Fantasy Baseball Notes (7/23)

July 23rd, 2007

Fantasy Baseball Notes (7/23)

by spliao

As this blog grow, I am trying to be more consistent with stuff I publish, dates, styles, and more. So I figure a weekly Fantasy post will be a good start, talking about players that are going to improve or cool off. So here we go!

On the rise:

Billy Butler (KC-OF), ever since he began to get regular playing time, this guy just hit, hit, and hit. Considering everyone had their attention on Alex Gordon and his struggle to adjust to big league level, this 21-yr-old slugger is not showing any signs of nervousness. He is currently batting .436 in July, and is only getting hotter after moving up in the lineup to hit cleanup. Somebody is going to drive in runs, even in KC, and definitely ride the hot streak while it last. There is no telling whether Butler can continue after opposing pitchers adjust to him, but after hitting 15 for 28 during a tough road trip against Cleveland, Boston, and Detroit, he may be legit.
Matt Kemp (LAD-OF), another hot hitting young OF. Kemp has somewhat of a limited playing time, splitting ABs with Andre Ethier, also a young talented OF. Currently hitting .381 with 6HRs and 3SBs, give him more playing time, he can certainly give you double digit contribution in those categories. Although he may not start everyday, but the Dodgers can definitely use his bat, sub him into the game as pinch runner, pinch hitter, or even for defense. He is swinging a hot bat since All-Star break, batting .448 with 3HRs in 9 games. Just like Billy Butler, Kemp is someone you can play as 4th OF or utility while he is hot, enjoy the fine stats.
Yovani Gallardo (MIL-SP), After Ben Sheets went down with a sprain middle finger on the pitching hand, people thought the Brewers may have problem replacing the Ace and hold on to their need. Well Gallardo is proving them that even though he is a rookie, he will be just fine. So far, his only loss came when Chris Capuano couldn’t last more than 3.1 innings, and Gallardo had to come in to replace him. Other than that, Gallardo’s 2.34 ERA and 1.01 WHIP and the fact that he hasn’t given given up a run and only 5 hits in the past 12.2 innings, suggest that he is in the ranks of Phil Hughes, Homer Bailey, and Andrew Miller as the must-have young SPs. He is going to get starts with Sheets on the DL, and the Brewers will continue to hit, led by Prince Fielder. So count on Gallardo to help you in the W category even after Sheets come back.
B.J. Upton (TB-2B, 3B, OF), I know all I do is talking about Upton, but he definitely surprised everyone after he returned from the DL. People criticize his lack of plate discipline and prone to strikeouts. Well, he managed to walk 3 times during his first game back, and to shock more people, he did it again 4 days later. 9 games he played in July, he batted .469 with 3 HRs, 2 of which came in the same game against the Yankees. Yes, he hasn’t gotten any SB since he came back, but when you are batting 3rd and as hot as he is — I’m ok with that. Oh did I also mention that so far in July, he has as many BBs as Ks? Only 9 games, I know, but the fact that he had not 1, but 2 3-walk games was just too encouraging.
Carlos Delgado (NYM-1B), the way his season is going frustrates many owners. After a miserable April, May looked promising when he batted .277. Yet he forgot how to swing again in June, batted only .221. But guess what? He is certainly hitting in July, hitting .353 with 4HRs. Maybe he is only good in odd months? Who knows. But his career stats suggest that he is better than those terrible months he had, his season AVG has bounced back nicely to .251, and I expect him to continue, possibly ends his season around .270 or better.

Be Aware/On the decline:

Julio Lugo (BOS-SS), although he is on fire in July, batting .383, I would advice not to get too excited. A career .272 hitter with a low OBP at .335, he is not going to be that hot for long. He doesn’t walk enough for someone with his speed. While I do see him batting better than his .224 season AVG, I just wouldn’t trust the .383. He is not going to pull a Chone Figgins and turn his season around, Lugo has never batted more than .300 in his career, and I don’t expect him to start this year.
Ervin Santana (LAA-SP), ok, I almost feel bad listing him since he just got demoted to AAA so clearly he is not going to help anyone. But you know something was wrong when he stopped winning even at home. He clearly needs to get his head straight, too bad for the Angels that Santana’s trade value pummeled and they can’t even trade for a bat if they wanted to.
Dontrel Willis (FLA-SP), Dear God, just get Willis out of Florida, please. Winless since MAY 29TH, the D-Train is one of those that just need a change of scenery. Things got worse and worse for him, lasting only 3 and 3.2 innings in his last 2 starts, with ERA sitting at 5.13, I have no idea where did the young, cocky pitcher that won 22 games in 2005 go. He is either hurt or lost passion pitching for the Marlins. Another number that may suggest injury: he only has one outing where he didn’t give up a run, and that was a 4inning no-decision. People are hitting almost .300 against him, that is not good.
Felix Hernandez (SEA-SP), another pitcher to watch out for. Oh he teased us with the 2 fine outings early July, then lost 2 in a row. Right now he is too hittable, and you have no clue which Felix is going to show up. He can beat Oakland, but lose to Baltimore. Supposedly his new grip for his breaking balls have improved his command and his confidence in his pitches, but he needs to win a couple more before improving our confidence for him.
Johnny Damon (NYY-OF), another teaser. He can’t seem to get worse or better with his injury. Either get better, and start hitting, or hit the DL, PLEASE. Torre is taking the “play one game, and rest one game” strategy with him and that is driving owners, well at least myself, crazy. Hopefully with the recent called up of Shelley Duncan, Torre can finally make a decision on whether to shelf Damon altogether as Yankees still trying to catch the playoffs and they need a healthy Damon. If possible, find another OF (maybe the ones listed above?) and bench Damon until he can consistently play and contribute for you.

Obviously I omitted some obvious names like Ryan Howard who is unstoppable in July, or Mike Napoli of Angels who will benefit tremendously with the departure of Jose Molina, but hopefully those names above will help you in your league, and I will do some more spot up posts on people like Napoli during the week.

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