Dan Heyder has been involved in fantasy sports since 2001 with baseball
being his "bread and butter" sport. He’s written many articles for
web sites such as fantasybaseball.com and SI.com. He’ll also be
featured in the upcoming 2007 Fantasy Baseball Draft Guide.
Bartolo Colon is expected to make his first appearance this season Saturday against the Mariners. Colon's fastball was clocked in the mid-90s with a high of 96 mph during his final tune-up this past Sunday
Waiver Grumblings Week #4 Contributed by Dan Heyder
The
first three weeks of the 2007 fantasy baseball season have just about come and
gone like the wind. Just as quickly, Week 4 is approaching. The trend of the
year thus far seems to be playing the role of Chicken Little; running around
alerting the public that ‘the sky is falling!’ First, it was falling on Andruw
Jones, Ryan Howard, Albert Pujols, and Manny Ramirez (then they finally hit
home runs, phew, well, except for Manny; the sky is still falling for him)…
More recently, it’s been falling on Alex Gordon and Mark Teixeira… And that’s
not all.
If
you’re new to this thing we call Fantasy Baseball, then take a seat in the
front row, grab a pen and some paper and get ready to take some notes.Welcome to fantasy baseball folks – where
championships aren’t won in the first month of the season. However, they can be
lost. How, you ask?
Haste,
unnecessary and/or rash tinkering, overreacting, and doubting; if the season
were ending April 30, there’d probably be a bit more cause for alarm. But guess
what? It isn’t, so there’s not.
Just
remember a few things folks, Rome
wasn’t built in a day and Teixeira started off slowly last season as well
before having one of the best 2nd halves this sports has witnessed
in some time.So, if you’re panicking
when we’re barely mid-way through April, what are you going to do when May
rolls around and your second round pick is batting .220? Drop him? Provided
you’ve drafted wisely, there’s a reason you took this player with one of the
first 20 or so picks in your draft, right? Glad we agree.
Just
to put some things in perspective, here are a few examples of some decisions you
may be pondering:
LIGHTNING IN A BOTTLE
C – Carlos Ruiz – PHI Carlos
Ruiz has gotten the bulk of the starts thus far for the Phillies over
opening-day starter Rod Barajas. Ruiz maintains his rookie status after getting
69 at-bats last season. He showed some power in the minors, slugging 17 home
runs for Double-A Reading in 2004 and 16 homers for Triple-A
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre last season. Ruiz is now worth considering in all NL-only
leagues and some larger mixed leagues as he has pop and the potential to play
regularly.
OF – Sammy Sosa – TEX “Slammin”
Sammy Sosa is starting to hit like hit did this Spring. He's on a modest
four-game hitting streak with two homers in his last three games, so AL-only
owners could put him back in their lineups if they haven't already. Sosa is a
sleeper in deeper mixed leagues, but at his age, he is not someone you can
trust regularly. You may want to grab
him now in case this hot streak continues.
OF – Adam Lind – TOR Blue
Jays left fielder Reed Johnson will undergo surgery Tuesday to repair a
herniated disk in his lower back.Enter
Adam Lind, who start in left while Johnson is out. As Lind showed while hitting
.367 with two homers in 60 at-bats last season, he's more than big-league
ready. He has a lot of pop in his bat – very similar to a young Aubrey Huff --
and is viewed as a great pick up in all league formats.
SP– Bartolo Colon – LAA Los Angeles
Times
reports that Bartolo Colon is expected to start Saturday against the Mariners.He will be returning from a torn rotator cuff
injury that has kept him out of action since July of 2006. In each of his three
rehab starts (two in Class A, one in Triple-A), Colon's fastball was clocked in the mid-90s
with a high of 96 mph during his last start this past Sunday. Manager Mike
Scioscia said Colon
will not be on a specific pitch limit when he returns as he threw 95 pitches
Sunday. Consider the injury-risk veteran ace in any league for Fantasy Week 4
(April 23-29), if he comes out of his Saturday start well.
OF – Moises Alou – NYM Over the last three years, Alou has
displayed his affection for the months of April and May. During that
span he batted .321 with 28 HRs, 84 RBI in 399 at-bats. 2007 appears
no different thus far and surprisingly he’s only owned in 67% of the
mixed leagues. Until atleast June or his first visit to the DL
(whichever comes first mind you), he remains a must-start in all
NL-only Fantasy leagues and he is a decent No. 4 or 5 outfielder in
mixed formats.
Despite his 40-plus-years-of-age Alou is hitting in arguably the most dangerous lineup in baseball
OF- Ryan Theriot – CHC Ryan
Theriot is currently on a six game hitting streak (8-19) with three RBI and two
stolen bases. Theriot is versatile and has speed. He should get enough at-bats
in a reserve role to be a valuable part of an NL-only league roster. Theriot is emerging as a solid Fantasy option
in roto leagues as well as he is contributing nicely in the steals department.
OF- Carlos Quentin – ARI The Arizona Diamondbacks
activated Carlos Quentin (shoulder) from the 15-day disabled list on Monday and
they assigned 3B Brian Barden to Tucson
of Triple-A.Quentin is batting fifth
and playing in right field in manager Bob Melvin's starting lineup. If Quentin,
who is batting .571 (4-7) since his return, was dropped in your league, now is
the time to go pick him back up as it appears safe to get Quentin back into the
lineup in all NL-only Fantasy leagues.
OF- Feix Pie – CHC Felix Pie had an RBI double in his first
major-league game Tuesday in the Cubs' 4-3 extra-inning loss to the
Padres. The Pie watch in the minors was a short one this season, due to
Alfonso Soriano's injury. Pie
went 1-for-6, making contact each of the first five times up, and
striking out the final at-bat. Pie will get all the starts while
Soriano is out, so if you got him, use him. But what happens when
Soriano gets back is unknown -- he could be sent back down, or he will
remain in CF with Soriano moving to LF.
SP- Wandy Rodriguez – HOU Due to an injury to Jason Jennings,
Wandy Rodriguez made his second start to the season against the Marlins
allowing one run and five hits in six innings in a no-decision.
Rodriguez will look for better results over the weekend when he toes
the rubber at Miller Park against the Brewers in Milwaukee. His Fantasy
value remains limited to the deepest of NL-only Fantasy leagues unless
he faces multiple starts such as he is this week.
SP- Tom Gorzelanny – PIT Tom Gorzelanny threw 8.1 innings of four-hit ball Tuesday to pick up his second win of the season in the Pirates' 6-1 victory over the Cardinals. Gorzelanny allowed three walks with his four hits while striking out two. His one run allowed lowered his ERA to 1.33 and his WHIP dropped to 0.95 over three appearances. This gem lowered his ERA to 1.80 and WHIP to 0.95.
OTHER CONSIDERATIONS
SP- Jason Hirsh – COL In his Coors Field debut, Jason Hirsh had a quality start by allowing only three runs on six hits and three walks over seven innings. He struck out five. Hirsh is working in the back-end of the Colorado rotation and is still only worth a look in NL-only Fantasy leagues and keeper formats despite the quality start. He is however moving up the starting pitcher rankings will become a mixed league option on continued success.
SP- Ted Lilly – CHC Ted Lilly struck out 10 in six innings and allowed just one run on two hits. However, he got the loss in a 1-0 decision against the Reds in his last start. On the plus side, Lilly has 24 strikeouts in 19 innings this season and the switch from the American League to the National League is doing wonders for Lilly’s value. Lilly is a must-start in all NL-only leagues and a decent No. 3 or No. 4 SP in larger mixed leagues. His next scheduled start is for Friday against the Cardinals.
C – Pete LaForest – SD Pete Laforest made his Padres debut Saturday night, and impressed manager Bud Black to the point he will stick with his backstop while Josh Bard is on the DL. Laforest, who is currently batting .429, played previously in the majors with Tampa Bay in 2003 and 2005. Despite the good words from Bud Black, Laforest is only worth a look in the deepest of NL-only Fantasy leagues at this point.
THE CUTTING BOARD
SP- Edwin Jackson – TB Edwin Jackson's Achilles' heel has always been walks. Jackson, who is 0-2 with an 8.31 ERA, did a nice job in his first start to only issue one walk, but the same did not happen Saturday. If he keeps on putting out bad performances, he won't be in the Devil Rays rotation for long. He remains just a spot start AL-only option. His next scheduled start is against the Indians is one you want no part of.
SP- Jeff Weaver – SEA
Weaver can't be trusted; even taking the mound every fifth day in pitcher-friendly Safeco Field he is too inconsistent
Jeff Weaver, not to be confused with his more effective little brother Jered, had another lackluster start, pitching 6 innings in which he allowed 10 hits and walked 1, giving up 7 earned runs to the Twins. With this outing Weaver actually lowered his season ERA to 15.75. If that doesn't make you scratch your head and wonder why anybody still owns him, then I don't know what will. He's looked hittable in both starts this season, and likely won't sport an ERA under 5.00 at any point this year. If you haven't already, go ahead and dump him saving yourself from any future agony.
2B- Dustin Pedroia – BOS After struggling this spring, Pedroia is off to an even slower start to the regular season. He is hitting .207 with just three runs scored. Pedroia is currently ranked dead last amongst all second baseman in the game and deserves to be treated as such until he figures out how to hit again.
OF- Wilson Betimitt – LAD Wilson Betemit, 1-for-24 (.042) after going hitless in four at-bats Saturday night, wasn't in the lineup Sunday night against the Padres. Perhaps this is a sign of things to come as you have to wonder how long the Dodgers will go with Betemit struggling at third base. Don't be surprised if they call-up Andy LaRoche or move Nomar Garciaparra to third and call-up slugger James Loney. Betemit should be reserved in all Fantasy leagues until he gets going.
SP- Brett Myers – PHI Manager Charlie Manuel is obviously looking for a nice severance package in the well anticipated dismissal from the team. The Phillies win the award for most shocking news in the early part of the season as they announced today that Brett Myers will be moved to the bullpen and Jon Lieber will assume the vacated rotation spot. Charlie Manuel said that Myers will pitch in the late innings as a setup man and could be the closer on days when CL Tom Gordon is unavailable.
