The Royals Have a New Closer

     After blowing two saves in the last two days, Royals’ closer Joakim Soria is being replaced by rookie Aaron Crow. Soria gave up the lead in the ninth inning to the Rangers on Saturday and then did it again against the Angels yesterday. It was his fifth blown save so far this season.
     
Soria himself admitted that it may be time for a change.

“Last night I asked for another chance and if I blew another save, I’d need a break, and that happened,” Soria said after Monday’s game.

     Soria’s replacement, rookie Aaron Crowe, has pitched well so far this season. He’s pitched 27 innings this year and has an ERA of 1.33. He also has 26 K’s, seven more than Soria. Crow is a popular pick-up in fantasy leagues, so grab him now before someone else does. As for Soria, I wouldn’t drop him quite yet. Remember, this is still the same guy who racked up 43 saves last year, and 42 in 2008. Wait and see how he does in his new role in the bullpen before abandoning him.

Bench Adam Dunn

     White Sox slugger Adam Dunn is currently in a deep slump. Since the season began, he's only hit 5 HR's while totaling a .181 batting average and a rather weak .331 slugging percentage. Dunn's power numbers are way down from last season. At the end of May in 2010, he had already hit 10 HR's and racked up a .616 SLG. He's been doing so poorly at the plate, that manager Ozzie Guillen has dropped Dunn to seventh in the batting order.
     The most concerning stat of all may be Dunn's strikeout total.  We all know that many power hitters tend to rack up punch outs with their long balls, but Dunn is on pace to strikeout 203 times this year! That would be a career high. He's also on pace for a less than impressive 15 HR's, another potential career worst.
     Dunn may improve as the season progresses. His career numbers show that his strikeouts tend to decrease after the all-star break, but so do his home runs. My advice would be to bench Dunn and see if he breaks out of this intense slump. You have nothing to lose by starting someone like Nationals' OF Michael Morse in his place, who has 1B eligibility. Morse has been hot in May, hitting .389 with 5 HR's, four of which he's belted in the last week.

Lohse is a Keeper

     Cardinals starting pitcher Kyle Lohse is having a breakout season that fantasy owners have never seen. His six wins and 2.06 ERA have him on pace to set career bests. If he keeps it up, he'll rack up 19 wins and could be regarded as one of the top fantasy pitchers of 2011.
     Many fantasy owners want to know if Lohse will continue his hot start. History would say no. Over the past 3 seasons, Lohse has only won a combined 9 games and his ERA is above 5 after the All-star break.
     Although Lohse has struggled in the past as the season progresses, this year seems different. Lohse leads all Cardinals' pitchers in innings pitched and may be their best starting pitcher. He's second only to Jaime Garcia in ERA and he currently holds the lowest WHIP among the rotation. He's also fresh off of back-to-back 8 inning outings, both of which contributed to his win total. His last loss was May 7th and even then Lohse only gave up 1 ER in 8 innings of work. Lohse may be someone to hold onto for the future in keeper leagues.

Is the Giambino Back?

     Jason Giambi is perhaps the hottest hitter in the National League right now. He hit five home runs in six games this month, including a three homer night on May 19th against the Phillies. He also drove in nine runs during that six game span. Giambi attributes his hot hitting to his new upright batting stance that Rockies' head coach Jim Tracy developed for the 40 year-old slugger.

  

“It helps me get a lot more leverage, it helps me be a lot quicker to the ball,” Giambi said of his new stance. “Like a top spins faster when it’s straight up and down instead of sideways. It definitely helped speed up my bat a little bit. They were kind of jamming me a lot earlier. I just couldn’t get through because I was bent over.”

     The big question still remains: Is the Giambino back? He's already matched his home run total for all of last season and Coors Field is a very hitter-friendly park. However, Giambi will still have to compete for playing time with Colorado's favorite, Todd Helton. Helton is hitting .309 with 6 HR's and 22 RBI's so far this season, more bad news for Giambi. However, Giambi could be a great power addition to your fantasy lineup if you have the ability to adjust your roster every day. Watch for Giambi's name in the Rockies' starting lineup and start him if he's playing. The move could impact your team's power numbers drastically.

Posey May Be Out for the Season

Buster Posey is out 6-8 weeks, and possibly longer, after a collision with Marlins' outfielder Scott Cousins Wednesday night. According to the San Francisco Chronicle and Giants' head trainer Dave Groeschner, Posey has a broken fibula and torn ligaments in his left ankle. Three MRI's were also taken to determine any further damage to the 2010 NL Rookie of the Year.

"The fracture will be fine," Groeschner told the Chronicle. "The ankle injury is most concerning to us."

Posey will require surgery, which will take two months to recover from. If any further injuries are found, Posey could miss the entire season. As a fantasy owner, Posey is far too valuable to simply drop because of this injury. Wait to see how severe his injuries are before doing anything drastic. Ramon Hernandez will be a solid fill-in. Hernandez doesn't play every day, but he's reliable when he gets his starts. So far he's hitting .327 with a .558 SLG, 15 RBI's and 6 HR's (more than Posey had this season). He's owned in 32% of Yahoo! leagues.

Disappointing News for Jason Heyward

     Braves Outfielder Jason Heyward was placed on the 15-day disabled list because of soreness in his right shoulder. The shoulder has been bothering Heyward since spring training and the Braves optioned to have it examined last week. An MRI revealed rotator-cuff inflammation and Heyward received a cortisone shot to help ease the pain. He has periodically missed starts over the course of the last week and the Braves finally optioned to put him on the DL on Sunday.
     Heyward has underachieved so far this season, hitting a measly .214 with 14 RBI's. The injury is tough to swallow for fantasy owners who had high hopes for Heyward in his second major league season. My advice is to wait until Heyward returns to the lineup and see if you can use his name to steal a quality outfielder like Mike Stanton. If you need to replace Heyward in your lineup, look to pick up someone like Ryan Ludwick who will put up similar power numbers.
 

Is Charlie Morton For Real?

     Pirates starting pitcher Charlie Morton is probably a name you've never heard before. That may be because Morton has a career ERA of 5.38. He's also accumulated only 16 wins in his career. However, this season, Morton seems to have found his rhythm. He's 5-1 with a stunning 2.62 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP. 
     Starting pitching can be very fickle, so the question remains: Is Charlie Morton for real? His career stats say no, but this season's stats scream sleeper. He won three games in April and has won all three of his decisions in May. He's also fresh off a complete game five hit shutout. The best news of all is that Morton is available in 79% of Yahoo! leagues. Get him now while he's hot and reevaluate him around the all-star break.

Future Keeper of the Week: Lonnie Chisenhall

    This week's "Future Keeper of the Week" is third baseman from the Cleveland Indians organization, Lonnie Chisenhall. The 22 year old was the 25th ranked prospect according to Baseball America and the second ranked third baseman on that list (first being Mike Moustakas).
     Third base is a premium position offensively and usually takes a little while to learn. Chinsehall is no exception to that rule. He was a shortstop when the Indians drafted him in the first round of the 2008 MLB draft. He has since had had a few growing pains defensively and literally (right shoulder injury last season). He showed good power last season in AA Akron hitting .278 17 HR 84 RBI in 460 at bats.

     Chisnehall doesn't wow the scouts with any of his tools but is above average in every faze of the game. I see him being a .300 guy who gets about 25 home runs a year. He has been often compared to his mentor and 5 time All-Star Travis Fryman.

    The only thing stopping him from being called up is his defense which is much improved from last season. Upon Indian reports he'll come up around the All-Star break. The Indians don't have any road blocks keeping him in the minors. Look for him to have a long leash once brought up, the Indians will give him every chance to be their guy of the future.

Two Rangers Return

     Two important pieces to the Texas Rangers lineup will return from injury in the next few days, according to Tom Wills of MLB.com. Josh Hamilton, coming back from a right shoulder injury,will be back in the lineup Monday and Nelson Cruz, coming back from a strained right quad, will be back Friday. 
    Hamilton will be on rehab assignment for the next four days, playing one game for Frisco and three for Round Rock, the Ranger's Triple-A affiliate. If all goes well he'll return at home against the White Sox next week If you remember Hamilton's shoulder injury stirred up some controversy when he threw his third base coach, Dave Anderson, under the bus disagreeing with Anderson's decision to send Hamilton home on an infield pop-up. 
     Cruz will play in one more game in Frisco Thursday and join the Rangers in Philadelphia on Friday. He was a huge source of power early on, hitting a home run in the first four games of the season, but cooled off since with just 3 since and a .219 batting average.

Another Third Baseman Goes Down

     According to ESPN's Amy K. Nelson via Twitter David Wright will be out about 10 days with a stress fracture on his lower back. He will not go on the DL as of now and is getting a second opinion tomorrow. It confused me as to why the Mets wouldn't put Wright on the DL and stay on the cautious side as he will start "baseball activities" after the ten days, according to Mets General Manager Sandy Alderson. This info coming when a lot of lineups have already been set is unfortunate. If you're in a league that has a bench and allows lineups to be set until the first game is played on Monday then act now. Owners who don't have a bench will now have to bite-the-bullet and deal with a hole in the lineup. As we said about Chippers Jones, try to pick up an Alberto Callaspo, if other owners read the info and already picked him up, try Scott Rolen who just got back from an injury of his own but is a solid veteran option.

Chipper Jones has a Torn Meniscus

     Chipper Jones sat out Sunday's game against the Phillies after an MRI revealed a small meniscus tear in his right knee. The Braves third baseman took batting practice before Sunday's game and felt pain in his knee after only a couple of swings. Chipper suffered a torn ligament in his left knee last season that almost ended his career. Jones hasn't had any issues with his surgically repaired left knee, but he did sit out a game on April 23rd because of soreness in his right knee.
     Any time fantasy owners hear the words "Chipper Jones" and "knee injury" in the same sentence, they begin to sweat. Don't panic yet. Chipper received a knee injection and if the soreness doesn't get better, he will undergo arthroscopic knee surgery. Again, surgery may sound scary, but it will only cost Jones two weeks in the Braves lineup. Don't abandon the 39 year old yet. He's batting .275 and is on pace for over 100 RBI's this season. He's still a solid starting third baseman. Continue to monitor his knee to see if he needs surgery. Look to pick up a good RBI third baseman or utility man like Alberto Callaspo to replace Chipper if the surgery sidelines him for two weeks. Callaspo is available in 72% of Yahoo! leagues.

Weather Impacting Lineups

     There was a ton of nasty weather over the weekend that postponed some games and impacted many fantasy lineups. I told you Josh Tomlin would be a good play for starting pitcher this week. It held true with a quality start against Tampa Bay on Tuesday but he had his game cancelled Sunday. He will now pitch Monday instead and become another two start pitcher (@ Royals and home against the Reds) . Pick him up, he's been one of the more steady pitchers this year. 
     The weather also pushed back Carlos Zambrano's start and he will also start Monday. Zambrano has quietly had a solid year. I'm not in love with his match ups ( Road games against Reds and Red Sox). Get him if Tomlin isn't available.

Two-Start Pitchers: May 16-22

     As we did last week, here are three two-start pitchers to pick up for the week. It's based on match ups, recent success, and past success vs. teams. Our main criteria is that they aren't owned in more than half of the ESPN.com leagues. 
     The AL West teams have favorable match ups this week so if you don't agree with my pitchers, look for advantages there. As always if you're not sure who to get, look to see who's pitching against either the Mariners or Athletics. I'm not sure who's offense is worse.

Joel Pineiro- He'll play in Oakland and at home against Atlanta. I'm not in love with the Atlanta match up but he is at home. I love that he's playing in Oakland Coliseum against an awful Athletics offense. On top of that, he's posted very good numbers in the three starts he's had since be activated from the DL (2-0, 1.33 ERA). 


Homer Bailey- Here's another guy who hasn't been noticed much with back-to-back quality starts since being activated from the DL. Both start were against the Astros, but Bailey showed good promise last season on a late August call-up. He'll be pitching at home against the Cubs and on the road against the Indians. Both are average offenses regardless of the Indians hot start.


Scott Baker- Baker got roughed up his last start at home against the Tigers going 4 1/3 innings 5 earned runs but before that was pitching like the ace the Twins have been looking for (4 quality starts in a row). I think the last outing was just a bump in the road and will rebound nicely this week going against both Seattle and Arizona on the road. 

Ace Throws off Mound

      Perennial ace and two-time Cy Young award winner Johan Santana threw off the mound Friday, according to ESPNNewYork.com's Adam Rubin. It was the first time Santana has thrown off the mound since having surgery September 14th last season to repair a torn anterior capsule on his left shoulder. This is positive news for the few of you that have Santana on your DL but he's still about a month and a half from returning. Santana is a guy who if healthy is a fantasy ace and a top ten Starting Pitcher. I just fear that he is one setback away from being out for the season. Chien-Ming Wang is the recent pitcher of memory who underwent a similar surgery and has been out for two seasons. Monitor Santana's rehab, he could be a steal for the second half of the season.

Jair Jurrjens is Back

     Braves starting pitcher Jair Jurrjens has been more than impressive so far this season. He’s 4-0 with a 1.50 ERA. Jurrjens had major health concerns coming into this season. He missed the playoffs last season because of a meniscus tear he suffered in September. So far, he’s been the ace of the Braves’ staff.
     The thing that is most impressive as a fantasy owner is that Jurrjens had a terrible April last season. He was 0-3 with an ERA above 6. This season, Jurrjens has defeated pitchers Mike Pelfrey, Aaron Harang (who is 5-2 this season), Yovani Gallardo and, most recently, Cole Hamels. Injury concerns will always be there for Jurrjens, but so far, he shows no signs of knee problems. If you own a big name pitcher like Clay Buchholz, moving him for Jurrjens will be more than beneficial to your fantasy roster.

Fantasy Keeper of the Week: Eric Hosmer

     One of the most highly touted prospects in the league has been brought up from Omaha to Kansas City as first baseman Eric Hosmer will get a shot at being an everyday player for the Royals. Hosmer has absolutely lit up the minors posting a .439 batting average with 3 steals and home runs. As you can see from past posts, this may not mean anything ( Who remembers me rave about Brandon Belt?).
      Hosmer is a polished hitter who has gap power and will develop a power stroke for the near future as he matures. How near is this future though? I wouldn't buy too much stock into this guy unless you're in a keeper league. In that case hold onto him. He may be a great player. Look for a fast start as most pitchers don't know his strengths or weaknesses.
     Upon reading a scouting report on him, he seems to struggle with the inside fastball and turning on the inside pitch. Not being able to hit the inside pitch will hurt power. It's still left to see if he will be Mark Texiera or Ben Broussard. I don't think he's a guy you should immediately take, especially at the first base position. Let another owner buy into the hype and struggle with him. Young players are usually hard to predict.

Two Start Pitchers This Week

Here are some of the two-star pitchers coming up this week. Remember innings and strikeouts are categories that you can win without having the Halladays or Lincecums on your roster. I decided to give you 3 guys (In no particular order) that are on most league's waivers (50 %) to use for this week only.

Josh Tomlin- Tomlin has been a nice surprise for the equally surprising Cleveland Indians. He's had a quality start every start thus far.  His only loss was in a pitching battle vs. Trevor Cahill in which he went 7.2 innings and 2 runs. He wont put up huge strikeouts numbers but will be average across the board. It help that he plays an inconsistent Rays offense and a non-existent Mariners offense.

Kevin Correia-  Had a poor 2010 with a 5.40 era coming after a breakout 2009 in which he had a 3.91 era. He's been quietly consistent for the Pirates with a quality start in three of his last four starts. Like Tomlin he wont put up huge strikeout numbers. Correia will play at home against the Dodgers and on the road against the Brewers. He doesn't have the best match ups but has been pitching well.

Jason Hammel- Hammel has gotten better in every start this season and is coming off a 7 inning 0 runs against Arizona Thursday. Hammel has put up a 2.63 era and has been a big part of the Rockies early success. He will pitch at home against the Mets and Padres and will be a nice option for the week.

Jeter's Career is Dying

     Derek Jeter was not in Yankee’s lineup for Thursday night’s game against the Tigers. Manager Joe Girardi says that Jeter wasn’t benched because of his sore hip, but was taken out of the lineup because he simply needed some rest. Jeter reportedly shook his head in disgust when he didn’t see his name in the batting order.
     There’s no doubt that Jeter will be back in the lineup and that he will retain his job as the Yankee’s shortstop throughout the 2011 season. However, Jeter has struggled greatly this season, hitting only .250 with 0 homers. We may be witnessing the slow, painful death of Jeter’s baseball career. As a fantasy owner, Jeter’s major lack of production and sore hip issues worry me. He’s easily replaceable with a young player though. Darwin Barney of the Chicago Cubs (who is available as a 2B and SS) was named National League Rookie of the Month for April and is owned in only 39% of Yahoo! leagues. He’s a great replacement for Jeter, especially in a keeper league.

Time to Drop Carlos Lee?

     We have more bad news for Carlos Lee owners. Lee was forced to leave last Sunday's game after colliding with shortstop Angel Sanchez going for a shallow fly ball. Lee was lying on the ground writhing in pain for several minutes with a supposed rib-injury. It doesn't look like he'll be put on the DL which means he's probably hurting many owners out there burning a hole in their lineups.
     The injury doesn't exactly come at a time when he's putting up numbers. Lee is hitting just over the Mendoza Line and has put up average home run numbers. I would usually tell you it's way too early to drop over one bad month but this comes after a career low batting average last year (.246). On top of that, his RBI and HR numbers have been trending down the last three years. You can hang on hope that he's just going through the motions on a bad team and wait for a trade but that would be a mistake. There are plenty of Outfielders out there that can give you better production. Don't keep him based on his name, he's no longer a top hitter.

Liriano's No-Hitter is No Gem

     Francisco Liriano tossed the first no-hitter of 2011 last night against the Chicago White Sox. A no-hitter is always an incredible feat, but it seems like an even bigger accomplishment for Liriano. Liriano has struggled so far this season with a 2-4 record, 6.61 ERA and a 20/24 strikeout-to-walk ratio. There was talk that Twins' manager Ron Gardenhire would move Liriano from the starting rotation to the bullpen.
     Although Liriano's no-no may have saved his spot in the rotation, don't expect the same kind of performance the rest of the season. Let's take a closer look at the game. Last night's no-hitter was the first complete game of Liriano's career. Although Liriano gave up no hits, he still walked six and only struck out two hitters. His defense saved him with several great throws, including three double plays. His strikeouts are down and his walks are up from last season. The no-hitter has put Liriano's value at its peak. Look to take advantage of any gullible fantasy owner in your league willing to give up a quality player for Liriano.