Bad news has hit the Fantasy Baseball World yet again.  Rickie Weeks has been diagnosed with a tear in his left wrist, an MRI revealed today.  After the panic sets in that you just lost one of the most productive 2nd Baseman this season, you ask yourself “now what”?   The bad news is, finding the same caliber of player is going to be very difficult.  The good news is there is one player who is sitting in your free agent pool who just may fit the bill. 

                                       B atting Avg.       Runs           HRs         RBIs      SB

1)       Ian Stewart -          .205                    14                7               20         2

The Fix:    Ian has plenty of pop, and plays in a great hitter’s park.  He does strike out a bit too much, and has a low batting average.   Just in case you didn’t know if you have 600 Abs in a season the difference between hitting Weeks’ .272, and Stewart’s current .205 is only 2 hits a week.  If you can get over that then he is your guy.  Be careful though, they get his bat into every game, but he doesn’t always start.  Typically he starts 5-6 games a week.    ADVISE:  BUY NOW!!!

Other Notables (if Stewart is NOT available):  Alberto Callaspo (KC), Skip Schumaker (STL), Freddy Sanchez (PIT), Felipe Lopez (ARZ), Emmanuel Burriss (SF)

How many times have you said to yourself “I should have picked him up”?  

What made you not pull the trigger?

Not having enough confidence in your decision making can and will hold you back from winning.  Those who believe in only luck are equally as likely to fail.  I’d be lying if I told you luck had no influence on your success, but you can create your own luck.  There are calculated methods I use in my leagues that have proven reliable time and time again. Now the complexity of predictability cannot be explained simply, so I will address them over the season.

First, depending on the scoring system of the league, I evaluate my needs.  Unless you’re using Roto scoring with 10-12 teams and you’re up over 20 points or in a H2H league in first by 20 categories then you have needs.

Typically, the first players I look too are the top players in deep slumps.  They are the ones most likely to break out.  Next, and the less obvious answer, are the streaky players who have shown flashes stardom in the past, but have yet to put it together.   Look for starting players that were just given a few mental days off to regroup.  Surprisingly, more often than not it helps.  Keep your eyes on:

                                                       Avg.        Runs      HR      RBIs       SB      
·         Jhonny Peralta                .229          13            1           10           0

·         Alexei Rameriz                .198            7             1           11           6

·         JJ Hardy                             .208          12           5            17          0

·         Orlando Cabrera             .223           12          0             6            1

In some leagues these players may be sitting right in the free agent pool.  If they are not you can definitely get them for peanuts in a trade.  

These are just a few players that I scouted.  Keeping your eyes open for players that fall into this category is easy, and another weapon for you to use.

L.A. Times reported this morning Manny Ramirez of the LA Dodgers tested positive for Performance Enhancing Drugs.  Today begins the first game of his 50 game suspension.  The earliest he can return is:  JULY 3rd. 

Fantasy Impact:  Andre Either - who bats in the cleanup spot behind Manny will not see as many good pitches to hit.  No question his numbers will suffer. 

Who to pick up:  Juan Pierre - If your team is lacking SB this is going to be a great grab for you.  He will also contribute to your Batting Average, and Runs.

The real losers are the Manny owners.  He was hitting .348 with 22R 6HR 20RBI through the first week in May.  In the NL those numbers make him a true Triple Crown threat.

What I would do:  TRADE HIM NOW

Who would want him?  Look for teams toward the top of your league.  No doubt they have been riding really hot players through April, and have lots of depth.  They can take Manny and stash him.  While you  get a viable replacement for the gap he left behind.

April is officially over!!! 

This is the most important time of the year after the draft.  Focusing on positioning your team for the next 4 months leading into September‘s Home Stretch.  Some teams right now are sitting pretty atop their league after their ALL APRIL TEAM Wowed with overachieving stats, and others sitting frustrated in the cellar with that sinking feeling of quicksand.  Its time to start bottom feeding.  Using the players you currently have that had an amazing April, but probably won’t sustain it for the long run, and trade it for proven consistent talent.   Here is my list of Buy Low players that consistently produce, but are off to slow starts.

C  Geovany Soto  - Numbers have been gross ytd.  His full season stats will tell a different tale. 

Steal him with:  Brandon Inge                    

1B  Mark Teixeira  - The Top 1B have all pretty much been hitting, but if you buck up you may get him below market value.

Steal him with:   Adam Dunn or Aubrey Huff (Both are off to fantastic starts to the season.  Statistically superior to Tex's. Don't be afraid to add an OF or SP who are off to hot starts too) 

2B  Alexei Ramirez - Admitted slow starter.  He may be young, but a HUGE talent. Ozzie will light the fire.

Steal him with:   Howie Kendrick, Rickie Weeks, or Freddy Sanchez (may be a stretch)

3B  Alex Rodriguez – This is obvious, but there are some concerned owners worried about his surgery.

Steal him with:  Ryan Zimmerman, or Chris Davis  (with Davis sweeten the deal with a overachieving #3 SP)

SS  Jimmy Rollins – As Simon Cowell  would  say “April was a forgettable performance”.  JRoll is a top 3 SS!!!

Steal him with:   Derek Jeter, or Marco Scutaro (Marco may not be enough, throw in another All April Player)

OF  Matt Holliday – After leaving Colorado we all expected a drop, but his talent will prove better then this.

OF  Cory Hart – I’m a HUGE fan of his abilities.  5 tool player, in his prime, on a stud team. The total package.

OF  BJ Upton – BJ is much riskier than the first 2, if you can grab him really cheap and stash him as a 4th OFit may payoff.

Steal Holliday & Hart with:  Kosuke Fukudome, Jay Bruce, Daniel Murphy, Nick Swisher, & Mike Cameron (Holliday will demand more than Hart, so you may have to do a 2-for for Matt. You may be able to steal Cory with a 1 for 1.)

Steal BJ with:  Brad Hawpe, Jeff Francour, Jason Kubel, or Ryan Spilsborghs,  (BJ is tough to gage because of his talent.  Feel out his owners needs and use that to your advantage. You may pay Holliday & Hart type talent)

Starting Pitching and Closers need to be looked at a little differently because they aren’t every day players.  You need to be more cautious trading for them because it’s easy to get burned, and the pitching carousel shuffles a lot from top to bottom and year to year.   However, here is a list of pitchers you can have confidence in trading for (I’m going to leave out the top 20 SP, they should be obvious), and who I would trade because they are just a flash in the pan.

Pitchers to Get:

Rich Harden – Slow start, but if you can stomach his potential injuries, Harden has the most talent in the bigs.

Daisuke Matsuzaka – Got a sore shoulder from the WBC, but undeniable talent and consistency.

Ubaldo Jimenez – Has only had 2 poor starts both against the Dodgers, but then again everyone has.

Mike Pelfrey – The Mets are heating up and this guy is a horse.  Mike is a closet Ace.

Jordan Zimmermann – Think this year’s Clayton Kershaw, Max Scherzer, and maybe Jon Lester.

Hiroki Kuroda – Coming off of a little oblique strain mid to late May.  If you have a DL spot to hide him do it.

Brad Lidge – Brad’s knee was sore, now he is better.  Steal him, he closes for the World Champs.

Pitchers to Trade:

Kevin Millwood – He plays in that Arlington shoebox, and is well past his prime.

Zach Duke – If you have watched him for the past 2 year you already know this.

Scott Richmond – Toronto won’t hold up this pace with so many games to play against the AL East.

Jarrod Washburn – It’s great to see him pitching well again, but on Seattle it is difficult to win.

Brian Fuentes – This guy lost his job for a spell last year with the Rockies, don’t confuse him with KROD.