New Studs on the Block takes a look at players ready to make the leap from "possibly productive fantasy player" to "must-have fantasy stud." This is not a "you've never heard of this dude, but ... " series -- these should be names you already know.Today I wanna proclaim the following three young pitchers are going to be absolute fantasy monsters by the end of the season, if you don't consider them to meet said criteria already ... basically what I'm saying is that you should never consider benching the following in any fantasy league. I'm that psyched for the potential of these boys.
Brandon Morrow, RP, Mariners
I already wrote about his menacing presence on the hill and beastly potential as a closer. Since that entry, he's been out of his freaking mind, though. I didn't even imagine this. In nine appearances he's closed all six of his save chances, while striking out 12 in 9 2/3 innings. That's not even the best part. Seriously. He's faced 31 hitters, and only two have reached base. One walk, one hit. That's it. Neither dude scored, either. He's allowing a .098 OPS as closer! That's gross. Yes, I'm aware the Mariners suck big-time. Common sense dictates that when a bad team wins it's generally gonna be a close game and the wins are rare enough that the closer won't get overworked. He can still pile up saves. And he'll continue to do so.
Clay Buchholz, SP, Red Sox
He's coming back the Red Sox rotation, and this time it's gonna be for good. He's too good to sit in triple-A, where his ERA is 1.63 in over 38 innings. We've seen enough flashes (like, say, a no-hitter) to know that he's got enough potential to dominate every once in a while in the bigs, too. He hasn't been consistent yet, but he's only 23 right now. This time around the difference is that he's ready to take over as a full-time stud. It helps that he plays for the Red Sox, but he's also got the make-up and the stuff. I'm expecting a large second half, beginning with his Friday start. Get him if he's available in any league where he's not already been snatched up.
Ricky Nolasco, SP, Marlins
Maybe Jim Hendry wouldn't be desperately searching for a Jason Marquis replacement (in fairness, the Cubs would probably replace Sean Marshall's spot should they make a trade ... I'm just saying that Marquis is abysmal) if he didn't deal Nolasco to the Marlins for one uninspiring year of Juan Pierre. Wow, what a bad deal it appears to be in 2008. Almost as bad as it was at the time. I wrote about how hot young Ricky was a little over a week ago, and in the two starts since he's been even sicker ... now the season totals put him in must-start every game territory: 10 wins, 3.74 ERA, 82/29 K/BB.
Check that waiver wire, or possibly start working the trading block. These guys are the new studs on the block.
