As Watson noted earlier, there has been a fairly decent seismic shift in the National League Arms Race, what with the Cubs acquiring Rich Harden only 24 hours after the Brewers picked up CC Sabathia. And just like it affects real baseball, the trade does some things for fantasy owners as well. So, why not look at the four biggest names in the trade?
Rich Harden, SP -- I've said it once, and I'll say it again: sell high on Harden. Billy Beane rarely gets suckered and this deal kind of looks like one of those times, no? Which makes me think "ruh-roh" with regard to Harden's health. Especially when you remember that during his next to last start in an Oakland uni, he was barely topping 90 mph. But his move to one of the most offensively potent teams and a World Series contender should boost his value in theory, making him a prime sell.
As always, the hype machine owns everyone. Two youngsters -- one in Los Angeles and one in a somehow bigger circus scene that is Cincinnati.
Clayton Kershaw, SP, LAD (18,458 Adds) -- Hey, I'm just as guilty as everyone else. A keeper league team I own is sinking quickly, and instead of grabbing someone to shore up this season, I've got a death grip on Kershaw. Joe Torre called him Sandy Koufax. Basically. And if the bullpen doesn't cough up his start, we'd be even hotter on the guy right now. Seasonal leagues should use their first waiver claim to grab him and then sell high. Keeper leagues want to hold if the price is right.
Jay Bruce, OF, CIN (13,017 Adds) -- It seems inevitable that he will stick, right? Well, because Dusty Baker is a fool, there is actually a question. Bruce is a legitimate threat to dominate this season, so he is a moderate buy. He's probably already too hyped (and owned) in your league, so it is tough to get a reasonable price. But if he begins to struggle, pounce on him in a trade offer.
Doug Davis, SP, ARI (3,840 Adds) -- Obviously, Davis returning from cancer was at best a risky proposition for fantasy owners. A great story, sure, but a risky bet. Sadly, he is still a sell high. The return is great, but history tells us he is not going to maintain a decent ERA. I'd use him in matchups for a back of the rotation guy, but don't be fooled by the fascinating nature of his cancer battle. (Heartless, I know.)
Joba Chamberlain is going to be a starting pitcher soon ... and we finally have definitive evidence. After Joba tossed 35 pitches tonight against the O's in mop-up duty, his manager proclaimed the the "process has begun."
Several things had to happen for this turn of events, and the most significant is that the Yankees just aren't winning. Phi Hughes and Ian Kennedy didn't do their part, Mike Mussina started badly and sucked last night, and the "New Boss" Hank has been complaining enough that Cashman and Girardi finally were scared enough to make the transition a reality.
Fantasy Spin:
It's going to take several weeks, but Joba's upside is most certainly worth the wait. As Tom Petty taught us, the waiting is the hardest part ... and he wasn't lying. Joba as a starter will eventually be an elite one. He's got better make-up and stuff than both Kennedy and Hughes, in addition to the fact that he's developed much more pedigree and confidence in his service time to this point. Not many of the hitters he's seen have seen his full arsenal of pitches, either. There's no reason to think he's going to go through a down period. Go get this man now if he's available via your waiver wire, and he is in nearly a quarter of all fantasy leagues.
Also realize the offense in the Bronx has been suffering without Alex Rodriguez and Jorge Posada. ARod is already raking in his second day back and Posada will be back soon enough. The other guys will come around as well.
I actually tried to make this post short so you didn't waste time before grabbing Joba.
It matters that much. Get outta here and make the move.
Are you going to tell me about how he struck out 208 batters when he was only 24, or that he followed that up with 189 in 198 innings the following season? Or that he's K'd 50 this season in less than 60 innings? I don't care about that. He sucks.
Are you going to inform me that he's only 27 years old and he may be suffering through a rough start with his location because he's still adjusting back to being a starter after being thrust into the closer's role early last season? Oh c'mon.
I suppose next you'll tell me that he won 25 games combined in '05-'06, to which I'd reply that he's only on pace for about seven this year. Like I said ... SUCKS!
Please don't tell me that his WHIP was between 1.20 and 1.30 each of the last three years, because this year it is 1.60. As Chuck Barkley would say, that's turrible.
Those sub-4.00 ERAs his last two years as a full-time starter that you want to bring up? A thing of the past. He's sitting with a 5.76 currently. Wow, he blows.
I don't want to hear that his allowed .335 BABIP is way too high and statistically should start coming down, because it doesn't help my cause. He's just a bad pitcher.
Small sample size? Puh-leez. It's late May.
/the idiot in your fantasy league that has given up on Brett Myers ...
Getting the jump on injured, rehabbing or struggling players can help win your fantasy leagues. Stash tells you what your play is for these guys.
Fans of Curt Schilling -- basically only Red Sox fans at this point since he's become an insufferable, bloggy, loud-mouth -- received some good news late last week when he was able to long toss a bit. Schill's on the 60-Day DL, so he won't be back for a bit ... most reports indicate mid-July at the absolute earliest. More realistic is to see him rejoin the Sox rotation for the last six weeks of the regular season to help with the pennant race.
Can he still help?
The numbers tell you his decline hasn't been severe enough to think he's done. His ERA last year was 3.87, nearly a run better than the league average, and he was still able to rack up a 101/23 K/BB. He won nine games in 24 starts, including one complete game shutout. While several of these numbers are in decline (his K/9 has been in decline for the past three years), again, it's not severe enough to believe he can't aid the cause of both the Red Sox and your fantasy team.
Finally, a decent excuse from the Los Angeles Dodgers for Andruw Jones' poor performance, since it would just be too freaking easy to come out and say "he is overweight". Apparently, Jones has a problem with his right knee that could cause surgery.
The Dodgers centerfielder had an MRI on his knee and the rumors of the surgery are being batted around, according to Tony Jackson's Inside the Dodgers blog.
We learned after the game that Andruw Jones had an MRI today, that the MRI showed fluid and torn cartilage in his right knee and that if it isn't better by Thursday or Friday, he'll have arthroscopic surgery that will sideline him, according to what Jones says the doctors told him, for four to five weeks. My experience has been that they usually don't even TALK about surgery unless they're fairly sure it's going to happen. But he is going to get treatment and try to make it work.
Just so we are clear, there is like a 75% chance (at minimum, in my undoctored opinion) that his weight gain caused the problems with his knee.
I also firmly believe that he will undergo surgery this season. And there is obviously no telling how much time Druw will miss if he is forced to stick his leg underneath a really sharp knife, but hey, think of all the free ice cream at the doctor's office!
Update: Karma strikes back, emptying my stomach as I find out that Jones has a "golf-ball sized wart behind his knee that might have to be surgically removed." Geh.
Fantasy Spin: I dropped Druw a while ago and suggest you do the same. If Juan Pierre is available in your league, bust a move. Obviously if Matt Kemp or Andre Ethier are there, snatch them up. Pierre could end up being a huge steal with the way he has played and his proclivity for the stolen base.
Getting the jump on injured, rehabbing or struggling players can help win your fantasy leagues. Stash tells you what your play is for these guys.
For those late to the party, the Red Sox signed someone in the off-season who was just two years removed from winning a freaking Cy Young. Turning 35 late next week, he's not ancient by any stretch. He is, however, fat.
Yep, good ol' Bartolo Colon still checks in at 250 while not even standing six feet tall ... but he's no ordinary fat man. He can throw a baseball really hard.
The signing made sense for the Red Sox, with Curt Schilling's injury woes and the unpredictability of youngster Clay Buchholz. Now Buchholz is on the DL with a broken fingernail (I'm sure he's quite chagrined to be sidelined with that -- but fingers matter to pitchers), and the Sox are going to need a replacement for the short-term beginning Tuesday.
Meanwhile Colon has been studly in Triple-A. He entered Thursday with a 1.12 ERA and 0.75 WHIP in eight innings. The seven-to-one K/BB looked enticing as well.
To the surprise of no one who has been watching (in agony) Rich Hill pitch this season, he was finally relieved of his duties as a member of the Cubs rotation. Jon Lieber will take over. Personally this couldn't have come soon enough, because I was embarrassed for Hill when watching his absolutely disgraceful attempts to find the strike zone all season. From a fan's point of view, he's just not tough enough. From a fantasy analysts' point of view, he's the ultimate buy-low currently based upon his upside to get punch-outs and dubyas down the road. If you have bench space where you can allow him to rot for about a month, take a flier.
As for Lieber, he's an old workhorse who can log the innings. He has been one of the few brights spots out of the Cubs bullpen this season, and the ERA is sparkling. He doesn't K many, but he should be able to keep that ERA down and garner some victories. He's a pick-up in really, really deep leagues (like 12 team NL-Only). Other than that, you can ignore for now.
BAM! will take a look at who's getting added and who's getting dropped in fantasy leagues. And whether you should follow suit. It's like a 'Three Up, Three Down' with a way cooler name.
Carlos Quentin, OF, CHW (14,815 Adds) -- A seven game hit streak, even as modest as it is, will get you noticed in fantasy baseball, as will having five home runs on the season and being relatively unowned in most leagues. Quentin is locked into starting in Chicago, he's always had a lot of upside and he plays in a decent hitter's park. Not to mention his BB/K rate is all the way up to 1.08 (from 0.33 last season). A nice add.
Aaron Cook, SP, CHW (13,783 Adds) -- Cook's ownership percentage is skyrocketing because he's racked up three straight wins for the Rockies. He's allowed only six runs over the last 21 innings, while striking out a pretty healthy 13 batters (for a contact -- groundball guy anyway). Cook's a decent add right now while he's hot, but remember that he's getting a little lucky; he's seen a small uptick in FB% (countered by a dip in his line drive rate, not his ground ball rate, which is a little disconcerting) and his BABIP is lower than it should be, even with a nice defense.
Jonathan Sanchez, SP, SF (5,632 Adds) -- We've talked Sanchez before, but he didn't actually start going off until after his two start week. He K'd 10 batters in his last outing and is being touted in some circles as "the next great strikeout artist" (if I may paraphrase). Sanchez is a definite add for his strikeout potential. In fact, most of his periphs check out alright, so go ahead and pounce.
BAM! will take a look at who's getting added and who's getting dropped in fantasy leagues. And whether you should follow suit. It's like a 'Three Up, Three Down' with a way cooler name.
Ervin Santana, SP, LAA (39,427 Adds, yes we're using the exclamation point for these) Our headliner this week was best known for his inability to pitch on the road last year. His home/road starts are well documented and it was often chalked up to timing that it took to get ready ... or something like that. Anyway, now Mike Scioscia is saying something about his mechanics being off last year. Seeing as how Ervin has been flat out dealing this year, I'm inclined to believe him, and actually thought as much before the start of the season; absolutely grab him if he's available. I'd probably hold off on starting him at Detroit this week though. Just to be safe.
Conor Jackson, 1B, ARI (18,361 Adds) Well, this shouldn't even be a question, really. Jackson is completely and utterly legit. The reason he's been unowned in the past is that his power has not shown up until now. And it might not stay forever. He's a very, very talented and very patient hitter, which is what we stat peeps like so much. Take, for instance his 53 walks last year. Not a ridiculous number, no. But it is when you consider he only struck out 50 times. A must add in any league where he's available. Make room.
Todd Wellemeyer, SP/RP, STL (6,980 Adds) Don't be a sucker. Wellemeyer's a career journeyman who is pitching like he's a Cy Young candidate this year. He's K'ing a ridiculous amount of batters, which is a good sign. However, the biggest negative against him (and this, along with BABIP are two things to check if want an idea of whether someone's a fluke or not) is his strand rate, which is sitting at an absurd 90%. That means that 90% of the runners he allows on base do not score. An impossible rate to keep up, even with miracle worker Dave Duncan as his pitching coach.
As always, the hype machine owns everyone. Two youngsters -- one in Los Angeles and one in a somehow bigger circus scene that is Cincinnati. 
Joba Chamberlain
What? You wanna argue with me? 
Getting the jump on injured, rehabbing or struggling players can help win your fantasy leagues. Stash tells you what your play is for these guys.
Finally, a decent excuse from the Los Angeles Dodgers for 
Getting the jump on injured, rehabbing or struggling players can help win your fantasy leagues. Stash tells you what your play is for these guys.
To the surprise of no one who has been watching (in agony) 
BAM! will take a look at who's getting added and who's getting dropped in fantasy leagues. And whether you should follow suit. It's like a 'Three Up, Three Down' with a way cooler name. 
BAM! will take a look at who's getting added and who's getting dropped in fantasy leagues. And whether you should follow suit. It's like a 'Three Up, Three Down' with a way cooler name.
