By Chris Spencer
Well, week one is in the books. How ya’ doing? Are you in first place looking down upon the rest of the league? Are you in last; shaking your fist at your underachieving bunch? Or, are you somewhere in-between?
The beauty of this time of the year is that we still have 25 weeks left to go! Plenty of time to turn things around … and plenty of time to watch it all fall apart. Don’t just sit there!
I’ve said it before, and I will continue to say it. Always be looking to improve your squad. That is why I am here. I’m here to point out some players that can provide value. Like…
Jason Hammel (owned in 4% of Yahoo! leagues) – the Rockies starter came up with 10 wins last year and has improved his Major League ERA each year. With a career minor league ERA and WHIP of 3.46 and 1.271, respectively, it is safe to say that he’s not #1 starter material (or even #2 or #3 for that matter), but he can be serviceable if used correctly. On the road, away from Coors Field, he had 7 wins, a 3.13 ERA, a 1.189 WHIP, and 66 strikeouts in 95 innings.
Brad Penny (owned in 16% of Yahoo! leagues) – the Cardinals starter pitched 7 strong innings in his 2010 debut. He struck out 4 and walked 2 while allowing 1 run and 6 hits. He induced 13 groundball outs, compared to 4 fly ball outs. Why should you take notice? Because whomever St Louis pitching coach Dave Duncan touches turns to gold. Keep an eye on his Wednesday start against the pathetic Houston Astros line-up.
Kelly Johnson (owned in 30% of Yahoo! leagues) – the Diamondbacks starting 2B has flourished in the Arizona desert. He has already hit 3 homeruns to go along with his 368/478/947 line. If that wasn’t enough, with a .267 BABIP there is room for improvement. Prior to a disastrous 2009 that made him expendable by the Braves, he had a career .311 BABIP. He would make a fine MI on anyone’s roster.
Drew Stubbs (owned in 29% of Yahoo! leagues) – his 1 homerun and 4 RBIs came on a grand slam against the Cubs, but you aren’t looking for power from him … that is a bonus (although, he did hit 8 Major League homers in 42 games last season). His game is “cheap speed.” He stole 46 bases in AAA Louisville last year (121 in 423 career minor league games), and he already has 2 steals in 2010.
Luke Hochevar (owned in 6% of Yahoo! leagues) – the Royals starter has a win, 2.84 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and 7 strikeouts in 2 starts. The former first round draft pick might be finally putting it all together. His 2009 K/9 rate of 6.7 in 143 Major League innings is in line with his career minor league number (8.3). He should be a good source of ratio stats and Ks. Just don’t count on a lot of wins.
Pedro Alvarez (owned in 2% of Yahoo! leagues) – the Pirates 3B prospect only has 3 hits in 21 plate appearances, but they were all homeruns. He batted 288/378/535 with 27 homeruns and 95 RBIs in 126 games split between AA and A+ in 2009. The only thing holding Pittsburgh back from calling him up is Andy LaRoche and his 3 hits in 21 plate appearances … none of which went yard.
Carlos Santana (owned in 3% of Yahoo! leagues) – the Indians C prospect is absolutely abusing AAA pitching in 2010 to the tune of 438/500/1313 (7 hits in 18 plate appearances) with 4 homeruns and 8 RBIs. With a minor league career line of 288/396/495 with 66 homeruns, 317 RBIs and 21 stolen bases in 473 games, it is only a matter of time before he suits up for the Tribe.
Jake Fox (owned in 3% of Yahoo! leagues) – now, why on Earth would I be telling you to pick up a guy that is hitless in 2010? Because Mr. Fox started at catcher on Sunday. The magic number for eligibility in Yahoo! leagues is five. The 27 year-old has 29 homeruns, 98 RBIs and a 318/384/650 line in 99 career AAA games.
Posted by Luke on April 25, 2010 at 10:02 AM
Chris Spencer I have a bench question. I’m in a 12 team mix nfbc style roster. Not sure who to drop off my bench between Inge and Uribe. Bautista is my 3rd basemen but Inge has batted .178 in my lineup with 4 rbi. Does Uribe have the higher value as a bench piece?
Posted by Chris Spencer on April 28, 2010 at 7:45 PM
Luke, that is a tough call. Neither Inge nor Uribe are what most would consider “desirable” options. Who I decided to keep would depend on what stats I needed from them. Average? Uribe. Stolen Bases? Slight nod to Inge considering he has had 15 SBs over the past 3 seasons; compared to Uribe’s five. Runs? Again, slight nod to Inge. He has scored 60 or more runs in 4 of the last 5 years. Uribe has never scored more than 58 over the same 5 years. Homeruns? Again Inge here. Over the last 5 years he has hit 95 homeruns (16,27,14,11,27)… Uribe has hit 80 (16,21,20,7,16). RBI? Again 365 to 305 in favor of Inge over the last 5 years. Things certainly seem to favor Inge… unless you are looking for average.