American League 2 Delmon Young TAM OF A+ 8-for-20 in his last five starts could signal a turn-around. .686 OPS isn't quite what we expected. 7 Evan Longoria TAM 3B A- 3-hit game on Tues. but still just .216 in...

Gary Matthews- LAA- Hot- Matthews is continuing to show that, so far, the Angels were not out of their minds for signing him after what was thought to be a career year in Texas. With 206 at bats so far...

For the first time this season, there no major changes to report in this week’s Closer Look. All of the pitchers who held the primary closer roles for their teams last week at this time are still seated, but...

Brian McCann continues to be a fantasy disappointment this season, yielding little power, a lower than expected average, and significant drops in multiple categories. Let's start with power. McCann only has 3 HR on the season and is averaging a...

Josh Beckett was outstanding in his return from the DL on Tuesday limiting the Indians to 2 runs on just 3 hits and a walk while fanning 7 over 7 IP. He improves to 8-0 and becomes the first Red...

The Actual Art of the Deal Itself In the first two parts in our series on trading, we talked about how perceptions can skew player values and how you should use that to your advantage. And we offered ideas on...

Yorvit Torrealba: Last night, Torrealba picked a good time to hit a grand slam, as he had sat the previous two games in favor of equally unproductive Chris Iannetta. It is not hard to see why the Rockies at some...

Chad Gaudin - Gaudin's BB:K ratio may not be stellar (3:2 last night despite allowing only one unearned run, and merely 23:46 for the year), but you can look no further than the 0 homers allowed in his last ten...

Jay Bruce – Reds Outfielder – Bats Left – 6-2, 206 – 4/3/1987  The Red’s first round pick in 2005 should be on everyone’s radar by now when considering top offensive prospects. Last year all Jay accomplished was the...

Jason Schmidt- LAN- FYI- There are a couple of odd things going on with Schmidt's rehab start tomorrow. First, he is heading to Class A without facing live hitters since being put on the DL. That is very rare. Second,...

Anthony Reyes: Reyes was sent down to AAA on Sunday in what was likely a move to protect the young man's confidence. Reyes' last start resulted in his 8th loss of the season, the 0-8 record marks the worst record...

Its been feast or famine for Jack Cust since joining the A's earlier in the month. After being the hottest and trendiest fantasy name in the game, Cust has fallen back to earth and has gone hitless in the last...

Kelvim Escobar was light-out in the Bronx yesterday, going 7.0 solid innings while giving up 1 ER, 1 BB, and striking out 8. It was his second highest strikeout total of the season and his 6th win of the year....

Justin Germano Germano continued his excellent run on Saturday, allowing two runs (two solo homers) over six innings in a win over the Brewers. You know you're going good when allowing two runs in six innings causes your ERA to...

Erik Bedard- BAL- Caution- Jim Palmer and Gary Thorne, the Orioles' announcers, were discussing whether Bedard should have been left in as long as he was. This was during the 7th inning, as he was giving up 2 of the...

Kip Wells enjoyed his second best start of the season on Wednesday when he allowed only one earned run on five hits and a walk while striking out four in seven innings to run his record to a still disappointing...

Here at Fantistics, we get lots of e-mail from subscribers asking for our advice on the typical fantasy issues that arise.... Spot starts, trade proposals, lineup structure, and the value of free agents are the main ones. But last...

Richie Sexson: Sexson's .172 batting average is being held down by a .102 BHIP%. He is still showing a good walk rate, 12%, and his usual contact rate, 78%. What is more worrisome is that the 46% GB% could keep...

Carlos Delgado: It's one thing to preach patience in April, but as we creep towards the end of May and into June slow starts sometimes can begin to dictate trends and that might be the case with Carlos Delgado. Delgado...

Anaheim Angels: Recap - The Angels have played .600 baseball to open up a 4 1/2 game lead on the A's largely due to the second-best pitching staff (in terms of actual run prevention) in the league thus far. The...

American League 13 Reid Brignac TAM SS A- 2-for-27 slump brings AVG down to .255. Don't fret, he's still just 21 in AA. 16 Adam Lind TOR OF B+ Hitting just .228 and losing time to the red-hot Matt Stairs....

Bartolo Colon- LAA- Cold- For only the second time this season Colon failed to record a quality start. He lost his first game of 2007 by giving up 6 runs on 10 hits and 2 walks while striking out 2...

This week’s closer’s report centers around Chicago where I warned you earlier that Lou Piniella was about to start flailing. Sweet Lou is considering moving Ryan Dempster to the starting rotation in the near future and using 25-year-old Angel...

Chris Duncan went yard for the 9th time this season and is quietly putting together a solid season of a 0.74 FPI. His HR rate is a solid 16.2 and is posting a .905 OPS while hovering around the .300...

Corey Patterson was told to sit in the corner last night and think about what he's done with his last 17 ABs which is nada. He is down to .219 on the year. No word as to whether he'll...

Willie Harris: If you picked up Harris, be grateful that you enjoyed some nice stats, 0/5/.362 with 4 stolen bases in 58 AB and then cut bait. He is benefiting from a .390 BHIP% and a 38% LD%, neither of...

Shaking the Trade Tree In the first part of our series, we talked about how one critical aspect of the trading game is being aware that every player has more than one absolute value. He has, in fact, a different...

Mark Teahen - Teahen has returned to his 2006 post-break performance here in May, hitting 356/447/575 for the month so far. I know there were quite a few skeptics out there in April, but with a .401 OBP through the...

Carlos Quentin- ARI- Hot- Quentin's luck may be turning around. Heading into the weekend his BHIP was an extremely low .161. It is likely to have gone up when the next update appears on his Fantistical Player Charts. Since Friday,...

John Maine I'll continue to suggest to Maine owners to entertain the idea of selling high on Maine's early season production. Maine struggled last night against a Yankees lineup and was mainly the recipient of some poor defense behind him...

Alex Rios has done it quietly this season, but with his 9th HR of the year, is now posting a HR/AB of 18.8 and an OPS of .850. That's good for a decent FPI of 0.66, in-line with his preseason...

Jesse Litsch – Blue Jays Starting Pitcher – Throws Right – 6-1, 175 – 3/9/1985 The 22-year-old right-hander was strong in his MLB debut against the Orioles on May 15th, holding them to 1 earned run on 4 hits...

Jeremy Sowers: Sowers was hit hard again last night, 7 ER in 6 innings and for the year his record is now 0-4 with a 7.13 ERA. Sowers had success last year, 7-4 with a 3.57 ERA, despite having a...

Anthony Lerew Two innings, three runs, and five hits later, Lerew was pulled from his start against the Red Sox on Saturday. It was thought before the game that a bad outing from Lerew would result in his being pulled...

Chad Gaudin's transformation from reliever to starter continues to be a success as he tossed another quality start last night against the Giants to improve to 3-1. Gaudin surrendered two runs on seven hits and two walks and struck out...

Tomorrow's AL report will be my first of the season and I've enjoyed being back in the saddle again, but don't get too used to seeing me around. There was a time I was prolific at Fantistics (prolific as in...

Plenty of hope for us sub-6-footers in Houston last night where Tim Lincecum and Roy Oswalt put in a show. Roy went 5.2 IP without allowing a hit. In the end he went 7 shutout innings, allowing 4 hits...

Scott Elarton: Elarton picked up a win yesterday against Oakland in an unspectacular fashion, allowing 4 ER in 5.1 innings, while striking out just 1 batter. Elarton's 2006 numbers; 4-9, 5.34, 3.6 K/9, 4.1 BB/9, and a 52% FB%, hardly...

Pitching Category Mashup (K/BB and QS%)   Good morning everybody. For today's First Pitch we are going to do something a little off the wall -- and perhaps mathematically unsound - and mash together a couple of key pitching...

American League 1 Alex Gordon KC 3B A+ He'll hit eventually, but hit eighth in the order the other night and has just six hits in 13 games in May. 2 Delmon Young TAM OF A+ 2-hit game on Tuesday,...

Lots to talk about when we take a Closer Look this week, starting in Oakland where Huston Street hit the DL with an ulnar nerve irritation on Tuesday.   Justin Duchscherer becomes the primary closer while Street is sidewalked...

Felix Hernandez seemed a bit rusty in his first start for the M's since April 18th. He went 3.2 IP allowing 3 runs on 7 hits and 3 walks while striking out 5. Felix only used his strong slider a...

Fred Lewis: In his first 19 AB, Lewis has 9 hits, 3 for extra-bases, and 7 RBI. Lewis went 4/15/.263 with 7 SB in 114 AB for Fresno in Triple-A. He has the potential to steal bases and hit for...

Carlos Pena - Carlos Pena is making a bid to keep his playing time once Aki Iwamura returns, as Pena is hitting 343/429/629 for the month of May. Ty Wigginton is the entrenched veteran in the Ray lineup, so perhaps...

Brett Tomko- LAN- Cold- When Tomko pitched a quality start against the Marlins in his previous appearance before last night, it was the first time this season that his ERA was lower after he pitched than when he took the...

New York Mets: Recap - Despite having the second-best Pythagorean record in all of baseball, the Mets find themselves 1/2 game behind the Braves in the NL East. Atlanta's performance notwithstanding, the Mets have to be pretty happy with how...

Another solid outing for Andy Pettitte without the support from the Yankee offense. He has pitched four quality starts this season while earning a no-decision or loss. He's 6-for-8 in quality starts and is 3-for-3 in May. Little has been...

Josh Willingham Willingham went 3-3 on Sunday and upped his average to .296 on the season. Willingham's a bit underrated as far as OF options go; he always showed great power at the minor league levels slugging .562 at AA...

Homer Bailey – Reds Starting Pitcher – Throws Right – 6-3, 190 – 5/3/1986 The Reds’ first round pick in 2004 out of La Grange Texas has been considered as one the top pitching prospects in baseball. As a...

Jack Cust The Jack Cust HR barrage continued on Saturday with his 4th HR in 5 games, this time off sinker-baller Fausto Carmona. Cust has an extensive and prodigious power track record in the minor leagues as he's accumulated 191...

Is it time to become a believer? Its difficult not to believe with the kind of pitching performances Braden Looper has been putting up. Another quality start last night makes Looper 7-for-8 in QS's and brings his ERA to 2.29...

Julian Tavarez- BOS- Cold- The conversion back to starter is not going well for Tavarez. Baltimore hammered him for 5 runs on 10 hits last night as his record fell to 1-4. The problem for Tavarez has not been strictly...

Jake Peavy of the San Diego Padres is bringing the filthy stuff almost every outing and that is what I have been waiting to see out of this guy. Peavy has looked like a CY Young candidate and he has...

Corey Patterson: When Patterson swiped 45 bases in 2006, he ran roughly half the time that he was on first base. In 33 games this year, he has only attempted 8 steals. Fantasy owners of Patterson cannot be happy with...

Adam Dunn Adam Dunn is single-handedly killing me this week. On Thursday he went 3-4 (falling a 1b short of the cycle) with 3 Runs and 3 RBI's, making him 6-13 on the week with 3 HR's, 6 Runs, and...

A few weeks ago, we took a glance at the top-15 fantasy first basemen and their lefty/righty splits. The results were compelling (check it out here). Some 1B with super-star reputations simply became average performers based on the handedness of...

There is a power shift in Washington this morning as Jon Rauch takes over the closers role in place of Chad Cordero who has been placed on the bereavement list.   Rauch’s indicators hardly spell c-l-o-s-e-r. This year in...

Sammy Sosa- TEX- Caution- Sosa's name surfaced in connection with George Mitchell's steroids investigation, as did teammate Jerry Hairston's. There seems to be a focus on Baltimore Orioles past and present (thin Rafael Palmeiro) and Sosa is one of the...

Jamie Moyer continues to demand some fantasy love, but owners are remaining skeptical. I don't blame them. Who knew he would start 2007 going 7-for-7 in quality starts with a 3.00 ERA and 1.08 WHIP. My concern with Moyer at...

I'm sure Cliff Lee is breathing easier as his abdominal strain fades in the rear view mirror, and now his owners can breathe a bit easier as well. Lee held the Angels to 1 one on 3 hits and 2...

Andy LaRoche: Nice debut for the 23-year old rookie, 3 for 8 with 2 RBI and a stolen base after his first 3 games. The problem is that Laroche was not exactly tearing it up in Triple-A, .245 average, 3...

Inherited Runners Stranded Percentage Good morning everybody. For the topic of today's First Pitch, we are going to tap into some feedback that came as a result of my last column (on Adjusted Reliever ERA), as well as a notion...

Good Morning! We are supposed to be preaching patience to you. We are supposed to tell you not to panic and not overvalue what are still some pretty meager statistical samples when we look at our rosters. That is always...

Brad Penny- LAN- Hot- Penny absolutely dominated the Marlins, striking out 14 Fish while holding them scoreless through 7 innings on 5 hits and no walks. This ran his record to 4-0 and lowered his ERA to 1.39. Penny has...

Roger Clemens is probably long-gone in just about every fantasy league at this point. With his official announcement to join the Yankees yesterday, he becomes a valuable fantasy pitcher down the stretch for many fantasy owners. But just how valuable?...

Freddy Garcia Those owners counting on Freddy Garcia for a two start week this week may want to pay close attention to the news wires today. Garcia ran into a cart that was on the field as he was trying...

Hunter Pence – Astros Outfielder – Bats Right – 6-4, 210 – 4/13/1983 The Astros finally figured out that Chris Burke was a problem. It just took them a bit longer than the rest of us.  That brings up...

Kei Igawa: Igawa has been awful this year, 7.63 ERA in 30.2 innings. He was an effective pitcher in Japan, but one thing he did struggle with was the longball. Unfortunately that has carried over across the Pacific Ocean, as...

Ryan Theriot Theriot has now established himself as the Cubs' everyday shortstop for two reasons: Lou Piniella seems to like him, and he's the only shortstop to provide any semblance of offensive ability since the days of Shawon Dunston. Theriot...

In our continuing series on player recommendations, today we take a look at the pitchers who are deviating from their projected production. Please refer to the Batters article for an explanation of the terms used such as FPI (FPI^ =...

Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees is having an unbelievable start to the 2007 season and everybody knows that, but I want to try to give you a little different perspective on his fantasy value. A-Rod had another big...

Matt Cain had his issues with the Phillies on Thursday allowing 7 runs, all earned in 3 IP on 8 hits and 4 walks. Matt struck out 2 while falling to 1-2 on the year. His ERA chinned over...

Al Reyes: Reyes notched his 10th save in 10 opportunities last night against the Twins. He has shown nice skills in the past, but he has never put up these numbers, 11.6 K/9 and a 1.29 ERA. While he has...

Alfonso Soriano - Expanding on what Joe said this morning, I completely agree that Soriano is primed for an excellent month. One thing I've noticed about hot hitters is the tendency to hit the ball with authority to the opposite...

American League 1 Alex Gordon KC 3B A+ He's walking more lately, but just not making enough solid contact. Patience is advised. 2 Delmon Young TAM OF A+ Slow start....707 OPS and 20/4 K/BB suggest a breakout may not come...

This week we start with Tom Gordon heading back to Philly to have his painful right shoulder examined. The Phillies say that Gordon will not be with the team this weekend in San Francisco. We are early in this...

Kevin Millwood- TEX- Inj- Millwood is penciled in for the first game of today's doubleheader, but may not be able to go. Word came late last night that he tweaked his hamstring and will be evaluated before the game to...

Adam Dunn loves to hit 'em in bunches. He hit another HR last night for his 3rd in three games and his 8th of the season. Dunn's power in 2007 is consistent with his previous two years at a rate...

Jarrod Washburn was strong against the White Sox on Tuesday, holding them to 2 runs in 7 IP on just 4 hits and a walk while striking out 4. Both runs came on solo homers as Washburn improved to...

Tom Gordon: All the calls for Brett Myers to take over the Phillies' closer job seem premature, as Gordon converted a save last night against the Braves by pitching a perfect ninth inning, impressively fanning 2 batters. Gordon's K/9 of...

Your fantasy offense is an Army. It is, hopefully, a relentless snowfall of stats that accumulates into major problems for your opponents. However, your pitchers are different. Your pitching staff is instead an orchestra. It is helpful to be aware...

Dustin McGowan - With Gustavo Chacin hitting the DL with shoulder pain, Dustin McGowan might be getting another shot at the Toronto rotation, although Chacin's replacement has not been offically announced as of this morning. McGowan would be on the...

Mike Gonzalez- ATL- Rise Value- With Bob Wickman out, Gonzalez is one of two Braves who will be sharing the save opportunities. The other is Rafael Soriano. There was no save opportunity last night, as Atlanta won with a walkoff...