2012 Fantasy Baseball Rankings, Advice & Analysis
Edwin Jackson: Born a Travelin' Man! 07/30/2010
 Edwin Jackson has been traded from the Arizona Diamondbacks to the Chicago White Sox for Daniel Hudson and minor leaguer, David Holmberg. Rumors say that this may only be a pit-stop for Jackson before the Sox deal him to the Washington Nationals for Adam Dunn. Jackson has struggled living up to anywhere near his expectations this year. Even his no-hitter on June 25th was marred with eight walks. If Jackson does get traded to the Nationals it will be his 7th team in 8 seasons. No wonder he has problems staying focused! Jackson owners be prepared for a rocky 2nd half. On the other side, Adam Dunn will crush baseballs into outer space no matter what team he plays for. Exclusively written by Evan Marx for www.thefantasyfix.com. Going to see Inception tonight - who's coming with me? Do you think this trade will affect Jackson in the 2nd half? Leave a comment and let us know, or reply to us on Twitter@TheFantasyFix Tags: The Fantasy Fix, Fantasy Baseball Advice, Fantasy Baseball Blog, Fantasy Sports Blog, Edwin Jackson, Adam Dunn, Daniel Hudson, David Holmberg, Arizona Diamondbacks, Chicago White Sox, Washington Nationals Add Comment  Its official! Roy Oswalt is now a Philly. Oswalt waived his no-trade clause to join the red-hot Phillies and hopefully win the National League East (insert Boos from Braves & Mets fans). Oh yeah he's also getting $31 milion in small unmarked bills, I hear. The Astros receive J.A. Happ who just came back from the DL. They also get two minor leaguers — Anthony Gose (OF) and Jonathan Villan (SS). In terms of fantasy value, Oswalt will now receive a hell of a lot more run support which will equate to more wins. For the year, Oswalt had eight losses with three or less earned runs. Joining a winning team is exactly what Roy wanted and his chances of winning a ring with the Phillies has increased a thousand times over the Astros. Oswalt, Halladay & Hamels are now the Miami Heat of the Northeast. Written by Evan Marx exclusively for www.thefantasyfix.com Does the signing of Oswalt guarantee a championship? Leave a comment and let us know, or reply to us on Twitter@TheFantasyFix Tags: The Fantasy Fix, Fantasy Baseball Advice, Fantasy Baseball Blog, Fantasy Sports Blog, Roy Oswalt, Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels, Philadelphia Phillies A quick look at last week's Fantasy Baseball top performing and least owned players on the waiver wire. Starlin Castro is a hitting machine. Pedro Alvarez back to back double dingers. Fausto Carmona bringing it back to 2007. Can they really keep it up for another week? Check out who's a Must or a Bust.  Pedro Alvarez SLUGGERS Jack Cust (6% owned) 8 R / 4 HR / 10 RBI / .444 Jersey Boy Cust was the number one batter for this last week. The one thing he does extremely well is hit home runs and has six homers in the past nine games. Not bad numbers recently considering he only has eight home runs all season. Cust will see increased at-bats with this kind of production and we know he has the ability to hit 30+ dingers in a season. The best part is Jack is batting 60 points above his career average. Good cheap pick-up right now! Pedro Alvarez (25% owned) 8 R / 4 HR / 8 RBI / .346 The Pirates only saving grace this season is to jump ahead of Houston for second to last place. Still though, they have somehow found a way to score a lot of runs recently, even without Andrew McCutchen. Rookie, Pedro Alvarez, has clearly pushed Andy LaRoche aside and in the past ten games has bumped his average from .214 to .252. The big-boy (6'3" 223 lbs) has shown his power this week going yard twice in back to back games. "El Toro" should be on every owners watch list, since he will have all the playing time he needs to adjust to the Bigs. Luke Scott (19% owned) 5 R / 4 HR / 8 RBI / .458 Since returning from the DL, Scott has been on FIRE! Had he not missed the two weeks, we could be looking at 20-22 homers instead of 16. I'd look for a very strong second half, seeing as how Scott is one pace to score more runs, homers and RBIs than in years past. Plus he's batting .292, way above his dismal .268 career average. Scott is a little shy of the minimum plate appearances but would be tied for sixth in the league for slugging (.567) and tied for 11th in OPS (.924). Chris Denorfia (1% owned) 6 R / 3 HR / 5 RBI / .429 Taking advantage of an injured Will Venable, Denorfia is trying to prove he deserves to be a starter in an already crowed San Diego outfield. In just 131 ABs, he has 20 Runs and 20 RBIs. The good news is that although the OF is crowed, none of them are doing anything spectacular, leaving Denorfia a fighting chance. Starlin Castro (23% owned) 5 R / 1 HR / 6 RBI / 2 SB / .481 With Aramis Ramirez back to form, the Cubs have been putting up some big numbers. Castro has been as solid as you could wish for from a rookie and has bumped his average up 34 points since July 1st. In the past ten games he has seven multi-hit games. The home run swing has yet to come (only three in 234 AB) but as he trains more, the muscle will develop. Great keeper option! Jose Tabata (5% owned) 8 R / 1 HR / 6 RBI / 2 SB / .355 WIth Andrew McCutchen missing the past six games and possibly a handful more, Tabata has stepped in and performed quite well. Another Pirate Rookie looking to make his mark - so keep an eye as to how much the Pirates can play him once McCutchen returns. Jim Edmonds (1% owned) 5 R / 3 HR / 7 RBI / .500 One of the best Center Fielders since the early '90s is most likely in his final season. At 40, Edmonds has said he is playing harder than ever knowing this is the final stretch. As much as I love the veteran, he is only a possible pickup in a very deep NL only league. Delwyn Young (1% owned) 7 R / 2 HR / 7 RBI / .412 Delwyn has managed to get a small amount of playing time considering he is blocked by Neil Walker at 2B and Pedro Alvarez at 3B. Good week but don't expect a lot here. Gaby Sanchez (32% owned) 4 R / 2 HR / 7 RBI / 1 SB / .400 Sanchez continues to be a pleasant surprise and is still barely owned in leagues. He has certainly locked up first base for the season and possibly the near future. Marlins prospect Logan Morrison will have to wait a while longer unless Florida can find a way to play them both. Sanchez should end with at least 90/20/90. Chris Johnson (2% owned) 5 R / 2 HR / 6 RBI / .455 Johnson looks like he is taking over third in Houston and if the playing time continues so will the homers. Minor League showed us he can hit for power, so just a matter of time…  Hong-Chih Kuo HURLERS John Axford (57% owned) 4.2 IP / 1 W / 3 SV / 5 K / 1.93 ERA / 1.07 WHIP Dethroning the all-time saves leader is quite an accomplishment, although it was more of Trevor Hoffman dethroning himself. Hoffman has pitched much better since his early season woes but Axford has proven to the staff that he can be the Brewers closer of the future. Three saves this week plus a win ain't bad. Jeff Francis (6% owned) 7 IP / 1 W / 7 K / 0.00 ERA / 0.43 WHIP Colorado's shutout win over Florida was Francis' best game in an otherwise mediocre season thus far. Low Ks (38), High ERA (4.63), with batters hitting .289 against him doesn't sound too appetizing. He's actually given up as many runs as strikeouts. Fausto Carmona (30% owned) 5 IP / 1 W / 7 K / 0.00 ERA / 0.40 WHIP Remember when Fausto was really, really good in 2007? I doubt Fausto even remembers, but after two dismal years, he is actually putting together a pretty decent 2010. Three straight wins (and 6-2 in last eight) on a horrible team that can barely score is impressive. Vin Mazzaro (7% owned) 13.2 IP / 2 W / 10 K / 1.98 ERA / 1.02 WHIP The pride of Hackensack, New Jersey is off to quite an impressive start. Since being named a starter on June 8th, Vinny really has only had one bad game, but only gave up four runs. In the past five games, he's pitched 41 innings and only given up nine runs. Mazzaro is definitely outperforming his seven percentage ownership. Barry Enright (5% owned) 8 IP / 1 W / 8 K / 1.12 ERA / 0.75 WHIP In his fourth career game, Enright pitched an absolute gem against the Mets, going eight strong, striking out eight and only surrendering one run. His first three games weren't half bad either although two were for losses. His minor league stats were never anything to write home to Ma about, but they weren't bad either. Owners may be able to get a few more solid starts from him before batters figure him completely out. Mark Buehrle (55% owned) 9 IP / 1 W / 2 K / 1.00 ERA / 0.44 WHIP Buehrle is pretty much right on par for his career averages. You can count on him for a sub four ERA and 13-15 wins a season. In Mark's last eight, he is 6-2 and lowered his ERA a whole point! This last game against Oakland was his first CG of the season and the 26th of his career. Daisuke Matsuzaka (43% owned) 6.2 IP / 1 W / 6 K / 1.35 ERA / 0.60 WHIP We are still far far away from Dice-K of two years ago, but significant strides have been made this year. In the past two game Daisuke has whiffed 11 and only given up three runs. Another strong start and Matsuzaka will be off the waivers wire in the blink of an eye. Hong-Chih Kuo (16% owned) 4 IP / 1 SV / 4 K / 0.00 ERA / 0.25 WHIP Kuo has been pure magic for the Dodgers this year. His numbers are just plain sick like Luke Gregerson, J.J. Putz and Evan Meek. Listen to this line and you tell me if you should pick him up – 32 IP / 40 K / 0.84 ERA / 0.74 WHIP / .119 BAA. So not a lot of Wins or Saves, but he will help even out ERA & WHIP for sure. Randy Wells (48% owned) 7 IP / 1 W / 7 K / 0.00 ERA / 1.14 WHIP In the past five games, Wells has only surrendered five runs and zero is his last two. He's also dropped his ERA from 5.21 to 4.07 in that span. Unfortunately as many gems Wells has pitched he also has as many bombs. Hopefully we will see a continued success for the remainder of the season. Who will you pickup off waivers? Leave a comment and let us know, or reply to us on Twitter@TheFantasyFix Article written by Evan Marx exclusively for TheFantasyFix.com. Tags: The Fantasy Fix, Fantasy Baseball Advice, Fantasy Baseball Blog, Fantasy Sports Blog, Fantasy Marx, Must or Bust, Week 17, Jack Cust, Pedro Alvarez, Luke Scott, Chris Denorfia, Starlin Castro, Jose Tabata, Jim Edmonds, Delwyn Young, Gaby Sanchez, Chris Johnson, John Axford, Jeff Francis, Fausto Carmona, Vin Mazzaro, Barry Enright, Mark Buehrle, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Hong-Chih Kuo, Randy Wells , Oakland Athletics, Pittsburgh Pirates, Baltimore Orioles, San Diego Padres, Chicago Cubs, Milwaukee Brewers, Florida Marlins, Houston Astros, Colorado Rockies, Cleveland Indians, Arizona Diamondbacks, Chicago White Sox, Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers SIRIUS XM 2010 CELEBRITY FANTASY FOOTBALL DRAFT Hard Rock Cafe, Times Square NYC by Evan Marx TheFantasyFix.com was privileged this year to be part of the press for the Sirius XM Celebrity Fantasy Football Draft held at Hard Rock Cafe in Times Square. Some of the big names drafting were Jacksonville Jaguars' Maurice Jones-Drew (MJD), New York Mets Ex-GM/ESPN Baseball Analyst Steve Phillips, and ex-NHL star Jeremy Roenick. The event kicked off with the Howard Stern Wrap Up Show live hosted by John Hein and Gary Dell'Abate (Baba Booey). Gary known to be an avid Mets fan, was one of the guest celebrities of the draft and had the first pick. A huge baseball fan doesn't equate to knowing anything about football, but lucky for him he had a whole posse giving him tips. After the wrap-up show was over, we had a quick interlude from South Side Johnny. Now the fun begins…  Maurice Jones-Drew holding his 'to-be' trophy All the celebrities were shuffled to the red carpet where we were waiting to pounce with questions out the wazoo. Our first taste of blood was with "America's Running Back" Maurice Jones Drew. MJD (@Jones_Drew32) immediately recognized www.TheFantasyFix.com (@thefantasyfix) because we had been tweeting with him all morning. He was gracious and somewhat soft-spoken and gladly answered every question we had. Drew told us that he had been doing fantasy football ever since he joined the league five years ago and won two championships so far. When we asked what he was planning on doing with the number eight pick, he basically told us he was going to make every effort to trade-up for the three or four pick, that way he could get himself. Seeing as how Jay Thomas had the third pick and Chris "Mad Dog" Russo had the fourth pick, neither being fantasy experts, he seriously had a chance to make that happen. Maurice had previously just told us he didn't mind having a pick closer to the turn, but who could blame a man for wanting yourself on your own team. James and I, sadly realized that this would never be the case for us. After all, the chances of two scrawny white boys from the NJ burbs, ever playing more horseshoes or bocce ball was close to nil. But hey, at least we get to write about them and thats pretty rewarding in itself. Our last question to Jones was "Now that Lindsay Lohan is behind bars, do you feel safer at night?" This cracked him up, and he said in return "How is that news??". Nothing better in life than making a pro athlete laugh…  Chris 'Mad Dog' Russo & Evan Marx Our next guest was the one and only Chris "Mad Dog" Russo. Chris was a treat to talk to since I listen to him almost daily on Sirius Mad Dog Radio. He always has something to say and his voice is just as charismatic in real life as it is on the radio. Chris admitted he really didn't know the first thing about not only fantasy football, but fantasy sports in general. He told us that he was a "sports purist" and took issue to the fact that people were rooting for individual players instead of rooting for the team itself. But regardless of whether "Mad Dog" likes Fantasy Football, he knows his sports. Hell, a good portion of my daily sports knowledge comes from him! I told him that if he was good with statistics and keeping up to date on all injuries (which he does), then he would do just fine. We may have another addicted fantasy player after this league. I also gave him a link to the The Fantasy Fix "Quick Fix", in case he ever needed our help on a last minute decision. Scott Ferrel (host of the Scott Ferrel Show on Howard 101) was again, as nice as peas. You'd think we were at a "nice convention". Scott told us that he has been playing fantasy football for around 12 years and got hooked while in Vegas. When asked if he would take a QB in the first round, he hands down said "No way". When asked if he liked Drew Brees or Aaron Rodgers, he said Rodgers because of his amazing running capabilities. So not to spoil the draft results below, but Brees was drafted number seven overall and Scott was able to get his boy Rodgers number 16, which was a steal. Jeremy Roenick gave us a few minutes too and a nice insight into his thoughts for the season. "I think there are a lot of good players who will fall short this year." Roenick quickly touched on Hockey having a lot to offer for Fantasy Sports but admitted it wasn't the monster that Football has become. Talking to Jay Thomas (Emmy award-winning actor & host of the Jay Thomas Show on Sirius XM) was like talking to an old friend. He showed up a little later than the rest of the celebrities but still gave us a good few minutes of sports talk right before the draft started. We spilled the beans about MJD possibly wanting to make a trade and Jay joked "He better have a big bag of money". The event was like being in a candy store. The event was catered and there was probably no more than 200 people there. The celebrities we right in front of us at all times and had I been smart I would have stolen MJD's gum and sold it on ebay. There's always next year… Check out part two with Full Draft Analysis! TAGS: Fantasy Football Draft, Sirius XM, Hard Rock Cafe, Maurice Jones-Drew, Jacksonville Jaguars, Jeremy Roenick, Jay Thomas, Chris "Mad Dog" Russo, Steve Phillips, Scott Ferrel, Fantasy Advice, NFL, Howard Stern Wrap-Up Show, John Hein, Gary Dell'Abate, Boba Booye  Justin Smoak A quick review of last week's least owned top performers in fantasy baseball. Justin Smoak goes yard in back to back games. Paul Maholm wins the Dr. Jeckyll / Mr. Hyde award. Edinson Volquez dominates in his return. Who will continue to dominate and who will disappear like a ninja? SWINGERS Chase Headley 47% owned 6 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 SB, .500 Chase started the season extremely strong, but fizzled around the end of May. The past month though has him been back on track (16 R/3 HR/11 RBI/.311). Padres are still on top... Gordon Beckham 45% owned 2 R, 1 HR, 5 RBI, .643 Analysts have Beckham on the top of their lists of sleepers for the second half. Everyone is still waiting for the former 1st round pick to turn the corner in his career. Remember it took his teammate Gavin Floyd a few years to really develop so hopefully Gordon is nearing his stride. He's batting .338 in the past month. Starlin Castro 16% owned 3 R, 1 RBI, 2 SB, .600 Well Starlin stole home last Thursday so isn't that reason enough to pick him up on your team? Ok, maybe not, but he has a six game hitting streak going into tonight and is batting just shy of .300 since the call up. I don't think we will see anything mind blowing from Castro this year, but he may just prove to a few owners that he is keeper material, especially in a weak SS position. Matt Diaz, 2% owned 3 R, 2 HR, 5 RBI, .417 Diaz saw a some extra playing time in the past week but Jason Heyward is back and no matter how good Matt play's he won't be forcing the Braves future all-star to the bench. Kevin Kouzmanoff 18% owned 3 R, 1 HR, 7 RBI, .385 Kouz is right on par with similar numbers to years previous. If he gets a full 600 AB, you may be able to squeeze 20+ homers from him. At least he's keeping the average above .270. Justin Smoak 10% owned 3 R, 2 HR, 4 RBI, .333 The Smoak has cleared and the Mariners are hoping they have found their future first baseman. Justin had back to back games with homers against the Angels this week and Drew Stubbs 28% owned 2 R, 2 HR, 3 RBI, .500 Stubbs has put up very respectable numbers in his 2nd year, considering how ice cold he started the season. He's already almost at 50 Runs and RBIs and I would be shocked if he doesn't end up with 30-35 stolen bases by the end of year. The power is a great addition too, having his second multi-homer game of the season against Colorado. HURLERS Paul Maholm 17% owned 9 IP, 1 W, 1 K, 0.00 ERA, 0.33 WHIP Maholm wins the Dr. Jeckyll/Mr. Hyde award this month. Against Texas he pitched one inning and gave up 5 runs. In the next game against Chicago he turned it around and pitched eight strong while only gave up one. Then against Philly he imploded in three innings and gave up seven runs. Back comes Dr. Jeckyll against the Brewers and Houston, giving up 6 hits in 16 innings with the later being a CG. I'm scared shirtless (yes shirtless - there may be kids in the room) to pick him up in fear of another bomb. Edinson Volquez 51% owned 6 IP, 1 W, 9 K, 1.50 ERA, 0.83 WHIP The long awaited return of Volquez was a nothing less than a gem. Going six strong while only surrendering one earned run and blanking nine. As George Constanza once said "I'm back baby!" Jeanmar Gomez 0% owned 7 IP, 1 W, 4 K, 0.00 ERA, 0.86 WHIP Don't get too excited with the fantastic line Gomez put up this week. Jeanmar was just optioned back to Triple-A today. Don't really get that one, seeing as how Cleveland is horrible and they should keep any pitcher up who can actually get them a win. Aaron Cook 2% owned 7 IP, 1 W, 5 K, 0.00 ERA, 1.00 WHIP Nice game against Cincinnati but there are other pitchers out there in the depths of the wire who have a better ERA (4.56), better WHIP (1.45) and more Ks (49). Jason Vargas 37% owned 7.2 IP, 1 W, 9 K, 1.17 ERA, 0.65 WHIP Vargas has been a pleasant surprise all season long and continued to show his dominance against the Angels, striking out nine. His 2.97 ERA puts him seventh in the AL and his 1.15 WHIP is eighth. Owners are slowly realizing what a gem Vargas is for their teams. Sean Marshall 22% owned 2.2 IP, 1 W, 5 K, 0.00 ERA, 0.38 WHIP There are few top notch set-up men this year and Marshall is definitely one of them. Sean is averaging more than a K per inning and already has amounted six wins. ERA under two, WHIP at one and batters hitting under .200. Find a spot on your roster for this guy, he'll help you in categories without you even realizing it. Alex Sanabia 1% owned 5.1IP, 1 W, 5 K, 0.00 ERA, 1.12 WHIP Sanabia got his first win this week against the Nationals. In the past two games, Sanabia has pitched 8.2 innings and given up zero runs, plus K'd seven. Certainly worth keeping this rookie on your watch list. Tags: Fantasy Baseball Advice, Fantasy Baseball Blog, Fantasy Sports Blog, MLB, Week 16, Must or Bust, The Fantasy Marx, Chase Headley, Gordon Beckham, Starlin Castro, Matt Diaz, Kevin Kouzmanoff, Justin Smoak, Drew Stubbs, Paul Maholm, Edinson Volquez, Jeanmar Gomez, Aaron Cook, Jason Vargas, Sean Marshall, Alex Sanabia, Gavin Floyd, Jason Heyward, Atlanta Braves, San Diego Padres, Chicago White Sox, Chicago Cubs, Oakland Athletics, Seattle Mariners, Cincinnati Reds, Pittsburgh Pirates, Cleveland Indians, Colorado Rockies, Florida Marlins  Clint Barmes A quick look at last week's Fantasy Baseball top performing and least owned players on the waiver wire. Jim Thome's four homers. Clint Barmes' hit streak continues. Max Scherzer dominates yet again. Dexter Fowler is back and on a mission. Can they really keep it up for another week? Check out who's a Must or a Bust. SWINGERS Jim Thome - 4% of Y! Leagues 7 R / 4 HR / 8 RBI / .538 BA He's turning 40 this year and there really isn't much left in this once mighty bat, but this week was special for Thome. With two homers on Saturday, he passed Twins HOF Harmon Killebrew, on the all-time home run list. The next day he passed Andre Dawson for 34th place in RBIs. Although getting more playing time this past week, he is a hard pickup, since he is only a DH. Clint Barmes - 38% of Y! Leagues 8 R / 2 HR / 7 RBI / .400 BA Barmes has been great as of late – currently on a 12 game hitting streak. In that stretch eight have been multi-hit games. In the past month he's raised his average from .215 to .257! If you are going to jump on the Barmes train, now is the time. Andres Torres - 10% of Y! Leagues 6 R / 1 HR / 2 RBI / 3 SB / .381 BA Torres continues to add speed to the Giants lineup. He already has 16 stolen bases and 39 runs. Far from a power bat, Torres can certainly give you a boost in SB each week. Dexter Fowler - 7% of Y! Leagues 8 R / 3 RBI / 2 SB / .417 BA After getting a demotion at the beginning of the month, Fowler is back and a man on a mission. In the past four games against the Giants, he racked up 10 hits, 7 runs, 3 RBIs & 2 SB. Four games hasn't proved to me that he fixed himself, but its a step in the right direction. Sean Rodriguez - 24% of Y! Leagues 5 R / 1 HR / 3 RBI / 2 SB / .429 BA The proud owner of a 15 game hitting streak through June, Rodriguez is now on another run at six. Of those six games, five have been multi-hits. He started off very slow, so even after both hit streaks, his season average is still low at .276. 2B and OF eligible certainly helps make a case of Sean being owned especially with Pedroia & Utley on the DL. Corey Patterson - 4% of Y! Leagues 3 R / 1 HR / 3 RBI / 3 SB / .417 BA He hasn't played a full season since 2004, but a .292 average and 15 stolen bases could make Patterson a halfway decent pickup in deeper leagues. HURLERS Russ Ohlendorf - 2% of Y! Leagues 7 IP / 1 W / 8 K / 0.00 ERA / 0.86 WHIP Okay so a 1-6 record isn't anything to write home to mom about, but the past two have been gems and Ohlendorf may have turned a leaf. Past 13 IP, zero runs and 11 Ks. Randy Wells - 47% of Y! Leagues 13.2 IP / 1 W / 11 K / 1.32 ERA / 0.95 WHIP Wells was a real nice surprise last year. In '10 things have been up and down. Although he's pitched nine quality starts so far, he's also imploded six times for five or more runs. Wells is certainly in the running for the bi-polar award. Brad Lincoln - 7% of Y! Leagues 7 IP / 1 W / 6 K / 0.00 ERA / 0.71 WHIP The Pirates top pitching prospect finally put everything together in his fifth big league game. Confidence is a rookie's best weapon so let's see if this last game against the Cubs gets him going in the right direction. Max Scherzer - 43% of Y! Leagues 8 IP / 1 W / 7 K / 1.12 ERA / 0.63 WHIP Scherzer continues to dominate since being called back up. In the past seven games, Max is averaging eight Ks, has a 2.64 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP. Under 50% owned, come on! Hong-Chih Kuo - 12% of Y! Leagues 3 IP / 1 W / 1 SV / 7 K / 0.00 ERA / 1.00 WHIP Kuo is turning out to be one of the best middle relief pitchers in '10. In 26.1 innings, he's only given up three runs for a low 1.03 ERA. He's blowing batters away with 36 Ks already and his WHIP is well below one at .072. Kuo has been rewarded with a three wins and a few saves as well. Bruce Chen - 1% of Y! Leagues 7.1 IP / 1 W / 3 K / 1.23 ERA / 0.41 WHIP In his 12th season and 10th team, Chen is trying to mimic his 2005 stellar performance. Since 2005 though, he certainly lost his mojo and has been coming out of the bullpen the majority of the time. This week's game against the Angels, started off with six scoreless and retiring the first 18 batters (2nd best in Royals history to start a game, only behind Bret Saberhagen's 20). Certainly a great game, but don't expect too much more this year. Tags: Fantasy Baseball Advice, Fantasy Baseball Blog, Fantasy Sports Blog, MLB, Week 14, Must or Bust, The Fantasy Marx, Jim Thome, Minnesota Twins, Clint Barmes, Colorado Rockies, Andres Torres, San Francisco Giants, Dexter Fowler, Sean Rodriguez, Tampa Bay Rays, Corey Patterson, Baltimore Orioles, Russ Ohlendorf, Pittsburgh Pirates, Brad Lincoln, Max Scherzer, Detroit Tigers, Hong-Chi Kuo, Los Angeles Dodgers, Bruce Chen, Kansas City Royals  Madison Bumgarner Madison Bumgarner, the touted rookie, lost his second game since being called up and you have to ask yourself – will he come around this year in the majors and how long should I give him a roster spot if he doesn't? After loses to the Red Sox and the Rockies, the initial numbers are somewhat skewed by a 5.14 ERA. Looking past that though he has a 5 to 1 K:BB ratio and lasted seven innings both games. In fact, against Boston, Madison settled in quite comfortably after the 2nd inning, only giving up one hit through the next five innings. Colorado was a bit different though, tagging him in the 1st, 4th and 5th innings. So after the first two games what I think we are seeing is a rookie who is a little nervous to finally be on the big stage. Remember, there is only one Stephen Strasburg this year (there may only be one Strasburg this decade), so lets try not to directly compare the two. There is one huge advantage that Bumgarner has been given though - he is pitching besides arguably the best starting staff in the league. As a rookie you can't ask for more… getting tips from Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Jonathan Sanchez & Barry Zito will quickly improve your game. Strasburg has, well… nobody worth mentioning. Final analysis and recommendation is to hold onto this stud in the making for at least another 4 starts. If he starts to damage your team (which I doubt he will) drop him. Even in keeper leagues, he may not be worth as a keeper, since it is rare that SP are kept. His next two starts are against Milwaukee and then Washington. Milwaukee has started to heat up, so it will be a big task for Madison to get the W. Also doesn't look like we will be getting the Bumgarner/Strasburg matchup this time around… Bummer! Bumgarner Owners: How long will you give him to get a win? Leave a comment, or hit us up on Twitter! Twitter.com/TheFantasyFix Tags: Madison Bumgarner, San Francisco Giants, Stephen Strasburg, Washington Nationals, Fantasy Baseball Advice, Fantasy Baseball Blog, The Fantasy Fix, Featured Blog, Minor League Baseball, Fantasy Marx, MLB, NL, AL, Tim Lincecum, Barry Zito, Matt Cain, Milwaukee Brewers, Boston Red Sox, Colorado Rockies | CategoriesAll  ArchivesFebruary 2012 |
