Paul Sauberer is one of the original Fantistics Analysts. Paul is a diehard fantasy baseball fan with political aspirations. Paul's earliest baseball memories are of the expansion Senators in the 1960s and his father buying him an entire box of 1969 Topps baseball cards. The Senators are no longer and the cards are definitely no longer in mint condition, but Paul's love of baseball continues. He transferred allegiance to the Orioles after the Senators left town and enjoyed the glorious times of the Birds in the 1970s. During that time, he also discovered table top baseball games (before "Rotisserie" meant anything outside of something to do with food) and that has led to decades of crunching numbers and following major league performances. Paul reacquainted himself with the Senators, now the Texas Rangers, while going to college in Texas and remains a Rangers' fan today, even after living on Long Island for 14 years with his wife and two children. Paul knows his baseball!
Danny Valencia- KC- Trade- Valencia was dealt to the Blue Jays in a 3-player deal for Erik Kratz and Liam Hendriks. He will get some time at 3B until Brett Lawrie comes off the DL but then will likely return...
Xander Bogaerts- BOS- Stats- During the Break, Scott Boras was quoted as saying he still had confidence in clients Bogaerts and Stephen Drew. With Bogaerts, Boras has reason to think that he will break out of his slump before too...
Jeurys Familia- NYN- Caution- Familia officially has a tired arm and his use might curtail some. Hopefully this isn't connected with his appearance on July 4th. Familia had been getting into a lot of games but hadn't been worked that...
Marco Estrada- MIL- Cold- Estrada couldn't pull off a third straight quality start, lasting only 5 IP and giving up 3 runs on 6 hits and 2 walks while striking out 5. He also gave up his 27th homer of...
Jose Reyes- TOR- Hot- Regression to the mean is in full swing for Reyes. Through June 23rd his BABIP was at .264 and his average at .247. In the 6 games since then he has gone 12-for-29 with a BABIP...
Kris Bryant- CHN- Hot- Bryant slugged his 4th homer in 5 games since being promoted from AAA. That move came on the strength of 22 homers for AA Tennessee. All of Bryant's AAA hits have been homers so his average...
Mark Buehrle- TOR- FYI- Buehrle will get an extra day of rest before taking the mound tomorrow. Maybe it will help him bounce back from his third non-quality start of the season. Then again, maybe some regression to the mean...
Andrew Heaney- MIA- FYI- Just about everyone is expecting Heaney to make his major league debut soon. The Marlins' Director of Scouting said he "is really close on the cusp of the Major Leagues." The question is when. If it...
Josh Hamilton- LAA- Hot- Hamilton seems to be getting back into form after a slow start coming off the DL. He had his 3rd multi-hit game in a row yesterday, going 2-for-4 with a double and 3 RBI. Hamilton is...
David Lough- BAL- Hot- Lough went 2-for-3 in his first start in about a week on Sunday and hit his first homer of the year. His average is still below the Mendoza Line at .176, suppressed by a .214 BABIP....
Andrelton Simmons- ATL- Cold- Simmons went 1-for-4 yesterday, getting only his second hit in his last 6 games to drop his average to .259. On the plus side he drew a walk, his first one since May 7th. At the...
Leonys Martin- TEX- Hot- Martin had missed two games due to neck stiffness. He was healthy yesterday but didn't start because the Tigers put a lefty on the mound. Martin was pressed into service when Daniel Robertson was hurt in...
Raul Ibanez- LAA- Cold- Ibanez was only hitting .148 and didn't start last night's game. His slow start can mostly be attributed to bad luck, with a BABIP of .181. He has had similar slow starts each of the previous...
Aramis Ramirez- MIL- Stats- Ramirez turns 36 next month and this is the second time in 2 years that he has had left leg issues. His durability is definitely in question. Ramirez got off to a very good start due...
Daniel Nava- BOS- Cold- Jackie Bradley, Jr. might not be tearing things up for the Red Sox but Nava's performance at AAA Pawtucket recently hasn't warranted serious contemplation of making a switch between the majors and minors. He went 1-for-3...
Adam Jones- BAL- Caution- Jones has had a very poor start, with an average of .252 (despite a .322 BABIP) and a single homer in 29 games. This from a guy who hit 30+ in each of the previous 2...
Andrew Heaney- MIA- FYI- Heaney has an extra day off before his next start on Thursday, due to an off day in AA Jacksonville's schedule. He will be coming off his first poor performance of the year. Last Friday he...
Ben Zobrist- TB- Hot- After having his first hitless game in almost a week on Wednesday, Zobrist bounced back nicely yesterday. He went 3-for-4 with a walk to raise his average to .310. It was his 4th multi-hit game in...
Chris Archer- TB- Hot- Archer pitched very well Saturday, allowing 1 run on 3 hits and walking none while striking out 4 in 6.2 IP. It was his 3rd quality start in his 4 outings this season, making his previous...
Mike Fiers- MIL- Idea- I went to the Nashville Sounds game on Sunday and saw Fiers pitch. He was dominant, throwing 6.2 scoreless IP and allowing 5 hits and a walk while striking out 5. Of his 96 pitches, 60...
Jim Johnson- OAK- Drop Value- Johnson is out as the Oakland closer after a bad start with his new team. He will be replaced by a committee that sounds like a cast of thousands. This isn't very surprising if you've...
Adam Wainwright- STL- Caution- Wainwright threw 7 scoreless IP, allowing just 3 hits and striking out 9. However, he did have some control issues, with 43 of his 105 pitches being balls and walking 4 batters, mare than in any...
Observations from the Grapefruit and Cactus Leagues...Micro sample size edition...I went to yesterday's game between the Nationals and Marlins. It was good to see my first live game of the season, even if there was a constant drizzle. Of course,...
Notes from the Grapefruit and Cactus Leagues... Johan Santana- BAL- The Orioles signed Santana to a minor league deal. In workouts he was reportedly topping out in the 80s so he is not back to the dominant form he had...
Notes from the Grapefruit and Cactus Leagues...as all pitchers and catchers have reported and position players for the Tigers, Phillies, Pirates, Cardinals and Mariners report today. Ryan Dempster- BOS- Dempster will not be pitching for the Red Sox or anyone...
Observations from the Grapefruit and Cactus Leagues...Pitchers and catchers will be reporting today for the Braves, Orioles, Cubs, Tigers, Angels, Padres and Nationals. Derek Jeter- NYA- The biggest news of yesterday was that the last of the Core Four will...
Dan Straily- OAK- Hot- Straily finished his season with a loss but it was a quality start. It was only the 4th quality start in his last 12 outings as he has gone through some regression to the mean. Straily...
Addison Reed- CHA- Cold- Reed blew his third save of the month, giving him a conversion rate of only 50% in the last month of the season. He came close to pulling it out, striking out 2 of the batters...
Tim Beckham- TB- Rookie- Beckham debuted as a pinch hitter and got a single in his first major league at bat. The pessimist would say he has nowhere to go but down. But that would be depressing. Realistically, Beckham hit...
Matt Harvey- NYN- Inj Update- If Harvey isn't going to stretch out his final surgery decision beyond the month of two reported then there isn't much further impact on next year. If he ends up having the surgery, then it...
A.J. Griffin- OAK- Hot- Griffin tossed his second quality start in 3 outings. He is still gaining help from good fortune as his ERA for the game was 1.29 while his 1-game FIP was 3.05 Griffin's Season differential between the...
Jean Segura- MIL- Stats- Segura has gone 15-for-55 in his last 13 games so he might be showing signs of reviving a bit from his second half slump. He has also swiped 2 bases in his last 5 games after...
Chris Sale- CHA- Caution- Sale had a quality start last night but his usage pattern is worrisome. He ended up throwing 114 pitches, a dozen of them in the 8th inning after it looked like he was tiring. Extending pitchers...
Henderson Alvarez- MIA- Hot- Alvarez threw his first quality start in his last 5 outings, allowing 3 runs on 7 hits and a walk while striking out 3 in 6 IP. Prior to his cold streak he had thrown 5...
Jason Vargas- LAA- Hot- Vargas has now tossed two straight quality starts and appears over the blood clot issue that landed him on the DL earlier this season. He threw 7 shutout innings yesterday, allowing just 2 hits and 3...
Nate Freiman- OAK- Rookie- Frieman, possibly the tallest ever major league position player at 6' 8", reached base three times last night, singling as a pinch hitter and walking twice after staying in as the DH. Freiman has managed to...