"May 2011" Monthly Archives

Tony Campana - With both Marlon Byrd and Reed Johnson on the DL, someone has to play CF for the Cubs, and that someone is going to be Tony Campana for the near-term. Campana is a small speedster that has...

Chone Figgins - Perhaps the most damning indictment of Chone Figgins steep and drastic decline as a hitter is that the Mariners dropped him in the lineup on Monday from second to eighth and moved Brendan Ryan (!) up...

Elvis Andrus- TEX- Hot- Andrus was supposed to have the day off yesterday but instead ended up smacking a walk off single to win the game for the Rangers in the 9th. He had gone 2 for 15 in his...

Again, this is just as sample of the 100 or so updates you get each day as a subscriber. Follow me on Twitter - @vtadave Anthony Rizzo (1B-SD) - So what exactly are the Padres waiting for here? We'll get...

Ichiro - Another 0-fer yesterday extends Ichiro's current skid to 1-18, and drops his batting average down to .272 for the year and .213 for the month. Yes, Ichiro's BABIP is rather low for him thus far, but with speed...

1. Wandy Rodriguez (SP - Astros) - Wandy Rodriguez landed on the 15-day DL yesterday after finding fluid in his elbow. The diagnosis sounds pretty bad, but Wandy was still able to throw a side session and only experienced slight...

Juan Miranda (1B--Diamondbacks) With Russell Branyan having been signed by the Angels, Juan Miranda only has Xavier Nady to split time with at first base. But having come back from a wrist injury on Thursday when he went 0-for-3, Miranda...

1. Adam Dunn (1B - White Sox) - Adam Dunn still hasn't turned it around and it has forced Ozzie Guillen to drop him in the lineup. He struck out 4 times on Thursday and that's all Ozzie had to...

Shaun Marcum - I've been touting Shaun Marcum as an underrated fantasy SP since the pre-season and he's lived up to the height so far, posting a 6-1 record with a sparkling 2.37 ERA and 2.69 FIP. The best...

C J. Wilson- TEX- Hot- I have just about completed the crossover from skeptic to believer where Wilson is concerned. He had two starts where he walked a total of 9 batters in 12 IP, but has only walked 2...

Mat Latos (SP - SD): I've been pretty vocal on the negative aspects and the risks associated with investing in Latos this year, so it's only fair when he puts together a really strong start that I highlight some...

This is just a sampling of the 70+ prospect updates we do here each week. For the full lists, subscribe today... National League 1 Bryce Harper WAS OF A+ The Nats made it official in the past week, saying no...

Jair Jurrjens (SP--Braves) Jair Jurrjens notched his sixth win of the season on Tuesday pitching 7.2 scoreless innings, He gave up six hits, walked one and struck out four. Jurrjens was able to lower his ERA to 1.56. It was...

Ricky Romero SP (TOR) - Earlier in the year I warned about Romero wearing down as the season went long and not to get overwhelmed by his early season peripherals (as I did last season). Well after posting a...

Chris Denorfia - The demotion of Will Venable is a big plus for the 30 year old Denorfia, who is expected to play most of the time and bat leadoff for the time being. Denorfia has indeed played six of...

This is just a sampling of the 100 or so updates we provide daily. Subscribe now to get them all. Oh and follow me on Twitter - @vtadave Lyle Overbay (1B-PIT) - At some point here in the near future,...

Asdrubal Cabrera (2B - CLE): Asdrubal Cabrera sure had a day on Sunday. Cabrera went 5-5 with 2 HR's, 2 Runs, 5 RBI's, and even stole a bag. The big outing raised his 2011 line to .302/.363/.522 which looks...

Tim Lincecum (SP--Giants) It was prime Tim Lincecum on Saturday as the Giants beat up on their cross-the-bay rivals, the Oakland A's lead by the fine pitching of Lincecum. He pitched a complete game, three-hit shutout and didn't walk a...

Josh Tomlin - I wrote a couple weeks ago about how lucky Josh Tomlin had been through his first few starts. Well, it's a few weeks later and Tomlin's peripheral stats are still indicating that he should play the lottery....

Dominic Brown (OF--Phillies) It finally happened: Dominic Brown has been called up. Yes, it seems here at Fantistics we have been keeping a daily watch on the Brown situation with Shane Victorino having headed to the DL. Despite reports on...

David Murphy (OF - TEX): There might not be a more disappointing pickup that I make all season than David Murphy. As most know, prior to Nelson Cruz and Josh Hamilton going down I had touted Murphy as a...

Kyle McClellan (SP - STL): The magic of Dave Duncan is about the only explanation I can have for the success of converted reliever Kyle McClellan. McClellan posted his 6th quality start in 9 tries on Thursday afternoon, limiting...

Nick Swisher (OF - Yankees) - Swisher broke-out on Thursday with a 2-for-4 performance including 4 RBI's and a walk. I'm hoping we look back on this day as the day he turned his season around. I've written about Swisher...

Bartolo Colon- NYY- Hot- Colon had perhaps his best start yet of his comeback. He needed only 87 pitches to throw 8 shutout innings in which he gave up 3 hits and a walk while striking out 7. Colon keeps...

1. Albert Pujols (1B - Cardinals) - The homerun drought for Albert Pujols continues. His last homerun came on April 23rd, over 87 AB ago. This is from a guy who has a career AB/HR of 14.2 since 2001. I...

National League 32 Jaff Decker SD OF B+ 1.000 OPS a result of hot April. Cooled way off in May - .208 avg and 9 BB in 53 at-bats. 33 Trayvon Robinson LAD OF B HR #8 on Monday and...

Brian McCann- ATL- Hot- On a day that he was supposed to be taking off, McCann doubled his homer output of the season, slugging two after entering the game in the 9th as a pinch hitter. The appearance also broke...

Michael Brantley OF (CLE) - Michael Brantley is enjoying a breakout season in large part due to his increase in EYE (from .58 to 1.13). His current EYE is being driven slightly by a reduction in strikeouts but primarily...

Justin Upton - Upton hit his 8th homer of the season last night against the Padres in an 8-4 loss. His ISO is just about back to 2009 levels, and his AVG is being hampered more by a BABIP 30...

Vin Mazzaro - I don't know much about Vin Mazzaro, but I'm pretty certain Monday was the worst pitching performance of his career, starting from tee-ball through the majors. Summoned into duty after Kyle Davies was injured in the...

If you're not a subscriber, go ahead and do so for tons more content. Here is just a small sampling: Todd Helton (1B-COL) - Helton seemed to be caught by Father Time and injuries last year, as the borderline Hall-of-Famer...

Maicer Izturis - Izturis smacked a pair of singles yesterday against the Rangers, extending his hitting streak to 10 games in the 3-2 win. Izturis has typically offered you a bit of speed and AVG as a bench/reserve type of...

Welcome to a special Florida Marlins addition of the NL Player Notes! Anibal Sanchez - It's safe to say Anibal Sanchez is on fire right now. At least against the Nationals, that is. Less than a week after shutting out...

Ryan Dempster (SP--Cubs) Usually one of the more consistent pitchers, Ryan Dempster has been struggling through his first eight starts with a 1-4 record and a 7.20 ERA going into Friday's game against the Giants. But Dempster seems to have...

1. Eric Hosmer (1B - Royals) - A ton has been written about Hosmer's fantasy value over the past week. Claims of overpaying for him and an attempt to rank him among the league's other first baseman moving forward...

Homer Bailey (SP - CIN): With two strong starts since being activated off of the DL it's time to change gears from "watching" to "investing" in Homer Bailey. I mentioned in this space a week ago that Bailey's strong...