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
- John Buck
- Jed Lowrie (90% of leagues)
- Gerardo Parra
- J.P. Arencibia
- Jean Segura
- Mark Reynolds
- Josh Rutledge
- Matt Carpenter
- Franklin Gutierrez
- Omar Infante
Pitchers
- Paul Maholm
- Wandy Rodriguez
- Clay Bucholz
- Justin Masterson
- Hyun-Jin Ryu
- Jose Fernandez
- Hisashi Iwakuma
- Jhoulys Chacin
- Brandon League
- Kyuji Fujikawa
Top Drops
Hitters
- Jonathan Lucroy
- Cameron Maybin
- Dustin Ackley
- Jesus Montero
- Alfonso Soriano
- Jeff Keppinger
- Marco Scutaro (*sigh*)
- Pedro Alvarez, any Pirate not named McCutchen really
- Adam LaRoche (trade)
- Brandon Belt
Pitchers
- John Axford
- Brandon McCarthy
- Dan Haren
- Lance Lynn
- R.A. Dickey (I would rather trade than drop)
- Steve Cishek
- Matt Harrison
- Roy Halladay (same as Dickey)
- Phil Hughes
- 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
The 2-2 Pitch 