"April 2016" Monthly Archives

Nick Castellanos Castellanos has made the impressive transition from underrated to overrated with his hot start to 2016. Castellanos is slashing .363/.376/.563 with three homers, 24 RuBIns and a steal. However, there are some potential warning signs for Castellanos...

Options, options, options. That's what I see every single week when considering available pitching on the waiver wire. In 2016 free agent pitching depth is immense. Streaming very average arms against mostly weak hitting? Check. Hunting down free agents who...

Adam Conley (SP, Mia): Conley threw seven and two-thirds no-hit innings Friday night against the Brewers. He was pulled with only four outs left to achieve the no-no as Don Mattingly questionably decided 116 pitches was the end of Conley's...

Sean Manaea (OAK) - Rookie and my personal favorite from Spring Training, Sean Manaea, was given the opportunity to make his major league debut last night against the Houston Astros. From a matchup perspective, it would be tough to find...

Dee Gordon (2B-MIA): Flash broke the internet with news of his testing positive for PED's and will immediately begin serving an 80-game suspension. Derek Dietrich figures to see the lion's share of duty at 2B, with Miguel Rojas also receiving...

Melky Cabrera- OF- CHA- Idea- Cabrera hit 10 of his 12 homers in 2015 against RH pitching while accumulating a slash line of .286/.331/.417 against them. The Orioles' Mike Wright doesn't have a large sample size of major league results...

Chris Tillman, SP, BAL - Tillman didn't throw a ton of strikes on Wednesday, but he was effective enough to scatter a mere two singles and two walks over 6 2/3 shutout innings against the Rays, striking out 9. Beating...

Andrew Cashner (SD - SP) - Coming into yesterday, Cashner looked like a great buy low candidate with FIP a half run less than his actual ERA. Then he got crushed by the Giants, allowing 6 runs in just 2.2...

David Price, Boston Red Sox - Feeling down on your season? You can count on the Braves to turn that all around in one start. Price tossed eight innings allowing two runs while striking out 14 Braves batters in route...

Joe Panik- 2B- SF- Idea- Although he hasn't taken off against RH pitching this year (.224 average) that is due primarily to bad luck (.190 BABIP against them.) In 2015 Panik posted a slash line of .318/.379/.473 and hit 7...

Rajai Davis, OF, CLE Davis has been playing well for the Indians of late and is hitting .286 with 2 HR's and 6 SB's on the season. Yet his fantasy value has taken a hit with the activation of Michael...

Neil Walker Walker hit his 8th (eighth!) home run of the 2016 season on Monday night, continuing his red hot start to his Mets career. The ex-Pirate is tied for second in all of baseball, trailing only Bryce Harper...

Drew Smyly-Rays-SP Drew Smyly went 7 IP and gave up 1 ER on 6 H, 1 BB, and 6 K's. Smyly has been excellent when on the mound over the past two seasons. He has been a great source of...

Aaron Blair (SP, Atl): Aaron Blair made his first major league start Sunday against the Mets but fell short of a quality start, pitching five and one-third innings and allowing three runs on six hits with two walks and only...

Steven Matz (NYM - SP) - Matz has been a mixed bag to start the year, but he drew a very favorable matchup against the Atlanta Braves on Saturday night. Entering Saturday's game, the Braves ranked dead last in the...

Blake Snell The 23-year-old elite Rays prospect made his debut on Saturday and looked good, going five innings and allowing just one run on two hits, while sporting a strikeout to walk ratio of 6:1. The Rays have said...

Matt Harvey-Mets-SP Matt Harvey went 5 IP and gave up 2 ER on 7 H, 1 BB, and 5 K's. Harvey has not looked right to start the year. He is down 2 mph on both his fastball and slider....

Each and every single year I'm reminded that when it comes to attacking the waiver wire, I fall into the conservative camp. I don't find myself getting excited about a recently called-up rookie (Socrates Brito). I'm not overly swayed by...

Mike Moustakas (3B-KC): Continuing to validate his 2015 power surge, Mike Moustakas hit his 6th homer of the year Friday as part of a 3-for-4 night to lead the Royals over the O's. In 67 plate appearances the Mouse has...

Ian Desmond, SS, OF, TEX Desmond finally got on the board with his first homerun of the season on Thursday and also doubled in the contest. Don't look now but Desmond has gone 4-11 his last three games with 3...

Here are a few notes on this week's prospect spreadsheet update. Hitters 7 Dansby Swanson ATL SS B+ A+ Just one pro HR In 140 AB, but we won't argue with the .350 BA. Power should come. 8 Alex Bregman...

Matt Adams- 1B- STL- Idea- Adams hit all 5 of his homers in 2015 against RH pitching (150 ABs.) His slash line against them was .247/.283/.400. In the early going of 2016 his slash line against RH pitching is an...

Billy Hamilton, OF, CIN Hamilton batted leadoff for the Reds on Wednesday, but went 0-4 lowering his BA to .182. Hitting in the leadoff spot isn't something we should expect to happen regularly for Hamilton, it was more a matter...

Michael Saunders (TOR - OF) - Saunders is becoming an excellent DFS option in the leadoff spot for Toronto, and carries just a $3,700. Saunders' biggest issue over his career is health, and in DFS, you pretty much know whether...

Jung Ho Kang (SS/3B-PIT) - In NL-only and deeper mixed leagues, Kang is likely already rostered on someone's bench or DL, but if not, keep his name in mind. Kang is currently out with a knee injury, but he has...

Wade Miley, Seattle Mariners - Wade Miley's incredibly bad season continued Tuesday with a 3.2 inning outing where he allowed 13 baserunners but managed to allow just three runs. His 76.9% LOB rate for the game was WELL above his...

Hector Santiago, SP, LAA - Santiago was brilliant Monday, shutting out the White Sox over seven innings on just 2 hits and 3 walks, striking out 10 to pick up his first win of the year. There were some alarming...

Giancarlo Stanton (MIA - OF) - Stanton flashed some more power last night, unleashing a bomb for his third home run of the year before adding an RBI single later on. He was 2-for-4 with the HR and a walk...

Michael Conforto-Mets-OF Michael Conforto went 2-3 with 2 doubles, 2 R, and 2 RBI against the Indians. Conforto was recently moved into the three-hole against right-handed pitchers, which is a big vote of confidence for the youngster. He showed the...

Matt Moore (SP, TB): Moore shined against the White Sox Sunday, giving up two runs in six and one-third innings on five hits with no walks and ten strikeouts. The 26 year old lefty has looked dominant in his first...

Javier Baez (UTIL-CHC): Baez (thumb) returned to the lineup with a bang, knocking out 2 hits in 4 AB's and scoring 1 run to provide more than enough support to Jake Arrieta. Baez was 4 for 17 with 1 HR...

Heading through the middle of April, not only are the injuries piling up, but so are the list of available replacements. This week a load of starting pitchers have jumped to the fore. Let's take a look ... (Note: To...

Kole Calhoun (LAA) - Calhoun continued his white-hot hitting by crushing his first homerun of the season in a matchup against the Twins. Calhoun has had at least one hit in every game except one, and has multi-hit games in...

Aledmys Diaz (SS, StL): Aledmys Diaz, whose name will set off any spell check, had himself a night Friday in the Cardinals shellacking of the Reds, going 2-5 with a home run, two runs and three RBI from the eight...

John Jaso- 1B- PIT- Idea- Jaso is off to a hot start, with an average of .351. He did some damage against RH pitching in 2015 with a slash line of .285/.365/.465. The Brewers will be starting Jimmy Nelson, who...

Mark Trumbo (BAL - 1B/OF) - Mark Trumbo hit his third home run of the young season last night. That's not that unusual given his power, but there is a LOT to like with Trumbo right now. His SwStr% is...