Another ace in the making on the way?
We’re looking at the June swoon here, folks. At this point in time, your fantasy baseball league has probably separated like a vat of oil and water. You’ve got those at the top who are still plenty active, paying attention to every little detail in the baseball world, and are doing whatever they can to improve their squad and reach the finish line ahead of everyone else. The “haves”, if you will. But then you’ve got the “have nots”. You’ve got your dead teams that haven’t made a roster move since the 5th of May and you’ve got your league bottom-feeders who, try as they may, can do nothing to improve their place int he standings and have subsequently given up on their season. Sure, we’ve got some exceptions (Gentleman’s Game League – I’m looking at you with another edition of Roto Reality coming soon), but for the most part, your free agent waiver wire competition is a little less worrisome. That’s not to say you don’t need to stay on top of things…it’s just not that difficult to drop a guy in favor of a hot bat or hot arm and worry about him being scooped up immediately by your competition. You just might be able to take some risk, is all I’m saying. And from there, here we go with some fantasy baseball free agent waiver wire thoughts…
3 Up
Madison Bumgarner, SP SF – With 5th starter Todd Wellemeyer looking like he could be out longer than expected and with Joe Martinez stinking it up as a fill-in, it looks like the Giants could be ready to call up their next future ace for the weekend series against the Red Sox. After a terrible start to the season, largely blamed on the stress of a wedding at the age of 20, Bumgarner has been outstanding down in Triple-A and looks like he’s ready for the show. He’s currently 7-1 with a 3.16 ERA, and while he still seems to be giving up a few too many hits per game, he’s pitched with the finesse of a veteran and worked his way out of several jams. He could be up as early as Saturday and has talent enough to stash away and watch how he performs.
Brad Hawpe, OF COL – At last, at last, at last. We’ve been waiting to see signs from Hawpe that he is returning to his old ways, and it looks like that time has finally arrived. Now is the time to grab Hawpe off your waiver wire because once he strings together a few more solid games, the power will be in full force and owners will be tripping over themselves looking to snatch him up. He’s now hit safely in 6 of his last seven games and has 1 HR and 8 RBI in that span. While it could be a stretch to get 20+ homers out of him the rest of the way, the idea isn;t so far-fetched. At the least he should still total 80+ RBI on the year with a much improved average.
Brandon Morrow, SP TOR — It looks like things have finally clicked for Morrow as he is beginning to look like the ace the Mariners once thought they had. While he’s only logged 3 wins in his last 8 starts (no run support), Morrow has looked rock solid save for just one game. But if you take that one start in Arizona away, then you’re looking at some pretty sweet stuff. He’s gone 6 or more innings in 6 of those starts and hasn’t allowed more than 3 runs in 7 of them. In fact, over his last 5 starts (all quality starts, mind you), Morrow hasn’t given up more than 2 runs a game while averaging a little more than 5 Ks per start. If he’s available, he’s got 2 starts coming next week. The second start against the Yankees could be tough, but he’s already faced them once and walked away from the start with a 3.13 ERA.
Honorable Mention: Adam Jones, OF BAL – Multi-hit games in his last 5 with 3 HR and 6 RBI? It’d be even nicer if he chipped in a few steals, but it looks like the slump could be over. Grab him while you can.
3 Down
Manny Corpas, RP COL –The struggles continue for the temporary closer as Corpas has now allowed 8 ER in his last 2 1/3 innings of work (4 appearances). Now you might be able to say that those runs were in 2 outings and he’s not been charged with any runs in his last two appearances, but let’s be realistic here. In his last 5 outings, he’s allowed 10 hits and issued a pair of walks. He’s not even close to reliable and with Huston Street off the DL, the team will likely push for the removal of Corpas ASAP. They wanted to ease Street back in, but Corpas has just been awful.
Gordon Beckham, 2B CHW – The struggles continue for the once highly touted infielder as Beckham puts up another 0-3 in yesterday’s game, lowering his average to a lowly .199. He’s also leading the team with 48 strikeouts and has drawn only 29 walks this year, keeping his OBP at an unacceptable .270. What’s even worse now is that with the recalls of Dayan Viciedo and Brent Lillibridge, Ozzie Guillen has the ability to bench the kid, and even commented on Beckham’s struggles by saying, “when you strike out like that, you have to hit 40 HR.” Expect to see Beckham out of the lineup a little more often in the coming weeks.
Casey Blake, 3B LAD – The month of June has just been abyssmal for Blake as he missed the beginning with a sore back and is now just 8 for 42 (.190) since coming back. We’ve known all along that Blake is a streaky player, but he hasn’t hit a HR since May 26th and has just 4 RBI since that game. Don’t be surprised to see Joe Torre mix some things up and use Ronnie Belliard or Jamey Carroll at second while shifting Blake DeWitt to the hot corner. Blake is by no means finished, but to keep him in your lineup right now is a detriment to your team.
Dishonorable Mention: Starlin Castro, SS CHC – He’s got just 3 hits in his last 18 at bats (.167) over the last 6 games and was benched in favor of Mike Fontenot the other day. He doesn’t have a lot of power and without a high average or steals, he becomes irrelevant in non-keeper fantasy circles. Don’t be surprised to see Lou Pinella return to the Ryan Theriot/Fontenot middle infield again soon.
For the best in free fantasy baseball advice, tips, strategies, free agent waiver wire suggestions, and analysis, stick with The Fantasy Baseball Buzz and I’ll have you at the top of your standings in no time. And, as always, for all questions, thoughts and/or comments related to the baseball fantasy world or not, you can reach me through the comments section below or at rotobuzzguy@gmail.com.
Good luck and I’ll see you all in the money this year!
Loading ...