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Pierre will begin the season with a new team and Prior will start 2007 at Triple-A
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National League Hitters & Pitchers Report: Week 1
Contributed By: Greg Pyron
With week one of the baseball season finally upon
us, we will begin my weekly National League Hitter and Pitcher Report. Here, we
will take you on a quick tour of the National League giving news and notes of
interest for each team throughout the season.
ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS
Hitters: With the news that OF Carlos Quentin will begin the season on the 15-day disabled list, OF Scott Hairston figures to be a fine play in fantasy leagues, especially NL-only
leagues, for at least the first week of the season. Hairston had a monster
spring (.417-6-17 in 60 AB) so he will try to carry that hot hitting into week
one.
Pitchers: Newcomer LHP Doug Davis had a rough preseason (0-1, 8.50 ERA, 2.11 WHIP and 14K/7BB in 18 IP) so
if you own him in your NL-only league, you will likely want to seek other
options as he is scheduled to pitch at Coors Field on Wednesday.
ATLANTA BRAVES
Hitters: Converted outfielder Kelly Johnson earned
the starting second base job with a solid spring (.254-2-8 with .347 OBP and 2
SB in 24 games). Johnson is a guy who could hit around .270-.275 with 15 HR and
8-10 SB this season so he is a nice sleeper pick in NL-only leagues. 3B Chipper Jones (.304-4-11 in 46 AB overall) began the exhibition season in a slump, but
really heated up (4 HR in his last 9 games) as Opening Day drew closer. He
could be in for a big first week as the Braves face the Phillies for three at Citizens Bank Park
before hosting the Mets for three over the weekend. Chipper has absolutely
dominated Mets pitching throughout his career (.332-36-110 with 1.003 OPS in
163 games) and has more homers against them than any other team.
Pitchers: RHP Tim Hudson looked sharp
for most of spring training (1-0, 1.71 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 11K/3BB in 21 IP) and
could be primed for a rebound season. Last season Hudson struggled often with locating his
sinker and at times with his endurance. Over the winter he reverted back to the
offseason training regimen he used while in Oakland with the hopes of addressing the
endurance issue and regaining some velocity he lost last season. So far, so
good, as Hudson
has been getting for more groundballs than he did a year ago and that is
crucial to his game. Do not expect Hudson
circa 2003 to suddenly reappear, but he could end up being a nice bargain in
fantasy drafts this season.
CHICAGO CUBS
Hitters: OF Matt Murton will see
increased playing time over the first few weeks of the season while OF Cliff Floyd continues to recover from a left foot injury. Murton, 25, was solid a
year ago (.297-13-62 with 5 SB and .809 OPS in 144 games), particularly after
the All-Star Break (.319-9-35 with .911 OPS in 64 games). He is expected to bat
second so he should be good for plenty of runs scored batting ahead of Derrek
Lee and Aramis Ramirez. That being the case, he should have a good bit of value
in NL-only leagues early in the season.
Pitchers: RHP Mark Prior was optioned
to Triple-A Iowa on March 28 to get some innings under his belt to build up arm
strength. He could be back in the majors sometime in May if he does not suffer
an injury between now and then. Speaking of injuries, RHP Kerry Wood will open the season on the disabled list after once again complaining
of shoulder soreness. The Chicago Sun-Times recently speculated that Wood may
be out until at least June with the injury while pointing out that he has been
unable to sustain as many as three consecutive weeks of pitching since
undergoing shoulder surgery in 2005. This news on Prior and Wood sounds just a
wee bit familiar, doesn’t it?
CINCINNATI REDS
Hitters: OF Josh Hamilton has made the
Cincinnati Opening Day roster after hitting .403-1-9 in 65 AB this spring. Hamilton, the 1st
overall pick of the 1999 amateur draft, missed three years due to drug-related
suspensions and returned last season only to play 15 games at Single-A Hudson
Valley before suffering a season ending knee injury. The Cubs selected him from
Tampa Bay
in the Rule 5 draft in December and dealt him to Cincinnati. As fragile as both OF Ken Griffey Jr. and OF/INF Ryan Freel have
been over the years, Hamilton could see enough playing time to give him some
value in NL-only leagues.
Pitchers: There was talk earlier this spring that RHP Dustin Hermanson perhaps had the inside track for the closer job in Cincinnati. However, the 34-year-old was hit
pretty hard in his last few spring training appearances capped off by a very
rough outing on Saturday (0.1 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 0 K). It now appears that
RHP David
Weathers could get the nod, possibly
along with LHP Mike Stanton. Stay
tuned for the latest.
COLORADO ROCKIES
Hitters: C Chris
Iannetta went into spring training as a
possible sleeper candidate and he ended up running off C Javy Lopez by mid-March. Iannetta, 23, batted .353 with 0 HR, 8 RBI and 9K/10BB in
15 games. He should see most of the playing time behind the plate for the Rockies and should be a good play, particularly in
NL-only leagues, this week as the team plays three games at Coors Field.
Pitchers: RHP Aaron Cook is scheduled
to get the start on Opening Day at Coors Field after a fine exhibition season
(4-0, 2.13 ERA, 1.26 WHIP in 25.1 IP). It is also worth pointing out that he
actually pitched better at home than on the road last season (3.96 ERA at home
vs. 4.62 ERA away) so don’t be afraid to use him at home this week if he is on
your team.
FLORIDA MARLINS
Hitters: 2B Dan Uggla, on the heels
of a disappointing final month of 2006 (.221-5-10 with 29K/7BB and .630 OPS in
28 games), did not have an especially good spring at the plate (.224-2-11 with
18K/6BB and .616 OPS in 23 games). It’s just spring training, but the signs are
not very positive.
Pitchers: CL Jorge Julio had a pretty
shaky preseason (1-0, 7.94 ERA, 1.76 WHIP and 5K/2BB in 11.1 IP) including two
rough outings after coming over from Arizona in the March 26 trade (2 IP, 7 H,
4 ER, 1 BB, 1K). It would probably be a good idea for those in NL-only leagues
to hang on to LHP Taylor Tankersley. Tankersley is expected to open the season on the disabled list (expected
back by mid-April), but he could be a candidate for saves by May if Julio does
not get it together soon.
HOUSTON ASTROS
Hitters: Manager Phil Garner announced Saturday that OF Luke Scott would
see most of the playing time in right field over OF Jason Lane. Scott had a solid spring (.265-4-10 in 68 AB), but Lane (.274-6-16 in
62 AB) actually outhit him. Given Scott’s struggles against left-handed
pitching (.240-1-6 in 50 AB last season), it would make sense for this to
develop into a platoon situation at some point. As for this week, the Astros
are scheduled to face two lefties in six games.
Pitchers: CL Brad Lidge had a roller
coaster 2006 season and if his preseason performance (1-0, 11.00 ERA, 1.89 WHIP
and 7K/4BB in 9 IP) was any indication, more of the same could very well be in
store for 2007. If you invested pretty heavily in Lidge hoping for a return to
pre-2006 form, it would probably be a good idea to hedge your bets by pairing
him with RHP Dan Wheeler.
LOS ANGELES DODGERS
Hitters: OF Juan Pierre had a terrific
spring (.393-0-8 with 5 SB in 56 AB) and seems poised to start the season
strong with his new team. If SS Rafael Furcal (ankle) is forced to miss a couple games, Pierre would move up to the leadoff spot with
C Russell
Martin batting second. Such a temporary
arrangement would be a slight boost to the value of Martin.
Pitchers: RHP Brad Penny got off to a
slow start this spring and battled some shoulder soreness up until about a week
ago, but as his shoulder improved, so did his performance over his last two
outings. That being said, neither of his last two preseason starts were
especially good with his most recent being his best (5 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 1 BB,
1K). Hopefully the shoulder problem is behind him, but given his problems late
last season (6-7, 6.25 ERA, 1.60 WHIP in 80.2 IP after the break), his fantasy
owners should be at least somewhat concerned. The big right-hander is scheduled
to face the Giants at AT&T
Park on Friday. While
that is not exactly a daunting task, mixed leaguers may want to take a cautious
approach and leave him on the bench this week.
MILWAUKEE BREWERS
Hitters: Though 2B Rickie Weeks has
been a bit of a disappointment thus far in his brief major league career,
primarily due to injuries, there is no denying the talent and athleticism that
the 24-year-old possesses. Fantasy owners are no doubt pleased with the
momentum he is carrying into the regular season (.306-2-8 with 4 SB and .405
OBP in 62 AB this spring). The Brewers play six home games in week one (Weeks
has 14 HR and 17 SB in 353 lifetime AB at Miller Park)
so the young second baseman could be primed for a strong start.
Pitchers: It is interesting to look at LHP Chris Capuano’s 2006 season. Though his overall numbers (11-12, 4.03 ERA, 1.25 WHIP
and 174K/47BB in 221.1 IP) are nothing to sneeze at, he was terribly
inconsistent throughout finally ending with a dreadful September (0-4, 6.39
ERA, 1.53 WHIP and 21K/13BB in 38 IP). Capuano has followed that up by
struggling with his control this spring (1-1, 7.02 ERA, 1.74 WHIP and 10BB/9K
in 16.2 IP) thus making him a risky play in the short-term.
