Baseball

Baseball - Baseball

As the Fourth of July approaches and the All-Star break is on the horizon, I'm once again taking a look at some players you should consider adding and dropping from your fantasy rosters.  Yes, it's time again for "Buy And Sell."

Buy

Matt LaPorta, 1B/OF, Cleveland Indians- LaPorta recently took over as the Indians' starting first baseman when Russell Branyan was traded to Seattle, and has homered in three straight games (through Thursday).  It's unrealistic to expect him to maintain that pace, but he is definitely worth a look in AL-only leagues right now and could become a mixed league option if he continues to produce well.  In any case, he should get regular playing time the rest of the season. 

Madison Bumgarner, SP, San Francisco Giants- Bumgarner is 0-2 with a 4.50 ERA through two big league starts this season, but he did pitch solidly in his last start against Colorado on Thursday (7 IP, 3ER, 5 K, 1BB).  The 20-year old is worth consideration in NL-only and deep mixed leagues right now.  If you're in a keeper league and he is available, grab him while you can.

Tom Gorzelanny, SP, Chicago Cubs- Gorzelanny pitched five shutout innings against Pittsburgh in his return to the Cubs' starting rotation on Wednesday in place of Carlos Zambrano.  He has pitched well this season, with a 3.14 ERA in 16 appearances (nine starts) this season and should be in the starting rotation to stay as long as he pitches well.   Gorzelanny is worth a look in NL-only leagues, and possibly deeper mixed leagues as well. 

Gaby Sanchez, 1B, Florida Marlins- Sanchez hit .375 with four home runs, 16 RBI and six doubles in June, including 5-for-12 (.417) over the final three games of the month.  He is hitting .307 with eight home runs, 37 RBI and 40 runs scored on the season. Feel free to add him if you need first base help, and at nearly 27 years old is a nice option in keeper leagues as well. 

Sell

Carlos Zambrano, SP, Chicago Cubs- This should be obvious with Zambrano's indefinite suspension for his dugout tirade last Friday. But the fact he may go on a minor league rehab assignment and will go back to the bullpen when he does return to the Cubs should be enough reason to stop wasting a roster spot on him.

Manny Corpas, RP, Colorado Rockies- Corpas has allowed four runs over his last two appearances, and should lose the closer role for the Rockies to a now-healthy Huston Street anytime now if he hasn't already.  Feel free to drop Corpas in mixed leagues.

R.A. Dickey, SP, New York Mets- The knuckleballer got his first loss of the season on Monday against Florida, and is now 6-1 with a 2.98 ERA this season.  He was due for a bad outing, and his numbers stand to get worse as the season goes on.  If you picked him up in an NL-only league, feel free to sell high immediately if you can find a trade partner. Otherwise, he is droppable.

Joel Zumaya, RP, Detroit Tigers- Zumaya was probably only owned if you were in an deep or AL-only league, but he had been very good (2.58 ERA, 34 strikeouts in 38.1 innings) this season before suffering a season-ending elbow injury on Monday night against Minnesota.  The good news is he did not suffer ligament damage, and could be ready for spring training next year.

Baseball - Baseball

"Let's Make a Deal"

Fantasy Baseball Trades?  I'm getting a lot of questions about trades.  So I feel the need to post about trading and how to trade.  Their is an art to making trades in fantasy baseball and if you understand this art, you will find it much easier to make a swap. With most leagues running through the internet it can be much harder to work out deals as opposed to just picking up a phone.  With that in mind I'm going to run through some simple steps to follow to ensure fantasy trading success

• Step 1.  Find a suitable partner.  Your team is heavy at the 3B position and you need a more reliable SS, no problem.  You need to look over the rosters and find someone that needs a 3B.  Do not go to the guy with ARod, Zimmerman, Longoria and offer up another 3B you are wasting your time.

• Step 2.  Know your information.  Knowing that the guy in the office is a Rangers fan is a huge advantage to you.  Find out where people are from, what team they root for.  These things all help out when approaching a deal.

• Step 3. Make a solid opening offer. Easiest way to stall trade talks is before they even get going; don't insult someone with horrible offer.  Let the owner know you are serious.

• Step 4.  When making the initial offer request a counter.  You would be surprised how many deals just get a “no” click without any other thought.  It should just be common courtesy to tell you why your offer wasn't accepted, but it's not.  Make sure you request a counter.

• Step 5.  If the counter offer doesn't progress talks cut to the chase.  Send your next offer with a question, "What would you want in exchange for Adam Dunn?"  Perfect!  The other owner knows exactly what you want and now you can go from there.

• Step 6.  Be ready to go back and forth a bit. Unless you have some idiot that jumps on the first thing offered you will have to negotiate. A friend told me earlier this season that I made him feel like my players were all studs and his guys sucked!  That is exactly what I'm trying to do, sell your guys hard.

• Step 7.  Use your numbers! Be smart, if you can trade a bench guy and a regular to upgrade a starter it's a no brainer. Wrap your head around how the trade affects your team. Example

If you have a strength, use it. You are simply moving one strength to another in hopes of filling holes.  I love to play with numbers in trades, it may look like a two for one, but in reality, it's not.  A lot of owners don't think about that on the back end of the deal, this can help the curb appeal of the deal if you are offering, also keep this is mind if you are the owner that will need to create a roster spot.

• Step 8.  Be gracious when you make the deal.  Keep in mind; you may want to come back to the table later on.  Be cool about the trade no matter how it works out and take every opportunity to point out when the players you traded away are performing well.

Baseball - Baseball

As June nears an end, your fantasy baseball team is probably pretty well set in it's ways, good or bad.  That said, a shrewd add at this point in the season can help propel your team up in the standings or just help solidify your spot in the standings and keep your league mates at bay.

It's time for this week's edition of "Buy and Sell."

Buy

Edinson Volquez, SP, Cincinnati Reds- Volquez is working his way back from Tommy John surgery, and is likely to make three more rehab starts before returning to the Reds.  In 2008, his last fully healthy season, Volquez went 17-6 with a 3.21 ERA over 196 innings (33 games-32 starts) with 206 strikeouts.  So he's definitely got ability, and the Reds are wisely not rushing him back.  Expect to see him sometime in early July.  In the meantime, feel free to add and stash him if you need pitching help.

Clint Barmes, IF, Colorado Rockies- With SS Troy Tulowitzki (left wrist) expected to be out 6-8 weeks with a broken left wrist, Barmes stands to step in as the Rockies' starting shortstop while he is out.   He is hitting .231 with four home runs and 32 RBI in 208 at-bats this season. In 2009, he hit 23 home runs along with 76 RBI, so he does appear to have nice power potential.  If you are a Tulowitzki owner in an NL-only league and need a stop gap while Tulo is out, Barmes could be worth consideration.

Carl Pavano, SP, Minnesota Twins- Pavano threw a complete game last Sunday against Philadelphia, and has gone at least seven innings in 10 of his last 11 starts.  He is 3-1 with a 2.90 ERA in June, with his next start coming against the Mets on Saturday.  For the season, he is 8-6 with a 3.64 ERA and has arguably been the Twins' most consistent starter all season.

Brandon Morrow, SP, Toronto Blue Jays- Morrow pitched eight scoreless innings against St. Louis on Thursday, for his fifth straight quality start.  Over that span, he has a 1.32 ERA and a 27:9 K/BB ratio in 34 innings.  He has improved his control recently, which has been something he has struggled with in his career.  He has a two-start week coming next week, with the first coming on Tuesday against Cleveland.  If you need pitching help he is worth considering, particularly in AL-only leagues, as long as he can keep his new-found command. 

Sell

A.J. Burnett, SP, New York Yankees- Burnett is 0-4 with a 10.35 ERA in June, allowing 29 hits over 20 innings (four starts).  He is likely to bounce back, but it does appear he and C Jorge Posada are not on the same page once again.  Unless or until that is rectified, he is at least benchable in mixed leagues.

Edwin Encarnacion, 3B, Toronto Blue Jays- The Blue Jays designated Encarnacion for assignment this week, and he was sent to Triple-A Las Vegas after clearing waivers.  He had nine home runs, but just a .200 batting average, over 120 at-bats for Toronto this season. He missed time early in the season with a shoulder issue, and had done fairly well from a power perspective before falling off.  He could find his way to a new team as the trade deadline approaches, but for now he should not be wasting space on your fantasy roster. 

Starlin Castro, SS, Chicago Cubs- Castro is hitting just .177 (11-for-62) with four RBI in June.  He burst onto the scene with six RBI in his major league debut in May, but he has not hit a home run since then and is hitting just .255 in 149 at-bats.  It is possible the Cubs will send him down if he continues to struggle, so be aware of that if you do decide to hang onto him for now. 

Michael Bourn, OF, Houston Astros- Bourn is hitting just .228 with a .299 on-base percentage in June to this point.  For a guy whose fantasy value is predicated on stealing bases, failure to get on base is obviously not good.  He is hitting .259 overall this season and does have 21 stolen bases, but unless he turns it around at the plate soon he is droppable in mixed leagues.

Baseball - Baseball

With interleague play still going this week and the official start of summer coming in the next few days, I'm once again taking a look at some players that could be worth adding to your fantasy squad as well as some players you should consider dumping.

Buy

Pedro Alvarez, 3B, Pittsburgh Pirates- Alvarez, the #2 overall pick in 2008, was called up by the Pirates this week and made his major league debut on Wednesday night.  In two games (through Thursday), he went 0-for-6 but is worth consideration immediately in NL-only leagues.  If you're in a keeper league and he happens to be available, you should stop reading and grab him immediately.

Tyler Colvin, OF, Chicago Cubs- Cubs' manager Lou Piniella has said Colvin will see more playing time, and since he is hitting .315 with eight home runs and 20 RBI (through Friday afternoon's game) he should be in the lineup regularly as long as he is productive.  The rookie is worth immediate consideration in NL-only leagues, and could be worth keeping an eye on in deeper mixed leagues.

Aaron Heilman, RP, Arizona Diamondbacks- For those that like to chase saves, consider Heilman.  He is set to take over as the Diamondbacks' closer with Chad Qualls struggling (8.46 ERA, four blown saves).  Heilman may get the majority of the save opportunities for Arizona right now, but the situation is still fairly fluid.  Heilman has been reasonably effective this season, as he is 2-1 with a 3.34 ERA in 30 appearances (29.2 innings), just don't expect an abundance of save opportunities as long as the Diamondbacks are struggling.  But given how hard saves can be to find, any closer change is worth monitoring.

Aubrey Huff, 1B/OF, San Francisco Giants- Huff is hitting .305 with 11 home runs and 36 RBI this season, and is hitting .336 with nine home runs and 26 RBI since the start of May.  As an added bonus, Huff has multi-position eligibility at 1B as well as in the outfield.  He is certainly worth considering in NL-only leagues, as well as deeper mixed leagues right now.

Sell

Chad Qualls, RP, Arizona Diamondbacks- Qualls' struggles, as previously mentioned, have led to him being removed from the closer role for the Diamondbacks.  The situation is definitely in flux, so he could regain the job at some point.  But for now, Qualls can be dropped or at minimum stashed on the bench where he can't hurt your fantasy team.

Kosuke Fukudome, OF, Chicago Cubs- Fukudome got off to his normal good start in April (.344 with five home runs) and has once again faded badly, hitting just .254 with one home run since the start of May.  With rookie Tyler Colvin producing and likely to get more playing time, Fukudome stands to find himself on the bench fairly often.  The Cubs have also reportedly made him available for trade, which could be good for him if it leads to regular playing time.  Assuming he can be productive, that is.

Cameron Maybin, OF, Florida Marlins- Maybin was sent to Triple-A New Orleans on Thursday.  He hadn't played for the Marlins since June 6, which coincided with the arrival of OF Mike Stanton.  Couple that with his struggles (.225 with five home runs, 19 RBI and six stolen bases), and being sent down is probably the best thing for Maybin right now.  Don't drop him if you're in a keeper league, since he is just 23 years old, but single season owners may need to just cut their losses if they don't have an available bench spot. 

Rich Harden, SP, Texas Rangers- Harden was placed on the 15-day DL with a strained glute last weekend.  Through 13 starts this season, he is 3-3 with a 5.68 ERA.  The team has said they will not rush him back, and given his injury history you really can't blame them at all.  If you have him on your fantasy team, you don't have to be so patient.