Fantasy Seattle

Jeff Clement's first stint at the big league level did not pan out quite so well. To say that he struggled -- batting .167 with 0HR, seven walks and 20 strikeouts in 48 at bats -- would be an understatement. But as soon as he got demoted to the minors, he started ripping the cover off the ball. Again.

Hence, the Mariners have decided to call Clement back to the bigs. He hasn't played in the majors since returning yet, but he should strap back on the padding and/or take a trip to the outfield soon.

He has been playing at AAA-Tacoma though, absolutely raking the ball -- nine homers, another nine doubles, getting on base at a .375+ club and only 17 strikeouts in May and June combined -- since returning. Which would explain why the M's didn't mind bringing him back up (well, that and their MLB worst record).

Now, Clement is going to be catcher eligible for fantasy purposes, but he might not always play there, giving him the potential to be a half-season/poor man's Josh Willingham from 2006.

Is he a must add in every fantasy league? Um, no. Smaller leagues don't want to burn waiver claims or take the risk that he will do what he did last time. But if you have a 12 team league (or bigger) or use two catchers, I think I'm grabbing him for the upside. Right now, the internet related buzz says to hold off on grabbing him, but if you don't beat the buzz, you end up continuing to play Jesus Flores.

The downside is there (see his first promotion) but the power from that spot, especially if you're in a keeper league, is too strong to ignore.

Hot off the presses, J.J. Putz left the mound with an ailing pitching elbow today in Toronto, and young fireballer Brandon Morrow took over to garner his first career save.

Putz already had some injury woes earlier this season, and if this is indeed an injury to his pitching elbow he may be lost for the season. It's not like the Mariners are going to literally give up on the 2008 season, but if they have to make a decision on whether they want him healthy for the start of next season or not, no chances will be taken with his long term health.

As for Morrow, I have mentioned a Joba-like rotation move for him, but this could change everything. He's got sick stuff and would easily become a dominant closer. Coming into today, Morrow sported a 1.06 ERA with 23 whiffs in 17 innings.

The only downside is that the Mariners do, in fact, suck. His save opportunities would be few and far between. Still, that doesn't mean he wouldn't be a valuable contributor to the category ... Brian Wilson has 18 saves for the hapless Giants. Unlike Wilson, Morrow will provide stellar help in ERA and WHIP when he's on the hill.

Keep an eye on Putz in shallow leagues because you don't want to jump the gun for a middle reliever.

In deeper leagues where Morrow is still available, go get him now and beat the crowd.

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.

Both of these guys came into the season with gobs of upside, but tempered expectations for different reasons. With one, we were worried that he's still not ready to make "The Leap," after having been teased by his potential the past two seasons. The other? Well, his team sucks. Really, really sucks. So did you really want to waste a high draft pick on a guy that can't win more than ten games? Judging from ADP charts, the answer was a resounding "NO!"

All of a sudden they have something in common: They are simultaneously making the jump from, "dude, he's pretty damn solid, but ... " territory into the "This guy is a freaking monster!" zone. When you drop the "but," the guy is ready to make an appearance on the ever-growing "New Studs on the Block," list.

Welcome aboard, Linc and King Felix. Please bring your nasty stuff and power arms as you join us ...

Just in case you were thinking your fantasy team was going to get fat and happy against a full-of-upside-but-not-filling-it 49ers team...well, they still could. But you're going to have to get creative and tricky with your roster. Much like me trying to pull off Soulja Boy in the middle of a crowded tailgate parking lot this weekend. Shaun Alexander and Deion Branch will not start nor will they play as the Seahawks look to take their NFC West division leading record to 5-4. (Mike Holmgren confirmed the Alexander rumors on his radio show last night).

What does this mean for fantasy players? Well, first of all, Maurice Morris becomes a very viable starter. Now, in all likelihood, you have already used your two running backs. But if you were waiting to hear about Frank Gore or Alexander, um, now would be a nice time to make a move.

D.J. Hackett returned to the lineup last week and caught a touchdown - if for any reason he's available you should scoop immediately if you need to fill a WR spot, or were planning on starting Branch (or any of the San Fran "wideouts"). Bobby Engram should be good for some serious yardage again this week and is a very nice fantasy play as Matt Hasselback seems to trust him more than anyone else out of the corps. Hasselback himself gets to face a tough set of DB's, but should still go largo as the Seahawks look to air it out more than normal tonight.

Had I not come down with Marshawn Lynch-like symptoms on Thursday and Friday, I would have had an updated injury report to you earlier in the week. However, as it stands, it's Saturday afternoon and we've got some banged up peeps to discuss.My goal here is to take the Friday injury reports and break down everything matchup by matchup. Since there's little chance I get it done by the time the Saturday injury reports come out, I'm going to be live-blog-styling it this afternoon. As word comes out of camp, I'll keep updating the various statuses (doesn't "stati" sound much cooler?) of players.

And here's a big one for you: Shaun Alexander has a sprained left wrist, Mike Holmgren confirmed late Friday evening. He'll be playing, and likely starting, against Arizona on Sunday. The catch? He'll be wearing a cast/brace type of contraption--the same one that he wore in practice earlier this week--for the duration of the game. Expect Alexander to get close to 20 carries, but don't be surprised if he gets pulled should the game turn into a blowout. Also note that chief backup Maurice Morris hasn't practiced all week long. Which means that the fantasy flier of the week has to go to Alvin Pearman.

Seahawks Insider reported on Wednesday evening (this information was curiously absent from the Seattle Times Seahawks blog, which listed Wednesday injuries) that running back Shaun Alexander "practiced but was wearing a cast or a brace on his left hand. It is unclear exactly what the injury is (hand or wrist) and Shaun was not talking today; tomorrow is his day to speak to the media."

Mmm'kay. If I'm an Alexander owner, I'm absolutely terrified by this mysterious hand injury. Why? Because Alexander spent most of last season injured, and this is the type of business that makes heretofore uneducated fantasy players start slinging around the term "injury prone". But here's the thing. The cast is on the left hand and he still practiced, despite, according to the report, giving way to other running backs for the majority of carries. In fact, he wasn't even on the freaking injury report.

From a fantasy perspective, there are a couple of ways to approach this: 1) if you own Alexander, breathe, and then use your second turn around the waiver wire to get Maurice Morris, just in case; 2) if Alexander's owner tosses any "Oh. Well, this is just great!" type of remark on your league message board, pounce all over him with a trade offer. Alexander's formerly sure-fire first round value was already suppressed by a bad 2006, and if I'm a Larry Johnson owner (I'm not for a bunch of reasons) I'm offering him for Alexander straight up tomorrow morning. Or maybe offering my second string back and then countering with LJ once the first offer gets rejected. Ye ole' bait and hook. Either way, if you can use this injury to go after Alexander it's a worthwhile venture. In terms of his playing this weekend, you can count on seeing him, but if the Seahawks take a sizable lead, maybe Holmgren will wisen up and not leave him in there to pad his stats. Morris could make a decent flier if you really like to gamble or have nothing else on tap for backs.