Fantasy Rays

In with the old and out with the new. And all that business. Pedro Martinez, making a rehab start in Single A, squared off against number one draft pick and uber-prospect David Price today, and Price got the better of him. Pedro went six innings, giving up four hits and two earned while striking out six. Price, meanwhile, gave up only two hits over six shutout innings while striking out nine.
Pedro was impressed.

'He's amazing, that kid. He's amazing,' Martinez said. 'That kid is very mature for his time in [the pros], and very talented.

'Oh my God.'

Pedro went on to say that Price was "superior" to the Cy Young winner at that age, which isn't that surprising when you compare their development throughout their careers, talent aside.

But Petey is still going to beat him to the majors, at least this year. Martinez could be back as soon as next week (this being his final rehab outing) while Price won't be in the bigs until later this year, at the earliest.

Fantasy Spin: Pedro is probably a free agent in your league and even at his age, pitching for the [would-be] contending Mets makes him a viable starter. If he's unowned, make a move. Price, for seasonal leagues, shouldn't be owned right now, unless you have a really deep bench. But keeper leagues should be all over him already, in anticipation of a call up should the Rays stay in the hunt.

The idea that Evan Longoria would be eligible at shortstop in fantasy leagues is almost too exciting to fathom. And certainly, if that became the case, he would be far more valuable than your normal, everyday Aubrey Huff three bagger (which I think he already is, based on upside alone). But naturally, this is mostly speculation, although it is certainly fun to think about, and quasi-realistic.

The Rays could send [Ben] Zobrist back to Durham and lean on Evan Longoria to spell Bartlett when needed. Longoria played shortstop full-time in 2004 at Rio Hondo Junior College and got about 20 starts there the following season at Long Beach State while starter Troy Tulowitzki was injured.

On Tuesday, Longoria said the Rays haven't asked him about playing shortstop in a pinch, but he said he thinks he could handle the job.

'It's obviously a different position, a little bit different role to fill," he said, "but with some work I don't think that I would have that much trouble adjusting to that position.'

Now again, speculation. So don't do anything silly like trading your still-injured Rafael Furcal for the youngster (unless you're in a keeper league, in which case you want Longoria anyway) because Tampa Bay has not come out and mentioned anything specific, insofar as I know. (Or mentioned calling up Reid Brignac for that matter ... )

But this is something certainly worth considering, especially if you have a roster spot open on your bench and Longoria is somehow out there, or you have an owner who is looking to upgrade elsewhere. Granted, it's not the premium time to trade for Evan, considering his recent heat check, but if the Rays actually follow through, you will probably want to try and make a move.

H/T: Behrens

Despite the heat check that the Tampa Bay Rays are on right now, they still suffered some bad news yesterday when shockingly efficient closer Troy Percival injured his hamstring in what was described as a nasty little landing. Nasty enough to get him sent out for an MRI.

That begs the question, who's the new save guy in Tampa? Dan Wheeler would be your likely answer, and if he's not owned, and you need saves, he's an immediate add. If he's already taken, pounce on Al Reyes for a backup. Both guys could see save opps, but Wheeler came in for Percival today and he has the better ratios on the season. Plus, he hasn't been tased at all this season, for whatever that's worth.

In Milwaukee, although nothing is ever made really clear, it does appear as if Salomon Torres has gotten a pretty good grip on the closer's job, picking up three saves and a win over the last week. There's no guarantee that Crazy Joe DaVola Ned Yost will actually stick with him, but for now, he should be getting run in your lineup. And certainly shouldn't be a free agent.

The Braves welcomed back Rafael Soriano on Wednesday while putting Matt Diaz on the disabled list. That's decent news for Soriano's fantasy owners -- of course you want to see him back. The bad news is that John Smoltz is going to close as soon as he is healthy, which could be soon. Start Soriano when he's pitching, but obviously look to trade him if you can.

There was not a substantial amount of preseason hype for Matt Garza. He was considered a good third starter in the Tampa Bay Rays rotation, but considering that the Minnesota Twins traded him for Delmon Young, it is reasonable to assume that many people thought he might not live up to those "next John Smoltz" hype-type statements. And certainly, fantasy owners couldn't think that Garza, having already been to the DL, could end up becoming a dominant starter for them.

But he looked flat out brilliant Wednesday, fanning 10 Rangers in 8 plus innings. And his manager, Joe Maddon, thinks that this might be a biscuit --> gravy type thing.

'He really stands out to me as the kind of a guy that when he gets his confidence rolling and really believes that what he's got going on is good, heads-up,' said Maddon. 'I think now he's starting to settle in, and against a good-hitting team, after a big night, to pitch that well, to me, is a good sign. I think as his confidence grows you can see him pitching like that more often.'

I would wholeheartedly concur. Garza -- as he mentioned -- is finally starting to show some confidence in his slider and other offspeed pitches. The Twins chastised him frequently for relying only on his fastball. And as we all know, you simply cannot just overpower major league hitters.

New Studs 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.

When the Tampa Bay Rays pay a guy, it's time to pay attention. They have been -- for the past decade or so -- one of the cheapest teams in the majors (still 2nd cheapest in the great State of Florida, though!). So when the Rays announced a contract extension for rookie Evan Longoria, the news was shocking on two levels.

First of all, the Rays granted someone a six year extension, which could grow into nine years depending on several factors (Scott Boras' level of involvement at any time throughout the process being a significant one). Secondly, though, was the fact that any major league team would offer this level of commitment to a guy that only had amassed 20 big league at-bats at the time. Think about it, this isn't the NFL where you can tear up someone's contract on a whim. These things don't expire early.

This wasn't on a whim, though ...