Last Week, I threw down a top 10 list of all my favorite fantasy baseball goodies, but this week, I’m only going to share one goodie. It is a cool little article from Thomas McFeeley called Rock Acts Placed in Starting Rotation and it is great stuff. I recommend checking back to last week’s goodies list if you missed it though too.
It is a beautiful day here in Nova Scotia and I’m going to take my little girl for a walk, so I’ll leave you with the goods and spare you the blabbing nonsense that has crept into this introduction in the past. Have a great week and we’ll catch you in 7!
Weekly Fantasy Baseball Preview: Bats
Catchers
Pick – Mike Napoli: His second week at the top of the charts, but Buster and I’m not talking about the little brother from Arrested Development is hot on his heels.
Sleeper – Jesus Montero: He has a couple of bombs of late and it is only a matter of time before he puts it all together. He will end the season with solid numbers. If Carlos Ruiz is available, he returns to action today.
Bust – Joe Mauer: I’m not sure who is worse right now, him or Ryan Doumit. His recent slump comes on the heels of a good run though. If you own Mauer you can’t drop him, hopefully you’ll learn not to draft a catcher that high for next year though.
First Base
Pick – Edwin Encarnacion: 6 Round Trippers in the past 2 weeks, an excellent batting average and 12 RBIs, with 9 runs. I miss his days with the Reds when I always drafted him and he always disappointed, those were some good times for Edwin and I.
Sleeper – Ryan Howard: The old fella is still hitting the ball a long way, is in line for a solid batting average and could flirt with 100 RBIs on the season. Right now, he looks dialed in.
Bust – Adam LaRoche: Me, “Sorry Al, I’ve got to pull the trigger here on Adam LaRoche.” Al, “No problem, there are lots of good first basemen available.” Now I’m starting Brandon Belt, while LaRoche helps out fantasy pitchers everywhere by swinging and missing 8 times a game.
Second Base
Pick – Matt Carpenter: The guy is setting the table for some powerful bats in the middle of the Cards lineup and already has 21 runs scored on the season, which leads the NL. He looks like a lock to hit over 15 bombs and hit for a solid average too.
Sleeper – Omar Infante: Guy is just doing what he does, which is be an average middle infielder, but there is a lot of security in that. Isn’t there? I don’t know actually, but he is playing well. You could take a chance of Tyler Greene for the South Siders too.
Bust – Daniel Murphy: I remember this trick from last season, get all good for a week and score lots of runs, drive them in and even show some power and then hit 5 singles the next week with a single RBI.
Third Base
Pick – Kyle Seager: Dude is dialed in right now and it isn’t like he is coming out of nowhere, in some formats he is available at the 2 bag too. He is almost as hot as Josh Donaldson, who I just can’t endorse. He is this week’s sleeper to pick!
Sleeper – Nolan Arenado: I’m going to call him, Nolan “The Thin Air Masher” Arenado and as a Mike Moustakas owner, I wish the Royals would have given Moose “The Thin Air Masher” treatment. I’m hoping for Arenado, who just got called up, in case you missed it.
Bust – Chase Headley: Hope you didn’t waste too high of a pick on the Padres 3 bagger, he’ll be fine, but is off to a horrible start and has a lot to live up to after last season.
Shortstop
Pick – Jean Segura: Requirements for fantasy stardom up the middle: Decent batting average, speed, runs and pop is a bonus. Folks we have a leading candidate. Segura looks good.
Sleeper – Jhonny Peralta: He is quietly putting together a solid season, you’d like to see more pop, but he is driving in runs and getting on base. He’ll continue to get ample RBI opportunities too.
Bust – Jed Lowrie: I would put him atop the sell high list, but he is already cooling off, so don’t give him away, because he’ll get hot again, or hurt. This Lowrie is a risky dude, who played 2B the other day, which would be a nice eligibility bonus. Clearly, I don’t know what to do with him right now.
Outfield
Pick – Matt Kemp: The Cano treatment worked and Matty Kemp hit almost .500 this week. He stole 2 bags and hit a bomb too, but he still isn’t living up to that 1st Round Draft slot.
Pick – Nelson Cruz: The guy is driving in runs in bunches and we’ve seen him get filthy hot in the past. He is streaky, but right now he is going as good as anyone in the game whose not named after a former Italian City, or is that place called Naples? It might even be a city still, I don’t know.
Sleeper – Denard Span: He is getting on base and swiping, but never when Bryce goes yard and is only in scoring position when Adam LaRoche has a chance to drive him in. Span is a solid player, he’ll be a fantasy difference maker because of how undervalued he was this draft season.
Sleeper – Peter Bourjos: He has a 9 game hit streak going and that lineup will erupt anytime. He hasn’t showed off his speed yet either, which is his real value.
Bust – Nate McLouth: Sell high, if there is even a market. He is likely on a lot of sleeper and waiver wire lists, but I’m not buying at all.
Bust – Oswaldo Arcia: His 2 bomb and 6 RBIs are coming with a sub .200 batting average and if I wanted that kind of production I’d just add Chris Carter, or Adam Dunn.
Weekly Fantasy Baseball Preview: Arms
Two-Start Pitchers
Last week we checked in with a few other sites throwing out their Two-Start Pitcher previews and it worked well. It worked out a lot better than the phantom reverse call on the Jay Birds on Thursday night. Back-to-back early exits for Johnny Gibbons and Toronto is in the basement of the AL East. Last week’s inclusion of other fantasy baseball folk’s pitcher previews is working out a lot better than the Jay Birds inclusion of Marlins and Mets too it seems.
The Fake Baseball: My colleague Frederick ranks this week’s hurlers who head to the bump two times, two times. He has a Roy Halladay obsession though and I’m not sure if he is a believer or just a text message fanatic.
Razzball: Scott Evans breaks down the tiers and again also highlights who may be readily available on your waiver wire. Those Razzball’tonians crack me up man.
Rotoworld: Nick Nelson’s look at the week ahead adds helpful notes, such as Lefty/Righty Breakdowns, Games Played Totals and even his own Streamer City picks. This is a must read if you’re in a lineup pickle, which is different from playing pickle.
Streaming Options
It is a tricky game streaming pitchers and even more difficult when you’re trying to project for an entire week.
My Colleague at The Fake Baseball, Brien Bonneville, has a daily list of streaming pitching options and his Streaming Pitchers Primer is a must-read if you’re looking to employ this strategy. Streaming is a risky business, but when used properly it can be an excellent advantage in this fake game we love.
This week, I want to also share a video from my pal Pat Mayo, which briefly discusses streaming pitchers and an excellent article from Matthew Berry on the Wandy Line that is must read stuff. I’m still trying to model sharing for my children!
So now it is time to get at this week’s options:
April 29th – Wade Davis: He has pitched well thus far and is walking the Wandy Line right now.
April 30th – Edwin Jackson: Chase the strikeouts, the Padres aren’t a prolific offense and Jackson has nasty stuff.
May 1st – David Phelps: He’ll replace the injured Ivan Nova and gets the strikeout happy Astros.
May 2nd – Travis Wood: See if the North Siders can back another starter to victory. Wood has looked sharp so far.
May 3rd – Jeremy Guthrie: He has put together a respectable start to the season. The South Siders are sliding and he made them look silly already this season.
May 4th – Julio Teheran: He was better his last time out, so monitor his start against Washington and look for him to take care of the Mets.
May 5th – Pass: A lot of the top arms are in action, but Pettitte, Masterson and Halladay are solid options if they’re available
I’m a Loyal Leafs, Cubs, and Cowboys fan for decades. I wear the C for The Fake Hockey, in addition to contributing to The Fake Baseball and The Fake Football in more of a Timmy Try Hard role. You can also find my weekly fantasy baseball preview here at davidgonos.com and can reach me on Twitter @naparker77.
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