A Steady Stream: Probables for May 5th, 2011

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A Steady Stream will be a semi-regular column that looks at probable pitchers starting games tomorrow and owned in approximately less than 50% of all ESPN and/or Yahoo! leagues that could be "stream-worthy" if they are available in your league.

Here are my "stream-worthy" pitchers for games to be played on a shortened schedule for Thursday, May 5th, 2011:

• Colby Lewis, TEX (50% ESPN; 54% Yahoo!) @ Jason Vargas, SEA (0.1% E; 3%Y!) - Both pitchers are streaming options in this game. Lewis finally got things going in 2011 with an eight inning, six hit, one walk, six strikeout effort win against the A's his last time out and looked strong, too. He's 0-3 in five career starts with a 3.82 ERA and 30 strikeouts in 30.2 innings pitched at SAFECO. Vargas hasn't faired well at home this season, going 0-2 in four starts with a 6.86 ERA in 21 innings pitched. VERDICT: Stream Lewis
• Brandon Beachy, ATL (49.7% E; 36% Y!) vs Shaun Marcum, MIL - In 36.1 innings, Beachy is just 1-1 but has recorded a quality start in each of his last three starts. His 36:10 K:BB ratio is the real deal as is his 8.92 K/9 ratio. His 3.47 ERA and 0.99 WHIP make him not only streamable but ownable. This is Milwaukee's second look at him and Marcum (3-1, 2.21 ERA, 1.06 WHIP) is a tough match up but a pitcher putting up number like Beachy deserves to be run out there every fifth day until he proves otherwise. VERDICT: Stream/Own Beachy
• John Lackey, BOS (35.1% E; 45% Y!) vs Joel Pineiro, LAA (10.6% E; 5% Y!) - Both pitchers are streaming options in this game. Lackey has strung together three straight quality starts after a miserable start. It helps his case that the Red Sox offense is producing. Pineiro made his first start of the season a good one against the Rays (7 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K) after missing the first month of the season with shoulder issues. VEDICT: Stream Lackey at home
• Chris Tillman, BAL (0.4% E; 2% Y!) @ Bruce Chen, KC (8.8% E; 12% Y!) - Both pitchers are streaming options in this game. Something about this match up is screaming slugfest to me. VERDICT: Avoid both pitchers at all costs.

There's one match up involving a streamer which I really like:

• Jason Hammel, COL (3.9% E; 5% Y!) @ Ian Kennedy, ARI - Hammel has quietly gone 3-1 with a 3.23 ERA, 1.30 WHIP and 18:8 K:BB ratio in 30.2 innings pitched. Team have a .283 BAA (batting average against) and a perfectly average .301 BABIP, so I think what we are seeing is for real. In six career starts against the Rockies, Kennedy is 0-1 with a 3.66 ERA, 1.44 WHIP and a 26:15 K:BB ration in 32 innings. VERDICT: Stream Hammel and be prepared to own him

Avoid streaming these available pitchers at all costs:

• Jake Westbrook, STL (3% E; 3%Y!) vs Josh Johnson, FLA - Johnson should have been the first pitcher to throw a no-hitter this season. His stuff has been filthy.
• Mike Pelfrey, NYM (0.9% E; 6% Y!) vs Jonathan Sanchez, SF - Pelfrey has been horrible (1-3, 7.39 ERA, 1.96 WHIP, 16:13 K:BB ratio) and until he can string together several quality starts in a row, he should be avoided.
• Rick Porcello, DET (3.3% E; 5% Y!) vs A.J. Burnett, NYY - On any given night, the Yankees offense can go crazy on a pitcher and they seem due. Porcello could easily be the next sacrificial lamb if he's not careful.
• John Lannan, WAS (0.7% E; 1% Y!) vs Roy Halladay, PHI - This is not so much anti-Lannan as it is pro-Halladay. Look elsewhere if you are desperate for a streamable pitcher.
• Homer Bailey, CIN (0.4% E; 8% Y!) vs Brett Myers, HOU - Bailey is making his first start of the season and needs to string some healthy starts together before being worth a look as a streaming option.

Some might argue that it's a little early in the season to already be streaming and that might be true for the Rotisserie crowd but head-to-head leaguers need to be looking at those match ups daily to see if there's an opportunity to win a category or two with some strategic streams.

Be sure to check back each morning to see who earns COSFBA's "Line of the Day" award and nominate your own if you disagree or had a different player of impact on your squad.

Waiver Saviors: April's Fantasy Baseball All-Stars

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My Waiver Saviors articles have always been about finding players available in a high percentage of leagues (I use ESPN and Yahoo! data because those are the two sites I personally prefer to play leagues in) and are having a statistical impact at the time the article is written.

This version of Waiver Saviors will look at a lineup of All-Star performances by players either not drafted or drafted near the end of most drafts this offseason. ESPN only tracks ADP (Average Draft Position) up to 260 picks and it looks like Yahoo! is in the same neighborhood. I believe a standard 5x5 10-team league uses 26 roster spots by default.

Here are your Fantasy Baseball Wavier Saviors All-Stars through the month of April:

• Catcher Russell Martin of the New York Yankees has shown he's fully recovered from his injury and reversed the downward trend his career was taking with the Dodgers. His 5x5 line of .293/13/6/19/2 makes him the #1-ranked catcher in ESPN and Yahoo! leagues. He was virtually undrafted on ESPN (260) and while he did a little better on Yahoo! (213.5). Joe Mauer owners need to step away from the edge.
• First baseman Ike Davis of the New York Mets is showing owners he's worth all of the hype he received last season. His 5x5 line of .337/16/5/20 has him ranked 7th on ESPN and 8th on Yahoo! among such fantasy heavyweights as Albert Pujols and Ryan Howard. All this from an ESPN ADP of 210.2 on ESPN and 229.2 on Yahoo!
• Second baseman Darwin Barney of the Chicago Cubs has secured the majority of the playing time with his 5x5 line of .326/15/1/14/1, after being virtually undrafted in all formats. Jeff Baker is still in the mix for playing time, so keep an eye on things if Barney falters and Baker takes advantage of additional at-bats.
• Third baseman Placido Polanco of the Philadelphia Phillies is healthy again and thriving as a fantasy baseball hitting machine. His 41 hits in just 26 games led to a 5x5 line of .398/18/2/19/3 from a player with an ADP of 203.3 on ESPN and 229.5 on Yahoo!
• Shortstop Jed Lowrie of the Boston Red Sox is proving he deserves to be in the mix for at-bats, having already made an appearance at all four infield positions, by producing a "legendary" 5x5 line of .368/13/3/12/0 in April.
• Outfielder Lance Berkman of the St. Louis Cardinals was considered by most to be on the downside of his career but has proved everyone wrong by opening the season with a 5x5 line of .393/23/8/22/0. Could he return to the player that has averaged 33 home runs and 110 RBI per 162 games played over his 13 year career? Current fantasy owners sure hope so.
• Outfielder Jeff Francoeur of the Kansas City Royals has regained some of his 2005-2007 lightning that made him a fantasy-relevant player breaking in with the Braves. Both he and the Royals were the butt of many offseason-signing jokes but who's laughing at his 5x5 line of .314/16/5/20/3 now?
• Outfielder Alfonso Soriano of the Chicago Cubs is tied for the major league lead in home runs with 10. Let that soak in for a moment as you look at the entire 5x5 line of .258/15/10/20/0 he was able to put up in April. His average and the fact that he's not stealing bases are both negatives but, for a player with an ADP of 207.8 on ESPN and 206.6 on Yahoo!, the risk versus reward factor is proving to be low at this point. Plus if he totally tanks it from this point on, very few owners will feel bad about dropping him to waivers.

This All-Star team deserves a place for two additional stars:

• Outfielder Alex Gordon of the Kansas City Royals has gone from highly touted rookie to fantasy baseball bust to roto-relevant in just five seasons in the big leagues. His early 5x5 line of .339/20/2/19/2 has ranked inside the top-20 on ESPN (17th) and Yahoo! (19th), thanks to a recent 19-game hitting streak.
• Outfielder Sam Fuld of the Tampa Bay Rays became a "legend" too when called upon to fill in for the retirement-bound Manny Ramirez. A recent 0-17 streak brought his 5x5 line down to .289/17/1/8/10, but quick reacting fantasy owners grabbing him off waivers aren't complaining...yet. It will be interesting to see what his numbers look like after the month of May is over.

No All-Star team would be complete without some pitchers, so here are a few that have dominated out of virtually nowhere:

• Starting pitcher Kyle Lohse of the St. Louis Cardinals went from undrafted to a must-own with a 4-1, 1.64 ERA, 0.73 WHIP start to the season.
• Starting pitcher James Shields of the Tampa Bay Rays has provided owners that drafted him in ESPN (203.9) and Yahoo! (225.2) leagues plenty to smile about by going 2-1 with a 2.14 ERA, a 0.95 WHIP and 39 strikeouts in 46.1 innings pitched.
• Rookie starting pitcher Michael Pineda of the Seattle Mariners has started of his career with five straight quality starts and a 4-1 record, 2.01 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 30 strikeouts in just 31.1 innings. His ADP of 225.1 on ESPN and 237.4 on Yahoo! prove there were some very savvy owners grabbing him in the last few rounds of drafts.
• Starting pitcher Justin Masterson of the Cleveland Indians went 5-0 in April with five quality starts, a 2.18 ERA and 1.12 WHIP and seems ready to live up to the hype Red Sox fans witnessed back in 2008.
• Relief pitcher Brandon League of the Seattle Mariners has stepped in brilliantly for the injured David Aardsma as closer, going 7-for-7 in saves with a 2.45 ERA and 0.91 WHIP. Could a closer controversy be brewing? It will be interesting to watch what develops as Aardsma is due back soon.
•  Relief Pitcher Kyle Farnsworth of the Tampa Bay Rays has been given the first chance to be the team's closer and has done a good job, saving his first five chances before blowing a save on the last day of April. With young arms Joel Peralta and Jake McGee and an injured J.P. Howell due back soon, you wonder how much longer Farnsworth will get the call to close games.

So there are your April 2010 Waiver Saviors All-Stars. What players were you able to grab off waivers in your leagues who've made the most difference to your success in April? Are you daily or weekly change leagues? Which do you prefer?

Did You Know?: April 29th, 2011

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If you weren't already aware, know this. I am a box score guy. I love the simplicity of the story it tells with numbers. I'm also excited about all of the new baseball statistics that seem to pop up yearly and even though I'm a little late to the game in understanding their utmost importance in using them when evaluating fantasy baseball players, it doesn't mean that I'm not paying attention. I hope to incorporate more of them into my analysis as I see fit. Stay tuned.

Now on to some statistics which you may not be aware of nearly a full month into the season in the latest installment of Did You Know?:

• Adam Dunn has just two home runs and 10 RBI in 19 games this season, while Ben Zobrist accomplished those numbers in yesterday's doubleheader.
• Names I did not expect to see in the top 10 in Total Bases this early in the season: Lance Berkman (1st), Jeff Francoeur (tied 6th) and Ike Davis (tied 9th).
• Aren't stolen base guys supposed to be stealing bases? Juan Pierre has five steals and has been caught six times. Brett Gardner has four steals and has been caught three times. Chone Figgins has three steals and three caught stealings.
• Josh Johnson has allowed just 13 hits in 34 innings pitched. Batters are "hitting" .116 off of him this season.
• Austin Jackson is hitting just .167 (16/96) and has nearly twice the number of K's (31) as hits (16).
• Vladimir Guerrero is hitting .284 with a .303 BABIP with zero walks in 95 at-bats. He must like his own chances when swinging the bat. Hopefully you don't own him in an OBP league.
• Ryan Dempster has allowed 33 earned runs in 31 innings pitched. His ERA of 9.58 is higher than his K/9 ratio of 8.42.
• At age 37, Johnny Damon is on pace for 130 RBI in just 136 games played (20 RBI in 21 of Rays first 35 games). Don't forget about 26 HR/26 SB pace, too.
• Jorge Posada and Russell Martin have each hit six home runs in exactly 69 at-bats this season. Martin is batting .290 compared to Posada's .130 average.
• Huston Street leads the majors with nine saves and is on pace for 63 total.
• Matt Garza has 41 K's in just 30.2 innings pitched for a staggering 12.03 K/9 ratio yet he's 0-3 with a 4.11 ERA and an ugly WHIP of 1.47.

Are there some surprising statistics floating around out there already that have you scrambling to acquire or drop a player? If so, share them with the group, please. We all have a right to know.

Playing the Name Game

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We've all seen the fantasy baseball articles where the writer will compare one nameless player's statistics to another nameless player's statistics and then hit you with a ton of reasons why you should be looking past simple name recognition if you want to be winning your fantasy baseball league. And do you know why you see articles of this type all over the fantasy baseball blogosphere? Because they're very helpful when evaluating your roster and the "who's who" out there on waivers.

I'll run through a few of my own comparisons (using standard 5x5 categories) for your fantasy baseball viewing pleasure and hopefully give you something to mull over as you assess your roster(s).

• Player A: .321 BA (17/53), 15 R, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 1 SB
• Player B: .255 BA (24/94), 15 R, 2 HR, 10 RBI, 1 SB

Simple comparisons show that Player A has only gotten roughly half the at-bats that Player B has received so far but has been able to score the same amount of runs, hit the same number of home runs and steal the same amount of bases, all with a higher batting average and just four less RBI. A deeper look into another statistic shows Player A has an .956 OPS while Player B's is .691. Any guesses yet? Well, Player A is Casey Blake and Player B is Martin Prado. Blake is owned in 12.4% of ESPN leagues and Prado is 100% owned, as he should be.

My fantasy perspective: Blake has settled in as the Dodgers' number two hitting and should get plenty of opportunities to continue scoring runs with the likes of Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier tearing it up behind him, as long as he keeps getting on base. His value comes in deeper mixed leagues that utilize an extra CI and/or IF roster spot or in the much shallower NL-only format. Prado owners shouldn't be concerned.

• Player A: .282 BA (22/78), 11 R, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 2 SB
• Player B: .311 BA (28/90), 10 R, 0 HR, 8 RBI, 3 SB

Not a ton of difference here other than the fact that Player B hasn't shown the ability to hit a home run yet. A deeper look into their player profiles shows that Player A has walked 15 times compared to Player B's six times. Both players qualify at 2B, while Player B also qualifies at SS. Player B leads all 2B-eligible players with 28 hits this season. Any guesses? Player A is 100% owned Dustin Pedroia while Player B is 54.6% owned Ryan Theriot.

My fantasy perspective: Theriot is another of those players manager Tony LaRussa loves to pencil in at the top of his lineup card night after night. His value comes in the runs and stolen base categories while not hurting you in batting average (career .285 average). He won't help you much in home runs or RBI. His 2B/SS eligibility could help you in those deeper mixed leagues with an MI position or the shallow NL-only leagues. Pedroia owners should start to see even more benefits to their investment now that the Red Sox offense seems to be firing on all cylinders.

• Player A: 0-2, 26 K, 3.90 ERA, 1.10 WHIP
• Player B: 3-2, 29 K, 2.64 ERA, 1.17 WHIP

To start off, each of these pitchers have started five games this season and recorded four quality starts. Player A has allowed two runs or less in four starts and had his bullpen blow three chances for a win. Player B has allowed just one earned run and nine hits in his last three starts (20.2 innings pitched). Any guesses who these pitchers are yet? Player A is 100% owned Chris Carpenter while Player B is 39.1% owned Randy Wolf.

My fantasy perspective: Carpenter has been a tough luck recipient of a bullpen in flux but should benefit now that Mitchell Boggs has been named the closer and acting like one (3-for-3 in save opportunities). Wins aren't an easy stat to predict but he'll give you the the ERA, WHIP and K's we've come to expect from him. Wolf is in a groove and should be streamed, if not owned, for his next start against the Astros.

• Player A: .283 BA (28/99), 13 R, 1 HR, 12 RBI, 1 SB
• Player B: .216 BA (16/74), 10 R, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 5 SB

This is the classic case of owners drafting a player based on potential and hanging on to him longer than warranted. Player A was virtually undrafted while Player B cost owners an ADP of 67.7. So what's an owner to do when saddled with Player B, one that's cost them such a high pick? Sell low? Cut and run? There aren't many options for owners (such as myself) who thought this could be a bounce-back season for B.J. Upton other than to either keep running him out there and taking the good (5 SB) with the bad (.216 BA) or keeping him on the bench to limit the damage and hope he turns it around soon. Oh, Player A is Melky Cabrera and he's only 19.5% owned. Nothing sexy about throwing his name around fantasy baseball circles but he's currently playing with a renewed fire and has value in leagues using lots of outfield roster spots.

Doing exercises such as these regularly will help you not fall in love with a player's name recognition or your personal investment you have in him. And it is even easy to do if you're in a one-and-done league rather than a keeper or dynasty format. Just make wise decisions when it comes to the waiver wire because in no world am I suggesting you ever drop Upton to pick up Melky. But dropping Julio Borbon (.214/3/0/4/2) for Cabrera wouldn't be a difficult move to make at this point. Just be ready to do the opposite should Borbon turn things around.

What types of fantasy baseball articles are you finding most valuable to your teams on the web these days? Player projections? Injury updates? Waiver wire gems? Hot players being added or why others are being dropped? Let me know so I can continue to tailor the content COSFBA has to offer the competitive fantasy baseball player in this, just year two, of a site that continues to find its place in the blogosphere.

Line of the Day: April 21st, 2011

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SP Kyle Lohse of the St. Louis Cardinals pitched a (career-best) two-hit complete game shutout in a 5-0 win over the Washington Nationals. He walked two and struck out six and improved his record to 3-1 on the season with a 2.01 ERA and a 0.73 WHIP.

Line: 9 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 6 K; QS, W

Fantasy perspective: Lohse is pitching himself back into a fantasy-relevant starter. He's pitched at least seven innings in all four starts this season and has recorded a Quality Start in three. He's only owned in 51.4% of ESPN leagues and 37% of Yahoo! leagues. His next scheduled start is at Houston, so now is the time to pick him up. Remember, this is a pitcher that is just two injury-plagued seasons removed from being a 15-game winner who looks healthy now.

Agree? Disagree? Check out ESPN's formula for determining the best daily performances and nominate your own Line of the Day player using the comments section or hitting me up on Twitter.

Line of the Day: April 15th, 2011

STL

1B Albert Pujols of the St. Louis Cardinals went 2-for-5 with two home runs, three RBI and two runs in an 11-2 blowout of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Albert may not have had the best line of the day but there was an awful lot of concern for his slow start to the season. He's hitting .300 over the last seven days with all four of his home runs with 10 RBI and 10 Runs. I think he'll be just fine.

Line: 5 AB, 2 R, 2 H, 3 RBI; 2 HR

Fantasy perspective: Pujols continues to prove why he is currently, and shall be for years to come, the overall number one pick in fantasy baseball year after year.

Agree? Disagree? Check out ESPN's formula for determining the best daily performances and nominate your own Line of the Day player using the comments section or hitting me up on Twitter.

A Steady Stream: Probables For 04/05/2011

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A Steady Stream will be a semi-regular column that looks at probable pitchers starting games tomorrow and owned in approximately less than 50% of all ESPN and/or Yahoo! leagues that could be "stream-worthy" if they are available in your league.

Here are my Stream-Worthy Starting Pitchers for games to be played on Tuesday, 04/05/2011 and the level of RISK associated with streaming:

• Anibal Sanchez, FLA (65.6% ESPN; 46% Yahoo! owned) @ home vs WAS (Jason Marquis) - In the first three games of the season, the Washington Nationals, as a team, are batting .209 with 1 HR and 8 Runs Scored. RISK: LOW
• Derek Lowe, ATL (58.1% E; 59% Y!)  @ MIL (Yovani Gallardo) - Reports have Lowe using his slider more and increasing his K/9 from a career rate of 5.9 to a rate of 8.6 over his last five starts of 2010. He opened 2011 with 6 K's in 5.2 IP (9.5 K/9) and faces a Brewers team that strikes out a lot but also hit home runs (7 in 4 games). RISK: MODERATE
• Gavin Floyd, CHW (24.4% E; 50% Y!) @ KC (Luke Hochevar) - The White Sox are scoring runs in bunches (8 runs per game) and Floyd should be the beneficiary of this lineup facing Hochevar. RISK: LOW
• Mike Leake, CIN (1.1% E; 4% Y!) @ home vs HOU (J.A. Happ) - As a team, the Reds are batting .350 in their first three games. Leake should be able to control an Astros offense (and I use that term lightly) that has a 28/3 K/BB ratio. RISK: LOW
• Jo-Jo Reyes, TOR (0.1% E; 1% Y!) @ home vs OAK (Dallas Braden) - Toronto is back to hitting home runs and scoring runs while Oakland is pitching well but struggling offensively. Is Reyes worth owning? This start will speak volumes about his fantasy value. RISK: MODERATE

Other possible streamers I'm simply avoiding:

• Michael Pineda, SEA (16.9% E; 31% Y!) @ Alexi Ogando, TEX (3.8% E; 8% Y!) - This could turn into a slugfest with two rookie pitchers going. I've got my eye on these two pitchers for future streaming opportunities. RISK: HIGH x 2
• James McDonald, PIT (4.2% E; 11% Y!) @ Kyle McClellan, STL (5.7% E; 30% Y!) - Again, too soon in the season to commit to either of these guys but worth monitoring. RISK: MODERATE x 2
• Chris Young, NYM (1.2% E; 17% Y!) @ PHI (Cole Hamels) - The Phillies, even without Chase Utley, can be a scary offensive team, especially at home. RISK: HIGH

Is it too early to already be looking at streaming a pitcher or two? Was that part of your draft strategy (LIMA Plan)? What are your personal feelings on streaming pitchers and the practice that may take place in your league? Are there policies in place to deter such behavior (IP limits, transaction limits, etc)? Share your thoughts in the comments section.

2011 Draft Results: First Basemen Targeted

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If you are new to the world of fantasy baseball, you should be very aware that first base is traditionally a position of great depth filled with some of the most impactful players. Heading into the 2011 season, this still holds true. MockDraftCentral.com is showing 10 of the top 50 players being drafted currently qualify as first basemen. If your league uses a corner infielder (CI or 1B/3B), extra infielder (IF), designated hitter (DH) or even a utility slot (UTIL) or two, there's a great opportunity to add one or more of these highly coveted players.

I went into all of my drafts having some players within the different tiers of first basemen as targets but draft position was really going to determine who I grabbed in the early rounds and how that would shape my entire roster. I wound up drafting 1st, 6th, 8th and 7th in my four snake drafts which meant three of my four drafts would have a lot of familiar faces...so I thought.

But before getting to the snake draft results, I wanted to talk about my online auction draft, which had me aggressively biding for the players I deemed "must have" and produced some interesting results:

• Adam Dunn, CHW ($30)
• Paul Konerko, CHW ($20)
• Mitch Moreland, TEX ($4)
• Dan Johnson, TB ($1)

I was in on all of the big name first basemen (Pujols, Miggy, AGon, etc) early but wound up bailing when I realized the prices were going to go a lot higher than I was willing to go. That strategy allowed me to focus in on and win such big names as Tulo ($39) and CarGo ($34) and drop down into the next tier of players and outbid everyone for a nice Dunn/Konerko duo to fill my 1B and CI roster slots. Moreland was a definite "sleeper" target while  Johnson was simply a late-round flier to add some possible depth to my bench, IF he wins the starting job in Tampa Bay. There were 390 players drafted in this league, so I fell pretty confident in what I was able to acquire and look forward to putting this plan into action.


Snake drafts definitely allow you to focus in on player tiers a little easier than an auction because most people are choosing from the best available ranked players (minus the ones you know will be autopicked). And here are the results of my four snake drafts for players that currently qualify at first base (draft pick in parenthesis):

• Albert Pujols (1)
• Kevin Youkilis (23), Adam Dunn (34) and Brandon Belt (314)
• Adam Dunn (36), Ike Davis (204) and Brandon Belt (316)
• Adam Dunn (35), Gaby Sanchez (175) and Brandon Belt (330)

Okay, so I may have a man-crush on Adam Dunn. What's not to love about a guy that can crush 40 bombs in his sleep? The possibility of a devastatingly low batting average will always be there but I try to balance that out on my roster with a player that might offset the two categories where Dunn won't help you much these days (batting average and stolen bases). I believe so heavily in this strategy that one of the first fantasy baseball articles I ever had the opportunity to write was titled "Surviving Adam Dunn" in August of 2008.

The league where the only first baseman I drafted was the best one, Pujols, was a lot shallower than the other three and I was able to grab the versatile Michael Young (97) for my CI slot and heavily invest in quality outfielders in the early rounds; Matt Kemp (24), Ichiro Suzuki (48), Jayson Werth (49) and Hunter Pence (73).

Heavily investing three very late-round picks in Brandon Belt ("sleeper"?) seemed worth the upside risk of him becoming this season's Buster Posey. There's still a chance he will break camp with the Giants and receive a ton of playing time but, if not, June could be more realistic for his arrival. Either way, I was willing to take a shot to see how the first few weeks of the season play out and whether or not Belt will bring me any value on this relatively inexpensive investment.

Ike Davis and Gaby Sanchez are similar offensive players (.270/20/80) and the best available to fill a roster need in the middle rounds. Period. I may not be overly excited to own either but I think, at the end of the year, their steady production will prove to be valuable to the overall success of my teams.

Similarly to my catcher targets, my teams have a lot of commonalities on purpose. One, it makes it easier to manage multiple teams when it comes to injuries or slumps and two, these are the players I am most interested in following. The goal of all of my teams is to win (especially the one money league I decided to join) but I also enjoy having fun as a fan of the game of baseball.

What strategies did you use when it came to drafting players that qualified at first base? What unique settings does your league have in place that made some players more favorable than others? Do you change strategies based on a classic rotisserie league versus a head-to-head scoring league? Please feel free to comment on my players or share your personal experiences when looking back on your draft(s) outcomes.

Finding Keepers: St. Louis Cardinals

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The St. Louis Cardinals were one of only two teams to finish the 2010 season with three players in the Top 20, according to
ESPN's Player Rater system. Unfortunately, for the Cards, only two of those players will be fantasy relevant for the 2011 season.

1B Albert Pujols has undoubtedly been the greatest player in baseball over the past decade, fantasy or not. In the first 10 seasons of his career, he's averaging 156 games played with a .331 batting average, 41 HR, 123 RBI, 119 Runs and even 8 SB a year. AVERAGING! If you have the first pick in your draft, you take Albert and smile. If you have the second pick in your draft, you hope someone gets cute with their pick and Albert falls in your lap. If you have the third pick in your league, sorry but Albert is gone. Better luck next year (or next draft).

OF Matt Holliday finished 2010 as the 7th-ranked outfielder and begins 2011 ranked as the 4th best. To me that says he's projecting better numbers this season than he had last year or staying steady and others are projecting worse numbers. His slash line looked like this: .312/95/28/103/9. Keep him around for years to come, as he's showing no signs of slowing down any time soon.

I want to take a moment to discuss the danger of drafting (or even locking in keepers) in February. I'm just as excited as the next guy to want to draft and get the fantasy baseball season rolling as soon as all the major services announce they are open for business but it makes no sense to do it so early. (All five of the leagues I'm participating in this year have drafted in the last two weeks or are still yet to draft.) And this is not just about possible injuries. There are jobs to be won and lost, too. SP Adam Wainwright suffered an injury that will require Tommy John surgery and keep him out the entire 2011 season and possibly beyond. This all happened by February 24th. Fantasy leagues, as a whole, benefit from not having a team use a precious top pick or keeper selection on an injured player. Show restraint and draft as late as possible.

SP Chris Carpenter is on the keeper bubble since he, too, is dealing with an injury that could linger. I've already witnessed experienced fantasy players skip over him in live drafts. So either they were assessing the risk as too high or the uncertainty caused them to focus their efforts elsewhere. More than likely this injury won't linger all year and some owners got a fantasy ace at a bargain price.


23-year-old OF Colby Rasmus should be a keeper. The problem with that statement is that I don't agree that he is a keeper, yet. He's shown 20+ HR potential and the ability to get his batting average up near .280 but he's yet to gain the confidence of his manager and at times it feels like the franchise has yet to support him and his abilities. Is it a question of maturity (or lack thereof)? A trade this offseason would have had me feeling a lot better about his 2011 season. MockDraftCentral.com has him being drafted around the same time (93.35) as D'Backs OF Chris Young. I've targeted Young in all four drafts I've completed so far. Not once did I consider Rasmus as an alternative option.

Best of the rest but not keepers:

• 1B/OF Lance Berkman was brought in to provide some offensive punch to the lineup and defensively man RF. He could put up some nice numbers if he's able to stay healthy. If.
• SP Jaime Garcia was a great find for savvy owners last year that paid attention during the Spring and early April. Expect some regression from 13-8 with a 2.70 ERA but don't over invest.
• CL Ryan Franklin projects to save around 30 games. RP Jason Motte could chip away at some saves, too. Neither are elite.
• 3B David Freese could be a nice, cheap option at a shallow position with his .300/15/80 potential.
• C Yadier Molina is an option at catcher that won't kill you (.280/7/50)  to own but probably won't excite you either.

The St. Louis Cardinals' roster has two elite fantasy baseball players that are definite keepers (Pujols and Holliday) for 2011 and beyond. I'd love to see a healthy Carpenter make another run at 20 wins and Rasmus to put up monster numbers but the reality of either happening seems remotely possible, at best.

I'm down to just one team left to cover (the Toronto Blue Jays) in my "Finding Keepers" series of articles. I hope you'll take the time to check out your favorite team. Hopefully you'll notice that the structure and depth of the team coverages got better the more I wrote them. I'd love to hear some feedback in the comments section.

Thankful

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This is the time of year where everyone takes a moment to voice all that they are currently thankful for, reflect on the past year and look towards what the future has in store. COSFBA is no different. The following are the Top 10 things COSFBA is very thankful for this holiday season:

10. Players with multi-position eligibility. These are the types of players that make every fantasy baseball roster better. Martin Prado (1B/2B/3B), Jose Bautista (3B/OF), Omar Infante (2B/3B/SS/OF), Ben Zobrist (1B/2B/OF) are just a few valuable players whose positional flexibility kept them in the lineup.
9. Bryce Harper. What's not to love about the future of the Washington Nationals? From the ridiculous amounts of eye black to tearing up the Arizona Fall League, this guy will keep fantasy baseball writers busy for years to come.
8. Perfect games and no hitters. Ubaldo Jimenez. Dallas Braden. Roy Halladay (x2). Edwin Jackson. Matt Garza. Sign me up for more of the same in 2011.
7. The Hot Stove season. Rumors. Signings. Trades. This time of year is why I gave up on fantasy football several years ago. Who needs football when baseball is now truly a 12-month sport. Twitter has been a phenomenal source of great information if you know who to follow.
6. Statistics. I'm a huge fan of advanced baseball statistics but will admit I'm a little late to the game. You won't see me quoting a whole lot about BABIP, FIP, WAR, VORP or wOBA but I'll be sure to make reference to resources I find valuable in my hunt to become more SABR-literate.
5. Awards. Starting with the Derek Jeter Gold Glove fiasco and ending with Josh Hamilton's AL MVP, the 2010 awards gave bloggers plenty to talk about and COSFBA got in on the action, too.
4. Albert Pujols. I'm sorry, but Pujols is fantasy baseball royalty and until he proves to be less than superhuman, he's the number one pick in all fantasy baseball formats.
3. Impact Rookies. Here's hoping 2011 brings another crop of rookies as good as Buster Posey, Jason Heyward, Neftali Feliz, Austin Jackson, Jaime Garcia, Danny Valencia, Gaby Sanchez, Neil Walker and more.
2. Closers on the cheap can change the fantasy baseball landscape of any league. Guys like John Axford, Kevin Gregg and Chris Perez will be the poster boys for next season's "never pay for saves" reasoning.

And the number one reason COSFBA is thankful this holiday season is...
1. Pitchers and catchers report to camps on February 13, 2011. Valentine's Day will come a day early this year and I will be sure to mark the 13th with a heart because "I Love You, baseball season". Just don't break my heart.

What are some of the baseball-related things you were thankful for in 2010 and hopeful for in 2011?

2010 Fantasy Baseball Awards: 10/09/2010

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The 2010 regular season is now behind us and it's time to hand out some hardware. The Baseball Bloggers Alliance has new names for the awards we all know and love and I'll be handing them out from a fantasy perspective. And the winners are...

The Connie Mack Award for AL Manager of the Year: Joe Maddon, TB

Joe Maddon manages the Rays like a true fantasy baseball god. Position flexibility is the best friend of every good fantasy baseball manager and Maddon gets the most out of his roster. Ben Zobrist played 15 games at 1B, 56 at 2B, 2 at 3B, 1 in LF, 14 in CF and 104 in RF. He used Sean Rodriguez at 1B for 3 games, 94 at 2B, 7 at 3B, 5 at SS, 5 in LF, 9 in CF and 8 in RF. He batted his catcher, John Jaso, in the leadoff spot for 169 at bats (+ 30 walks) to the tune of a .380 on-base percentage. Toss in guys like Reid Brignac (2B/SS/RF) and Willy Aybar (1B/2B/3B) and you can see why Maddon is taking home this award.
2nd Place: Ron Washington, TEX
3rd Place: Ron Gardenhire, MIN

The Connie Mack Award for NL Manager of the Year: Bobby Cox, ATL

Bobby Cox managed his Braves to the NL Wild Card and probably helped many fantasy managers win their leagues with the likes of fantasy no-names such as 1B/2B/3B Martin Prado and 2B/3B/SS/LF/RF Omar Infante. Cox is single-handedly responsible for convincing Billy Wagner to come to Atlanta to be his closer and Wagner responded big time (7-2, 37 SV, 1.43 ERA, 0.87 WHIP). Add potential NL Rookie of the Year Jason Heyward and NL Comeback Player of the Year Tim Hudson into the mix and you can see why Bobby Cox is taking home this award.
2nd Place: Bruce Bochy, SF
3rd Place: Bud Black, SD

The Willie Mays Award for AL Rookie of the Year: RP Neftali Feliz, TEX

I hate the mantra, "Don't pay for saves", because sometimes saves are worth paying top dollar for (Mariano Rivera, for one). For those owners that were able to get Neftali Feliz at the end of their drafts (ADP 222.5), they struck fantasy gold. Frank Francisco opened the season as the Texas Rangers' closer and promptly blew two saves (April 8th and 10th). Feliz recorded his first save on April 12th and never looked back, converting 40 of 43 save opportunities the season.
2nd Place: Austin Jackson, DET
3rd Place: Brennan Boesch, DET

The Willie Mays Award for NL Rookie of the Year: C Buster Posey, SF

Most people would agree that this award was a two-horse race, Jason Heyward and Buster Posey. Looking at it from a fantasy perspective, their numbers were relatively similar. The differences are that Posey put his numbers (.305/18/67) in 108 games while Heyward put up his numbers (.277/18/72) in 142 games. Also, Hayward's ADP was 114.1 while Posey was virtually undrafted. Lastly, Posey put up premium numbers for a catcher and finished 3rd overall for his position while Heyward finished as the 40th ranked outfielder.
2nd Place: Jason Heyward, ATL
3rd Place: Jaime Garcia, STL


The Goose Gossage Award for AL Top Reliever: RP Rafael Soriano, TB

Rafael Soriano was acquired in a trade with the Atlanta Braves and immediately slotted to be the team's closer. Soriano responded by leading the AL in saves with 45 and proved to be an incredible fantasy value with an ADP of 161.8.
2nd Place: Joakim Soria, KC
3rd Place: Neftali Feliz, TEX

The Goose Gossage Award for NL Top Reliever: RP Carlos Marmol, CHC

The 2010 Chicago Cubs didn't have much go right for them but moving Carlos Marmol into the closer role was definitely the right move. Marmol saved 38 of 43 games while striking out an astounding 138 in just 77.2 innings pitched. That translated into an eye-popping 15.99 K/9 ratio. To put that into perspective, his 138 K's were more than big name starting pitchers such as Clay Buchholz (17-7, 120 K, 173.2 IP), Carlos Zambrano (11-6, 117 K, 129.2 IP) and Carl Pavano (17-11, 117, 221 IP).
2nd Place: Brian Wilson, SF
3rd Place: Heath Bell, SD

The Walter Johnson Award for AL Cy Young: SP Felix Hernandez, SEA

I've run a points-based fantasy baseball league for the last several years and the points for pitching categories has accurately predicted the Cy Young's (yes, even Zack Greinke). And this year's numbers spit out Felix Hernandez as the number one AL pitcher, hence the award. Where do other's fall on the list? CC Sabathia is 9th overall and 5th in the AL. David Price is 10th overall and 6th in the AL. Why isn't anyone talking about Jered Weaver (5th overall and 2nd in the AL) and Jon Lester (6th overall and 3rd in the AL) in the AL Cy Young race? Yes wins matter to a pitcher but there is more to winning this award than just wins.
2nd Place: Jered Weaver, LAA
3rd Place: Jon Lester, BOS

The Walter Johnson Award for NL Cy Young: SP Roy Halladay, PHI

This award allows for little controversy, in my humble opinion. Yes, the NL has some very worthy pitchers (Adam Wainwright, Ubaldo Jimenez, Tim Lincecum) but this award starts and ends with Roy Halladay. He lead the major leagues in innings pitched, was 5th in strikeouts, tied for 4th in quality starts, lead in complete games and shutouts...and oh, by the way, pitched a regular season perfect game (and a playoff no hitter). "Pay that man his money."
2nd Place: Adam Wainwright, STL
3rd Place: Ubaldo Jimenez, COL

The Stan Musial Award for AL MVP: 3B/OF Jose Bautista, TOR

You don't hit 54 home runs in a season and NOT win an MVP award, especially when you were virtually undrafted, such as Jose Bautista was. Statistically speaking, he produced the second-most fantasy points behind a guy you may have heard of...Albert Pujols. Most "valuable" makes more sense to a fantasy baseball award than the real-life version. "Valuable" in the real world limits the award to players on contending teams because people will argue what good are 54 home runs to a .500 ball club.
2nd Place: Miguel Cabrera, DET
3rd Place: Robinson Cano, NYY

The Stan Musial Awards for NL MVP: 1B Albert Pujols, STL

Albert Pujols had a better season, statistically, than a guy that hit 54 home runs. Enough said. He continues to put up numbers, year after year, that validate him being drafted first in all fantasy baseball formats. His 162 game career averages are mind-boggling: 123 R, 198 H, 44 2B, 42 HR, 128 RBI, 95 BB, 67 K, 8 SB, .331 BA, .426 OBP, .624 SLG. A lot of people will take a chance on a player other than Pujols with the number one pick in 2011 (CarGo, Votto, Hamilton), but not me. I'm sticking with Albert.
2nd Place: Joey Votto, CIN
3rd Place: Carlos Gonzalez, COL

So there you have them. COSFBA's official ballot for the 2010 Baseball Bloggers Alliance Awards. I'd love some feedback regarding my selections. Just remember, these were selected from a fantasy baseball perspective. Thanks for an incredible season of baseball.

Line of the Day: 09/23/2010

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1B Albert Pujols, STL was 3-for-4 with two home runs, three RBI and three runs in a 9-2 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Pujols reached the 40-homer mark for the sixth time in his 10-year career. It's very easy to justify a player's ADP of 1.1 who is fifth in NL batting average (.309), second in ML home runs (41) and second in NL RBI (112). He's also only one of three players with 30+ home runs and 10+ stolen bases. At only 30 years old, Pujols shows no signs of slowing down any time soon and will continue to be an elite fantasy baseball stud.

Agree? Disagree? Nominate your own Line of the Day player using the comments section or hitting me up on Twitter.

Like what you see here on COSFBA? Think a friend or family member might enjoy it too? Please use one of the "share" options below to help spread the word about COSFBA. Much appreciated.

Line of the Day: 09/09/2010

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OF Colby Rasmus, STL was 4-for-4 with two home runs, four RBI, three runs and a walk in an 11-4 win over the Atlanta Braves. Rasmus has been under fire lately for allegedly requesting a trade from the Cardinals but has responded with his play on the field by going 10/21 (.476, 18 TB) with 2 HR, 5 RBI, 5 R and 3 BB over his last six games. The Cardinals are definitely a better team with Rasmus in their lineup but it will be interesting to see how this plays out in the off-season and where he winds up playing in 2011.

Agree? Disagree? Nominate your own Line of the Day player using the comments section or hitting me up on Twitter.

Like what you see here on COSFBA? Think a friend or family member might enjoy it too? Please use one of the "share" options below to help spread the word about COSFBA. Much appreciated.

Line of the Day: 08/26/2010

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1B Albert Pujols, STL was 2-for-4 with a double and his 400th career home run while driving in one, scoring three runs and walking three times. Pujols became the 47th major league player to reach the 400 HR milestone. At 30 years, 222 days, he became the third-youngest player to reach the 400 mark. Alex Rodriguez hit #400 at 29 years, 316 days, and Ken Griffey Jr. reached the #400 at 30 years, 141 days. Congrats to the ball player I can't wait to tell my kids about!

Agree? Disagree? Nominate your own Line of the Day player using the comments section or hitting me up on Twitter.

Like what you see here on COSFBA? Think a friend or family member might enjoy it too? Please use one of the "share" options below to help spread the word about COSFBA. Much appreciated.

Line of the Day: 08/06/2010

STL

SP Adam Wainwright, STL was dominant in throwing a complete game two-hit shutout, walking three and striking out seven. The two hits were a swinging bunt and a blooper. He's now 16-6 on the season with a 2.07 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP and has struck out 154 in 169.1 innings pitched. Wainwright is on pace for a 24-9 record and 229 K's and will definitely be in the mix for the NL Cy Young Award.

Agree? Disagree? Nominate your own Line of the Day player using the comments section or hitting me up on Twitter.

Ups and Downs: 05/29/2010

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This edition of Ups and Downs will look at the top five players being added and dropped the most (according to ESPN leagues) and the possible reasons why.

• 3B Scott Rolen, CIN (+30.7%) has 5 HR and 16 RBI over the last 15 days. 
• C Mike Napoli, LAA (+27.1%) is back to being the Angels primary catcher and is hitting .349 with 5 HR and 11 RBI over the last 15 days.
• OF Jose Guillen, KC (+26.2%) has seen his ownership numbers fluctuate recently. He went on a 3 HR, 6 RBI two-game binge that probably caused a spike in ownership.
• SP Mike Leake, CIN (+25.8%) continues to produce quality starts, strikeouts and wins (without a loss) and should be owned in all competitive leagues.
• SP Mike Pelfrey, NYM (+23.7%) is 7-1 with a 2.54 ERA and 1.30 WHIP and riding a three-game win streak.
• SP Brad Penny, STL (-36.8%) hit the DL and then promptly waivers. His run of four straight losses prior to the injury probably added to the mass drops. Expect him to be a nice add once he's back and proves healthy.
• OF Andruw Jones, CHW (-23.3%) is no longer hitting home runs (0 in his last 13 games) and has seen his average drop down to .230.
• C Ivan Rodriguez, WAS (-22.8%) went on the DL with a bad back, which is never a good sign for a 38-year old catcher, regardless of how well he was hitting (.325). Keep an eye on him when he returns if you are in need of a catcher.
• RP Alfredo Simon, BAL (-22.5%) had a chance at the Orioles closer role prior to his injury. Their bullpen is a free-for-all and Simon probably lost his chance at remaining the closer.
• SP Wade LeBlanc, SD (-20.9%) has been knocked around of late (0-3, 13 ER, 15.2 IP) and currently not worth rostering. He could be a nice streamer with the right match up.

Be sure to check out COSFBA on Facebook and Twitter, too.
*Statistics accurate through games played on 05/28/2010.

Box Score Beasts: 05/17/2010

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Box Score Beasts will look at the top performers from tonight's games without much commentary. This page should give you a quick look at the players that had the most impact in their respective games.

• C Victor Martinez, BOS hit two solo home runs in five at-bats.
• 1B/3B Kevin Youkilis, BOS hit a two-run home run in the 8th inning to give the Red Sox the lead over the Yankees.
• 3B Alex Rodriguez, NYY hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the 9th of Jonathan Papelbon to tie the game at 9 and end Papelbon's save streak at 22 games.
• OF Marcus Thames, NYY hit a two-run, walk-off home run off Papelbon to give the Yankees the win.
• OF Corey Patterson, BAL stole two bases. Might be a source of some quick, cheap steals.
• 1B Ryan Howard, PHI was 3/5, 2 R, 6 RBI courtesy of a grand slam.
• OF Jayson Werth, PHI had a home run and four RBI.
• SP Kyle Kendrick, PHI pitched eight innings, allowing just five hits, two earned runs, one walk and struck out four to earn his second victory of the season.
• C Joe Mauer, MIN was 3/5 to raise his batting average to .360. His power numbers may not be there but this guy is a batting champ.
• 1B Justin Morneau, MIN was 3/4 with three runs, four RBI and two home runs. His batting average is now .374.
• OF Vernon Wells, TOR had three hits and is hitting .310 on the season. He continues to get it done.
• 3B/OF Jose Bautista, TOR hit his 11th homer of the season.
• OF Corey Hart, MIL hit two solo home runs.
• SP Johnny Cueto, CIN pitched seven innings, allowing seven hits, one earned run, one walk and seven strikeouts to earn his third win.
• SP Edwin Jackson, ARI pitched eight shut out innings, allowing just four hits, two walks while striking out 12 to earn his second win.
• SS Starlin Castro, CHC went 3/5 with his first stolen base while raising his batting average to .361.
• 3B Aramis Ramirez, CHC hit a walk-off two-run home run to beat Colorado.
• SS Ian Desmond, WAS was 4/4 with a run scored.
• 1B Albert Pujols, STL was 3/3 with two runs and a walk.
• C Yadier Molina, STL stole his fifth base of the season. That's impressive.
• 2B/3B Jose Lopez, SEA was 2/4 with three RBI and a stolen base.
• 1B Daric Barton, OAK was 3/3 with two runs, an RBI, a double and triple.
• 2B/3B Blake DeWitt, LAD was 2/4 with a run, two RBI and two triples.
• SP John Ely, LAD pitched seven innings, allowing five hits, two earned runs, zero walks with eight strikeouts to earn his second victory.
• SP Clayton Richard, SD pitched seven innings, allowing just three hits, one run, walking three and striking out five to earn his third win.
• SS Jason Bartlett, TB successfully executed a walk-off squeeze bunt to win the game.

Man, I loved digging through all of tonight's baseball games to find these top performers. Hopefully you won't have to do the same now that I've listed all the gems.

Ups and Downs: 05/14/2010

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This edition of Ups and Downs will look at the players being added and dropped the most (according to ESPN leagues) by position and the possible reasons why.

C John Buck, TOR (+30.3%) is riding a 6-game hitting streak in which he's hitting .450 (9/20) with 3 HR, 6 RBI and 7 runs.
C Miguel Olivo, COL (-20.9%) was mired in a 2/28 (.071) slump and rumors of Chris Iannetta being brought up from AAA started to surface. Owners probably jumped off the Olivo bandwagon and onto the Buck bandwagon. Olivo answered with a 5/5, 1 HR game and probably will be a big add again soon.

1B/3B Troy Glaus, ATL (+16.5%) was thought to be a nice late-round pick but hit only .194 in April and promptly dumped by most teams. He's turning things around in May (.386 BA, 2 HR, 14 RBI in 11 games) and is definitely worth the pickup.
1B Todd Helton, COL (-14%) is only hitting .257 with 0 HR this season. Owners can't sit around and wait to see if he will heat up at this point. I'd stash him on the bench if I had the roster space but his dumps are understandable.

2B/3B Alberto Callaspo, KC (+12.6%) continues to validate being an everyday fantasy player (.304 BA, 13 R, 6 HR, 22 RBI, 2 SB) and should be owned in most formats.
2B/3B Jose Lopez, SEA (-16.3%) is definitely part of the reason why the Mariners offense has been so terrible this season (.216 BA, 8 R, 1 HR, 12 RBI, 2 SB) and should be dropped in shallow leagues for anyone on waivers with a pulse.

3B David Freese, STL (+15.1%) has tapered off a bit but definitely is worthy of all the adds (.310 BA, 13 R, 3 HR, 22 RBI, 1 SB). Owners usually hope for more power from the corner infield positions but Freese is providing plenty of reasons to be rostered.
3B Chipper Jones, ATL (-16.5%) is doing exactly what Chipper Jones has done in recent years; being drafted too high and then disappointing owners when he inevitably gets injured. If your roster can support him on the bench, he could be a nice add to stash away for when he heats things up when healthy.

SS Starlin Castro, CHC (+58.8%) burst on the fantasy scene and has lived up to the hype (.364 BA, 3 R, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 0 SB) through six games. If he's still available in your league, your league probably sucks and is way too shallow. Just saying.
SS J.J. Hardy, MIN (-16%) went on the DL and was promptly dumped by some teams. There definitely are better options out there (see Castro), especially if your DL spots are currently full. Could be a nice add once he returns from his injury in leagues that utilize a MI roster spot.

OF Aaron Rowand, SF (+27.7) roared off the DL with a 7-game hitting streak (11/32, .344 BA, 6 R, 3 HR, 11 RBI, 0 SB), validating the adds but has since gone 0/12 with zero runs, homers or ribbies. Look for him to be a popular drop soon.
OF Jose Guillen, KC (-19.8%) has one home run in has last 17 games and seen his average drop 100 points (.346 to .246). He was a hot early season add but I guess playing for the Royals finally caught up to him. Could Scott Podsednik's decline be on the horizon?

SP Jon Garland, SD (+43.4%) has never been considered much of a fantasy asset because of his low career K/9 rate of 4.7, but he's now 4-2 with a 1.71 ERA and 1.21 WHIP. He's only allowed 2 ER is his last five starts (32 IP) and his season's K/9 stands at 5.4. Pitching half of his games at PETCO make him a nice addition to any deep pitching staff.
SP Brian Matusz, BAL (-21.7%) pitches for the Orioles and most fantasy leagues use wins as a scoring category. Expect his drop rates to increase the more times he gets thumped by the rest of the AL East.

RP Alfredo Simon, BAL (+24.2%) is Baltimore's closer and whatever wins there are right now should be his to save. Until he implodes, he should be owned.
RP Franklin Morales, COL (-20.7%) was the Rockies closer until he went on the DL. He has no values if he's not closing games. Manny Corpas steps back into the closer role until Houston Street is ready to come off the DL. Corpas should show up as a popular add shortly.

How valuable, if any, is this information or can you easily find it on your own and I am just wasting everyone's time reporting it? HA! I'm just trying to garner comments and feedback as I continually try to find what, if any, value this blog has other than to feed my own addiction and need for personal validation. (Sounds like someone has "mommy" issues.)