Fantasy Baseball Planner: Week 17 (July 25-31)
The Rays promoting top outfield prospect Desmond Jennings to the big leagues is the type of transaction that gets fantasy baseball owners a little too excited.
Jennings will start in left field and bat leadoff for Tampa Bay, and there are rumors the Rays might trade center fielder B.J. Upton prior to the trade deadline.
Jennings must be a stud -- at least that's what many of us are thinking.
He could be, but don't expect that to be in 2011.
In Triple-A this season, Jennings was hitting .275 with 12 homers, 39 RBI and 17 steals in 338 at-bats. In a combined 737 at-bats in Class AAA the last two seasons, Jennings batted .277 with 150 runs, 15 homers, 75 RBI and 54 steals.
He scores a lot of runs and steals a lot of bases, and he has decent power. But he wasn't ripping the cover off the ball in Triple-A, and he likely won't have a ton of success as a rookie.
Of the six position players who were part of our breakdown of the top 10 prospects in fantasy baseball, four have had a chance to be regulars in the big leagues this season.
All have struggled.
The No. 10 player on the list, Lonnie Chisenhall, is hitting .259 with two homers, four RBI and a .761 OPS for the Indians. No. 8 Domonic Brown is batting .247 with a .734 OPS, five homers, 16 RBI and three steals for the Phillies.
No. 3 Mike Moustakas has been disappointing in Kansas City (.202, one homer, eight RBI and a .515 OPS), and No. 2 Mike Trout is hitting .179 with a .479 OPS for the Angels.
A rookie position player who has produced is the Royals' Eric Hosmer, who didn't crack our top 10 but is batting .277 with nine homers and 40 RBI in 274 at-bats. Still, Hosmer has scored 30 runs and has a .770 OPS.
Jennings was Baseball America's No. 6 prospect before the 2010 season, then dropped to No. 22 in 2011 after a subpar 2010 in Triple-A.
He has the tools, but that doesn't mean you should expect an immediate impact (and yes, we're aware Jennings had an electrifying debut on July 22). Unlike Hosmer, Jennings wasn't tearing up minor-league pitching before he got the call to the big leagues, which makes us doubt how effective he will be this season.
That doubt doesn't surround Phillies pitcher Vance Worley, who has been excellent as a rookie and leads this week's breakdown of the two-start pitchers.
For a chart of the pitching matchups for the week, see ESPN's Fantasy Forecaster.
Automatic starts: Johnny Cueto, Reds; Dan Haren, Angels; Tommy Hanson, Braves; Cliff Lee, Phillies; Tim Lincecum, Giants; Jon Lester, Red Sox; Justin Verlander, Tigers; Jered Weaver, Angels; C.J. Wilson, Rangers.
Automatic sits: The Royals' Kyle Davies is flying solo this week. Again, it's good Kansas City has made room in its six-man rotation for a pitcher who has lost eight straight starts and is 1-9 with a 7.32 ERA and 1.88 WHIP.
Twice as Nice
These pitchers have a pair of favorable matchups: 1. Vance Worley, Phillies; 2. Tim Hudson, Braves; 3. Jeremy Hellickson, Rays; 4. Freddy Garcia, Yankees; 5. Brandon Morrow, Blue Jays; 6. Juan Nicasio, Rockies; 7. Aaron Harang, Padres.
Middle Men
Pitchers with one favorable and one difficult matchup, or pitchers who are mediocre plays even with a pair of starts: Duane Below, Tigers; Nick Blackburn, Twins; Rubby De La Rosa, Dodgers; Ryan Dempster, Cubs; Derek Holland, Rangers; Jeff Karstens, Pirates; Mike Leake, Reds; Kyle McClellan, Cardinals; James McDonald, Pirates; Andrew Miller, Red Sox; Guillermo Moscoso, Athletics; Chris Narveson, Brewers; Jonathon Niese, Mets; Ricky Nolasco, Marlins; Josh Tomlin, Indians; Jake Westbrook, Cardinals; Jordan Zimmermann, Nationals.
Two-Start Pitchers to Sit
Jake Arrieta, Orioles; R.A. Dickey, Mets; J.A. Happ, Astros; Brandon McCarthy, Athletics; Brett Myers, Astros; Carl Pavano, Twins; Joe Saunders, Diamondbacks; Jason Vargas, Mariners.
Start 'Em
All statistics are through July 23:
Todd Helton, 1B, Rockies: We're surprised we don't see Helton in more starting lineups. He's batting .322 with 11 homers, 51 RBI and a .906 OPS, and he's having a pretty decent July (.379 with nine runs, two homers and 17 RBI in 58 at-bats). Helton has batted at least .300 each month.
Cameron Maybin, OF, Padres: We made him a Week 7 Waiver-Wire Pick, but Maybin later fell off most owners' fantasy radars. He has bounced back in a big way of late, riding a nine-game hitting streak in which he is hitting .405 with 10 runs, a homer, six RBI and nine steals in 42 at-bats.
Josh Reddick, OF, Red Sox: Manager Terry Francona seems to have chosen Reddick over Drew as his regular right fielder (at least until the trade deadline), and Reddick has justified the decision. He is batting .356 with 20 runs, four homers, 18 RBI and a 1.030 OPS in 90 at-bats. Before you make this move, you'll have to acquire him -- Reddick is available in more than 86 percent of the leagues on ESPN.com.
Dan Uggla, 2B, Braves: His batting average (.196) and OPS (.659) still stink, but Uggla has been very productive during his current 14-game hitting streak. In that span, he is batting .347 with six homers, 11 RBI and 14 runs in 49 at-bats.
Sit 'Em
Trevor Cahill, SP, Athletics: We were very high on him before the season, and Cahill made us look smart by beginning the year 6-0 with a 1.72 ERA. He is 2-9 since, and he's had a miserable July (0-3, 6.08 ERA, 1.44 WHIP).
Aaron Hill, 2B, Blue Jays: He has no business being owned in more than 60 percent of the ESPN formats, let alone started, yet the .229-hitting Hill is a regular in many leagues. This month, he's batting .191 with one homer.
Mark Reynolds, 3B, Orioles: The strikeout machine had an encouraging June (.299, eight homers, 16 RBI and 16 runs in 77 at-bats), but he's back to his low-average, K-happy ways in July (.219, six homers, 11 RBI and 27 Ks in 64 at-bats).
Jason Vargas, SP, Mariners: He's 0-3 with a 6.35 ERA and 2.12 WHIP in his last three contests.
Drop 'Em
If you need the roster space, it's OK to get rid of Matt Capps, Mitch Moreland and Mike Trout. Welcome to the club, boys. Jonathon Broxton would like to say a few words in honor of all deposed closers.
Also see:
Jennings will start in left field and bat leadoff for Tampa Bay, and there are rumors the Rays might trade center fielder B.J. Upton prior to the trade deadline.
Jennings must be a stud -- at least that's what many of us are thinking.
He could be, but don't expect that to be in 2011.
In Triple-A this season, Jennings was hitting .275 with 12 homers, 39 RBI and 17 steals in 338 at-bats. In a combined 737 at-bats in Class AAA the last two seasons, Jennings batted .277 with 150 runs, 15 homers, 75 RBI and 54 steals.
He scores a lot of runs and steals a lot of bases, and he has decent power. But he wasn't ripping the cover off the ball in Triple-A, and he likely won't have a ton of success as a rookie.
Of the six position players who were part of our breakdown of the top 10 prospects in fantasy baseball, four have had a chance to be regulars in the big leagues this season.
All have struggled.
The No. 10 player on the list, Lonnie Chisenhall, is hitting .259 with two homers, four RBI and a .761 OPS for the Indians. No. 8 Domonic Brown is batting .247 with a .734 OPS, five homers, 16 RBI and three steals for the Phillies.
No. 3 Mike Moustakas has been disappointing in Kansas City (.202, one homer, eight RBI and a .515 OPS), and No. 2 Mike Trout is hitting .179 with a .479 OPS for the Angels.
A rookie position player who has produced is the Royals' Eric Hosmer, who didn't crack our top 10 but is batting .277 with nine homers and 40 RBI in 274 at-bats. Still, Hosmer has scored 30 runs and has a .770 OPS.
Jennings was Baseball America's No. 6 prospect before the 2010 season, then dropped to No. 22 in 2011 after a subpar 2010 in Triple-A.
He has the tools, but that doesn't mean you should expect an immediate impact (and yes, we're aware Jennings had an electrifying debut on July 22). Unlike Hosmer, Jennings wasn't tearing up minor-league pitching before he got the call to the big leagues, which makes us doubt how effective he will be this season.
That doubt doesn't surround Phillies pitcher Vance Worley, who has been excellent as a rookie and leads this week's breakdown of the two-start pitchers.
For a chart of the pitching matchups for the week, see ESPN's Fantasy Forecaster.
Automatic starts: Johnny Cueto, Reds; Dan Haren, Angels; Tommy Hanson, Braves; Cliff Lee, Phillies; Tim Lincecum, Giants; Jon Lester, Red Sox; Justin Verlander, Tigers; Jered Weaver, Angels; C.J. Wilson, Rangers.
Automatic sits: The Royals' Kyle Davies is flying solo this week. Again, it's good Kansas City has made room in its six-man rotation for a pitcher who has lost eight straight starts and is 1-9 with a 7.32 ERA and 1.88 WHIP.
Twice as Nice
These pitchers have a pair of favorable matchups: 1. Vance Worley, Phillies; 2. Tim Hudson, Braves; 3. Jeremy Hellickson, Rays; 4. Freddy Garcia, Yankees; 5. Brandon Morrow, Blue Jays; 6. Juan Nicasio, Rockies; 7. Aaron Harang, Padres.
Middle Men
Pitchers with one favorable and one difficult matchup, or pitchers who are mediocre plays even with a pair of starts: Duane Below, Tigers; Nick Blackburn, Twins; Rubby De La Rosa, Dodgers; Ryan Dempster, Cubs; Derek Holland, Rangers; Jeff Karstens, Pirates; Mike Leake, Reds; Kyle McClellan, Cardinals; James McDonald, Pirates; Andrew Miller, Red Sox; Guillermo Moscoso, Athletics; Chris Narveson, Brewers; Jonathon Niese, Mets; Ricky Nolasco, Marlins; Josh Tomlin, Indians; Jake Westbrook, Cardinals; Jordan Zimmermann, Nationals.
Two-Start Pitchers to Sit
Jake Arrieta, Orioles; R.A. Dickey, Mets; J.A. Happ, Astros; Brandon McCarthy, Athletics; Brett Myers, Astros; Carl Pavano, Twins; Joe Saunders, Diamondbacks; Jason Vargas, Mariners.
Start 'Em
All statistics are through July 23:
Todd Helton, 1B, Rockies: We're surprised we don't see Helton in more starting lineups. He's batting .322 with 11 homers, 51 RBI and a .906 OPS, and he's having a pretty decent July (.379 with nine runs, two homers and 17 RBI in 58 at-bats). Helton has batted at least .300 each month.
Cameron Maybin, OF, Padres: We made him a Week 7 Waiver-Wire Pick, but Maybin later fell off most owners' fantasy radars. He has bounced back in a big way of late, riding a nine-game hitting streak in which he is hitting .405 with 10 runs, a homer, six RBI and nine steals in 42 at-bats.
Josh Reddick, OF, Red Sox: Manager Terry Francona seems to have chosen Reddick over Drew as his regular right fielder (at least until the trade deadline), and Reddick has justified the decision. He is batting .356 with 20 runs, four homers, 18 RBI and a 1.030 OPS in 90 at-bats. Before you make this move, you'll have to acquire him -- Reddick is available in more than 86 percent of the leagues on ESPN.com.
Dan Uggla, 2B, Braves: His batting average (.196) and OPS (.659) still stink, but Uggla has been very productive during his current 14-game hitting streak. In that span, he is batting .347 with six homers, 11 RBI and 14 runs in 49 at-bats.
Sit 'Em
Trevor Cahill, SP, Athletics: We were very high on him before the season, and Cahill made us look smart by beginning the year 6-0 with a 1.72 ERA. He is 2-9 since, and he's had a miserable July (0-3, 6.08 ERA, 1.44 WHIP).
Aaron Hill, 2B, Blue Jays: He has no business being owned in more than 60 percent of the ESPN formats, let alone started, yet the .229-hitting Hill is a regular in many leagues. This month, he's batting .191 with one homer.
Mark Reynolds, 3B, Orioles: The strikeout machine had an encouraging June (.299, eight homers, 16 RBI and 16 runs in 77 at-bats), but he's back to his low-average, K-happy ways in July (.219, six homers, 11 RBI and 27 Ks in 64 at-bats).
Jason Vargas, SP, Mariners: He's 0-3 with a 6.35 ERA and 2.12 WHIP in his last three contests.
Drop 'Em
If you need the roster space, it's OK to get rid of Matt Capps, Mitch Moreland and Mike Trout. Welcome to the club, boys. Jonathon Broxton would like to say a few words in honor of all deposed closers.
Also see:
