with Chris from Atlanta
League 17
Week #20
Inspired by the Michael Phelps domination in Beijing; let’s get right down to business this week. We had two trades and three injuries that have fantasy implications.
New player in Arizona is Dunn - Arizona acquired the free-swinging OF Dunn for three minor league prospects. He was batting .233/373/528 with 32 HRs and 74 RBIs in 114 games with the Reds. Many of the pundits are saying that his HRs will take a hit with the move from Great American Ballpark to Chase Field. I don’t agree. A quick look at ESPN’s Park Factors shows that he is going from the 5th most homerun-friendly park to the 11th. Plus, most of Dunn’s homeruns are of the ‘in-any-ballpark’ variety. I’m betting that his numbers stay basically the same. He will start in RF and bat clean-up for the D-Backs.
Conor Jackson (.306/388/478) and Mark Reynolds (.279/349/495) could see some better pitches sandwiching Dunn in the batting order. The acquisition of Dunn sends the platoon of Romero (256/273/376) and Burke (.243/317/363) to the bench. That is a good thing if you are a Diamondbacks fan. It will be interesting to see what Arizona does when Justin Upton comes off the DL sometime next week. One option is moving Reynolds over to second and sliding Chad Tracy (.285/324/466) to third. This would open up first base for either Jackson or Dunn.
To replace Dunn, the Reds called up 26-year old OF Chris Dickerson. In 622 career minor league games he batted .260/360/415 with 58 HRs and 135 SBs. Cincinnati manager, Dusty Baker, informed Dickerson that he will be in a platoon role; batting only against righties. More than likely he will platoon with 35-year old Jolbert Cabrera (.349/404/535 in 21 games). Corey Patterson (.197/227/349) started in centerfield in the first three games since the trade. It is highly unlikely that he will continue to start once Jerry Hairston Jr. (.347/396/487) fully recovers from his hamstring injury.
The Reds received two minor leaguers and a player to be named later. The two minor leaguers are 23-year old RHP Dallas Buck and 24-year old switch-hitting C Wilkin Castillo. There are reports that the “player to be named later” will be Micah Owings when he returns from his shoulder injury. Arizona must wait until he is healed before placing him on waivers. If he clears waivers, they will trade him to Cincy this season. If he doesn’t clear waivers they will simply wait until the end of the season to trade him the Reds.
Cleveland flips Boston the Byrd - With Tim Wakefield on the shelf with a bum shoulder, Boston had a hole to fill in their rotation. The Sox sent a player to be named later to Cleveland for 37-year old RHP Paul Byrd. In his last five games for the Indians, he is 4-0 with a 1.80 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, and a 2.13 K/BB rate. In five career games in Fenway, he is 3-1 with a 4.06 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, and a 2.40 K/BB rate. If you are looking for pitching help, Byrd could provide a nice little boost. The cost of a few wins might come at the expense of your ERA and WHIP. He allowed four or more earned runs in 10 of his 22 starts this year.
Cleveland called up 25-year old LHP Zach Jackson to replace Byrd in their starting rotation. Steer clear of Zach. In 108 career games in the minors (87 starts and 21 relief appearances), he has a 4.60 ERA, 1.43 WHIP, and 2.10 K/BB rate. In his first appearance Thursday night, he went 5 innings; allowing 3 earned runs on 5 hits and one walk. There are better options than Zach Jackson on the waiver wire.
Bad Days for the Rays- The Rays received some bad news when they discovered that both Carl Crawford and Evan Longoria will require lengthy DL stints. Crawford tore a tendon in his right middle finger last week. He underwent successful surgery on Thursday and will be out six to eight weeks. There is a chance that he could return for the last few games of the regular season.
The Mafia trading deadline will have passed by the time this article is published, but Crawford is a perfect trade target for those teams in keeper leagues looking to next year. His injury opens a huge hole in the Tampa outfield. They will use two of the following each game to play in right and left:
- Hinske (L) - .253/343/495 - 17 HR - 50 RBI - 8 SB - 293 AB
- Gross (L) - .227/328/409 - 9 HR - 28 RBI - 2 SB - 225 AB
- Baldelli (R) - .231/286/231 - 0 HR - 1 RBI - 0 SB - 13 ABs
- Ruggiano (R) - .256/293/385 - 1 HR - 3 RBI - 1 SB - 39 AB
I’m sure the Rays are hoping that Baldelli can return to his 2003-2004 form when he totalled .285/326/425 with 14 HRs and 22 SBs. Unfortunately he is still recovering from a fatigue disorder and may never approach those numbers again. Ruggiano hit .308/393/512 with 66 HRs and 90 SBs in 483 career minor league games. It looks like Tampa Bay Rays fans will get their first taste of the post-season this year. Hopefully Crawford gets healthy by then.
Rookie of the Year candidate Longoria has a fractured wrist, and it is not clear when he will rejoin the lineup. They will know more in two weeks when they will X-ray the wrist again. Filling in for Longoria is Willy Aybar. Over his last 9 games, he is hitting .297/381/649 with 3 HRs and 7 RBIs. If you need help at the corner go ahead and pick up Aybar and ride out the hot streak.
Carlos Lee lost for season - The Astros slugger fractured his pinky last week and will be out for the rest of 2008. Those of you in keeper leagues just have to stash him away for 2009 and look to the waiver-wire for a replacement. Take a look at your standings and see what categories you can realistically climb a few spots in and target those stats on the wire.
Darin Erstad (.292/329/383) should get the bulk of the starts in place of Lee. In his last 16 games, he is batting .346/364/365 with 0 HR and 9 RBIs. Ty Wigginton (.288/367/502) will also see the occasional start in left. He has been hot lately going .436/455/821 with 4 HRs and 11 RBIs in his last 11 games. Reggie Abercrombie was called up to take Lee’s place on the roster. Over his last two years in the minors he batted .301/331/528 with 29 HRs, 91 RBIs and 58 SBs in 642 AB. Erstad could provide some value if you need some help in the outfield. If Wigginton stays hot and sees more at-bats he will also provide some help.
Who’s Hot
Jeremy Guthrie’s last five starts: (4-1) 1.54 ERA - 0.80 WHIP - 3.00 K/BB
Matt Kemp’s last 142 plate appearances: 346/387/579 - 7 HR - 16 RBI - 9 SB
Who’s Not
Kyle Lohse’s last five starts: (1-3) 6.37 ERA - 1.38 WHIP - 5.00 K/BB
Jeff Keppinger’s last 78 plate appearances: 178/208/233 - 0 HR - 4 RBI - 0 SB
Let’s hope your week is more like Guthrie/Kemp and a little less like Lohse/Keppinger! Until next week …