MLB Preseason: AL Central

Hey guys, welcome back for the second week of our “road to Opening Day.” Hopefully, you enjoyed last week’s discussion of the AL East. Just a couple updates from that. Tampa Bay Rays’ catcher Jose Lobaton was traded to the Washington Nationals. So Ryan Hanigan and Jose Molina will be battling for the starting spot there. Also, Ryan Dempster decided to walk away from the game of baseball. I would expect the Red Sox to replace him with Felix Doubront because of his experience starting with them in the past. Lastly, it’s been rumored that Ubaldo Jimenez is close to a 4-year deal with the Orioles, pending a physical. He would most likely be their number one starter unless they decide to go with Charles Tillman as the “ace.” With that, let’s go ahead and start with the AL Central!

 

Chicago White Sox 2013 record: (63-99; 5th)

Acquisitions: Mitchell Boggs, Scott Downs, Adam Eaton, Jose Abreu

Losses: Gavin Floyd, Addison Reed

Projected 2014 Lineup

C Josh Phegley

1B Jose Abreu

2B Gordon Beckham

SS Alexei Ramirez

3B Conor Gillaspie

OF Alejandro de Aza

OF Adam Eaton

OF Avisail Garcia

DH Adam Dunn

Projected 2014 Starting Rotation

SP Chris Sale

SP Jose Quintana

SP John Danks

SP Andre Rienzo

SP Felipe Paulino

The White Sox certainly had a rough year last year finishing last in the division, even behind the lowly Twins. An aging star, Paul Konerko’s numbers have steadily been dropping and right now, it looks like he may be out of a starting job with the team going with their young star, Jose Abreu. Speaking of younger talent, they also have Avisail Garcia and Adam Eaton, both of whom were acquired in trades at the deadline or in the offseason. I think both of those were high quality moves especially looking at where this team was headed. Sometimes, you have to accept the fact that there are going to be some rebuilding years in a franchise and I think Chicago handled it quite well. Their lineup isn’t amazing, but it could surprise especially if their prospects perform. The rotation gets a little rough after Chris Sale as Jose Quintana is like a roller coaster and the others are either too young, too “past their prime,” or simply too bad. The bullpen is okay for major league for standards, but definitely nothing to write home about including the loss of closer, Addison Reed. This year definitely isn’t going to be the White Sox’s year, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re close to the top a few years down the road with this young squad.

 

Cleveland Indians 2013 Record: (92-70; 2nd)

Acquisitions: John Axford, David Murphy, Josh Outman, Shaun Marcum

Losses: Drew Stubbs, Joe Smith, Kelly Shoppach (unsigned), Chris Perez, Brett Myers, Matt Albers, Ubaldo Jimenez, Scott Kazmir, Jason Kubel

Projected 2014 Lineup

C Yan Gomes

1B Nick Swisher

2B Jason Kipnis

SS Asdrubal Cabrera

3B Lonnie Chisenhall

OF Michael Brantley

OF Michael Bourn

OF David Murphy

DH Carlos Santana

Projected 2014 Starting Rotation

SP Justin Masterson

SP Zach McAllister

SP Danny Salazar

SP Corey Kluber

SP Shaun Marcum

The Indians were one of the biggest surprise teams of the 2013 season finishing second in the division and grabbing one of the two AL wildcard spots. I really like the team’s offense simply because they are so balanced from top to bottom. Jason Kipnis was a big surprise last year becoming one of the best hitting second basemen in the league. Michael Bourn was somewhat disappointing considering how much they paid him, but hey, you can’t teach speed and he has a lot of it. He will continue to be an elite leadoff hitter. It is unbelievably valuable when you have a guy who can get a game or inning started with a hit and then steal second base. Just like that, you have a guy in scoring position and the game has barely even started. Power may become an issue with this team, especially considering they have to compete with the powerhouse Tigers. But their speed and contact may just give them a chance. Where they reach their downfall is in pitching. Don’t get me wrong, Justin Masterson has been great for Cleveland, but I just can’t see him being an ace that you can always rely on in clutch situations. Beyond him are a lot of guys who don’t have a TON of experience in starting in the MLB which may become an issue as the strenuous season drags along. Additionally, Shaun Marcum has only been an average pitcher since his injury. But, I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt and say that maybe another year removed from the surgery will give him a stronger arm. Lastly in the pitching category, I think they will miss Chris Perez. Yes, he had his big scandal last year, but he was a great closer for them. I don’t know if Cody Allen will be a good enough substitute for him as a guy who has limited experience in save situations. Ultimately, I see this team not doing as well as they did last year and definitely not making the playoffs.

 

Detroit Tigers 2013 Record: (93-69; 1st)

Acquisitions: Joba Chamberlain, Ian Kinsler, Rajai Davis, Steve Lombardozzi, Joe Nathan

Losses: Jose Veras, Prince Fielder, Doug Fister, Joaquin Benoit, Octavio Dotel, Omar Infante, Brayan Pena, Jhonny Peralta

Projected 2014 Lineup

C Alex Avila

1B Miguel Cabrera

2B Ian Kinsler

SS Jose Iglesias

3B Nick Castellanos

OF Andy Dirks

OF Austin Jackson

OF Torii Hunter

DH Victor Martinez

Projected 2014 Starting Rotation

SP Justin Verlander

SP Max Scherzer

SP Anibal Sanchez

SP Drew Smyly

SP Rick Porcello

Looking up above, the Tigers definitely lost a lot this offseason. And it wasn’t even just average guys at the bottom of the lineup or on the bench. They lost key players. Obviously Prince Fielder was the biggest. Everyone really played that trade off as a fact that the Tigers shed a ton in cap space and got a quality second baseman in return. As valuable as Ian Kinsler is, I just find it tough to support the loss of arguably one of the top 10 hitters in the league. You can’t replace that 1-2 punch with him and Miguel Cabrera. It somewhat worked out with being able to move Cabrera over to first base and having Nick Castellanos get some experience at third. Despite my disagreement with the move, the Tigers still have the best lineup in the division by far. When you have the best hitter in the league (in my opinion) in your lineup, it’s going to be pretty good and it makes the other players around him better. I’m also really intrigued as to what Jose Iglesias can do this year. He’s an outstanding fielder and I’d like to see a slight improvement in the offense this year as he was up and down with the Red Sox, but improved steadily after his trade to Detroit. The Tigers’ best move though was signing Joe Nathan. They finally have a closer who can get the job done instead of rotating between a platoon of guys and even bringing Jose Valverde back. I think that was definitely the biggest thing holding them back from being even better in the regular season and possibly being in the World Series. They still have one of the best rotations in baseball even with losing Doug Fister. Two Cy Young award winners and a strikeout machine as your top three? I’ll take that on any day. This team definitely has the capability to run away with this division especially with Cleveland not making a huge leap.

 

Kansas City Royals 2013 record: (86-76; 3rd)

Acquisitions: Norichika Aoki, Omar Infante, Jason Vargas

Losses: Emilio Bonifacio (unsigned), George Kottaras, Carlos Pena (unsigned), Ervin Santana (unsigned), Miguel Tejada (unsigned)

Projected 2014 Lineup

C Salvador Perez

1B Eric Hosmer

2B Omar Infante

SS Alcides Escobar

3B Mike Moustakas

OF Alex Gordon

OF Lorenzo Cain

OF Norichika Aoki

DH Billy Butler

Projected 2014 Starting Rotation

SP James Shields

SP Jeremy Guthrie

SP Jason Vargas

SP Danny Duffy

SP Wade Davis

Could this finally be the Royals’ chance? They finished over .500 last year and are returning a lot of their young talent for another year. The Tigers are still the clear favorite, but this team is looking pretty good. Their prospects have been in the league a couple years now and have actually really improved from their rookie years. Eric Hosmer has made the biggest leap and is now a deadly power hitter. Salvador Perez provides consistent offense from a position where it’s tough to find. Alex Gordon has finally become a consistent everyday player after struggling his first couple years. The one guy who is really makes me scratch my head is Mike Moustakas. I touted him as a fantasy sleeper thinking this was finally his year to break out and be the hitter everyone thought he would be. However, he started off the year dreadfully and hovered around the low .200’s pretty much the whole year. Some players never recover from seasons like that and stay at that average for a while. He is still young though and definitely has the capability to get out of that funk. It’s just up to him to do it. Despite losing one of the best up and coming young hitters in the league in Wil Myers, they in turn found their number one starter in James Shields. His numbers weren’t lights out last year, but they were good enough. I think they paid way too much on Jason Vargas, but it was better than signing Ervin Santana to his desired $100 million contract. I mean, Santana is a decent pitcher, but come on! $100 MILLION?! It’s no wonder no one has signed him yet. He’s lowered his price significantly, but still hasn’t found a job, so good luck to him. I think Wade Davis can also have a good comeback year. He was also involved in that Wil Myers trade. Not to mention, Greg Holland is a great young closer. The Royals have the pieces they need, they just need to have the stars align in their favor. I don’t think it will be enough to catch the Tigers, but I can definitely see them finishing second in the Central.

 

Minnesota Twins 2013 record: (66-96; 4th)

Acquisitions: Phil Hughes, Ricky Nolasco, Kurt Suzuki, Jason Kubel

Losses: none

Projected 2014 Lineup

C Josmil Pinto

1B Joe Mauer

2B Brian Dozier

SS Pedro Florimon

3B Trevor Plouffe

OF Josh Willingham

OF Alex Presley

OF Oswaldo Arcia

DH Jason Jubel

Projected 2014 Starting Rotation

SP Ricky Nolasco

SP Kevin Correia

SP Samuel Deduno

SP Phil Hughes

SP Mike Pelfrey

Aaahh, the Twins. Where do I even begin? The Twins have been bad for a couple years now, but I feel like nothing has changed. To me, they’ve had guys like Trevor Plouffe and Brian Dozier as their “future” for those couple years and nothing has changed. They’re still just as bad and those guys haven’t really panned out. They’ve improved somewhat, but they are definitely not what I would want for a future playoff team. Their lineup really shouldn’t strike fear into any opposing pitchers’ hearts. Their one franchise player, Joe Mauer, is getting older and may not even be on the team by the end of the year. I feel like Josh Willingham has been on the trading block for years now and still hasn’t been moved. This has to be the year he goes, right?! Also, their offseason confuses me. One, they didn’t really get rid of ANY cap space. Not that they had a lot to get rid of anyways. Your team is clearly in a rebuilding process, but you go out and sign Ricky Nolasco and Phil Hughes? They’re decent (more Nolasco than Hughes), but moves like that aren’t really going to do anything when your team is like this. I would’ve rather just given the ball to some of my minor leaguers to see what they can do. They may end up doing just that as the season starts to implode, but I really don’t know what they’re thinking at this point. The Twins look to be heading to a rough season at this point and they’ll most likely finish in the basement of the division.

 

*Just a little note. I will most likely be posting next week’s blog this upcoming Sunday night. I have a trip with my school for the whole week next week and I will most likely not have Internet access.

 

-Robert

 

MLB Weekly Recap #11

Back, back, back, back, back, GONE! Chris Berman will be declaring these words in little under a month at this year’s home run derby. At this point, all that’s certain is that Robinson Cano and David Wright are the captains of the A.L. and N.L. teams respectively. At least that rules out a repeat of last year’s debacle where Cano refused to pick Billy Butler, the most qualified member of the host team, the Kansas City Royals, much to the dismay of the Kansas City fans. Although unimportant in the final decision, fan voting has opened for the derby, a.k.a. whoever is most popular will be leading. Right now, Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder lead for the A.L. and Bryce Harper and Carlos Beltran lead for the N.L. Obviously, guys have a say in whether or not they want to participate as it comes slightly at a risk for players to mess up their swing. That being said, I can’t see Cabrera being in the derby. However, here’s who I think should be the members of each side. Keep in mind that I’m choosing these guys while taking into account how they are doing this year. Obvious picks would include Chris Davis and Carlos Gonzalez, but they’re having such a great year hitting the ball, that I wouldn’t take them with a chance of ruining their groove. This doesn’t apply to the captains however, as that doesn’t affect their choices (and they might strategically do that to help their team…). I also didn’t take Prince Fielder because he’s getting a little repetitive and has had his chances.

 

A.L.

 

Captain: Robinson Cano

Members

• Adam Dunn
• Edwin Encarnacion
• Mark Trumbo

 

N.L.

 

Captain: David Wright

Members

• Evan Gattis
• Domonic Brown
• Dan Uggla

 

Papa Pequeño?

 

In the most recent Tigers’ save opportunity, Jose Valverde was passed over as the closer in favor of Joaquin Benoit. This just brings up more questions in regards to the Tigers’ bullpen. They’ve had troubles all year containing teams after their starter hits the showers. At first it was Phil Coke blowing saves, then they upgraded to Benoit, all leading to the resigning of left-for-dead Valverde. We thought this was the end, we thought the Tigers had found their man. It certainly seemed that way as Papa Grande began the season with 10 shutout innings. However, that performance began to decline. The good outings became fewer and farther between, forcing manager Jim Leyland to turn BACK to Benoit. The Tigers have reportedly been in talks with the Phillies in regards to potentially acquiring Jonathan Papelbon. This would be a huge move for the Tigers. Think about how bad that division is and how much bigger the Tigers’ lead would be if they would’ve had a solid, consistent closer. That’s part of the reason the Pirates are still in contention. Mark Melancon and Jason Grilli have been one of the best one-two punches in baseball; Grilli (ex-Tiger) converting 25 of 25 save opportunities. Any acquisition would be an improvement at this point, Papelbon being the most probable at the moment.

 

Fantasy Moment

 

Top Adds

Hitters

1. Kyle Blanks
2. Mike Carp
3. Wil Myers
4. Colby Rasmus
5. Jonathan Lucroy
6. Anthony Rendon
7. Tyler Colvin
8. Jarrod Saltalamacchia
9. Eric Hosmer
10. Ben Revere

 

Pitchers

1. Zack Wheeler
2. Mike Leake
3. Jose Fernandez
4. Eric Stults
5. Jake Westbrook
6. Brandon Beachy
7. Andrew Cashner
8. Jacob Turner
9. Jose Veras
10. Corey Kluber

 

Top Drops

Hitters

1. Jedd Gyorko
2. Nick Swisher
3. Michael Brantley
4. Kendrys Morales
5. Kelly Johnson
6. Evan Gattis
7. Josh Willingham
8. J.P. Arencibia
9. Ryan Doumit
10. Mark Reynolds

 

Pitchers

1. Brandon League
2. Luke Gregerson
3. Matt Garza
4. Alexi Ogando
5. Francisco Rodriguez
6. Josh Johnson
7. R.A. Dickey
8. Trevor Cahill
9. Jose Valverde
10. Paul Maholm

 

As of right now, my prediction of the Spurs is looking pretty good, but anything can happen as the last two games of the series are in Miami and the Heat have still yet to lose two games in a row since January. The Spurs are a great team though and I think it will be very difficult for the Heat to pull off two wins against the new superstar, Danny Green. As for the NHL finals, it’s a complete toss up as both games went into overtime with the result being a split. The series heads to Boston, where the Bruins are 7-2 thus far at home in the postseason. It’s hard to say who has the upper hand as both teams have shown offensive prowess and impenetrable goaltending at the same time. I’ll stick with the Blackhawks though as I had the luck to somehow correctly pick Andrew Shaw in the #bucciovertimechallenge (embarrassingly, my first correct pick).

 

-Robert

 

MLB Weekly Recap #10

Current Power Rankings

 

1. St. Louis Cardinals
2. Boston Red Sox
3. Atlanta Braves
4. Oakland A’s
5. Cincinnati Reds
6. Texas Rangers
7. Detroit Tigers
8. Pittsburgh Pirates
9. New York Yankees
10. Arizona D’Backs

 

My Power Rankings

 

1. St. Louis Cardinals: Obvious
2. Boston Red Sox: Offense has been stellar, David Ortiz looks like he’s still in his prime, along with the dominant pitching of Clay Buchholz. Strong hold on the division despite close race.
3. Oakland A’s: Started off season slow, but really turned it on in the last month. Bartolo Colon (although on PED’s list) has only allowed 6 runs in his last 5 starts. Yoenis Cespedes has become a power presence in the lineup and Josh Donaldson has been a nice surprise at 3B.
4. Atlanta Braves: Despite my hatred of B.J. Upton, the team has dominated the NL East with mostly great pitching from Mike Minor, Kris Medlen, and company along with the near return of Brandon Beachy. Justin Upton is a clear All Star candidate and the appearance of Evan Gattis has sparked the offense.
5. Cincinnati Reds: Although Johnny Cueto just went back on the DL, the Reds still have a great staff with Mat Latos, Mike Leake, and Homer Bailey. MVP candidate Joey Votto is hitting a great 0.325 with a surprisingly high 49 runs. In such a competitive division, they have their work cut out for them, but they seemed to be pretty even with the Cardinals over the weekend and looked great against the Pirates.
6. Detroit Tigers: It certainly helps their cause that their division is terrible and is beginning to turn out how most predicted before the season started. It’s pretty easy to do though when you have Miguel Cabrera. People almost forget that Prince is in the lineup due to the dominance of Cabrera, but he is quietly having an almost equally good year.
7. Texas Rangers: Although back in first, it’s been a struggle as of late with the surge of the A’s. The offense has definitely cooled off and the only consistent pitching seems to be coming from Yu Darvish. Changes definitely need to be made if they hope to continue to fend off Oakland.
8. Tampa Bay Rays: Going out on a limb here, but I think the Rays are a better team than the Yankees despite the lesser record. Youth and lack of injuries is certainly in the Rays’ favor and although Matt Moore allowed more runs in his last two starts than he did in all of the previous starts combined, he has certainly matured in this season. The usual suspects have also been leading the offense: Evan Longoria and Ben Zobrist. The bullpen has improved slightly, but could still use some work. Look for a move at the deadline.
9. Arizona D’Backs: Essentially the Arizona Paul Goldschmidts, but hopefully Aaron Hill can return from the DL and continue to be one of the best offensive second basemen in the league. Patrick Corbin has been dominant along with a staff that has been quite inconsistent, but definitely has the potential to be solid for the year.
10. New York Yankees: Since writing about them, the Yankees have somewhat turned it around, although I don’t trust them going forward due to the usual aforementioned suspects.

 

Yasiel Puig

 

Boy, did I feel like a genius when I told my dad to pick up Puig in his fantasy league. What hasn’t he young Cuban done? There was certainly a battle to sign him when the announcement came that he was defecting from his native nation and it just goes to show you what a lot of money can do for you (something I wish the Pirates had). The man has set all kinds of franchise records in his first few games. He comes into an outfield that will include Carl Crawford and Matt Kemp when they come off the DL and almost assures a trade of Andre Ethier at the deadline. The Dodgers have led a disappointing 2013 campaign, but maybe this spark in the offense can possibly get them going, but inconsistency from pitching and also, at some times, the hitting has secured them the last place spot in the NL West.

 

Fantasy Moment

 

Top Adds

Hitters

1. Marcell Ozuna (finally a worthy Marlin!)
2. Adam Lind
3. Jose Iglesias (although Will Middlebrooks just came off the DL)
4. Ryan Doumit
5. James Loney
6. Kyle Blanks
7. Jayson Werth
8. Didi Gregorius (has been on this list for weeks now)
9. Carlos Quentin
10. Jonathan Lucroy

 

Pitchers

1. Bartolo Colon
2. Gerrit Cole
3. Luke Gregerson
4. Rex Brothers
5. Mike Leake
6. Ervin Santana
7. John Lackey
8. Jim Henderson
9. Kyle Kendrick
10. Scott Feldman

 

Top Drops

Hitters

1. Mitch Moreland
2. Vernon Wells
3. Michael Brantley
4. Asdrubal Cabrera
5. J.P. Arencibia
6. Lance Berkman
7. John Buck
8. Andre Ethier
9. Garrett Jones
10. Paul Konerko

 

Pitchers

1. Jake Peavy
2. Michael Wacha
3. Trevor Cahill
4. Huston Street
5. Ian Kennedy
6. Chris Perez
7. Yovani Gallardo
8. Rafael Betancourt
9. Wade Miley (3rd D’Back, like I said, inconsistent)
10. Steve Cishek

 

If you remember, last week, I said that if the Heat won Game 7 in the Eastern Conference Finals, I thought the Spurs would win the championship and I’m going to stick with that despite the blowout last night. In regards to the NHL Finals, I’m picking the Blackhawks as they have a more explosive offense which will turn the tides in their favor despite pretty even goaltending. You stay classy, planet Earth.

 

-Robert

 

MLB Weekly Recap #9

All Star voting has been underway and although the actual game is still a ways off, it’s certainly not too early to discuss. It always makes me angry seeing the All Star voting as it more of an All Popular contest rather than how the players are doing. For example, Derek Jeter is certainly one of the greatest shortstops of all time and he deserves many of his All Star appearances, but with that, he has All Star appearances where fans voted him in, when he clearly was not the best choice. It doesn’t even stop there. Coaches have a certain level of bias when it comes to picking the backups and pitchers. Last year or the year before that, Ron Washington was the A.L. coach as the Rangers had made the World Series the year before. As a result, there were multiple Rangers players who were coach-picked that definitely did not deserve a spot. I hope that there can be a new system of picking players that involves some sort of calculations of the skill of the player at their respective position. With that being said, here are my All Star pickups thus far through the season.

 

A.L.

 

C: Joe Mauer

1B: Chris Davis

2B: Robinson Cano

SS: Jhonny Peralta

3B: Miguel Cabrera

OF: Mike Trout

OF: Adam Jones

OF: Nick Markakis

P: Clay Buchholz

 

N.L.

 

C: Yadier Molina

1B: Joey Votto

2B: Brandon Phillips

SS: Troy Tulowitzki

3B: David Wright

OF: Carlos Gonzalez

OF: Carlos Gomez

OF: Michael Cuddyer

P: Patrick Corbin

 

This without a doubt will change and many of these guys don’t have the popularity to get voted, but they would definitely have the skill.

 

The Yankees’ Plummet

 

When it rains, it pours. The Yanks have gone 1-7 in their last 8 games and just can’t seem to get it together. They were actually a surprise team up until this point as many people didn’t give them much of a chance with their age and the multiple injuries to their team of All Stars. Guys like Travis Hafner and Vernon Wells were filling their roles and starting off the year strong, vaulting the team into first place early. Those guys have since hit a wall, Curtis Granderson went back on the DL, and Mark Tiexiera has slumped in his return. This paired along with the struggles of the pitching staff. C.C. Sabathia hasn’t been the Sabathia of old showing a lot of inconsistency with a lot of questions after C.C. and Hiroki Kuroda. They’ve recently sent Ivan Nova down to the minors to see if he can figure things out at Triple-A. I really can’t see this team making the playoffs with the parts they currently have. The only way they can have a chance is if their stars can come off the DL and quickly make a large impact. Not to mention the questions they have going into the future. Their team is quite old and their prospect pool isn’t the greatest. I’m sure they will be able to buy some huge contracts in the offseason, but a little building from within never hurt anyone.

 

Domonic Brown

 

There isn’t a hotter player in baseball. The man is ripping the cover off the ball, lighting pitchers up for 12 homeruns in the month of May. But he’s continuing right where he left off hitting homeruns in back to back games within the first three days of June. He certainly was not living up to the major hype when he got his big break in the majors in 2011. He’s almost the bright spot in the Phillies’ lineup in the season thus far as the offense has been really struggling with the downfall of past stars like Ryan Howard and the beginning of Chase Utley’s. I debated putting Brown in my All Star picks, but I don’t think he’s quite there yet. Until I see his performance in June, I can’t see if this is the real deal or just a spurt of greatness. The Phillies will most likely be selling when the trade deadline rolls around, but I can’t see them moving Brown as he is turning into a guy that you can build a future team around.

 

Fantasy Moment

 

Top Adds

Hitters

1. Matt Joyce
2. Yasiel Puig
3. Jason Castro
4. Marcell Ozuna
5. Jed Lowrie
6. J.D. Martinez
7. Didi Gregorius
8. Jonathan Lucroy
9. Michael Brantley
10. Adam Lind

 

Pitchers

1. Michael Wacha
2. Tyler Lyons
3. Luke Gregerson
4. Jeff Locke
5. Francisco Rodriguez
6. Rex Brothers
7. Mike Leake
8. Jorge De La Rosa
9. John Lackey
10. Jason Vargas

 

Top Drops

Hitters

1. Eric Chavez
2. Dayan Viciedo
3. Brett Lawrie
4. Jon Jay
5. Vernon Wells
6. Brandon Moss
7. Michael Young
8. Andre Ethier
9. B.J. Upton
10. Adam Dunn

 

Pitchers

1. Brandon McCarthy
2. Wade Miley
3. Jose Fernandez
4. A.J. Griffin
5. Ervin Santana
6. Jim Henderson
7. Tim Hudson
8. Kyle Lohse
9. Tim Lincecum
10. Huston Street

 

In other news, as I am writing this Monday night, Game 7 between the Heat and Pacers is currently happening. As a little prediction, if the Pacers win, I think they will win the NBA Championship, but if the Heat win the series, I think the Spurs will win the championship. As much as I love Lebron James, his supporting players have not stepped up in these playoffs, especially Chris Bosh. I know they’re asking him to play center, which he is undersized for, but averaging around 3 rebounds per game is unacceptable. If the Heat lose this game, the talk will be brought up about him leaving when he is eligible for free agency and I wouldn’t be surprised at all if he entertained offers from other teams if not signing elsewhere.

 

-Robert

 

MLB Weekly Recap #8

When is the MLB going to put an end to it? Every week, there seems to be another game where an umpire’s blown call severely influenced the outcome. First, it was the missed walkoff homerun by Cleveland. Then, they missed a ruling where the Astros removed a relief pitcher without him even throwing a pitch. Most recently, during an attempt of a double play, the umpire called the runner out even though the pitcher had caught the ball rather than the first baseman. (If you have not seen the videos of these botches, here are some YouTube links to get you caught up: Cleveland homerun https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24mUSE1vdps, Astros https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vY1JMnR8qE, double play https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_1lMBgFiDY) What can possibly be done about this? The most logical argument is to expand replay to other areas of the game. I am in favor of this and definitely think it should be done, but I don’t that’s as easy of a solution as people might think. The Cleveland homerun was even reviewed under replay and they still got it wrong. I was watching Baseball Tonight the other day and I thought they mentioned a good “solution.” It was actually created by a player that said that umpires should have statistics like the players to measure how good they are at doing their job. The players’ stats are available, why shouldn’t the umpires’ be? I don’t know if this would change anything as it wouldn’t make umpires more likely to make the correct calls, it would just make their blown calls more public. I think these blown calls are part of the game and all teams have been affected by them whether that be in a positive or negative way. With that being said, I think that the first step should definitely be expanding replay and seeing if that improves the game. This won’t completely abolish all missed calls, but at the least reduce the amount.

 

Cingrani to the minors?

 

Time and time again, minor league prospects are built up to the sky with boasts of their unique skill set and talent. Many times, these guys are overhyped and will never make it in the MLB, but you will never know this unless they get their chance to face other MLB talents. I’ve noticed multiple times this past week that young players who have been doing quite decently thus far in the season were sent back down to the minors. Examples include Tony Cingrani (CIN), Josh Rutledge (COL), and Oswaldo Arcia (MIN). I really don’t understand the reasoning behind such moves. They’ve had their time in the minors to prepare, they’re as ready as they are going to be. Give them the shot! You can’t expect them to be Stephen Strasburg in their first few starts because he is a rare exception. Unless they’re hitting like Ike Davis, keep them in the lineup and give them a chance to learn and get adjusted. They don’t get that kind of experience in the minors, it’s SO different. Let them understand what it’s like to be a real professional under the lights for 162 games. If the player is a pitcher, it’s logical to be concerned about their arm since that’s their bread and butter. But you don’t have to limit them to the minor leagues. Simply limit their pitch count in the majors. The Reds had a great system for Cingrani. He was only going around 5 innings per game and doing just that quite efficiently. For example, you don’t hear very much praise for Miami, but they’ve brought up Jose Fernandez this season and stuck with him the whole time. Is he an All Star? No. Is he learning? Yes. They are clearly in a rebuilding stage and doing just that. Granted, the Reds are in a completely different situation, but that doesn’t mean they can’t call up prospects. I’m still waiting for the Pirates to give Gerrit Cole his chance. Being a Pirates fan for a while, I’ve seen them make countless early round picks in the draft picking up young guys who throw 99 MPH and thinking, “Yes, finally a stud who can lead the rotation.” Except, you never hear about them again. They got lost in the minors and never even make it to the majors. People may argue that the Nationals made the wrong decision to call up Strasburg so early due to his Tommy John surgery, but he is no less vulnerable in the minors. Going back to the Pirates lack of success in the draft, many of those guys never make it to the majors because they throw their arm out and are never the same pitcher again. Do the smart thing, let the boys play.

 

Fantasy Moment

 

Top Adds

Hitters

1. Michael Brantley
2. Eric Chavez
3. Brandon Crawford
4. Didi Gregorius
5. Daniel Nava
6. Domonic Brown
7. Dayan Viciedo
8. Jon Jay
9. Kendrys Morales
10. Matt Joyce

 

Pitchers

1. Francisco Rodriguez
2. Jerome Williams
3. Jeff Locke
4. Julio Teheran
5. Mike Leake
6. Bronson Arroyo
7. Jose Veras
8. John Lackey
9. Brandon Beachy
10. Joe Smith

 

Top Drops

Hitters

1. Josh Rutledge
2. Michael Saunders
3. Nolan Arenado
4. Juan Pierre
5. Yuniesky Betancourt
6. Will Middlebrooks
7. B.J. Upton
8. Andre Ethier
9. Rickie Weeks
10. Ike Davis

 

Pitchers

1. Kyle Kendrick
2. Jeremy Guthrie
3. Jaime Garcia
4. Ryan Dempster
5. Kyle Lohse
6. Dan Haren
7. Jim Henderson
8. Wade Miley
9. Steve Cishek
10. Brandon Morrow

 

I really hope something can be done about this umpire situation and soon because it is costing teams a little too much. Fingers crossed! As usual, any comments or topics you’d like me to discuss, leave a comment below.

 

-Robert

 

MLB Weekly Recap #7

Cleveland Indians

 

What a tear this team has been on as of late. They are atop the AL Central, a division that was expected to be dominated by the Tigers, although they are certainly not out of it, and neither are the Royals. Everyone was second-guessing their numerous offseason moves, but most of those guys are definitely paying off. Nick Swisher, Mark Reynolds, Michael Bourn, Ryan Raburn, etc. have made a big impact on that once struggling Indians lineup. But once again, pitching has reigned supreme. They don’t have big-name guys like Justin Verlander or C.C. Sabathia, but Justin Masterson has vaulted to the top of the elite pitchers this season with 7 wins. Zach McAllister has flown way under the radar, I’m sure most of you had never even heard of him before this. Ubaldo Jimenez has begun to turn it around slightly from his dreadful season last year following his amazing start to the season in his last run with the Rockies. I’m a little confused though with their usage of Trevor Bauer. He fills in periodically as the fifth starter when there’s an injury or a guy needs a rest. But he fills in nicely and contributes a quality start and then is immediately sent down to Triple-A. I understand he is a young arm and he has a lack of control, but I would say give him a chance to prove his worth consistently! It’s not like Scott Kazmir has been outstanding. I would say move Kazmir to long reliever to get his feet set in the majors again and give Bauer an official starting role to work with and establish himself. Despite that, luck seems to be on their side especially late in games, as they most recently had 3 walk-off wins in their 4-game series with the Mariners. Could it be the year of the Indians?

 

Paul Goldschmidt

 

The young Arizona first baseman has been lighting it up in the past 15 games. In that span, he has a league-leading 7 homeruns (Mitch Moreland also with 7). I love players who have the skill set to belt homeruns all while hitting for a solid average. Everyone already knew about this guy’s ability to hit for power, but his first seasons in the MLB haven’t shown his potential for average, at least until now. I won’t go into much detail about him, I just wanted to bring him up; he has the potential to be a stud.

 

B.J. Upton

 

I have been bashing this young man for a while now, and with good reason. I don’t understand how a team could pay so much for a player who has definitely had the chance to prove his potential and hasn’t followed through. What confuses me even more is how people still own him in fantasy leagues! He is still owned in 86% of leagues. That is absurd with the numbers he is producing. I always say how bad Pedro Alvarez because he can crush it when he makes contact, that is, if he makes contact, which isn’t often. But he seems like a god in comparison to Upton who is batting an absolutely pathetic 0.145. And yet he still starts every day. If I was Freddie Gonzalez, I would give him a few days off, to compose himself and get his swing back. He’s never been a great hitter, but he’s at least made it to around 0.250. The only possible use for him in the past has been his tremendous speed, but even that hasn’t made an appearance this season with only 3 stolen bases. I’ve always thought he was an overrated player and now I hope everyone can finally see his true skills or lack thereof.

 

Fantasy Moment

 

Top Adds

Hitters

1. Jon Jay
2. Dayan Viciedo
3. Jurickson Profar (has never proved himself in MLB, no guarantees with this one)
4. James Loney
5. Eric Chavez
6. Brandon Crawford
7. Raul Ibanez
8. Daniel Murphy
9. Salvador Perez
10. Kelly Johnson

 

Pitchers

1. Francisco Liriano
2. Scott Feldman
3. Wandy Rodriguez
4. Jeff Locke
5. Matt Garza
6. Jose Veras
7. Andrew Cashner
8. Zach McAllister
9. Bronson Arroyo
10. Jonathan Pettibone

 

Top Drops

Hitters

1. Ryan Raburn
2. Yuniesky Betancourt
3. Nolan Arenado
4. Evan Gattis
5. Jason Kubel
6. Mike Moustakas
7. Rickie Weeks
8. B.J. Upton
9. Ichiro
10. Michael Saunders

 

Pitchers

1. Tony Cingrani (sent to minors)
2. Junichi Tazawa
3. Phil Hughes
4. Jeremy Hellickson
5. Kyle Lohse
6. Brandon Morrow
7. Tim Hudson
8. Ian Kennedy
9. Jaime Garcia
10. Paul Maholm

 

I was able to play my first round of golf of the year yesterday and actually didn’t do very bad considering I hadn’t swung a club in a year due to injury (I was on the 60-day DL). Despite my passion and knowledge of baseball, golf is my favorite sport to play and fingers crossed, my shoulders holds up for the summer. As usual, leave a comment below if you disagree with anything, have any questions, or have a topic you would like me to discuss. Check back again next week!

 

-Robert

 

MLB Weekly Recap #6

There were multiple baseball headlines this week as the Cardinals captured the top spot in the power rankings for the first time in 2013, Joba Chamberlain and Mariano Rivera got into a “scuffle,” and the Cubs signed young first baseman Anthony Rizzo to a long-term contract. It’s arguably easy to have the Cardinals at the top and the feud has pretty much blown over, so let’s get started with the signing of the young powerhouse.

 

Anthony Rizzo

 

Rizzo has certainly proved his ability to hit so far this season and for the last half of last season. He has tremendous power and definitely has the potential to hit for a decent average and go consistently for 100 RBI’s. I have him on my fantasy team and it was hit and miss early on in the season where he would hit a 3-run homerun and go 2-4 one day, then not get a hit for the next three games. He stayed under the Mendoza line for a while and was quite frustrating, so I had no choice to bench him until he started to heat up as I had other guys in my lineup who were hitting for average and a decent amount of power. However, most recently, he has been a force to be reckoned with getting multiple hits per game and continuing to hit for power. This was the Rizzo I chose with confidence on draft day. The Cubs without a doubt stole a trade from the Padres and have a piece to build around for the future. Although, when you have guys like Cody Ransom and Luis Valbuena getting significant playing time, you’re not going to be very successful.

 

Los Angeles Angels

 

14-23. What isn’t going wrong for the Angels and who isn’t underperforming? The only men you could with is Howie Kendrick or Mark Trumbo. When you make GIGANTIC offseason moves like the Angels did and they fail as much as Pujols and Hamilton are, you look pretty stupid. Both of these men have struggled for the whole season and we keep saying, “Oh, it’ll come back next game, next series, next week.” But it doesn’t. Granted, Pujols took eons to get back to his “old self” last year, so everything is not yet lost. I talked about Hamilton’s struggles weeks ago on here, and I’m pretty sure nothing has changed except a few more RBI’s. I think Pujols can turn it around, but Hamilton has shown no signs of the Hamilton of old. It all starts with pitching though and there has been none of it thus far in Los Angeles. It certainly makes it tougher when your ace goes down in his second start and is out indefinitely. Under the radar pickups (Tommy Hanson, Jason Vargas, and Joe Blanton) also have not panned out with all of these men having ERA’s in the high 3’s and 4’s. Ernesto Frieri is still a great reliever, but hasn’t really gotten very many opportunities to strut his stuff as the Angels have rarely led in the 9th inning as shown by their record. If Jered Weaver can come back and be a Cy Young contender as usual and one of the golden boys can turn it around, then that record can be turned around as the division hasn’t show great strength besides the Rangers.

 

Jean Segura

 

This man has really shown me something this year. He was kind of overlooked in the Zack Greinke trade as just another prospect, but all the man has done this year is hit. He is batting around 0.365 and has even shown some signs of power with 6 homeruns. The Brewers haven’t been a bad hitting team this year obviously owning Ryan Braun, but Aramis Ramirez has done well recently coming off the DL and Yuniesky Betancourt has shown signs of life. But once again pitching is failing the team leading to their near last place record. I’m going to the Pirates game this Thursday night where I’m excited to see a little Francisco Liriano action, but also to see this kid Segura play.

 

Fantasy Moment

 

Top Adds

Hitters

1. Mitch Moreland
2. James Loney
3. Didi Gregorius
4. Justin Morneau
5. Marco Scutaro
6. Gerardo Parra
7. Oswaldo Arcia
8. Michael Brantley
9. Yonder Alonso
10. Marcell Ozuna

 

Pitchers

1. Heath Bell
2. Travis Wood
3. Hector Santiago
4. Kevin Slowey
5. Zach McAllister
6. Scott Feldman
7. Francisco Liriano
8. Junichi Tazawa
9. Jose Veras
10. Wei-Yen Chen

 

Top Drops

Hitters

1. A.J. Pierzynski
2. Daniel Murphy
3. B.J. Upton
4. B.J. Upton
5. B.J. Upton
6. B.J. Upton
7. Jayson Werth
8. Will Middlebrooks
9. Ike Davis
10. David Freese

 

Pitchers

1. Roy Halladay
2. Jonathon Niese
3. Jeremy Hellickson
4. Andrew Bailey
5. Joel Hanrahan
6. J.J. Putz
7. Kyle Lohse
8. Ian Kennedy
9. R.A. Dickey
10. Andy Pettitte

 

That’s all for this week. I have one more final on Wednesday, then it will finally be the summer, which will be filled with baseball and playing golf which I am perfectly fine with. As usual, leave a comment below if you have any questions or have a topic you would like me to discuss. Have a great week and hopefully the Pirates can bring in a victory on Thursday.

 

-Robert

 

 

MLB Weekly Recap #3

          “I’m dying. It’s hurting real bad.” That is what Albert Pujols had to say after his most recent outing in the DH spot for the Angels. He has been feeling discomfort in his left foot and the Angels have removed him from the field, but will allow him to play through the pain as long as he would like. I really don’t like this decision made by the Angels’ office as the man who you signed to a multi-million dollar deal just last year is injured, but you don’t see the need to let him take some time off to recuperate? I understand Pujols wants to be tough and continue to help the team (although their 7-10 record already isn’t the greatest with him in the lineup), but as a man currently going over the peak of your career to the downside, I wouldn’t want to risk further injury. Although much older than Pujols, Derek Jeter comes to mind as a man currently plagued by setbacks of injuries as he was initially supposed to be in the Yankees lineup on Opening Day, but is now out until at least the All Star break. I really hope the Angels and Pujols decide to put him on the DL as he still has a decade of good to decent years left in him.

 

Mark Reynolds

 

            In the offseason, the Indians seemed to be signing complete strangers to contracts for the 2013 year, however, one man that has been a great success is Mark Reynolds. In the past years, he had been the man who would hit 30 homeruns, but be hovering around the Mendoza line and breaking his own and Adam Dunn’s strikeout records in a season. However, thus far this year, he has retained his power while also hitting for average. He is close to the lead in homeruns and RBI’s in the American League while hitting a very surprising 0.298 average. Obviously, he will not continue this throughout the season, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he ended the year batting around 0.250-0.260 rather than 0.200-0.210. In a lowly AL Central division, the Indians are definitely still in the race. They can have a decent season only if their pitching gets a little better: Ubaldo Jimenez returns to old form, Justin Masterson continues his early success and Brett Myers gets healthy.

 

Pittsburgh Pirates

 

            Remember back when I was bashing the Pirates for having one of the worst offenses in the league? Well they’re still not the greatest, but they have definitely turned around winning 7 of 10 while sweeping the division leaders, the Reds, and taking 3 out of 4 from the NL-leading Braves. Originally, it seemed to only be McCutchen and Starling Marte who could even hit it out of the infield, but now the whole lineup seems to be producing at least something. Marte has been a solid player thus far this year and has really come into his own. He is doing a phenomenal job in that leadoff spot, but one area where I would like to see him improve is in baserunning. He is near tops in the league in leadoff hits, so imagine if he gets a hit and easily steals second. You already have a runner in scoring position and it’s only the second batter of the game. He is an athletic guy and I hope he can incorporate that into his game soon. Pedro Alvarez FINALLY hit his first homerun of the year and followed it up with a monstrous second launch that almost landed in the Allegheny River. I still think he is an atrocious player that will be a major liability for the Pirates in the years to come, as he strikes out way too many times and will hover around the Mendoza line. They have put way too much effort into him and it is time to sell him high while he still has some potential. Unfortunately, the Pirates will never do that. Their biggest success though has been their pitching as A.J. Burnett and Wandy Rodriguez have been nearly flawless with decent outings from James McDonald and Jeff Locke. Just imagine if Francisco Liriano makes a huge comeback from his injury and Gerritt Cole makes a big impact following his inevitable promotion. The Pirates can finally break their record long streak of losing seasons and take advantage of a possible weak decision.

 

Fantasy Moment

 

Top Adds

Hitters

1. Brandon Crawford
2. Chris Johnson (not the lowly Titans running back)
3. Travis Hafner
4. Daniel Nava
5. Lorenzo Cain
6. Jhonny Peralta
7. Garrett Jones
8. J.P. Arencibia
9. Nate Schierholtz
10. Zack Cozart

 

Pitchers

1. Ross Detwiler
2. A.J. Griffin
3. Edward Mujica
4. Wandy Rodriguez
5. Jake Westbrook
6. Carlos Villanueva
7. Tony Cingrani
8. Bronson Arroyo
9. Andy Pettitte
10. Joaquin Benoit

 

Top Drops

Hitters

1. Mike Moustakas
2. Victor Martinez
3. Cameron Maybin
4. Jesus Montero
5. Omar Infante
6. Jedd Gyorko
7. Rickie Weeks
8. Adam Dunn
9. Trevor Plouffe
10. Jason Kipnis

 

Pitchers

1. Mitchell Boggs
2. Jarrod Parker
3. Josh Johnson
4. Brandon McCarthy
5. Ian Kennedy
6. Huston Street (can still provide some saves, but not many with the Padres)
7. John Axford
8. Dan Haren
9. Tommy Hanson
10. Edwin Jackson

 

If you have any questions or topics you want me to discuss, feel free to leave a comment. I respond to all of them and I can write more about it in the next week’s column. Thanks for reading!

 

-Robert

 

MLB Weekly Recap #2

Hey guys, first of all, I would like to send out my deepest sorrow and prayers all of those affected by the bombing at the Boston marathon. It’s a real shame for something like that to happen. But the sports world goes on and can even be an outlet for people. The last week has been filled with teams on fire and those who struggled. Many young guys have stepped up, taking advantage of their opportunities. Let’s get started.

 

Matt Harvey

 

Harvey has been unbelievable this season! In his first 3 starts, he has gone 7+ IP without allowing more than 3 hits in any of them. He has decreased in his strikeouts in each game going from 10 K’s to 6 in his most recent however, but he has done a good job getting ground balls. Granted, his starts have come against 3 subpar teams (SD, PHI, and MIN). I’ll be interested to see how he does against the powerhouses of the division, the Braves and Nationals. He is a good young arm though and the Mets certainly need him with Johan Santana being out for the year. Luckily, their offense has gotten off to a decent start as well as John Buck is swinging the lumber with some passion! He has 6 homeruns on the season (Mets catchers last year totaled 5). He won’t continue the pace, but the Mets should ride this duo for as long as they can.

 

Evan Gattis

 

This man is a perfect example of a guy taking advantage of an opportunity. The Braves turned to him when Brian McCann was placed on the DL and he has taken off from there. Check out this link of Gattis’ swing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7ApV_CBuSM. The pitch was low and away and he still managed to pull the ball to left center, one of the deepest parts of the Marlins new park. This may end up being another Wally Pipp situation. For those of you who don’t know, Wally Pipp is famous for losing his job to Lou Gehrig on Gehrig’s way to 2,130 consecutive games played. There have been rumors that McCann may be shopped soon. I don’t think that is necessary as McCann may still have a couple good years left in him. Also, I believe Gattis has the ability to play outfield, but that spot is already taken by the Uptons and Jason Heyward, although I think B.J. is extremely overrated. On a side note to this, Gattis should definitely be picked up in all fantasy leagues as the catcher position is usually one of the thinnest positions.

 

Atlanta Braves

 

Obviously the hottest team in baseball, the Braves have established themselves as the early powerhouse of the league at 11-1. Coming off a sweep of their NL East rival, the Nationals, they dispatched star arms like Stephen Strasburg and Gio Gonzalez. Not to mention, Justin Upton has been one of the hottest hitters in the league, leading in homeruns. I moved him down in my ranks as he had an “off” year in his last season in a D’backs uniform, but he has certainly revamped his swing in Atlanta. I am also really liking the Braves’ arms in the bottom of the rotation (Mike Minor and Paul Maholm). Both have had stellar starts to the season; Maholm continuing his dominance from the end of last season when he was traded to the Braves from the Cubs. I predicted this team to capture an NL wildcard spot, but they have proved their capability to possibly win this division.

 

Cincinnati Reds

 

This team started the season of red hot, grabbing the number one spot in the power rankings at one point. However, this last week was not kind to the Reds, as they lost the series to the Cardinals and most recently got swept by the Pirates, who have turned their offense around in the last week. They have gotten some good production from their role players like Shin Soo Choo and Todd Frazier, to go along with the versatility of Brandon Phillips. However, their star players, Joey Votto and Jay Bruce, have gotten off to slow starts. Votto just hit his first homerun a couple days ago. One of their biggest problems has been their pitching. The bullpen has not been the greatest as their lightning fast closer Aroldis Chapman hasn’t gotten as many chances as I’m sure he would like. Jonathan Broxton has also been decent, but that’s pretty much it. It also doesn’t help that their ace, Johnny Cueto, was just placed on the DL. It’s still early though. They can definitely turn it around in the shaky NL Central.

 

Fantasy Moment

 

Top Adds

Hitters

1. Evan Gattis
2. John Buck
3. Mark Reynolds
4. Starling Marte
5. Jean Segura
6. Vernon Wells
7. Brandon Moss
8. Gerardo Parra
9. Franklin Gutierrez
10. Denard Span

 

Pitchers

1. Jim Henderson
2. Justin Masterson
3. Kelvin Herrera
4. Barry Zito
5. Jose Fernandez
6. Chad Billingsley
7. Andy Pettitte
8. Shelby Miller
9. Ervin Santana
10. A.J. Griffin

 

Top Drops

Hitters

1. Cameron Maybin
2. Pedro Alvarez
3. Jason Kipnis
4. Mike Moustakas
5. Victor Martinez
6. Jesus Montero
7. Carlos Gomez
8. Dayan Viciedo
9. Ike Davis
10. Ichiro

 

Pitchers

1. Jarrod Parker
2. John Axford
3. Brandon McCarthy
4. Matt Harrison
5. Dan Haren
6. Greg Holland
7. Ryan Vogelsong
8. Roy Halladay
9. Edwin Jackson
10. Homer Bailey

 

That’s it guys, hope everyone enjoys all the games coming up this week. If you have any questions for me or topics that you would like me to discuss, comment down below. As usual, you can follow me on Twitter @RobertMoodis. Thanks for reading!

 

-Robert

 

MLB Weekly Recap #1

What’s going on guys, hope everyone is doing well. You should be as the MLB season is in full swing. Storylines have already been forming and teams have jumped out to great starts (or bad ones *cough, cough* Pirates *cough, cough*). Let’s get started.

 

Clayton Kershaw

 

The guy has been on fire thus far in his first two starts of the year, locking up NL player of the week. He has 16 IP and hasn’t even allowed a run, granted one of those was against the dreadful Pirates offense. However, the other was against the defending World Series champs, the Giants. They also have been off to a slow offensive start as guys like Marco Scutaro and Hunter Pence aren’t producing like they did in the playoffs. Kershaw’s hot start doesn’t come as much of a surprise as he was a highly coveted pitcher in fantasy drafts this year. Expect continued production.

 

R.A. Dickey

 

What the heck is going on with R.A. Dickey? He has been pretty much useless this year and got shelled most recently by Will Middlebrooks and the Red Sox. The American League has long been touted as an offensive league in comparison to the NL, but the tides have turned in the last couple years. Who would’ve expected that the new-look Indians and the Red Sox would’ve rocked the reigning Cy Young winner? His knuckleball obviously isn’t fooling anyone anymore and he doesn’t have the element of surprise in his favor. He didn’t do especially great in the World Baseball Classic as well. I think he needs to turn it around in the next few starts or this drought of wins will continue throughout the season. It also doesn’t help that the arguable “Dream Team” of the MLB isn’t living up to the hype of the offseason. It’s still early though, so don’t count them out just yet.

 

Chris Davis

 

This guy has gotten off to an amazing start jacking 4 homeruns and driving in a league leading 17 RBI’s. He obviously won’t continue this pace for the season as he isn’t a great high-average hitter. However, he is well known for his power and perhaps this is his breakout year after his first few so-so years in the league. But for right now, he is the spark this Orioles squad needs. I didn’t give them enough respect in my predictions as they didn’t make very many offseason moves. They definitely have a chance at the AL East crown as the Yankees and Jays are struggling.

 

Josh Hamilton

 

Hamilton certainly hasn’t lived up to all that money he signed for in the offseason. He has started off batting 0.160, but most recently cleaned up his act going 3-4 in the series finale with the Rangers. He is partly responsible for the Angels slow start as teams are pitching around Albert Pujols to get to Hamilton where he is not capitalizing on chances. All is not lost however. Remember last year when Pujols started off unbelievably terrible for how much he was being paid, but he eventually turned it around and was still one of the best hitters in the league. Not to mention he seems to be back to his old self this season. I wouldn’t be surprised if Hamilton continues to slump for awhile, and then almost all of a sudden turns it around.

 

Pittsburgh Pirates

 

Unbelievable. That’s all I have to say about how the Pirates are starting out. Their pitching has been phenomenal as A.J. Burnett and Wandy Rodriguez have pitched gems, but the offense just isn’t there…at all. They have a measly 21 hits in their first 6 games (~3-4 hits per game). That is so bad, that it’s amazing. Not one guy is batting over 0.300 and multiple guys (Russell Martin, Neil Walker, and Jose Tabata) have 0 or 1 hit in at least 10 at-bats. I really want to root for these guys, but they make it so difficult to do so. They have a very difficult schedule coming up beginning with the D’backs who are off to a hot start and the Reds who are number 1 in the current MLB power rankings. Unfortunately, the Pirates’ struggles may continue for another year.

 

Colorado Rockies

 

Recall the last paragraph where I said the Pirates have zero guys batting over 0.300. Well the Rockies have 11, although some are pitchers/guys with a couple at-bats. Their offense has been leading the charge even though Troy Tulowitzki isn’t necessarily the one always doing it. Dexter Fowler and Michael Cuddyer have been hitting the lights out. Even their bench guys have been smacking the ball in their chances. They have had a nice surprising start, but I can’t see it continuing for too long however as they have only played the Brewers and Padres. In addition, their pitching isn’t the best and I just don’t think they have the talent to match up with the likes of the Dodgers and the Giants.

 

Fantasy Moment

 

Top Adds

Hitters

1. John Buck
2. Jed Lowrie (90% of leagues)
3. Gerardo Parra
4. J.P. Arencibia
5. Jean Segura
6. Mark Reynolds
7. Josh Rutledge
8. Matt Carpenter
9. Franklin Gutierrez
10. Omar Infante

 

Pitchers

1. Paul Maholm
2. Wandy Rodriguez
3. Clay Bucholz
4. Justin Masterson
5. Hyun-Jin Ryu
6. Jose Fernandez
7. Hisashi Iwakuma
8. Jhoulys Chacin
9. Brandon League
10. Kyuji Fujikawa

 

Top Drops

Hitters

1. Jonathan Lucroy
2. Cameron Maybin
3. Dustin Ackley
4. Jesus Montero
5. Alfonso Soriano
6. Jeff Keppinger
7. Marco Scutaro (*sigh*)
8. Pedro Alvarez, any Pirate not named McCutchen really
9. Adam LaRoche (trade)
10. Brandon Belt

 

Pitchers

1. John Axford
2. Brandon McCarthy
3. Dan Haren
4. Lance Lynn
5. R.A. Dickey (I would rather trade than drop)
6. Steve Cishek
7. Matt Harrison
8. Roy Halladay (same as Dickey)
9. Phil Hughes
10. Jeremy Hellickson

 

Have any questions or topics that you would like me to talk about? Leave a comment below or follow me on Twitter @RobertMoodis. Continue enjoying the season!

 

-Robert