AL Quick Pitch: Some old names return to today's quick pitch. Will 2011 be the breakout year for "old" names like Alex Gordon and Jeff Francoeur? Both have gotten off to hot starts in April and deserve ownership in all formats. Edwin Encarnacion is another name that has floated around fantasy circles for quite some time and while the average is respectable, we have yet to see the 20+ HR power at all in 2011. Speaking of power, Mitch Moreland has a couple dingers this week, but it should slow down to a slower rate of about 25.0 AB/HR. Brandon League is holding down the fort until David Aardsma comes back and Sergio Santos is raising Ozzie's eyebrows out in Chicago. King Felix who? Michael Pineda is now 3-0. Manny Acta is giving the green light to Sizemore, but let's all keep our fingers crossed that he doesn't land himself back on the DL - I'll be happy with 15 swipes from Grady this year. Looking for a spot start this weekend? I'm sticking my neck out on this one and going with Fausto Carmona against the Twins - throw out one atrocious outing and Carmona has been solid dating back to late August of 2010. Have a great Easter weekend everybody.
Edwin Encarnacion (3B - Blue Jays) - Encarnacion is tough to figure out. Just when you think he's getting it going, he'll going into a slump. His ownership will drop and then he picks it right back up again. He's 6-for-18 in his last three games, raising his season average to .298. He has four multi-hit games on the year with two of them coming this week. Perhaps hitting in the DH spot is really helping him. Of course, there's more than just batting average that we need to focus on for Encarnacion. He has yet to hit a HR this season while in 2010 he hit 21 and averaged a HR for every 15.8 AB. 7 of his 17 hits have come for extra bases, leading me to believe the power should show itself very soon. 3B can be a weak position so he remains on my mixed league watch list when (not if) the power comes back.
Mitch Moreland (1B - Rangers) - Mitch Moreland is starting to flex a little muscle, hitting two dingers in the last four games (his only two of the season). Moreland hit 9 last season in 145 AB for a HR/AB rate of 16.1, so the power is certainly there. If you take a look at the minors though, his rate is probably more likely in the mid-20's. From 2008 through 2010, he posted AB/HR rates of 25.9, 29.4, and 29.4 from A-ball on up. His biggest weakness is against lefties, as he hit with a SLG of only .300 against LHP in 2010 and is 0-for-4 with a BB and a K this year against them. This drawback has and will continue to limit his playing time, which also limits his fantasy value to mostly AL-only leagues at this point.
Brandon League (RP - Mariners) - Brandon League is now a perfect 5-for-5 in save opportunities since taking over the role from the injured David Aardsma. He is posting a 0.95 WHIP and a 3.68 ERA (he had two bad games against KC which were his only 3 ER allowed in his 8 appearances). League's fantasy value will be greatly reduced to just a Holds candidate when Aardsma returns (and if he can stay healthy). Aardsma is already rehabbing his injured hip and while there is no official timetable, an early May return is looking likely at this point.
Michael Pineda (SP - Mariners) - Pineda is looking filthy. He pitched his 4th straight quality start of the year on Friday, earning his 3rd win of the season. He has recorded 21 K's in 25.1 IP and has held opposing hitters to just a .202 AVG. On Friday, he induced 10 ground balls and just 2 line drives, helping his overall GO/AO rate to 0.70. Pineda mentioned in post-game interviews that his slider was really effective and its a feel pitch for him. Its also his 3rd most frequent pitch, with fastball and changeup primarily dominating his repertoire. If he can add a 3rd nasty pitch with regularity (currently around 30% of the time), we will be talking about him for a long time. big time up-arrow for Pineda - if he's not owned in every league at this point, he needs to be snatched up.
Fausto Carmona (SP - Indians) - Because of the rainout on Friday, Carmona will now pitch on Saturday against the Twins. I'm liking this spot start for the weekend. Carmona's season stats are inflated because of one really bad outing to start the season (10 ER in 3 IP). Since then, he has 3 straight QS outings going at least 7.0 IP and allowing 2 ER or less. His GO/AO is a solid 1.74 for the year and he has 20 K's in 24.2. IP. Dating back to last year, he has given up 3 ER or less in 10 of his last 11 starts (with the one start being the 10 ER one). Throw in an extra day of rest and Carmona is a good gamble to at least post you another QS today against Minnesota.
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