DraftBuddy.com

Fantasy Baseball and Fantasy Football Draft Tools

Fantasy Baseball Stock Watch – Lowrie, Granderson, Sandoval

By Leave a Comment

Stock Up

Jed Lowrie, 2B/SS, BOS – Lowrie has been red hot in the last week. With .429BA/3HR/11RBI/9R, the Red Sox have to play him as often as possible. The multi-position flexibility is nice for your team and Marco Scutaro needs to be looking over his shoulder as Lowrie is attempting to put a claim on the shortstop job full-time.

Curtis Granderson, OF, NYY – Granderson has found his groove in the Bronx and is hitting a stout .429/4/6/7 over the last week. He hasn’t done much base stealing this season, but that should come with time. Enjoy the average and power for now.

Placido Polanco, 3B, PHI – Polanco is hitting just when the Phillies need someone to step up. He’s never been known for power, but he’s producing in all categories with very nice efficiency: .360/2/4/4 with 3 SB. Ride him while he’s hot.

Pablo Sandoval, 3B, SF – Plenty of fantasy players were hopeful Sandoval would bounce back this season after a disappointing 2010, and the big guy isn’t letting us down. Though the average isn’t as high as one would like, you can’t argue with the .250/3/7/6 he’s posted in the last week. If nothing else, you’ll get good power from Panda.

Jeff Francoeur, OF, KC – This is the kind of thing we expected from Francoeur about five years ago. When his game went into the toilet, most people wrote him off. Now he’s back hitting .409/2/8/4 for the week. Don’t expect anything like this to continue, but enjoy the ride as long as Frenchy is in the zone.

Kyle Lohse, SP, STL – Just when you thought the Cardinals were out of it without Adam Wainwright fronting the rotation, along comes a stellar start from Lohse. In the last week, Lohse has tossed 16.3 innings while winning two, striking out 12 and giving his owners a 1.10 ERA and a 0.67 WHIP. Will it last? Probably not, but take it for now.

Scott Baker, SP, MIN – Did Baker just fan 15 hitters in the last week? Yes he did. He’s also putting up ratios of 0.64 ERA and 0.71 WHIP. This might finally be the breakthrough season for Baker.

Jose Contreras, RP, PHI – Contreras has three saves and no earned runs in the last week. Add in five K and a 1.00 WHIP and you’ve got a great fill-in for the injured Brad Lidge.

 
Stock Down

Hanley Ramirez, SS, FLA – Ramirez is still stinking up the joint. He hit .133 last week with only 3 RBI and 2 SB to show for it. Make a push to his owner that Han-Ram is wilting and he would do well to except whatever generous offer you are proposing.

David Wright, 3B, NYM – Wright’s poor week was the result of a 0-for-20 streak. That anemic output led to .095/1/3/2. This guy will hit, so play him and wait it out until he comes around. He’s another good buy-low candidate if his owner is getting antsy.

Carl Crawford, OF, BOS – The Red Sox thought they were buying Carl Crawford, not Cindy Crawford. Pitchers have made Carl look as bad as if Cindy was swinging the bat instead. Last week saw Crawford post a .125/0/2/1 line and a drop in the Red Sox batting order down to the seventh slot. He’ll get it going, but it might be wise to sit him for a week until he gets that confidence back.

Nelson Cruz, OF, TEX – Cruz was always known for being a great hitter who can’t stay healthy. Right now, he’s healthy and just can’t hit. He hit a paltry .136/0/0/1 for the week and doesn’t have Josh Hamilton around for the next six weeks to help him out. It might be time to put him on the trading block and see if someone is willing to pay you full price for Cruz. Don’t sell him for a discount, but jump if the price is right.

Roy Halladay, SP, PHI – Halladay put up a real clunker this week against Milwaukee. Don’t worry, this isn’t a trend. Maybe you can convince his owner that he’s lost it by throwing out the 8.10 ERA and 1.80 WHIP.

Clayton Kershaw, SP, LAD – Kershaw had one bad game and one good game that fell apart in the ninth as he was attempting to put up a CG. The ERA for the week was a dismal 5.40 and the WHIP was almost as bad at 1.50. But the 12 K shows he’s still getting hitters out on his own. He’s fine, just ride out the bumpy patch.

Fantasy Baseball Stock Watch – Berkman, Tulowitzki, Justin Upton

By Leave a Comment

It is still early in the season as teams continue to yo-yo up and down the standings in your fantasy league. Stay the course – mostly – and take note of the players who are over and underperforming expectations.

 
Stock Up

Lance Berkman, 1B/OF, STL – Berkman has found the fountain of youth in the Gateway City. Over the last dozen years, several players have come to St. Louis and find one last hurrah at the end of a strong career, such as Larry Walker, Tino Martinez, and Will Clark. Berkman is adding his name to that list for the time being, hitting .286/4HR/10RBI/5R in the last week. Ride him for now, but chasing fly balls out in right field will wear him down as the season goes on.

Troy Tulowitzki, SS, COL – As long as he stays healthy, a lot is expected of Tulowitzki. His monstrous September seems to have flowed into April as he’s hit .381/3/9/5 over the last week. Little seems to be able to stop him right now. Can he stay away from the disabled list in 2011? It is still early, and I’m still concerned about his ability to avoid injury.

Prince Fielder, 1B, MIL – It looks like the big fellow is taking this contract season thing pretty seriously. Fielder has blistered .500/3/11/3 over the last week. If he keeps anything close to this up, he’ll attract a lot of attention in free agency.

Chris Young, OF, ARI – Young is hitting on all cylinders. He is typically a great source of speed and power at the cost of batting average, but that isn’t a problem for him right now. Young has hit .346/3/9/8 over the last week and seems to be primed for more of the same. He might finally have found the secret to hitting without seeing the average hanging around .250, but don’t go crazy and expect him to end up at .300.

Justin Upton, OF, ARI – Young’s teammate is also surging. Upton struggled last season due to injury but seems to be healthy hitting .409/2/5/8 with a stolen base in the last week. Look for a return to the strong season that he put up in 2009.

Matt Kemp, OF, LAD – Kemp also slumped badly in 2010 and there have been a lot of questions about his desire to always play at his best. If the last week is any indication, Kemp seems very motivated as he’s posted .524/0/3/4 with six steals.

Brian Fuentes, RP, OAK – Five saves in seven days is quite a week for a guy who was a setup guy just a few weeks ago. Fuentes also struck out six while not giving up a run during that stretch. Andrew Bailey will get the closer role back when he returns from the DL, but enjoy Fuentes for now.

 
Stock Down

Hanley Ramirez, SS, FLA – Ramirez is still struggling. The consensus number two fantasy player has posted a .200 average with two ribbies over the last week. That is tough to swallow, but maybe his owner is getting nervous so this could be a good time to make him an offer as the cold streak will end and the real Han-Ram will emerge.

Carl Crawford, OF, BOS – Crawford is the leader of the ineptness of the Boston offense to start the season. He’s not the only Red Sox player scuffling, but has only a .111 average and two runs to show for the high expectations during the week.

Adrian Gonzalez, 1B, BOS – Crawford’s teammate Gonzalez is hitting equally poor. Hitting .190/0/2/2 over the week is not what the Red Sox thought they would get from his bat when they traded for him over the winter. Don’t worry, because A-Gone and Crawford will both rebound in strong fashion.

Mark Teixeira, 1B, NYY – Teixeira is a notoriously slow starter. He has even admitted that he doesn’t prepare during spring training as if he was trying to play his best right out of the gate. He claims that he would rather hit his peak late in the season and that he is merely building his way there. He’s obviously not wasting any energy here in April as he has only hit .111/0/0/2 during the week.

Felix Hernandez, SP, SEA – Hernandez put up a dud on Monday, giving up seven runs on 10 hits against the Toronto Blue Jays. This isn’t likely to happen again this season and expect a strong rebound in his next start coming against the Kansas City Royals. There is nothing to worry about here.

Ubaldo Jimenez, SP, COL – Jimenez gave up six runs on seven hits, including two homers, on Opening Day and then hit the DL. His rehab start was a good one and a return Monday is likely. His home/road splits were very dramatic last season, so look carefully at the opponent and venue for all road games that Jimenez pitches.

Fantasy Baseball Stock Watch – Bloomquist, Quentin, Kendrick

By Leave a Comment

As we finish up the first full week of the Major League Baseball season, let’s look back at what, or who, is trending. Several players are doing better than expected and several are doing worse, but remember this is a 162 game season and the trends tend to even out over the marathon that baseball is. This is more about streaks, which can be the difference between picking up a few extra points in batting average or grabbing a few extra stolen bases now since they can be harder to come by in September.

Stock Up

Willie Bloomquist, 3B/SS/OF, ARI

The benefactor of Stephen Drew’s injury is Bloomquist. After Thursday, Bloomy was hitting .348 with1 HR, 4 RBI, 4 R and 5 SB. There is nothing in his past that suggests that he should continue this for any length of time, but ride him while he’s hot. As long as he is hitting, he’ll get at-bats, even after Drew returns.

Carlos Quentin, OF, CWS

Quentin is absolutely raking. After six games, he stands at .458/2/10/6. There’s nothing to say that he can’t repeat his monstrous performance from 2008, but he’s going to have to stay healthy to do it and that seems to be a big problem for Quentin.

Howie Kendrick, 1B/2B, LAA

Kendrick was often viewed as a future batting champion with a little pop in his bat, but not this much. After six games, Kendrick has put up .417/3/3/7. He won’t keep that pace up, but this may be the season he finally steps into the elite fantasy second basemen tier.

Brennan Boesch, OF, DET

Boesch is a good player who just needs the chance to play every day. Boesch has posted a .421/1/5/7 in five games and even though he won’t keep up that pace, he will continue to get at-bats as long as his bat is hot.

Alex Avila, C, DET

Avila was being hyped as a future star at catcher before last season. When his 2010 campaign went sour, so did most fantasy owners and Avila’s stock dropped for the 2011 season. He’s having the kind of season many envisioned last year with a .294/2/7/4/1. This is the kind of stuff you’d love to post for your backstop this season.

Alex Gordon, OF, KC

Is Gordon finally breaking loose? He was a much ballyhooed prospect a few years back and it was beginning to look like he was a bust, but perhaps that was premature. After six games, Gordon is riding .379/1/4/7 line for the Royals and may be headed for a big breakout. Watch him closely or stash him on your bench if you have a slot.

 
Stock Down

There are really too many to mention here, and we don’t want to set off a panic amongst Albert Pujols, Hanley Ramirez, Evan Longoria and Carl Crawford owners, amongst others. We are a little over a week in. Say it again – we are a little over a week in to a long season. Every season has its surprises, both good and bad, but it is too early to foresee these first round studs being complete busts that you should jump ship.

Longoria is injured, unlike the others, and if someone is willing to give you fair value while you don’t believe he’ll be back soon or back to the level he should be, then by all means make a trade. If someone else in your league owns these guys and they’ve hit their own panic button, throw them a trade offer. Don’t be insulting, but something reasonable at least starts the conversation that you are interested.

Good luck, and cheers to the start of another season!