May 14, 2009
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I’m slightly, no check that, largely, biased toward National League play for several reasons. First off, teams do not just load ducks up on the pond and swing for the parking lots as the kids in the Junior Circuit, aka American League, do. Even the lukewarm baseball fan can find some appreciation in the hit-and-run plays, the sacrifice attempts, and other strategies used by NL managers. Aside from Jacoby Ellsbury perfectly executing that straight steal of home plate against the Yankees on April 26, there have not been too many plays in the AL which make me put my hand up to mouth and go, “Wow!!!”
With that said, the NL makes for much better headlines outside of whatever happens in the Bronx and Beantown. We have seen plenty of drama in the Senior Circuit to this point this year and it has caused a major shakeup for some rosters. Here are a list of five guys who have replaced either established players or young stars who were expected to produce but just have not to this point in the season. In addition to the fill-ins are what you can expect from these fill-ins and how long they can be expected to “fill in.”
The Reds had absolutely no problem calling up Rosales to take the place of ailing Edwin Encarnacion, who was playing with a chipped bone in his left wrist. Encarnacion, who was put on the 15-day disabled list back on April 28, was hitting .127 at the time he was placed on the disabled list and had apparently been dealing with the injury since Spring Training. At the time of his call up, Rosales was absolutely scalding the ball at Triple-A Louisville, hitting .431 with 15 runs knocked in after just 17 games played.
As of May 12, Rosales was hitting .295 in his second stint with the big kids. In his last four games, he is 7-for-16, (.438), and has scored six runs during that time. Before that, he was mired in a 1-for-14 slide. Considering that this is only his second cup of coffee, it is encouraging that the 25-year-old Chicago native can put together some sort of hit streak and not be a detriment to manager Dusty Baker’s lineup.
Encarnacion just had his cast removed last Wednesday, May 6, but is projected to be at least a few weeks away from returning. Shockingly enough, Rosales is owned by less than 1 percent of all owners in NL-only leagues on ESPN.com. If you’re in a deep league and need depth at third base, take him. Why not? It might be months before another Rosales sighting in the bigs.
Infante is a fantasy manager’s dream, especially in leagues where the outfield designations are left field, center field, and right field. Infante is currently eligible at 2B, 3B, SS, and left field. He has played 76 innings at 2B as of May 12 and there are grumblings of him entering a platoon with current starter Kelly Johnson. Though Johnson is only hitting .240, he does have at least a hit and a run scored in his last five games played. So maybe that so-called platoon does not actually exist?
Regardless, Infante is hitting .338 with 10 runs knocked in. He is a utility man in every sense of the word for the Bobby Cox-led Braves and is valuable just because how often do you find a backup shortstop worth having on your roster? He usually plays more than just short, just as Infante does. When Johnson is hot, he rakes the ball to all parts of the field, especially to the gaps, but Infante is more consistent when it comes to getting on base and scoring runs. In 71 at-bats this season, Infante has struck out just five times. He makes contact and gets on base. Sounds like a player worth having on my roster if you ask me.
When GM Omar Minaya re-signed southpaw veteran hurler Oliver Perez to a 3-year, $36 million deal this past offseason, he probably thought that he had himself a quality, cheaper option in place of the more polished, more expensive Derek Lowe. Lowe signed a 4-year, $60 million deal with the Atlanta Braves in mid-January. He has responded by going 5-1 with 38 strikeouts and a 3.8 ERA in 47.1 innings pitched.
Perez on the other hand has responded by going 1-2 with 21 walks in only 21.2 innings pitched this season. He has only started five games and hitters have absolutely scorched the ball against him by posting a .315 batting average against him. Mets management has responded by banishing Perez to the bullpen in place of another southpaw in Niese. Niese has not been entirely effective in Triple-A Buffalo, posting a 6.55 ERA in five starts. But the encouraging figure is his strikeout-to-walk ratio with a mark of 25:8. Niese’s first start was a quality one as he gave up just two earned runs and seven hits in six innings pitched. He also did not walk a batter. If he can keep that up, he just might make Perez the most expensive long reliever in the major leagues once he comes back from patellar tendinitis in his right knee.
This is beginning to look like a National League East update of “Down on the Farm.” Maybe in that report, we can discuss the continued development of Marlins top prospect Cameron Maybin. Maybin was looked at to be a 20 home run, 20 steal and possible .280 or so rookie. Everyone, I mean EVERYONE, had their eyes on this kid as their draft commenced. A month later, and Maybin is only owned by 56.4 percent of owners in NL-only league formats. He has disappointed with just a .202 batting average, a stolen base, and 31 strikeouts in 84 at-bats.
On May 10, he was sent down to Triple-A New Orleans and the outfield was shifted with Cody Ross taking over in center and call up Coghlan getting the nod to start everyday in left for the perennially young Marlins. Coghlan is another one of these young Triple-A superstars who was just tearing the cover off the ball at the time of his call up. His numbers include a .344 batting average, just 10 strikeouts in 110 plate appearances, and a .970 on-base plus slugging percentage. So he’ll be a guy expected to get plenty of playing time in Miami as Maybin tries to get his confidence back. The early sample size from the left-handed hitting Coghlan is small as he is 2-for-7 since getting the full-time nod this past weekend. This is also his first taste of the bigs so do not be surprised if he has trouble finding the Mendoza line in his first month or so of play.
“Manny. �Roids. 50 Games. Wow,” wrote my league commissioner when he broke the news on our league’s home page about Manny’s suspension. I do not have Manny on either of my teams but I am still in shock of the game’s purest hitter testing positive for performance enhancing steroids. I won’t go into detail and waste your time about how the Dodgers will sorely miss Manny’s bat in the middle of that lineup. I also won’t go into detail about how much Pierre will benefit as a result of Manny’s suspension. But what I will tell you is this; I bet you could probably package Pierre in a deal for a quality starting pitcher as many teams are starving for guys who can swipe bags. Pierre can be that bargaining chip for you right now as his stock will not be any higher until the MLB trade deadline later this summer.
2011 Fantasy Baseball Home
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