2009 Fantasy Baseball: It’s June (AL Edition)

June means many things for baseball fans. We finally start to see what teams mean business and which teams just got off to a hot start. It also means the end of hockey and basketball season, leaving us with just baseball and Brett Favre rumors. It’s time for fantasy owners to start worrying or to start being very happy about what their teams have done so far. Let’s see what players have been huge disappointments and who has come out of nowhere.

*All stats through morning of June 11th.

The Worrisome…

-B.J. Upton (OF, Tampa Bay Rays) – What happened to B.J. Upton? After his Carlos Beltran type (with the Astros) LDS and LCS we were all expecting big things from him this season. So far this year Upton is hitting .217 with three HR and a whopping 15 RBI. True, Upton has been consistent in stealing bases with 15, but for a guy that people looked at as a five-tool player he has not yet flashed that ability in ’09. The Rays have not had a good follow up to their World Series run last season. Their pitching and bullpen has been atrocious but their offensive numbers have been solid, with the exception of Upton. As for fantasy, this would be a great time to buy Upton low. In the past two weeks he has shown signs of life, batting .325 with one HR and six RBIs.

-Magglio Ordo�ez (OF, Detroit Tigers) – Saying he is having an off-year would be a huge understatement for Mags so far this season. After hitting .363 with 28 HR and 139 RBI in ’07 and .317 with 21 HR and 103 RBI in ’08, Ordo�ez’s ’09 campaign has been nowhere near that. This season, the right fielder is hitting .279 with 2 HR and just 21 RBIs, not a great showing from the six-time all-star who hits in one of the best offenses in baseball. Ordo�ez bounced back with a decent May, hitting .315 with 10 RBIs but no home runs. However, he has once again struggled in June hitting .273 with two RBIs and STILL no home runs. Common sense says this guy has to catch fire eventually put perhaps age has finally caught up with him. Maybe it’s time to stay away from Mags and let him and David Ortiz battle it out for the biggest power busts of the season.

-A.J. Burnett (SP, New York Yankees) – For years I thought A.J. Burnett was an extremely talented pitcher who just couldn’t stay healthy. Turns out, even when healthy, this guy is nothing more then mediocre. After having a career year of 18-10 with a 4.07 ERA and leading the AL with 231 strikeouts, Burnett hasn’t given the Yanks much to get excited about (82.5 for 5 years not looking too good). In 2009, Burnett has gone 4-3 with an ERA of 4.89. Against the archrival Red Sox, Burnett is 0-1 with 11 ER in 7.2 innings. Not the ace the Yanks thought they were getting. You can continue to expect Burnett to put some wins on the board with the offense he gets but if he is on your team, I would look for a Yankee fan in your league (there’s always a few) and try to deal for a solid starter. Don’t sell him too low, but his inconsistencies should be enough to get him off of your team. Should have figured all this when a career year means you post a 4-plus ERA.

-Howie Kendrick (2B, Los Angeles Angels) – For what has been a season of disappointing performances for the Angels, Kendrick has to be somewhere near the top of the list. A guy with back-to-back .300-plus seasons, Kendrick has hit just .236 with 4 HR and 22 RBI’s. Not too great for a guy many thought would be poised for a breakout year. According to the Mike Scioscia, a trip to the minors is still not out of the question for Kendrick and for now Macier Izturis will see more and more playing time for the Halos. With second base always a thin position for fantasy, it is tough to give up on Kendrick with few options out there. Perhaps take a shot on Jose Lopez as he seems to be finally turning the corner. For a short-term solution, Clint Barmes and Ian Stewart remain available in over 50 percent of Yahoo leagues and have both been absolutely raking the ball lately.

Honorable Mention: Alexei Ramirez, Fransico Liriano, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Josh Hamilton, The Angels, Grady Sizemore and David Ortiz

The Gleesome…

-Ben Zobrist (2B/SS/OF, Tampa Bay Rays) – As far as fantasy numbers are concerned, Tampa Bay’s infield might be the best there is. You might not think it, especially with the Yankees and Red Sox in the same division, but how can you argue with the production? Evan Longoria is one of the best 3Bs in the game, Pe�a is second in the AL in HRs, Jason Bartlett was putting up some of the best numbers in the league before getting hurt and then there is Ben Zobrist. Laugh all you want but this guy will not go away. His career numbers coming into this season (which total about one full year) shows a .222 AVG 15 HR 57 RBI and 7 SB. This year alone, Zobrist is hitting .316 with 12 HR 35 RBI and seven SB. He is literally doing it all. For a guy nobody really expected much from to come up with a .430 OBP is pretty special. Zobrist is showing no evidence of falling off and actually has continued to get hotter each month. As a guy that you can start at a lot of positions he is definitely one that you should hold on to for awhile. If he starts to slump, that’s when you sell him (or if your team is that strong at SS, 2B, and the entire OF). Even with a slump he should still generate a pretty solid return and the fact that he isn’t much of a household name means that he’s not going to get you much more now then he will down the road.

-Marco Scutaro (SS/2B/3B, Toronto Blue Jays) – To find Marco Scutaro’s career highs, you get a player who hit .267 with seven HR 60 RBI and seven SB. In 2009, Scutaro is hitting .305 with 5 HR, 29 RBI and 6 SB. Not too bad. Most guy’s wouldn’t be on pace to dwarf all of their career numbers at age 33, but hey, give Scutaro some credit, the career utility infielder known for his defense has really produced nicely for the Jays. As for durability, Marco Scutaro has started every single game this season and is tied for the AL lead in runs scored. He also leads all leadoff hitters in doubles and walks. While I would not look to trade Scutaro, I would try to pick up a young player with some upside just in case he makes a return to his rest of career form. The best part about him is that you can pencil him in at three different infield positions and he is almost a lock to start everyday for the Jays (just one error so far this season). Be grateful with what Scuatro has done for you so far this year, but don’t leave yourself in a position where you are too dependent on him to come through.

-Russell Branyan (1B/3B, Seattle Mariners) – If you drafted Russell Branyan then you deserve to win your league based on some of the best intuition there is. Before this season, this guy was a career .230 hitter who had suited up for seven different teams in 11 seasons (not to mention separate stints with the Brewers). He had appeared in over 100 games in a season just twice in that span. Fast forward to 2009. Branyan is hitting .317 with 14 HR and 29 RBI. That means he is on pace to hit somewhere around 42 HR. You can’t help but be happy for Russell Branyan, a career journeyman who is finally getting the job done in his 12^th season in the bigs. With that being said, if Branyan is on your team, now would probably be the time to get rid of him. Every bit of common sense tells you that there is no chance his numbers will remain this good. His average continues to dip each month and while he’s got some pop, his RBI production isn’t overly impressive.

-Edwin Jackson (SP, Detroit Tigers) – Remember that deal the Rays got, when they traded Delmon Young and Brandon Harris for Matt Garza and Jason Bartlett? They got quite a steal on that trade. However, the exact opposite can be said so far about dealing Edwin Jackson to the Tigers for outfielder Matt Joyce. I’m sure the Rays figured they had a surplus of starting pitching and Jackson was just the odd-man out. How’s that working out for them? Scott Kazmir was 4-4 with a jaw-dropping 7.69 ERA before heading to the DL. Andy Sonnanstine is 4-6 with a 7.00 ERA. In fact, Jeff Niemann is the only starter on the Rays’ staff that is over .500 and he is 5-4 (unless you count David Price’s 1-0). As for Edwin Jackson? He is 6-3 with a 2.24 ERA so far this season. Not bad numbers for the guy who was forced out of the Rays. In the past two seasons, Jackson has combined for a 19-26 record with an ERA of 5.04. In other words, this guy was a steal in the late rounds of some drafts. As for what we can expect down the road. I would hold on to Jackson. Him and Verlander seem to be trying to out-pitch each other every time they are on the mound. With Detroit’s lineup, and the mediocrity that is the AL Central, Jackson seems like a good shot for a 15-game winner, even if the ERA does go up a bit.

Honorable Mention: Adam Lind, Nelson Cruz, Zach Greinke, Jason Kubel, Brandon Inge, Yankee Stadium batters and Jason Bartlett