Rising Up
Why do sleeper lists annoy me?
It's because guys like Erick Aybar and Paul Konerko are on them while true
sleepers like Strop never are. But make no mistake: Strop is a big time sleeper
who could wind up saving 10-15 games this year and could be the Orioles closer
in 2013. Strop was a prospect way back in 2008 for the Rockies until a broken
elbow ended his season after seven games. Since then, he's been on the periphery
of prospect lists. He has done well in the minors but struggled with control in
the Majors. Very quietly, he seems to have fixed this problem to some degree
and is throwing mid to high 90s gas. Jim Johnson is still the man, but isn't
much of a long-term obstacle based on his skills. Buy Strop in A.L.-only while you can and monitor in
mixed.
Perez looked like he might get a
shot as a starter this year but is back in the pen, where he spent most of
2011. He has pitched well out of the gate, and may get a stray save opportunity
now and again for Francisco Cordero, but his value is mostly as a
back-of-the-staff middle reliever. Feel free to add, but keep your bids low.
Activated from the DL/Up from the Minors
Parker has future ace written all
over him. The dilemma for most of us is that we don't have the luxury of
leaving him on reserve and there's a good chance that he's going to have his
ups and downs in his rookie campaign even if he does stick with the team. His
outing against the White Sox was encouraging, but it was just one game, and you
can't overpay for one game. In leagues where you can't keep minor leaguers,
you're going to have to
bid aggressively on Parker this week but know the risks. He could easily fail
to earn double-digits this year...though he's an excellent prospect and as a
result could go the other way and thrive as a rookie.
I can see why the Rays picked
Allen up based on his power potential. He'd more intriguing from a fantasy
perspective if he were right-handed and could spell Luke Scott or Carlos Pena
against tough lefties. As a fellow left-hander, he's not a better option than
either one of those players and can't play anywhere else on the field but 1B.
Allen's worth stashing on a deep reserve list but that's probably his limit
unless there's an injury.
Revere probably deserves to stick in
the Majors over Clete Thomas but Thomas probably wouldn't make it through
waivers if he were DFAd by the Twins. That's a shame for fantasy owners, as
Revere would be a wonderful source of steals even as a bench
option. Unless something changes, though, there's no need to pick up Revere at
the moment; he's a three-day fill-in while Josh Willingham is on paternity
leave.
In The Minors
Taylor is waiting in the wings if
Coco Crisp has to go on the DL and could be activated sometime this weekend.
Taylor could be a 15/15 HR/SB guy if everything breaks right, but I'm skeptical
for many reasons. Not including this year, Taylor has never hit over .282 in
two and a half years in AAA, with two of those years coming in the PCL. Yes,
Sacramento isn't a bandbox, but the PCL is still a hitters' league, and
Taylor's AAA numbers should still be better. Taylor is 26 years old, and while this isn't
ancient for a prospect, there also isn't a lot of growth left here. I think
Taylor could survive in the Majors as a starter, but he could also wind up on a
bench or as a fourth OF. He's worth picking up if Crisp does go on the DL, but
I'm not all that excited based on 89 great plate appearances in 2012.
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