Fantasy Baseball: Who’s Hungry?
The Bad Guy is back and will be bringing you up to date on the latest in fantasy baseball. We’re nearly a third of the way through the season already, and there are plenty of good values out there who might be available for less than face. Here are a few names to target….
Aramis Ramirez 3B -To say that the Cubs All-Star 3B is struggling at the plate is quite an understatement, as 15 R, 4 HR, 20 RBI, and a .162 AVG is not what you were expecting out of Aram through two months of baseball. The good news is that June is finally here, and if there is one guy who is known for heating up with the weather its Ramirez. The biggest indicator that a turnaround is near is that his .192 BABIP (Batting Average on Balls in Play) sits 1oo points lower than his career .292 BABIP, and once the hits start falling his overall production is sure to increase as well. You might be able to get Aram for pennies on the dollar from a disgruntled owner, a move that could payoff quite nicely by the end of the season.
Carlos Pena 1B -Here is another guy who you might be able to get on the cheap, as Pena is currently laboring through one the worst slumps of his career. He hit .120 in May (12/100) and his owners are surely getting tired of seeing 0/4 after 0/4. The slugging first baseman similarly struggled in July of last year hitting .146 with 3 HRs, only to follow that up with a 12 HR August, which just goes to show how hit and miss Pena can be. Batting average will always be an issue, but if that’s something you can overcome now is as good a time as ever to try and pry away what could be another 25-30 HRs from here on out.
Stephen Strasburg SP- It’s official – the prospect of all prospects is expected to make his MLB debut on June 8th against the Pirates in front of what is sure to be a packed house at Nationals Park. Many so called “experts” are telling you to sell Strasburg while his value is sky high, but I’m buying all the way. There is no reason why he can’t come up and have a Mark Prior-like effect this season. Back in 2002, Prior went 6-6 with a 3.32 ERA and 1.17 WHIP with 147 k in 116 innings on a horrible Cubs team that went 67-95. While you can’t call the Nationals World Series contenders at this point, they’re playing .500 ball and have proven to have one of the better bullpens in the majors. Ron Shandler posted an article on USAToday.com talking about the drop off some of baseball’s best pitchers (Lincecum, Hanson, Price, etc) experienced when they got called up. While it’s reasonable to think that Strasburg will encounter some of the same, I strongly believe that Strasburg is currently better than any of those pitchers were when they made their debuts. 2010 Projection: 8 wins, 3.20 ERA, 1.24 WHIP and over a K/inning (with the potential to be even better). 2011 Projection: NL Cy Young winner.
Ben Sheets SP – Ever since the A’s discovered that he was tipping his pitches, Sheets has looked every bit deserving of the $10 million contract he signed in the off-season. In his last five starts (32 innings), he has 35 punch outs with an ERA of 2.81 and a WHIP of 1.09 – pretty deceiving numbers for someone who owns a 2-3 record with a 4.91 ERA and a 1.49 WHIP on the season. I wouldn’t necessarily label him a must-start, but he can definitely be useful as a #3 or #4 the rest of the way. The numbers simply don’t tell the whole story with Sheets, which is why he is only owned in 55% of Yahoo! leagues. Put down your Fritos and go grab him before its too late.
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