Projo Fantasy Sports Blog

April 4, 2008 Archives

By David Ferris

No East Coast bias in this version of the Junior Circuit stock watch, as we’ll focus on some movers and shakers from the middle of the country on out.

Batters

BUY

Alex Gordon, 3B, Royals: He gets lumped into the "last year’s bum" file a lot, but that’s short-sighted; Gordon hit .285 over his final 98 games, with pop (12 homers) and speed (10 steals). New skipper Trey Hillman quickly bought in this spring, parking Gordon in the third spot in the order (where you want all your fantasy players), and the third sacker came through with a couple of home runs in the sweep of Detroit. We could probably issue buy reports on a quarter of the Kansas City roster right now; this club is Tampa Bay without the hype, a young collection of talent that’s mature and confident enough to make a run at .500 or better.

SELL

Travis Buck, OF, Athletics: He’ll be back in the lineup Friday after getting a day off, but clearly he’s not seeing the ball well right now (0 for 14, seven strikeouts, no walks). In theory he’s got the eye and baserunning skills you look for from a leadoff man; it will be interesting to see how patient the Athletics are with him. For now, we’ll slide Buck to the bench and let him work out of this.

HOLD

Franklin Gutierrez, OF, Indians: Be a little skeptical about his 2007 line (13 homers in 271 at-bats), as he didn’t hit much on the road or against righties (aye, there’s the rub). That said, the Tribe realizes that Gutierrez deserves an everyday spot over the David Dellucci types, so there’s still 30-homer potential here. Gutierrez had a snappy opening series against Chicago, hitting one homer and getting on base half of the time, and he’s got enough speed to steal 15 bases over a full season.

Pitchers

BUY

Zack Greinke, SP, Royals: He quietly put things together in the second half of 2007 (2.42 ERA, 1.17 ratio, 8.1 strikeouts per nine innings), but when you do that for a small-market team, the cover isn’t blown. Greinke increased his current profile with seven sparkling innings against Detroit on Thursday, and for all the time he’s been in our fantasy consciousness, he’s still just 24. Here comes his breakthrough season.

Mark Lowe, SP, Mariners: The Ms are optimistic that J.J. Putz (rib) won’t be out long, but in the meantime that leads us to Lowe, who gets a chance to chair the bullpen committee for the rest of the month. Lowe has the arm and the moxie for high-leverage innings – we saw that in his electric 2006 debut – and he should be fully recovered from the elbow surgery he had that fall. Don’t misinterpret the Miguel Batista save from Wednesday – Lowe was unavailable after pitching the previous two days, and Batista is sticking in the rotation (he merely got this surprise save because the assignment coincided with a scheduled throwing day).

SELL

Mark Buehrle, SP, White Sox: Last year his strikeout rate jumped a little bit and he trimmed his walks, bully for him. But was that enough to support the 1.36 runs he chopped off his ERA? Let your opponents pray for another ERA in the 3s; we’ll sit back and expect the correction to carry the number back into the danger zone. Buehrle’s never been a big strikeout guy and that trend won’t change at this part of his career, the wrong words to hear on someone who’s in a hitter's park and backed by a spotty defense. There was nothing fluky about the rockets Cleveland hit against Buehrle on opening day; expect more of the same.

HOLD

Ervin Santana, SP, Angels: His 2007 season was a horror show on the road (1-10, 8.38 ERA), so the Halos have to be encouraged at what Santana did in the Metrodome on Thursday (six innings, two runs). The talent is there for Santana to be a $15 pitcher; he just needs to get out of his own way and trust his stuff a little more.

By Rob Steingall

These recommendations are only for the fantasy week April 7 through April 13th unless otherwise suggested.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Put' em in

Carlos Gomez, OF, Twins: So far, so good for the centerpiece of the Johan Santana deal. He stole two bags on opening day and hit safely in the first three games to open the season. Gomez has been touted in the past as the Jose Reyes of the outfield, a five-tool talent who electrifies the stadium each time he comes to bat. As long as he’s hot, he’ll be a good source for steals and runs.

Casey Kotchman, 1B, Angels: Off to a quick start with back to back multi-hit games after going hitless in the opener, Kotchman is a good bet to take another step forward after his semi-breakout in ’07. Look for a high average and run production from him, with any extra power coming as an added bonus. He’s a good, cheap corner infield or utility play in mixed-league formats.

Bench 'em

Richie Sexson, 1B, Mariners: Those hoping for a rebound this season were disappointed by Sexson’s 1-for-11 start to the season. A victim of bad luck last season (.210 when putting the ball in play; average is .300), Sexson could still be a good source of power. But wait to see if he can get back to near his career average of .263.

Jason Giambi, 1B, Yankees: The New York Post raved about his perfect game in the field on opening day, which would be great if your fantasy league was based on defense. The “Giambino” has started off hitless in his first three games with only one run batted in. Giambi can hit home runs in bunches, despite managing only 14 last year while battling foot issues. He could be running out of juice, though (pun intended).

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Put 'em in

Yunel Escobar, 2B, SS, 3B, Braves: Some people around baseball have compared his intangibles to Derek Jeter's, and his bat may not be far behind. Escobar has gotten off to a scorching start, collecting multiple hits in the first two games along with a homer and six runs batted in. His position eligibility makes him a valuable asset worth owning in all formats.

Xavier Nady, OF, Pirates: After a cold spring, Nady has turned it up to open this season, clubbing two homers on opening day. He’s never going to be a star, but he can be productive enough when locked in. Nady smacked six homers in April '06, and traditionally does most of his damage from April through June. Get his bat in your lineup while it's hot.

Bench 'em

Stephen Drew, SS, Diamondbacks: Despite showing some power opening week, Drew could lose time to utilityman Chris Burke against lefties this season. Drew doesn’t hit anyone all that well, so parking his career .259 average on the pine is your best bet until gets hot or turns the corner. Grab Escobar if you can.

Matt Kemp, OF, Dodgers: After a pretty good spring, Kemp could find his way into a platoon situation with the overpaid Juan Pierre. After driving in a run in his first at-bat, he’s done nothing but strikeout a bunch and not hit the ball out of the infield. Tremendous upside here, but there are some hurdles he needs to jump before getting there.