Seattle Mariners - Fantasy Fillers

I am not talking about the Good Ol' Days of Alex Rodriguez, Griffey Jr., Randy Johson, Tino and Edgar Martinez, and Jay Buhner. This new, young Seattle team is filled with fantasy potential.

Fantasy Baseball Report (6/20-6/26)

Roy Oswalt joins the 15-Day DL club - Back Tightness
Joe Nathan returns to the Twins bullpen

• WeTlkFntsySprts Does J. Nathan have any Fantasy value any more?
• mlbdepthcharts‎ If he is just 80% of what he once was, then yes. Remains to be seen though.

Josh Willingham joins the 15-Day DL club - Strained Left Achilles
Brandon Inge returns to the Tigers lineup
Brandon Lyon is done for the season - Bicep Surgery
Jake Peavy returns to the White Sox rotation
Albert Pujols joins the 15-Day DL club - Broken Forearm
Marlins call up top minor league reliever Jose Ceda
Wily Mo Pena gets promoted to Arizona

• WeTlkFntsySprts is wily mo pena worth a roster spot?

• mlbdepthcharts‎ If you need a power threat for the next couple weeks. Should get lots of time as DH

Have a dilemma at 2B/SS ? Cant figure out which pitcher to start? Leave your question in the comment section and we will hook you up with the right answer!

Daily Starting Lineups
Daily Baseball Data
MLB Depth Charts

Pitching Probables
June 20
June 21
June 22
June 23
June 24
June 25
June 26

News From Last Week
Clay Bucholz joins the 15-Day DL club
Orlando Hudson returns to the Padres lineup
Nate McLouth returns to the Braves lineup
Andrew Miller promoted to Boston
Carl Crawford joins the 15-Day DL club
Matt LaPorta joins the 15-Day DL club

2011 NBA Draft Team Grades

Cleveland Cavaliers  - B

• I do understand the wanting of a premier PG, but not when your team already has 3 NBA PGs on the roster.  Regardless, Irving is super talented and will eventually help this team so it’s a good pick.  Tristan Thompson on the other hand better be the next Karl Malone because the Cavs needed a SF more than anything and passed on well every small forward in this draft.  I like Hickson better as the future PF but at this point, he should be asking out.  Who is Milan Macvan?
• Kyrie Irving - A   
• Tristan Thompson - B  
• Milan Macvan - C- 

Minnesota Timberwolves - B

• Minnesota did a great job of trading Johny Flynn and Donatas Motiejunas and receiving a future 1st rounder and Brad Miller in return as this opens up the PG position for Ricky Rubio.  However, drafting Derrick Williams was not the best fit for this team.  Enes Kanter would have been the PERFECT fit.  How will Malcom Lee find any PT this year with Wes Johnson, Wayne Ellington, Luke Ridnour and Rubio already commanding minutes?
• Derrick Williams - A
• Malcolm Lee - B-  

Utah Jazz - A

• Got exactly who they wanted and what the needed, while not having to make any roster moves.  Kanter and Favors will be the future bigs in Utah while Alec Burks will probably lead the team in scoring every year for a while.  My guess is that Al Jefferson eventually gets moved to find a franchise PG, but his 29 million over the next two season will be difficult to move.
• Enes Kanter - A 
• Alec Burks - B+ 

Toronto Raptors - B

• I am just so happy that a PG was not selected.  I do not know why, but everyone seemed to have Kemba or Bknight landing in Toronto.  However, Jonas will most likely not be playing in the NBA next season so this pick will keep the Raptors atop next years lottery as well.  I am curious if Andrea Bargnani can play/guard the PF position.  If he can, than this pick makes a lot of sense.  
• Jonas Valanciunas - B+

Washington Wizards - A+

• Another team that drafted wisely based on needs, Washington needed two things heading into the draft, a SF and a backup PG.  A lot of mocks had them picking a PF/C which made little sense.  They landed two of the top SF and got a senior PG, who lead an underdog team to the National Championship two years in a row.  Great job by the Wizards, best draft of the night.  Vesely will be the starting SF while Singleton will come in off the bench and lock down who ever he is asked to.   What happens to Rashard Lewis' $20+ mil contract the next 2 seasons?
• Jan Vesely - A  
• Chris Singleton - B+  
• Shelvin Mack - B 

UPDATE - Albert Pujols Watch - Non-Displaced Fracture

A PT's POV

UPDATE -

MLB‎ BREAKING: Albert Pujols has a non-displaced fracture of his left radius (forearm). He will likely be sidelined 4-6 weeks.

UPDATE - SiriusXMFantasy‎ Dr Roto on Albert Pujols "has strength in wrist, likely not a break. Swelling. Might play this weekend at earliest. DL is a possibility"

VIDEO

Yesterday, Albert Pujols left the game with a left wrist injury, while also indicating he might have injured his shoulder as well.

I love Pujols, but I cant help but say that the injury is kind of his own fault.  If his footing was correct(right foot on the bag), he would have had his left arm extended in front of him instead of out to the side.

Keep it here for the latest updates
Looking for a replacement? Check this and this
Ty Wigginton has been added the most since the Breaking News.  Must be his multiple position eligibility(1B,2B,3B,OF)

Boston Red Sox - Team Of The Week (6/6-612)

Starting 0-6 and being a season low 8 games under .500 at 2-10, we knew the Red Sox were a lot better than that (as you can see they were both of our World Series winners in our 2011 projections).  With that lineup and pitching staff it was only a matter of time before they got hot and made a run as the AL's best team.

The week started with a huge 3 game series in the Bronx against the Yankees, a fight for first place.  Boston trailed the Yankees by a game coming in and had their chance to take over 1st place in the AL East.

The Red Sox wasted no time as Jacoby Ellsbury hit a lead off homer against Freddy Garcia, Adrian Gonzalez tripled in Pedroia who walked and then Youkilis hit a sac fly to score Gonzalez, to give the Sox a 3-0 lead after the top of the 1st.  Robinson singled in a run off lester in the bottom half of the 1st, but Pedroia's RBI double in the 2nd gave the Sox their 3-run lead right back.  The scored stayed 4-1 until the 5th when David Ortiz hit a 2-run homer to right, but Nick Swisher hit a 2-run double in the bottom half to cut the lead to 6-3.  Going into the bottom of the 9th with a 6-3 lead, the Sox brought in closer Jonathan Papelbon to close it out.  Things got interesting after Jorge Posada singled in Brett Gardner who led the inning off with a walk, but with 2 outs Papelbon struck out Alex Rodriguez who was the tying run to end the game.  The 6-4 win tied the Yankees and Red Sox as the AL East division leaders.  Jon Lester picked up his 8th win of the year as he pitched 6 innings allowing 8 hits, 3 runs, a walk and 5 strike outs.  Yankees starter Freddy Garcia only lasted 1.2 innings, giving up 4 hits, 4 runs and 3 walks.

Fantasy Baseball Report (6/6-6/12)

Mike Napoli joins the 15-Day DL club - Strained Oblique
Batrolo Colon joins the 15-Day DL club - Strained Left Hamstring
Martin Prado joins the 15-Day DL club - Staph Infection
Joe Mauer returning on Tuesday?
Mike Moustakas promoted to Kansas City - Mike Aviles demoted to AAA Omaha
Marlins sign Jose Lopez
Joba Chamberlain likely out for season with a torn ligament
Mike Carp called up from AAA-Tacoma
Nick Hundley returns to Padres lineup
Ian Kinsler placed on paternity leave
Brett Anderson joins the 15-Day DL club - Left Elbow Soreness
Marco Scutaro returns to the Red Sox lineup
Vernon Wells returns to the Angels lineup
Edison Volquez returns to the Reds rotation
Dexter Fowler joins the 15-Day DL club - Abdominal Strain
Jed Lowrie may need MRI on shoulder
Francisco Liriano returns to the Twins rotation
Jemile Weeks gets promoted to Oakland
Kevin Kouzmanoff sent down to AAA-Sacramento
Brett Anderson to get his elbow examined
Joakim Soria got his closer job back
Dexter Fowler joins the 15-Day DL Club - Strained Left Abdominal Muscle
Hanley Ramirez joins the 15-Day DL Club - Strained Left Back Muscle
Jake Peavy joins the 15-Day DL Club - Strained Right Groin

Have a dilemma at 2B/SS ? Cant figure out which pitcher to start? Leave your question in the comment section and we will hook you up with the right answer!

Daily Starting Lineups
Daily Baseball Data
MLB Depth Charts

Pitching Probables
June 6
June 7
June 8
June 9
June 10
June 11
June 12

News from Last Week
Adrian Gonzalez is the first to 50 RBI
Edison Volquez To Be Recalled and Make Start Thursday
Rockies Might Look To Demote Dexter Fowler
Brandon Belt joins the 15-Day DL club - Broken Wrist

Look Out For Anthony Rizzo

UPDATE (6/11): Rizzo was an extra base machine in AAA and so far in his first 3 games in the bigs he has continued his extra base hitting.  After a 2-4 night with a double and home run, Rizzo is now hitting .429 (3-7), with a double, triple and home run, with 4 walks and a hit by pitch to give him a .667 on base.  It's going to be an easy transition from Adrian Gonzalez to Anthony Rizzo for Padre fans as Rizzo is almost a replica of Gonzalez.  And yes, I'm making a bold statement!

Michael Pineda - Get to know him

UPDATE (6/11): Well Pineda had a rough outing for the first time in his rookie season on Saturday night against the Tigers.  The Tigers beat the Mariners 8-1, and Pineda lasted 5.1 IP allowing 8 hits, 6 runs while walking 1 and striking out 4.  Pineda is now 6-4 on the year with a 2.72 ERA and is winless in his last 4 starts.  The Mariners in each of Pineda's last 3 starts have provided him with 3 total runs, 1 in each game.  He's pitched well enough to have won his two previous starts as he allowed 3 runs in those 2 starts as the Mariners lost 3-1 and 2-1 in those games.

No Surgery Needed on Dustin Pedroia's Knee!

UPDATE (6/9): Pedroia went back to Boston for an examination on his knee, and got great news! He will not need surgery and should be back in the Red Sox lineup on Friday night.

Story here.

Look Out For Brett Lawrie

UPDATE (6/8): The Blue Jays were going to promote Brett Lawrie to the big leagues this week, but that promotion will have to wait til about mid-July as Lawire is out with a fractured left hand.  The injury happened back on May 31st, when we reported Lawrie left the game with after being hit by a pitch.  He will be out at least 2-3 weeks.

According to MLB.com :

The 21-year-old third baseman was hitting .354 with 15 home runs and 49 RBIs in 52 games this season. He also had 19 doubles and an impressive .415 on-base percentage while stealing 11 bases.
The latest development comes as a major blow to Lawrie, who was on the verge of being called up to big leagues at the time of his injury. General manager Alex Anthopoulous described the promotion as being "close" and it was expected he would debut in Baltimore on June 3.

Mark Teixeira Watch - Started at 1B for Yanks

VIDEO
Tonight in his first at bat against the Red Sox Jon Lester, Yankee first baseman Mark Teixeira took a fastball off the knee cap and was forced to leave the game.  You could actually hear him scream as soon as he got hit, and his faced showed a lot of pain.  Tex currently sits at 18 home runs and 41 rbi and while his average is down to .258, his on base is still .368, right around his career average.  First base has been strong this year, but there are not many options remaining in many leagues.  Currently, the list of top 25 first basemen that are under 75% owned in Yahoo leagues:

• Justin Smoak - 44%
• Mark Trumbo - 34%
• Mitch Moreland - 65%
• Aubrey Huff - 61%
• Freddie Freeman - 24%
• Brett Wallace - 20%
• Carlos Pena - 53%

If you own Teixeira, let us know who is available and we will let you know who to replace him with if necessary


Stories
ESPN
Yankees - MLB
Hardball Talk
Baseball Nation
New York Daily News

Tweets
@DKnobler Teixeira much better than expected. Knee not even wrapped. Even talking about trying to play tomorrow. Shouldn't be out long.

@ESPNNewYork INJURY UPDATE: X-rays on Mark Teixeira negative. Tex has contusion on knee, will be further evaluated tomorrow. http://es.pn/kve5A1 #Yankees

@Ken_Rosenthal Oh boy. Pain all over Teixeira's face after he was hit in rt knee. Could barely put weight on it. Now Posada gets in vs. LHP. #Yankees #MLB

@YankeesWFAN That Teixeira put even a little bit of weight on that knee after getting hit is encouraging, but x-rays coming for sure. Hard to watch.

@TylerKepner Noted pinch-runner Jorge Posada takes over for Teixeira. (Posada actually did pinch run in his first career playoff appearance, in '95...)

@BloggingBombers Wow. Posada coming in to run for Teixeira. I'd have guessed Swisher would move to first base and Dickerson played RF. Interesting.

Zach Britton - Get to know him

UPDATE: Zach has not earned a win since May 1 but it is not all his fault.  The Orioles have scored just 18 runs in the last 6 games that Britton has started.  His last two starts have not been all that great allowing 11 earned runs in just 10.2 innings pitched.  The previous 4 starts he allowed just 6 earned runs in 27.1 innings.  One of those starts was against the Yankees and he held them to 6 hits and 1 unearned run over 7 innings at Camden Yards.  Even with the two bad starts, his era is just 3.33 and he has a 2.60 era at home.  Britton is still a Fantasy Worthy pitcher, and if you do not own him, look to steal him off someones roster with a low ball offer.  He can help keep a team ERA and WHIP down, and should finish the season with 11-14 wins.

Texas Rangers - Team Of The Week (5/30-6/5)

When the week started there was no tighter division than the AL West, with the Rangers in first just a game ahead of the Angels, and a game and a half over the Athletics and Mariners.  But with a 6-1 week the Rangers have given themselves some breathing room at the top of the AL West.  Getting back Josh Hamilton and Nelson Cruz just two weeks ago has been such a boost in the Rangers lineup and is the key to running away with the division.

The Rangers week consisted of a 3 game series with the Rays in Tampa Bay and then a trip to Clevland for a 4 game series with the Indians, not exactly an easy road trip.

In game 1 against the Rays, the Rangers offense exploded for 20 hits in an 11-5 win.  Of those 20 hits the Rangers hit 5 doubles and 4 home runs.  Rays starter Wade Davis only lasted 2.2 IP and was charged with 12 hits and 7 earned runs, just an awful outing as he was not fooling anyone.  7 of the 9 starters for the Rangers had multiple hits in the game, including Mitch Moreland, Mike Napoli and Endy Chavez (the 7-8-9) who combined to go 8-15 with a double, 4 home runs, 6 runs, 8 RBI and 2 walks.  Derek Holland did not have his best stuff either but last 5.2 IP allowing 5 earned runs but left with a 9-5 lead and went on to win his 4th game of the year.

Fantasy Baseball Report (5/30-6/5)

Edison Volquez To Be Recalled and Make Start Thursday
Rockies Might Look To Demote Dexter Fowler
Brandon Belt joins the 15-Day DL club - Broken Wrist
Rafael Furcal joins the 15-Day DL club - Strained Left Oblique
Jon Garland out 6-8 weeks with shoulder inflammation 
Derek Lee returns to the Orioles lineup
Adam Lind returns to the Blue Jays lineup 
Brandon Inge joins the 15-Day DL club - Mono
Shane Victorino returns to the Phillies lineup
Jason Kubel joins the 15-Day DL club - Left Foot Strain
Kyle McClellan joins the 15-Day DL club - Left Hip Flexor Strain
Matt Holliday joins the 15-Day DL club - Left Quad Strain
Brian Matusz makes season debut for Orioles
Alfonso Soriano joins the 15-Day DL club - Left Quad Strain
Cameron Maybin joins the 15-Day DL club -  Patellar Tendinitis
Ike Davis to miss 3 more weeks
Joakim Soria loses closer role, Aaron Crow in
Alex Cobb returns to the Rays rotation
Francisco Liriano joins the 15-Day DL club - Shoulder Inflammation

Have a dilemma at 2B/SS ? Cant figure out which pitcher to start? Leave your question in the comment section and we will hook you up with the right answer!

Daily Starting Lineups
Daily Baseball Data
MLB Depth Charts

Pitching Probables
May 30
May 31
June 1
June 2
June 3
June 4
June 5

News from Last Week
Howie Kendrick joins the 15-Day DL club; Angels Sign Russell Branyan
Buster Posey joins the 15-Day DL club - Broken Leg and Torn Ligaments - Video
Brandon Belt returns to Giants lineup
Jose Contreras returns to the Phillies rotation
Mitch Talbot returns to the Indians rotation

Can Erik Bedard Be An Elite Fantasy Pitcher in 2011? YES!

This story was originally posted back on March 11, and it seems to be coming true!.  Since Bedard started the season losing his first four starts, he has gone 3-0 over his next six.  During this stretch, Bedard has allowed just 6 earned runs in 39.1 innings of work, while striking out 35 and walking just 9!  He also went on a run of 20 innings pitched without giving up a run.  Part of his success has been keeping the ball in the park.  During his 0-4 start of the 2011 season, Bedard surrendered 7, yes 7 home runs in just 18.2 innings.  He has only allowed 1 long ball since April 20th and it was during his last start on May 31.

Bedard is currently just 51% owned in Yahoo leagues and should seriously be considered if you are looking for help in your rotation.  Remember, this guy once struck out 221 batters in a single season and has not finished a season with an ERA above 3.76 since 2005!  If you think you could use him, leave a comment and we will let you know if you are making the right move.

Dan Uggla and Adam Dunn - Most Overrated Players April/May

Dan Uggla - 2B
Average Draft Round - 3
5th 2B Overall

	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
March/April	28	108	10	21	3	1	5	9	8	21	1	2	0.202	0.259	0.394	0.653
May	28	100	10	16	4	0	2	7	10	24	0	0	0.160	0.241	0.260	0.501

Uggla has been a non factor in Atlanta's 30-26 start to the 2011 campaign.  Acquired in the off season for Omar Infante and Mike Dunn, and resigned for 5 Years $62 mil, Uggla has just 37 hits in 56 games.  May has always been friendly to Uggla over his career, but not this time around.

"You're not going to walk your way out of a slump like this, so I'm trying to be aggressive," Uggla said. "It's all timing. I've just got to get my foot down. If I get my foot down, be on time, everything will fall into place. It almost seems like it's that easy."

Now Uggla is tied for 7th among second basemen in HR so the power is still there, but of those power hitting second basemen, Uggla is the only one with less than 18 rbi.  His 20 runs scored is also the lowest amongst those 9 second basemen with 7+ hr.  2B has never been a dominate position in fantasy baseball, but Uggla is losing value everyday.  Do not sit and wait for Uggla to turn it around, if you own him, try to trade him, or if any decent 2B are available, make the swap.