Saturday, May 05, 2012

N.L. Gearing Up: May 7-May 14


Rising Up

Wade Miley (3% owned this week, 23% owned next week)

Well, after my stellar Wade Miley advice in the April 23, 2012 FAAB log, Miley now sits with three wins, a 1.26 ERA and .8095 WHIP.  I would love to tell you his slight above 6.00 K/9, his absurdly low .158 BABIP and his ridiculous 16% line drive rate are a recipe for disaster.  To be honest, however, the biggest question mark for me is how he is successful while throwing a slider and change-up that are exactly the same speed.  That aside, Miley gets the Cardinals and Kyle Lohse next week.  The Cardinals are red hot, but I would have also told you the Phillies, Rockies and Marlins were bad match-ups for him as well.  Bid at your own peril in mixed leagues; you should be bidding in NL-only leagues.

Tony Campana (6% owned this week, 23% owned next week)

Campana is hitting .344 with seven stolen bases since his call-up.  If you read the April23 FAAB log, you will see I told you he can help win a category.  Like last year, he is once again on his way to a significant number of steals.  He is a must play right now in all formats, particularly since he is playing just about every day (and making Joe Mather disappear).

Steve Cishek (4% owned this week, 19% owned next week)

Here is an announcement for you all.  If Heath Bell has a throwing arm, he is the closer.  The Marlins just threw three years and $27 million at Bell.  While Cishek and Mujica will get some cracks at saves, Bell will have to be near dead to lose the job long term.

Patrick Corbin (1% owned this week, 11% owned next week)

Welcome to the big leagues, Mr. Corbin , and congratulations on your first major league win.  John Sickels just wrote about Corbin yesterday, and no one does a better job, so I leave the analysis to him.  He is not ace-potential, so I would take a wait and see attitude here.  
Honorable Mentions: Joe Saunders (37% increase), Pedro Alvarez (36% increase), Bryan LaHair (29% increase)

Key injuries:


I wrote about Gamel’s injury, and Brooks Conrad and Travis Ishikawa, on Wednesday.

Sandoval broke the hamate bone on his other hand this year, and should be out at least four to six weeks.  Conor Gillaspie was called up by the Giants to take Sandoval’s roster spot.  Gillaspie is not a top tier prospect and is not someone you want as the cornerstone of your lineup for a decade.  He does, however, have a good batting eye, decent pop in the bat, and is a good short-term replacement for Sandoval, so long as you do not expect Sandoval’s production.

Waiver/Free Agent Pickups


The Dodgers signed Bobby Abreu this week.  This appears to be an odd fit, and I have to believe, given the expanse of outfield in Los Angeles, Colorado, San Diego, et al., Abreu is going to find himself being a very expensive pinch hitter.  Never mind the fact that he hit under .200 in Anaheim.  I cannot recommend more than a token bid on Abreu at this point.


Amarista came to the Padres in the Ernesto Frieri trade (so much for picking him up last week).  Amarista looks like a super-utility player who can play second better than short better than third and the outfield.  He does not have any pop in the bat and struggles to make contact.  What he can do is run aggressively, though he gets caught a lot.  I think you bid a little more on Amarista than Abreu, as Amarista could steal time from Hudson, Bartlett or both, and steal double-digit bases along the way.

James Russell

With the announcement that Carlos Marmol will be riding the closer pine for awhile, Russell and Rafael Dolis become popular pick-ups.  Dolis should see the bulk of save chances, while Russell will be a situational closer.

2 comments:

zucchiniboy said...

Thoughts on Cody Ransom?

Toz said...

I wrote about Ransom in the FAAB log last week. Ransom is 3-11 this week with 2 home runs. Since Ryan Roberts is really struggling, Ransom should continue to get some playing time, though there is nothing in his profile to support this hot streak. I think he should be owned at this point in deep NL-only leagues. I would not necessarily put him on the mixed league radar except as an injury replacement in the deepest of mixed leagues.