Fantasy MLB Spot Starting 08.31.11

Welcome back to Spot Starting.  Slim pickings for Thursday as per usual but as we’ve done all year, we dig deeper and move on!

For games on Thursday September 1st these selected pitchers might be had in your league (less than 50% owned in Yahoo! or ESPN) with percent owned Yahoo/ESPN, (team), and opponent:

A.J. Burnett 42% / 43% (NYY) @ BOS

Mike Leake 23% / 12% (CIN) vs. PHL

Fausto Carmona 13% / 11% (CLE) vs. OAK

Tommy Hunter 3% / 1% (BAL) vs. TOR

Danny Duffy 2% / 0.2% (KC) @ DET

Fantasy MLB Spot Starting 08.30.11

Welcome back to Spot Starting.

For games on Wednesday August 31st these selected pitchers might be had in your league (less than 50% owned in Yahoo! or ESPN) with percent owned Yahoo/ESPN, (team), and opponent:

Phil Hughes 43% / 35% (NYY) @ BOS

Randy Wolf 42% / 49% (MIL) vs. StL

Jake Peavy 41% /36% (CWS) vs. MIN

Derek Lowe 40% / 28% (ATL) vs. WAS

Josh Collmenter 39% / 42% (ARI) vs. COL

Rich Harden 21% / 14% (OAK) @ CLE

Rick Porcello 15% / 10% (DET) vs. KC

Chris Capuano 12% / 5% (NYM) vs. FLA

Jo-Jo Reyes 1% / 0.1% (BAL) vs. TOR

Weekly Minor League Recap

AAA:

At this point, you will want to monitor all of the AAA, and some of the more impressive AA guys (minus SPs who have reached innings limits) to see if they get called up on 9/1 or thereafter. Many a fantasy championship has been won on the backs of super propects, especially ones who play for teams either completely out of it, or teams who are comfortably ahead and are looking to rest regulars.

–Jesus Montero, NYY, C, Scranton Wilkes-Barre Yankees (#3): This is the week people were waiting for all year: 4 HRs, 11 RBIs, 11 for 24 in his last five. Montero’s season line is resembling more and more what he did last year (identical batting avg., 4 less HRs, similar OBP), so it is safe to say the kid is ready as he will ever be for his MLB debut in September. The Yankees sure could use a dependable DH bat to cement a playoff spot – their pitching is now looking like it is what we thought it was.

-Dayan Viciedo, CWS, OF, Charlotte Knights (unranked): Viciedo got the call this past week after Carlos Quentin went down with an injury. He was going to be a 40 man roster add anyway. He finished up his minor league season with a bang; 4 HRs and 10 RBIs in his last ten, with only 4 Ks. And, in his first action, he went 2 for 3 with a HR and 3 RBIs (I picked him up to replace Quentin, and of course had him on my bench for monitoring purposes…story of my season).

–Devin Mesoraco, CIN, C, Louisville Bats (#64): Mesoraco went 6 for 24 with 2 HRs and 8 RBIs – both HRs and 5 ribbies came in one game. With the Bats eliminated from playoff contention, he is certainly a candidate to get called up after September 1; curiously though, he is not on the 40 man roster.

Fantasy MLB Spot Starting 08.29.11

Welcome back to Spot Starting.   Sorry for the short hiatus, drying out from Irene on the eastern Seaboard (I love that term).  Really was an odd weekend to have so many teams sitting on the sidelines.

For games on Tuesday August 30th these selected pitchers might be had in your league (less than 50% owned in Yahoo! or ESPN) with percent owned Yahoo/ESPN, (team), and opponent:

Edwin Jackson  45% / 22% (StL) @ MIL

Javier Vazquez 42% / 29% (FLA) @ NYM

John Lackey 29% / 18% (BOS) vs. NYY

Bronson Arroyo 27% / 32% (CIN) vs. PHL

Doug Fister 24% / 17% (DET) vs. KC

Charlie Morton 20% / 13% (PIT) @ HOU

Zach Stewart 1% / 0% (CWS) vs. MIN

NL Waiver Wire Gems

John Buck, C, Florida Marlins (34% owned Yahoo, 6.5% ESPN)

Current Stat Line: .234/38/16/52/0

Buck has been quite hot the last two weeks, collecting 3 HRs, 8 RBIs, and a .294 average. He is quietly on pace for 20/65 and, while the average sucks, you expect that from your backstop. Power is in short supply this year across the board, and Buck could prove to be a positive addition down the stretch if you are hurting for a catcher with some pop.

My Projection (all rest of season): .250/12/5/17/0

Logan Morrison, OF, Florida Marlins (29% Yahoo, 42.7% ESPN)

Current Stat Line: .248/42/18/61/2

Mr. Immature is back! While I think the Marlins overreacted to Morrison’s shenanigan’s, maybe the send down will light a fire under him for the rest of the season, as he was not the same player the last few months that he was in April and May. He is only 3 for 16 since his return, but he does have a HR among those three hits; for him to be owned in less than 30% of leagues (a product of the demotion no doubt) is just plain wrong. Really, yahoo players, you own Pedro Alvarez (31%), Ty Wigginton (34%), and out for the season Stephen Drew (41%) more than this guy? Even accounting for those who have abandoned their teams, Mr. Morrison’s number should be higher.

My Projection: .270/15/5/17/2

James Loney, 1b, LA Dodgers (20% Yahoo, 20.1% ESPN)

Current Stat Line: .274/36/8/44/3

Talk about coming out of the woodwork of irrelevance. Loney has channeled 2007 the last two weeks, going 18/40, with 3 HRs, 8 RBIs, and 9 runs. Jump on him while he’s hot if you are banged up at 1b, or need some utility help. It probably won’t last long, but his prowess could make your fantasy season next week if you are on the bubble for the playoffs.

My Projection: .285/15/4/18/1

Orlando Hudson, 2b, San Diego Padres (17% Yahoo, 33.1% ESPN)

Current Stat Line: .257/42/4/37/17

Huddy has had his best stolen base production of his career with the run and gun Pods this year, and should break 20 fairly easily going forward. He also has been hitting for some serious average of late (.349 the last two weeks). I know, he is on the offensively challenges Friars, but if you are desperate for middle infield help and steals, I think he is a better option than Yuniesky Betancourt (33%), Rafael Furcal (35%), and Aaron Hill (47%)*

*Really, I don’t get the continued love for Hill. If you think he is going to return to his power charged 2009 ways in Arizona as compared to Toronto, I got an official Hurricane Irene ‘Go’ bag to sell ya – and you thought you were going to read something not referencing the storm this weekend.

My Projection: .270/15/1/12/5

J.D. Martinez, OF, Houston Astros (11% Yahoo, 18.1% ESPN)

Current Stat Line:  .296/14/5/24/0

Mining another woeful offense, Martinez has been prolific with the bat of late: 17/51 with a HR and ten RBIs in the last two weeks. Martinez is young and unpolished, but he will get plenty of chances to impress down the stretch for the historically bad ‘Stros. Deep league OF help, thy name is J.D.

My projection: .275/12/3/15/1

2011 MLB Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Gems: American League

Peter Bourjos, OF Los Angeles Angels ( 42 percent owned in Yahoo, 69.1 percent in ESPN)

Current Stat Line: .281 AVG / 55 R / 8 HR / 32 RBI / 17 SB

Peter Bourjos remains one of the hottest hitters in the AL. Since he was mentioned here last week, he has hit .320/4/2/5/0 in 5 games. For the month of August Bourjos has hit .349/17/5/11/3. He is still hitting leadoff for the Angels so he will continue to put up great numbers for your fantasy team down the stretch.

Projection (rest of season): .280 AVG / 19 R / 3 HR / 11 RBI / 5 SB

Delmon Young, OF Detroit Tigers ( 46 percent owned in Yahoo, 60.3 percent in ESPN)

Current Stat Line: .272 AVG / 30 R / 6 HR / 41 RBI / 1 SB

My favorite part about Young moving to the Tigers is that he’s batting third for them. With Miguel Cabrera and Victor Martinez batting behind him, he has protection in the line-up. He will show a bit more power for the Tigers too. Young only hit 4 HR in 305 ab with the Twins but, he already has 2 HR in his first 48 AB with the Tigers. He is hitting .313 with the Tigers and .311 with 14 RBI in his past 20 games overall.

Projection (rest of season): .290 AVG / 16 R / 4 HR / 17 RBI / 1 SB

Kyle Seager, 2B/3B Seattle Mariners ( 7 percent owned in Yahoo, 6.1 percent in ESPN)

Current Stat Line: .310 AVG / 11 R / 2 HR / 5 RBI / 0 SB

Seager started slow out the gates but he is now looking very comfortable at the plate. In his past nine games he has hit .514/8/2/5/0. He is obviously somewhat held back by the Mariners lineup but they have been hitting well lately. Seager makes for the perfect back-up in daily leagues because he is eligible at multiple positions and he plays on the west coast. In ESPN leagues he is still only eligible at 3B. He has started two games at SS, I’m crossing my fingers that he will get a few more.

Projection (rest of season): .283 AVG / 13 R / 2 HR / 11 RBI / 1 SB

Brandon Allen, 1B/OF Oakland Athletics ( 4 percent owned in Yahoo, 6 percent in ESPN)

Current Stat Line: .286 AVG / 16 R / 5 HR / 13 RBI / 1 SB

Brandon Allen is a hitter that can put up good power numbers for you down the stretch. In 422 AB with four different teams, he has hit 28 home runs. He strikes out too much but he can take a walk so he remains valuable in OBP leagues (.371 OBP). Right now it would be difficult to start him against lefties but he has no competition in Oakland if you really needed to start him every day. He reminds me of a young Ryan Howard.

Projection (rest of season): .255 AVG / 14 R / 5 HR / 18 RBI / 0 SB

Doug Fister, SP Detroit Tigers ( 21 percent owned in Yahoo, 12.4 percent in ESPN)

Current Stat Line: 6 W / 13 L / 106 K / 3.35 ERA / 1.19 WHIP

Doug Fister is finaly starting to figure things out in Detroit. In his past two starts with his new team he is 2-0/1 ER/12 K/1 BB. His schedule the rest of the way is just laughable and check out who he has on tap for your fantasy playoff run, 9/4 CHI, 9/10 MIN, 9/15 @OAK, 9/21 @KC.

Projection (rest of season): 3 W / 1 L / 26 K / 3.15 ERA / 1.10 WHIP

08.25.11 Box Score Breakdown: Fantasy MLB News and Notes

Note to self: You cannot leave posts in the DRAFT position. You must schedule them. There, posted yesterday’s article. Enjoy the tardy BSB!

Hurricane on its way up the East Coast. Hope all you East Coasters are out of harm’s way.

Onto it!

4th and Home Player of the Day: Bronx Bombers – Three grand slams. 22 runs. 21 hits. Just. Ridiculous.

The Bats:
Brian McCann – 2/4, 2 R, 2 HR, 4 RBI…Pass on him every year. ADP way too high. Took Napoli in the last round and he is the #2 catcher. McCann? #4.

Curtis Granderson – 2/4, 4 R, HR, 5 RBI…He may wind up with 150 runs this year. In Chris’ lineup.

Russell Martin – 5/5, 3 R, 2 HR, 6 RBI…On Chris’ bench. OUCH!

Robinson Cano – 2/4, R, HR, 5 RBI…The final salami of the rout.

Paul Goldschmidt – 3/4, R, HR, 3 RBI, SB…BSFU! He Ks a ton, but I think he has a future.

08.24.11 Box Score Breakdown: Fantasy MLB News and Notes

My team went on a rampage tonight and hit 8 HR. Tomorrow they will hit zero.

Onto it!

4th and Home Player of the Day: Joey Votto – 5/7, 2 R, HR, 4 RBI…All in a day’s work.

The Bats:
Willy Mo Pena – 3/3, 2 R, HR, 4 RBI…The village bicycle finds a home in SafeCo (sort of) and provides enough offense for 4 King Felix starts.

Nick Swisher – 2/3, 2 R, 2 HR, 3 RBI…Not enough gusto to get pasto the A’s. Next stop? Afghanistan!

Coco Crisp – 4/4, 2 R, 2 HR, 5 RBI…Coco went yardo like he was the Great Bambino.

Carl Crawford – 2/3, R, HR, 5 RBI…Could you imagine what the Sawx would be like if Crawford didn’t play like he cared?

Jacoby Ellsbury – 3/5, 3 R, HR, 2 RBI, SB…This is getting ridiculous. He must have 10 BSFUs this year.

08.23.11 Box Score Breakdown: Fantasy MLB News and Notes

Good show last night, chock-full of info. Football rankings rolling out next week.

Onto it!

4th and Home Player of the Day: Seth Smith – 2/3, 2 R, HR, 2 RBI, SB…A BSFU in B2B games? Yeah, he’s our POD.

The Bats:
Shin-Soo Choo – 4/8, 2 R, HR, 5 RBI…On Killboy’s bench. Ha!

Kosuke Fukudome – 5/9, 4 R, HR, 2 RBI…On everyone’s wire!

Ryan Braun – 2/3, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2 SB…This guy has no business stealing 28 bags in a season. Is he dating Davey Lopes behind Kemp’s back?

Brandon Allen – 2/4, 2 R, 2 HR, 2 RBI…Now batting .394 as an Athletic. Hmm…

Yonder Alonso – 3/4, R, HR, 4 RBI…Have liked this guy through the minors and he did his best Votto impression last night.

Fantasy MLB Spot Starting 08.23.11

Welcome back to Spot Starting.   Short and sweet today.

For games on Wednesday August 24th these selected pitchers might be had in your league (less than 50% owned in Yahoo! or ESPN) with percent owned Yahoo/ESPN, (team), and opponent:

Derek Lowe  39% / 26% (ATL) @ ChC

Javier Vazquez 38% / 15% (FLA) vs. CIN

Bronson Arroyo 27% / 31% (CIN) @ FLA

Jeremy Guthrie 11% / 4% (BAL) @ MIN

Wade Davis 11% / 19% (TB) vs. DET

Kyle Kendrick 8% / 2% (PHL) vs. NYM