Weekly Minor League Recap

AAA:

–Jesus Montero, NYY, C, Scranton Wilkes-Barre Yankees (#3): Montero is starting to level off now, having gone .214/.267/.333 in his last ten.  Also, Jorge Posada has been hitting somewhat better in the Bronx (and he has an understandably long leash, given his iconic status) so right now, there really isn’t a place for Jesus there.  Stay tuned, but it is looking more and more as though a substantial impact in 2011 will have to wait until September.  Pre-season rookie of the year candidacy predictions were a bit premature.

–Brett Lawrie, TOR, 2b/3b, Vegas 51s (#40): Lawrie continues to put up astounding numbers in the PCL (.405/.458/.857) and a call up – even with the questionable defense – could be days away.  All but the shallowest leagues can wait on him, but all others should make the move accordingly when he does get the call.  Only red flags: 40 Ks in 49 games compared to only 17 BBs, and, of course, that sub-par D, which could cause him to sit a couple of times a week/late in games.

2011 Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Gems: National League

Jonathan Lucroy, C Milwaukee Brewers (47% owned in Yahoo, 60% in ESPN)

Current Stat Line- .333 AVG / 15 R / 5 HR / 24 RBI / 0 SB

I don’t expect Lucroy to keep a .333 AVG and 20 HR pace but considering how shallow the catcher position is this year, he should finish as a top 8 option. Recently, he has started a few games out of the 6 spot in the batting order so if he continues to hit, he will stay there.

Projection- .287 AVG / 59 R / 14 HR / 75 RBI / 2 SB

Killin’ the Odds & the Regular Season

Welcome back to Killin’ the Odds & the Regular Season! In the “Today’s Games” section, you will see my picks to win for the day. I will post either the “Money Line” or the “Run Line”. The money line is always a “straight up” bet which means your team will never need to win or lose by a specific amount of runs. The money line odds represent what amount has to be wagered or what can be won. For example, if there is a minus sign (-) next to an amount, you have to wager that amount to win 100. If there is a plus sign (+) next to an amount, you will receive that amount for every 100 wagered. When you see a “Run Line”, that means a spread is involved. In Baseball, the spread is always 1.5 runs but you can find alternate run lines on some websites. When I post a run line of -1.5, that means our team must win by two runs. When you see a run line of +1.5, that means our team can lose by one run and still win the wager. Listen to our show from April 5th, 2011 for more explanation and tips.

Killin’ the Odds & the Regular Season

Welcome back to Killin’ the Odds & the Regular Season! In the “Today’s Games” section, you will see my picks to win for the day. I will post either the “Money Line” or the “Run Line”. The money line is always a “straight up” bet which means your team will never need to win or lose by a specific amount of runs. The money line odds represent what amount has to be wagered or what can be won. For example, if there is a minus sign (-) next to an amount, you have to wager that amount to win 100. If there is a plus sign (+) next to an amount, you will receive that amount for every 100 wagered. When you see a “Run Line”, that means a spread is involved. In Baseball, the spread is always 1.5 runs but you can find alternate run lines on some websites. When I post a run line of -1.5, that means our team must win by two runs. When you see a run line of +1.5, that means our team can lose by one run and still win the wager. Listen to our show from April 5th, 2011 for more explanation and tips.

05.26.11 Box Score Breakdown: Fantasy MLB News and Notes

Not a whole lot of games, but enough. Can’t believe the Reds and Phillies had to play a day game today. Killer!

Onto it…

4th and Home Player of the Day: Chase Utley – 1/5, R, HR, RBI…Had to be Chase. After a very long off-season, Utley hits his first home run of 2011. Owners rejoice!

The Bats:
Raul Ibanez – 2/5, R, HR, 3 RBI…Despite the 1/8 night on Wednesday/Thursday, Ibanez has been heating up.

Jay Bruce – 2/4, 2 R, HR, 2 RBI…Number 14 and is now two up on Braun and Kemp.

Nolan Reimold – 4/4, 2 R, 2 HR, 4 RBI…One of my favorite prospects who could not put it all together. What a nice game. Terrible AAA year, but he’s been decent in a handful of games in Balti this year.

Carl Crawford – 4/5, 2 R, 3 RBI…B2B 4-hit games and he’s now up to .244 (.333 in May).

05.25.11 Box Score Breakdown: Fantasy MLB News and Notes

Funerals are never fun and being out-of-town made it hard to keep you all up to date with my opinions on the daily box scores. So as I get back into it, drooling as Matt Joyce went yard AGAIN the other night, this is what I saw LAST night…

4th and Home Player of the Day: Wilson Valdez (PHI 2B) – 3/6…Decent game at the plate filling in for Chase Utley. But, he entered in the 19th to pick up the win as he pitched one inning of scoreless ball! Player of the Day!

The Bats:
Steve Pearce – 3/5, R, HR, 2 RBI…The once-touted Pirate prospect is seeing some time now that Pedro Alvarez is on the DL. Ship has sailed.

Dan Uggla – 0/5, 3 K…Now batting .180. Ouch. Actually…OUCH! Most of you had high hopes for him this year and this is not looking pretty.

Dustin Pedroia – 2/6, R, HR, 3 RBI…Guess he wasn’t too hurt.

Carl Crawford – 4/4, 3 R, HR, 2 RBI…Average sits at .229. He’s coming along, but maybe won’t be the No. 1 OF I expected pre-season.

Jarrod Saltalamacchia – 2/4, 2 R, HR, 3 RBI…I expcted better from him this year, but I think the Braves traded the correct backstop despite the “experts'” opinions on the matter.

Prince Fielder – 2/2, 4 RBI…Been a rough May, so maybe this gets him out of the funk.

Killin’ the Odds & the Regular Season

Welcome back to Killin’ the Odds & the Regular Season! In the “Today’s Games” section, you will see my picks to win for the day. I will post either the “Money Line” or the “Run Line”. The money line is always a “straight up” bet which means your team will never need to win or lose by a specific amount of runs. The money line odds represent what amount has to be wagered or what can be won. For example, if there is a minus sign (-) next to an amount, you have to wager that amount to win 100. If there is a plus sign (+) next to an amount, you will receive that amount for every 100 wagered. When you see a “Run Line”, that means a spread is involved. In Baseball, the spread is always 1.5 runs but you can find alternate run lines on some websites. When I post a run line of -1.5, that means our team must win by two runs. When you see a run line of +1.5, that means our team can lose by one run and still win the wager. Listen to our show from April 5th, 2011 for more explanation and tips.

Today’s Games (5/25/11)

St. Louis Cardinals (-112) @ San Diego Padres (+102) My Pick: Cardinals Money Line

Absolute no-brainer here. Chris Carpenter hasn’t been as sharp as he’s been in the past but, he also hasn’t been as bad as his numbers have indicated. Look for Carpenter to get back on track in Petco as the Padres are 8-20 at home and 12-24 against right-handed starters. The Pads’ have lost 5 straight (all at home) and the Cards’ have won 4 straight (all on the road).

Arizona Diamondbacks (+113) @ Colorado Rockies (-123) My Pick: Diamondbacks Money Line

Get ’em while there hot! The DBacks have been on fire as of late winning 7 of their last 8. On the opposite end of the spectrum, the Rockies have been “Rockie Mountain Cold” while losing 4 of their last 5. Jason Hammel has been bad at home this year (5.17 ERA 1.37 WHIP) and Ian Kennedy has been superb on the road (1.78 ERA 1.07 WHIP). CarGo and Tulo are a combined 6 for 30 against Kennedy in their respective careers.

–

Results from 5/21/11

Washington Nationals (+142): LOSS -100

I would do it again in a heartbeat! If you were to take five bets at around +150 and only win two of them, you still break even.

Daily Total: -100

–

*Any information provided by our site is for educational, informational and entertainment purposes ONLY. Use caution if you use our products and / or services and remember that all gambling carries risk and no liability is taken by 4thandHome.com.

Betting always involves a level of risk and you should never bet more than you can afford to lose. No guarantees are given as to the amount you will make from betting. Any liability from following any information given is completely waived by 4thandHome.com, and you are to understand that you follow it completely at your own risk.

Disagree? Light me up in the comments.

Weekly Minor League Recap

AAA:

–Jesus Montero, NYY, C, Scranton Wilkes-Barre Yankees (#3): Montero is still mouldering away at SWB, mainly because the Yankees do not have a regular place for him to play every day, except for possibly DH.  They don’t want to have the kid start his career just batting, and so we must wait (Insert Second Coming joke here).  His average has dropped to .315, but he is showing more power of late, hitting 2 HR and 3 doubles in his last ten.  His walk/k ratio still sucks though (8/31).

–Brett Lawrie, TOR, 2b/3b, Vegas 51s (#40): Lawrie is back to hitting for average to go along with his prodigious power.  He is at .375/.490/.800 with 4 HRs, 13 RBIs, 9 BBs, and 7 Ks over his last ten.  He already has more HRs this year (11) than last year (8) in 92 fewer games.  But blah blah blah his glove is nonexistent blah blah blah.

–Adrian Cardenas, OAK, DH/2b, Sacramento River Cats (unranked): The beat goes on for Cardenas average wise, as he hit .411 over his last ten.  He also showed some power, slugging .618 (though just one hit went over the fence).  Still getting on base over 40% of the time.

–Brandon Guyer, TB, OF, Durham Bulls (unranked): Guyer is at .176/.300/.206 over his past ten.  Looking more and more like the HR in his major league debut was a giant fluke

-Yonder Alonso, CIN, OF, Louisville Bats (#73): Alonso is rolling along at .375/.468/.550 in his last ten.  More importantly, he had 7 walks to 4 strikeouts; patience increases call up potential IMO.

05.23.11 Fantasy Baseball Hot & Cold List

Have a player who’s playing out of his mind or drastically underachieving? Keep reading right here and get our advice on some of the hottest and coldest players in the majors.

HOT

Adrian Gonzalez

Last 7 games: .433 Avg, 5 R, 0 HR, 7 RBI, 0 SB

Call: Buy

Of course, I say don’t expect the average but love the power so he hits for a better average and has no pop. Seriously though, buy this guy if you have the chance.

05.22.11 Box Score Breakdown: Fantasy MLB News and Notes

Interleague play always bring interesting games. Like the Mets being up 3-1 and ready to take the series from the Yanks and then giving up an 8-run inning to lose the game (and series).

Ugh…onto it…

4th and Home Player of the Day: James Shields – SHO, 3 H, 13:1…Big Game James continues to dominate. This start was just nasty!

The Bats:
Asdrubal Cabrera – 5/5, 2 R, 2 HR, 5 RBI…Wow. He now has 9 HR on the season (most in his career) and is looking to break all of his past single-season records. Yeah, I told you he was juicing.

Michael Brantley – 3/4, 3 R, 2 RBI, SB…Guy continues to produce, mostly since we talked about him on the Show of course.

Joey Votto – 2/4, 2 R, HR, 2 RBI…Votto’s been absent for a bit from this piece, so it’s good to see him back. Batting .335 with 6 HR and 28 RBI.

Jay Bruce – 2/4, R, HR, RBI…If Jose Bautista did not exist, we’d be talking about Bruce. He has been ON FIRE. He’s now up to .271 with 11 HR and 27 RBI.

Alex Rodriguez – 4/5, R, RBI…Got the average back up to .284!

Curtis Granderson – 1/4, R, HR, RBI…Number 16. Unreal.