Robinson Cano - Cano bottomed out and turned it around this weekend. As of Saturday, Cano's average had dropped to .150, OBP .213, 2 HR, and 7 RBI. On Sunday, his swing looked good and seemed to be right on every pitch. He ended the day 1-for-4 with a solo HR, but seemed a lot more comfortable at the plate. Yankee hitting coach Kevin Long has been working closely withCano, trying to get him to stand closer to the plate. Cano claims he doesn't feel comfortable that way, so he's been starting close and then bailing-out. Whatever the true problem, Cano is too good of a hitter to continue this slump much longer. Over the last three season, Cano has averaged a .314 average, .833 OPS, and a 0.66 FPI. Through 32 games and 117 AB, Cano has averaged a .154 average, .464 OPS, and a incalculable FPI that is so low it is basically meaningless. For Cano to mirror his 2007 totals, he will need to post a 0.80 FPI for the rest of the season with a .920+ OPS, .340+ average, and .380+ OBP. Sound impossible? In 2007, Cano got off to a horrible start as well and still managed to rebound to respectability. It seems logical he will rebound this year as well, although he certainly has dug himself a big hole.
Joba Chamberlain - There hasn't been any news out of the Bronx about moving Joba to the starting rotation, but in my opinion, a pretty clear message was sent over the last few days. First, owner Hank Steinbrenner called-out manager Joe Girardi and the Yankee front-office and said it was "stupid" for Joba to be in the bullpen. Then, starter Phil Hughes goes on the DL. Then, starter Ian Kennedy gets sent back to the minor leagues and Darrel Rasner gets called-up for the start yesterday against Seattle. And throughout all of these developments and rotation turmoil within the Yankee organization, not one mention ofJoba going to the rotation. It looks like we're still a ways away from seeing Joba start a game for the Yanks. If you have the patience to hang-on, go for it. But at this point, its going to take some time before we see that high-90's fastball start a game.
Boof Bonser - He might have been your best Sunday strikeout head-to-head candidate on your waiver wire, but Bonser gave it away early with 6 runs (5 earned) in the 1st inning before settling down and actually last 6 innings. He did manage to strike out 5 and kept the Twins in the game long enough and Minnesota rallied to give Bonser the no-decision instead of the loss. Say what you want about Bonser, but he is 5-for-7 in quality starts this season, has lasted at least 6.0 IP in six of his 7 starts, is posting a 4.29 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, K/9 of 5.8, and has HR/9 of 0.86. His next two match-ups against Boston and Toronto could result in a little bit of a fall-back, but I think Bonser is a bit underrated for his decent numbers posted this season. I guarantee there are a lot of mediocre pitchers that are still hanging around fantasy teams that haven't even come close to putting up the same QS% or WHIP numbers as Bonser this season.
Nick Swisher - Swisher certainly hasn't been producing like the White Sox or fantasy owners expected. Perhaps some warmer weather in Chicago will translate to a hotter bat at the plate. He's hitting just .210 with a 0.675 OPS through the first month (and a weekend) of the season. Fantasy owners who play inOBP leagues have fared a little better with his .352 OBP due to his 23 BB, earning a walk for every 5.6 PA. Everything else in Swisher's numbers are negatives. His HR/AB this season (in a friendly HR-hitting ballpark) is 35.0, a down-tick from last season's 24.5 and a 2x multiple of his 2006 season's 15.9. Overall, his FPI consistency of 0.65 and 0.64 in 2006 and 2007, respectively, has dropped by almost 20 points to 0.47 in 2008. There is some ground for Swisher to make up and I think he'll be able to revive his season over the next month or so. I think fantasy owners should consider investing in his upside via trade and reap the turn-around benefits.
Darrell Rasner - Don't get too excited about Rasner just yet. In theory, if he was as good as he was on Sunday against Seattle, he would have been in the discussion to earn a rotation spot a lot earlier than May 4th (especially with all of the early-season rotation question marks for the Yanks). For now, he'll get the start against the Tigers this weekend, but his fantasy value is really just in AL-only leagues right now. In his outing against the Mariners, Rasner pitched 6.0 IP, gave up 5 H, 2 ER (off of an early homerun by Adrian Beltre), 4 K's, and no walks. In the minors, Rasner was extremely dominant and was definitely the next-in-line to get a spot-start at the big-league level. In 5 starts with Triple-A Scranton, Rasner was 4-0 with a 0.87 ERA, .170 BAA, 0.77 WHIP, K/9 of 7.84, and GB/FB of 1.24. Keep an eye on his start against the Tigers on Friday and if he pitches extremely well again, be ready to take a flier. Otherwise, his future after Friday is still up-in-the-air.
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