Around the Horn: August21, 2012

(1) Athletics deal to add Stephen Drew. Can he prove his skills are intact?

(2) Sean Rodriguez sent to minors for Rays as Luke Scott is activated from DL.

(3) Alejandro De Aza sent to DL. Dewayne Wise to fill in.

(4) Brewers rotation about ready to get jumbled due to IP concerns and returning Shaun Marcum.

(5) Juan Pierre better than expected.

(6) Troy Tulowitzki still improving. Hopes to return in September.

(7) Eric Young Jr. to avoid the DL. Has been white hot at dish.
*** NOTE: The Rockies changed their minds and did end up placing Young on the DL after this video was recorded.

(8) Carl Crawford to have Tommy John surgery – season is over.

By Ray Flowers

Daily Joust – Wk 14: Did We Learn Anything?

On Monday each week I take a look at the fantasy baseball game breaking down players who have produced noteworthy performances of late – not just positive outings mind you, but I’ll also delve into some of the players that have been sucking wind of late. Can you use this information to your benefit over at DailyJoust? To get your daily fantasy baseball fix make sure you head over to DailyJoust.com to set your salary cap club.

GAINERS OF THE WEEK

Cole DeVries (+78, $246K in DailyJoust Salary)
Though six appearances, and five starts, Cole has compiled a 3.00 ERA and 1.10 WHIP for the Twins. He’s also allowed just three runs in his last three appearances while striking out 12 and walking just two. Like seemingly ever Twins hurler, he just doesn’t beat himself with the free passes (eight in 30 innings).

Marco Estrada (+68, $291K)
In six games as a starter for the Brewers he has a 4.50 ERA and 1.02 WHIP. Not exactly numbers that appear to go together. So which arm has he been? Try the 1.02 WHIP guy. In those 42 innings as a starter this year eh has an impressive 45 Ks and thanks to just six walks his K/BB ratio is a HOF worthy 7.50. Well worth a look if available (even if no one has noticed. See Fleaflicker).

Zach McAllister (+70, $135K)
Through seven starts he’s 3-1 with a 3.40 ERA and 1.28 WHIP for the Indians. Though he’s allowed only three earned runs his last two starts he’s remarkably also permitted six other unearned runs or that ERA would look pretty bad. He does have 41 Ks an a 4.10 K/BB ratio in 42.1 innings though so it’s not like he’s bereft of skill.

Alex Rodriguez (+30, $105K)
He has seven hits in his last five games, but he’s still batting just .269 with a .793 OPS. Unfortunately the average is about what was expected – he hit .270 and .276 the past two years – and his OPS was under .850 each of the past two years as well. He’s also on pace for about 25 homers and 75 RBIs. Put that all together and we’d be talking about the worst full season of his career – by a substantial amount.

Will Venable (+28, $83K)
He’s always lurking on the edge of relevance in a 12 team league that starts five outfielders. He’s got a little bit of pop (six homers) and some speed (eight steals though he’s been caught six times). Still, he’s a .249 career hitter with a .320 OBP, and guess what, he’s hitting .248 with a .318 OBP this year. Only an injury fill in for mixed leaguers.

LOSERS OF THE WEEK

Alejandro De Aza (-16, $89K)
Hitting .283 with a pace for 25+ steals and 100 runs (including 11 in his last 10 games), there is nothing to complain about with De Aza. Sure he only has two homers in 61 games, and he’s swiped just four bases in his last 32 games, but that’s just nitpicking.

Eric Hosmer (-13, $77K)
Hosmer lifted his average up to .237 on July 2nd, the highest it had been since April 9th. Yeah, it’s been a rough year. Hosmer has scored seven times in his last eight games, and I’m still thinking a rebound is coming. His line drive rate, HR/F are the same as last year. He’s also walking more and striking out less. Sooner or later that will result in increased offensive production. Trust me.

Jed Lowrie (-13, $55K)
Once more into the breach…

Haven’t we been here before? You know, the point were I tell you that Jed Lowrie isn’t as good as everyone thinks he is? The point where I mention that he’s never going to help you out in the batting average category (.254 this year, .253 in career). Or how about his merely average ability to get on base (.343 OBP this year, .329 for his career). Or how about his streaky as all hell nature? Anyone notice that he’s hit .191 with one homer the past three weeks? Even worse, the guy has hit .211 over his last 34 games. You can’t say I didn’t warn you.

Anibal Sanchez (-68, $188K)
He’s had a rough go of it, but in his final start before the break he stopped the bleeding allowing two runs, without walking a batter, in six innings. He ends the first half with a 1.25 WHIP, 0.03 better than last season, and his 7.99 K/9 and 3.06 K/BB ratios point to a guy who has pitched pretty well this season. I know it’s hard to trust him given his recent downturn in production, but he’s a nice buy low option considering his perceived lack of value.

CONTEST: All-Star Game

Sign up to play in the All-Star Game contest at DailyJoust. Simply register at this LINK and the contest will show up in the lobby for you. Yet another reason you’ll want to watch the mid-season’s classic.

CONTEST – KING FOR A DAY; Win $12,000

Here’s the deal. Every Friday through September 7th, 12 qualifiers will be given a shot to win $12,000 in the final contest on September 14th. Here’s how it works from the official web page of the tournament.

Each weekly qualifier is a $10 entry multiple-entry tournament with the winner earning a seat in the Sept 14th $12,000 King’s Crown tournament. In the event of a tie for first place, normal Daily Joust tie-breaker rules apply. If a tie still persists, a playoff will occur to determine the winner.

That’s right. Be a weekly winner and you’ll get your shot to view for the $12,000 in prizes ($5,000 to the winner)… for the cost of $10.

Sound like a game you’d like to try your hand at?

 

By Ray Flowers

SWIP: 2012 – Swingmen & Relievers

Yesterday in SWIP: 2012 – Starters, I gave a detailed description of exactly what SWIP is before I took a look at the starting pitcher pool from 2011. In PART II of my SWIP report, I’ll take a look at all the hurlers who tossed less than 160 innings including a discussion about the men that work the 8th and 9th innings.

* For an explanation of what SWIP is and how it works, click on the above link. Here is the “key” to help you to understand how to read the SWIP marks.

.90 and Up: Excellent season. Hall of Fame level.
.70 to .89:  An all-star performance. Worthy of Cy Young consideration.
.50 to .69:  Borderline all-star to decent starting pitcher. A guy you’d like to have on your staff.
.35 to .50:  A guy who should be nothing more than the 3rd or 4th starter with his club.
.20 to .34:  His major league days are likely numbered.
Below .20: Minor leaguer in training.

The league average in 2011 was 0.45.

Here are the hurlers who tossed between 90 and 160 innings in 2011.

0.87 – Brandon Beachy
Now maybe all of you out there who questioned why I have Beachy so high in my 2012 rankings, which you can find in the 2012 BBGuys Draft Guide, will at least partially, understand my reasoning.

0.79 – Cory Luebke
A great place to pitch, combined with an impressive K-rate, equals a lot of promise.

0.74 – Tommy Hanson
Injures an a new motion are causing some worry, but if healthy he has the tools to be a top-20 starting pitcher.

0.68 – Scott Baker
Keep an eye on his elbow woes, but Baker owns the skills to be a top of the rotation fantasy arm if he can make 30 starts.

0.64 – Marco Estrada
The likely rotation fill in with the Brewers if Shawn Marcum (shoulder) is unable to go at the start of the year.

0.64 – Jake Peavy
He had nearly a four to one K/BB ratio last year, though he has looked awful in camp thus far.

0.60 – Jonathan Niese, Erik Bedard
One pitcher is always hurt, both are usually overlooked.

0.59 – Tom Gorzelanny
Whatever his role (RP or SP), Tom was an effective hurler last year with a career best 2.88 K/BB ratio.

0.56 – Felipe Paulino
Armed with a big arm, Paulino has quietly averaged 8.28 strikeouts per nine in 347.2 big league innings.

0.37 – Johnny Cueto
Totally changed him M.O. last year morphing from a K-arm, to a ground ball machine. SWIP isn’t a fan of that shift.

0.30 – Jair Jurrjens
I warn about him each year. Don’t buy that low ERA, it’s just not sustainable.

0.28 – Francisco Liriano
What an arm, but all those walks are just a killer.

Now on to the arms that worked at least 40 innings but no more than 90.

1.35 – Sergio Romo
I keep saying it, but here it is again. Romo has no shot at the Hall of Fame, but his numbers to this point of the game are as impressive as pretty much any hurler who has every lived.

1.30 – Kenley Jansen
The #1 target by most fantasy pundits from the middle reliever ranks.

1.20 – Jonathan Papelbon
All he does is save 30 games each year while striking out more than 10 batters per nine innings.

1.17- Koji Uehara
Often lost in the shuffle on draft day, this import runs smoother than a top of the line Honda Accord.

1.04 – Rafael Betancourt
Some doubt whether or not he can handle the 9th inning all season. That’s fine since he’s never done it for an entire year. However, don’t doubt the skills – they are elite.

0.99 – Sergio Santos
Some are worried about what he will do for an encore in his first year in Toronto. SWIP isn’t concerned.

0.98 – David Robertson
He’s shed the walking boot and appears to be well on his way to being ready for Opening Day after a scare with his foot. Could represent a nice buy low option on draft day.

0.97 – Vinnie Pestano
Looks like Chris Perez might be healthy enough for Opening Day after all, but that doesn’t mean it still wouldn’t be wise to roster Pestano.

0.96 – Rex Brothers
When you blow cheese like he does it doesn’t matter if you are pitching at a mile above seawater.

0.92 – Greg Holland
Never mentioned as an elite bullpen arm, but the guy had 74 Ks and just 19 walks in 60 innings last year.

0.43 – Javy Guerra
Will open the year as the Dodgers’ closer even though he is, literally, a third of the pitcher as Jansen according to SWIP.

0.42 – Jeff Samardzija
He has a great arm that led to 87 Ks in 88 innings last season, but the young fireballer simply has to reign in the free passes (he issued 50 last year).

0.39 – Neftali Feliz
Transitioning to the starting rotation, Feliz was dominant in the second half last year but his overall work places him as a below average SWIP arm.

0.32 – Matt Capps
How long can he hold on to the Twins 9th inning job? Not long if he repeats last years effort.

0.27 – Luke Gregerson
What happened to that once dominating arm out of the Padres’ pen?

For those of you who want to investigate further, here is the BBGuys-SWIP-2011-PDF file that lists all men who tossed at least 40-innings last season.

To sign up for your baseball league this year make sure you check out Fleaflicker.

By Ray Flowers