutout on Sunday to get his numbers back in line. He...
Starlin Castro: I was pretty negative on Castro’s fantasy value upon his call-up and as a Cubs fan I think this surprised some. Even after his magnificent debut, I was heeding caution. Castro’s skill-set is immense, but he’s only 20....
Ryan Zimmerman: Zimmerman was a one-man wrecking crew on Thursday night hitting 2 HR’s and driving in 6. At just 25 Zimmerman continues to show impressive improvements in his power. With the 2 HR’s on Thursday he’s up to 19...
Delmon Young: It’s been really quiet, but Delmon Young looks like he’s starting to put things together. Young’s cut his K Rate in half (down to 11%) and quadrupled his walk rate (up over 8%). Suddenly he’s sporting a relatively...
Scott Olsen: Olsen was absolutely fantastic for the 3rd straight outing. He took a no-hitter through 7 and finished limiting the Braves to just 1 ER on 2 hits and 1 bb, while striking out 8. He now has posted...
Ben Zobrist: Zobrist went 0-4 on Sunday, dropping his batting average down to .253. Given how seemingly “out of nowhere” his 2009 campaign was, owners are certainly going to have their concerns about Zobrist’s slow start, so lets dig in....
Wade LeBlanc: LeBlanc pitched another 6 1/3 scoreless innings on Thursday against the Brewers allowing just 8 hits and 0 BB’s, while striking out 6. The big jump in K Rate this season is the big news for LeBlanc as...
Justin Masterson: On the surface it looks like Justin Masterson is taking some big steps forward. He’s improved his K Rate early in the season with 24 K’s in 19 IP and he’s even rolling more ground-balls with an incredible...
Garrett Jones: Just as quickly as Garrett Jones started in the first 10 days of the season, he’s faded in the next 10 days. Jones is mired in a 3-19 slump with 6 K’s and 0 extra base hits over...
Brian Matusz: After two outings against one of the best offenses in MLB (the Rays), Brian Matusz got a much more favorable matchup on Sunday pitching against the A’s in Oakland Coliseum. Matusz looked good, allowing just 3 ER’s on...
Seth Smith: Smith entered the season as the deepest sleeper in the Colorado OF largely due to playing time concerns. As the 4th OF in an OF with young players that need playing time like Dexter Fowler and Carlos Gonzalez...
Kendry Morales: Morales is off to a slow start this season hitting just .222 through the first week of the season with 5 K’s and 0 BB’s in his first 27 AB’s. The interesting thing about Morales’ breakout season last...
Jay Bruce: Bruce is off to a tough start going just 1-12 in the first series against the Cardinals and having struck out 3 times without drawing a walk. I’m a really big believer in Bruce for 2010 and believe...
Alberto Callaspo: Callaspo will be on the opening day roster but with the Royals concerned about his right abdominal injury the Royals will withhold him from the opening day lineup against RH Justin Verlander. Callaspo, a switch hitter, has just...
Why Kurt Suzuki is ranked so high amongst Catchers: A quick scroll through the top 10 projected catchers and you’ll find every catcher has an FPI above 0.64, with the exception of one: Kurt Suzuki. Suzuki’s 0.57 FPI doesn’t even...
The Oakland A’s Bullpen: Last year in this space I talked about the A’s bullpen noting the team’s unusual ability to find saves beyond the primary closer. Over the last 5 years, the A’s have averaged 35% of their total...
What can we expect from Alfonso Soriano? Just three seasons into a monstrous eight year deal, Alfonso Soriano looks nothing like the 40-40 candidate with a .900+ OPS that came over from Washington. Soriano’s coming off the worst season of...
Cubs Bullpen: One of the least talked about situations in fantasy baseball is the Cubs bullpen. With Carlos Marmol, a long-time fantasy darling, securing the role last season (1.84 ERA, 63 K’s in 44 innings in Save opportunities) most fantasy...
Felipe Paulino: Paulino’s stuff is always tantalizing, but his issues with command usually impede his success. This was not the case on Thursday night as Paulino walked 3 in 5 innings, but was able to pitch around the walks, allowing...
Ricky Nolasco: Nolasco continues to get victimized by a horrible Strand Rate. He allowed just 5 base-runners on Friday night over 7 innings, but 3 of them found their way across home plate on a 3 run HR by Jeff...
Bronson Arroyo: Consistency is a word you don’t typically associate with Bronson Arroyo, but he spun his twelfth consecutive quality start on Thursday, limiting the Pirates to just 1 ER over 7 innings. The extended hot streak has dropped his...
Eric Young Jr: Just from the name alone fantasy owners should know what to expect from Eric Young Jr. Eric’s father was a top of the order speed threat who posted some valuable fantasy seasons in Colorado and Eric’s built...
Jeff Niemann: The Rays bullpen is quietly sabotaging Jeff Niemann’s Rookie of the Year prospects. For the third consecutive game Niemann pitched tremendous and left in line for the win, this time shutting out the Yankees in Yankee Stadium for...
Luke Hochevar: Anthony Perri highlighted Hochevar’s inability to bear down and get big outs and this was once again the case on Sunday. Hochevar was blasted for 7 ER’s on 9 hits and 2 BB’s in just 3 2/3 innings....
Freddy Garcia: With reports of severely declining velocity and multiple teams passing on Garcia after showcases earlier this season, I was pretty skeptical of his return to the White Sox rotation; but after four starts things look pretty good for...
Ryan Rowland-Smith: Rowland-Smith stayed hot with his 4th quality start in his last 5 outings, unfortunately a continued lack of run support has left him 0-1 in these 5 starts. Rowland-Smith hasn’t been a particularly exciting fantasy asset in the...
Vicente Padilla: Padilla found the transition to the NL to be a favorable one, even pitching in Colorado. Padilla allowed 6 hits and 1 BB in 5 innings of work, but limited the Rockies to just 2 ER’s. He struck...
Scott Feldman: Feldman hasn’t drawn as much attention as a 13-4, 3.87 ERA line would suggest, largely because prior to this August, the peripherals have been underwhelming. Feldman was a GB specialist whose GB Rate was barely eclipsing 45% (good…...