While a strong, roll-with-the-punches draft strategy is crucial to a successful fantays baseball draft, doing the proper research will get you the furthest. And for that, you need to make sure you are monitoring all of the action going on during Spring Training. There are position battles to be won and lost, injuries occurring daily, and managerial whims to which you must pay attention as all may have a drstic affect on players you have been targeting. So for today, I’m going to scour through the relevant news from both the Grapefruit and Cactus Leagues and add my two cents to help you along. Not to worry, I’m going to only chime in on the relevant news. Nobody cares less about what Lance Zawadski is doing in Padres camp than me, so don’t worry. Only the necessary information is given here.
MLB Spring Training Injuries
Just based on his horiffic increase in walk rate and decrease in K-rate back in 2008, coupled with his ’09 season, I’m staying far away from the WHIP-killing Daisuke Matsuzaka. Now throw in the fact that he hasn’t even thrown his first live session of the spring because of a stiff neck, and you’ve got more than enough red flags to tell you to stay away. My experience with chiropractors and back issues of my own enable me to understand that this stiff neck is definitely related to his previous back issues, and this could be a chronic issue all year long. Clay Buchholz has obviously moved past him on the depth chart, and if I were you, I’d be steering clear on draft day.
The Marlins were dealing with a trio of injuries, but nothing that looks too serious anymore. John Baker (catcher) has been out with forearm tightness but he got some B-game at bats in over the weekend. Cody Ross (OF) has been dealing with a thumb injury but is back in the lineup today, and Cameron Maybin (OF) is finally running the bases after being out with a groin injury the past week. The biggest concern for me has been Maybin, but manager Fredi Gonzalez says that he should be fine and should see enough spring action still to be ready for Opening Day. I don’t see any of these injuries affecting draft value.
Felix Pie, a guy once thought of to be one fo the top prospects in baseball, is slowly but surely becoming an afterthought. I’m not even sure if I’d consider him even draft worthy for AL-only leagues these days. But with the time that Adam Jones seems to miss regularly, the absence of a long standing track record for Nolan Reimold, and the strong second half that Pie put up in 2009, he still gets some attention even as the 4th/5th outfielder in Baltimore. He’s been out since March 10th with shoulder tightness, but seems to be making his way back. The O’s could have him in the lineup as early as this week, but again, he’s nothing more than a very late round flier with the hope of some upside.
Staying with the Orioles, it looks like Brian Roberts’ back is freaking out fantasy owners all over. He’s been sent back to Baltimore, he’s on anti-inflammatory meds, and now may receive an epidural to help speed up the recovery process. While this is definitely a cause for concern, I don’t think there is cause for panic. It’s a slightly herniated disc, but Roberts and the team still seem optimistic about his Opening Day status. Let’s see what happens over the next week as I’m sure we’ll see another MRI or something as well.
Looks like Rick Ankiel’s ankle injury is a little more serious than it was first reported, as he is now being shut down for a week to give it some rest. Unless we don’t know something like tendon or ligament damage, then I don’t see this affecting Ankiel’s fantasy value too much. It’s not like the Royals have much in the way to replace him, so if he’s able to play, you know the team will play him. Keep watching, but if you’ve already drafted and grabbed him late (atleast I hope you waited until late), I wouldn’t be too concerned yet. The week off can do nothing but help him at this point.
Indians closer Kerry Wood, who was scratched from his last appearance due to muscle tightness in his back and shoulder, expects to be back on the mound by the middle of this week. Some folks still seem to be high on him thanks to his K/9 rate over the last 2 seasons, but his performance in ’09 coupled with his penchant for the DL always makes me nervous. But regardless of my opinion, he still remains a low end closing option. If you draft him, make sure you handcuff him to Chris Perez or Jensen Lewis, or better yet….just draft a better closer out there.
No more pillow-farts in Mets camp. Looks like Francisco Rodriguez has won his battle with pink-eye and should be ready to go this week. He remains a top choice at closer this season in both mixed and NL-only leagues.
The Rangers catching situation got a little better as Jarrod Saltalamacchia finally returned to action this past weekend. The shoulder has been a huge bother this season, so if you’re looking at drafting Salty, you’re going to need to make sure you have a better than viable back-up option. The team will also likely spell him as often as they can with Taylor Teagarden to ensure his shoulder gets the necessary rest, so you’d have to consider him a fairly low end option.
Cubs’ 3B Aramis Ramirez is still working his way back from recent triceps issues and is expected to resume throwing sometime this week. It’s always something with Ramirez who missed 2 months of last season with a dislocated shoulder. In fact, he’s good for atleast one DL stint a year it seems. When healthy, he’s definitely a solid option at third. You just need to handcuff him to a another decent corner guy just in case. Keep monitoring his progress, but it doesn’t sound serious enough yet to drop him down on draft boards.
I don’t know how much more Lance Berkman I can do here, or if I even need to do it anymore. The declining power of the Astros first baseman has been something I’ve noted for years. His injury history has also been something I’ve pointed out before. Well, arthroscopic knee surgery is in play and Berkman is out for probably out for about 3 or 4 weeks. He claims he’ll be ready for Opening Day, and while that could be true, I’d still rather have numerous other guys at first base for my fantasy team.
MLB Free Agent Signings
No, shortstop Adeiny Hechevarria does not have any fantasy value for 2010 now that he’s signed his $10M contract with the Blue Jays. Keep tabs on him for long term keeper leagues, but I don’t see him up in the majors at any point this season.
MLB Spring Training Position Battles
It appears that we have a pair of veterans vying for the final spot on the Cubs’ Opening Day roster as Kevin Millar and Chad Tracy are fighting to stay employed. The Chicago outfield is already set with Alfonso Soriano, Marlon Byrd and the platoon of Xavier Nady and Kosuke Fukudome, but with Nady’s ability to play the field regularly right now, the team wants to keep itself covered. Expect this to go on for a week or so more, but I don’t see why the team would wait on a decision rather than giving the loser in this battle a chance to sign on elsewhere. Millar is currrently having the better spring, hitting .385 to Tracy’s .267, so I’ll give the edge to him. Neither, though, really is anything more than a waiver wire pickup if an injury occurs.
Staying with the Cubbies, it looks like Mike Fontenot isn’t going down without a fight. The starting second base job looked like it was being handed over to Jeff Baker, but Fontenot his 9 for 19 this spring with a home run, a couple of walks and only one strikeout. If Lou Pinella were to make the decision today, he’d go with a platoon hitting Baker vs lefties and Fontenot the other way, but since Fontenot is the better glove man, he could force the issue of playing time if Baker starts off slow. I might have to add Fonenot to my next fantasy baseball sleepers list.
They’re saying that Gio Gonzalez might have the inside track on the #5 spot in the A’s rotation over Trevor Cahill, but I’m not really buying it. While Gonzalez’ spring numbers look better than Cahill’s right now, we’re not looking at the biggest of sample sizes. I’ve actually been a big fan of Gonzalez’ over the last few years, but have watched as he continues to battle command issues. Both could be in line for a rotation spot, depending on the fragile health of Justin Duchscherer, but I still think the edge goes to Cahill come Opening Day.
The Astos’ closing situation, to me, is still undecided. People are still tabbing Brandon Lyon as the guy the team will go with, but with his shoulder issues and the team’s cautious behavior here in the spring, I think Matt Lindstrom should eventually win out. I know that Lyon was the higher priced guy and therefore the Astros want to give him every opportunity to walk away with the job, but I just don’t see him as that much better an option than Lindstrom. With the team likely still leaning towards Lyon, you have to give him the edge, but expect him to give way to a better pitcher in the first couple of months.
As I said in my Pirates analysis the other day, you should look out for Bobby Crosby in Pittsburgh. The team;s primary option has been Ronny Cedeno, a solid glove man who just hasn’t lived up to his potential. But the team signed Crosby to act as a utility guy and now he’s playing this spring like the old days when he actually looked like he wanted to win a starting job. With a hand injury keepeing Cedeno on the bench now, a window has opened for Crosby who has gone 8 for 21 this spring with 3 HR and 3 doubles. Keep an eye on him as he could end up being a great sleeper in NL-only and very deep mixed leagues this year.
While we’re still waiting on Matt Joyce’s health results, I’m going to try and continue my jump on the Sean Rodriguez hype. The battle between Rodriguez and Reid Brignac to win the roster spot and be a part of the platoon at second base isn’t even close in my opinion. Brignac may be hitting 17 points higher in average (.,417 to .400), but Rodriguez has a 60 point advantage in OBP, has nearly doubled Brignac’s slugging percentage, has 4 HR to Brignac’s zero, and has almost twice the total bases in the same amount of playing time. If I were Joe Maddon, I’d keep Ben Zobrist out in right field and let Rodriguez, a tremendous 2010 sleeper pick, handle the second base duties.
The battle for playing time in the St. Louis infield remains murky at best, but with Julio Lugo now being sidelined with a groin problem, the door opens a bit wider for newly signed Felipe Lopez. Between the injury to Brendan Ryan and now this with Lugo, the tandem of Lopez and Skip Schumaker could be the way the Cards go on Opening Day. Keep an eye on the whole situation as all of them will take a hit in fantasy value if they go into some form of rotation as opposed to using the same guy every day. But add Lopez to your list of sleepers.
Nationals’ rookie prospect Ian Desmond is giving himself a definitel value boost these days. He’s tearing the cover off the ball in Spring Training and is gaining ground on Cristian Guzman for the shortstop job in Washington. Nats GM Mike Rizzo said that Desmond will either be starting at short in the bigs or in Triple-A, but he won’t be moved around anywhere else. That leaves Adam Kennedy reasonably safe at second still, but could put Guzman on the bench if the Nats feel like eating his contract. My guess is that he will end up in Triple-A to start, but as long as he continues to play well, he is one little Guzman slump away from getting his due.
There’s plenty more coming as The Fantasy Baseball Buzz continues it’s first rate Spring Training and pre-draft coverage. I’ll be doing more updates from both the Grapefruit and Cactus Leagues, more position battle analysis, and of course, will be adjusting the Buzz’ 2010 Fantasy Baseball Player Rankings and Cheat Sheets throughout the next few weeks. I’ll hit you with more fantasy baseball sleepers, rookie reports, bullpen and fantasy baseball closers updates and all the prep work you’ll need for your upcoming fantasy baseball draft. Remember, The Fantasy Baseball Buzz is your number one resource for free fantasy baseball advice, insights, player rankings, strategies and all the tools you’ll need to win your fantasy baseball leagues.
Good luck and I’ll see you all in the money this year!
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