Fantasy Sports Advice, Analysis and Projections | The Fantasy Fix
 Mike Stanton, FLA, 46% owned 5 R / 4 HR / 8 RBI / .583 A big week from a big guy. We've been waiting to see exactly what kind of damage Stanton can do in the majors and owners have tasted blood. Back to back to back games with homers and a six game hitting streak, should bump Stanton over 50% ownership by mid-week. Michael Brantley, CLE, 8% owned 7 R / 2 HR / 6 RBI / 2 SB / .375 Third times the charm. After struggling the first two call-ups, Brantley seems to have gotten it right. He's raised his average 33 points since the August 6th call-up. The talent has always been there and with even less pressure towards the end of the season for the Indians, Brantley should be here to stay. J.D. Drew, BOS, 41% owned 5 R / 4 HR / 6 RBI / 1 SB / .333 It's been a relatively slow season for Drew, partially due to the fact that half the Red Sox offense has been injured at one point or another. This week though, has awakened the giant and Drew has homered in three games. He's got a six game hitting streak too. Ryan Raburn, DET, 6% owned 4 R / 3 HR / 5 RBI / 1 SB / .400 Utility man out the Wazoo, Detroit is realizing how valuable Raburn can be. He has homered in three of the last four and had five multi-hits in the seven. From Jackson to Boesch and now to Raburn, Detroit has a bright future. Jeremy Hellickson, TB, 40% owned 13 IP, 2 W, 12 K, 0.69 ERA, 0.54 WHIP We knew he was going to be good, but wow! The Tampa Bay rookie is the first in team history to win his first three and it looks like more good things are to come. Three earned runs in 20 innings is sweet but even more impressive is Hellickson's .60 WHIP and .136 BAA. R.A. Dickey, NYM, 37% owned 9 IP, 1 W, 7 K, 0.00 ERA, 0.22 WHIP The knuckleballer is having a season to remember. Friday's game against Philadelphia was utter dominance, bouncing back from poor outing against Philly as well and throwing a complete game one-hitter. Dickey has never looked anywhere this good in his eight year career and I can't imagine it carrying into next year, but ride it while you can. Mike Rzepczynski, TOR, 1% owned 7 IP, 1 W, 6 K, 0.00 ERA, 0.29 WHIP Rzepczynski is a spell checker's worst nightmare. Filling in for Brandon Morrow to give him a little extra rest, Mike apparently thought he had to pitch just as well as him too. Seven innings of two-hit ball against Los Angeles proved he belongs with the already strong Toronto rotation. He pitches again this Wed against Oakland and should be a solid start. Written by Evan Marx exclusively for TheFantasyFix.com. Evan will be sexting himself while his girlfriend is away on business. Is that weird? Who will you be picking up for the playoffs? 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, Must or Bust, Mike Stanton, Michael Brantley, J.D. Drew, Ryan Raburn, Jeremy Hellickson, R.A. Dickey, Mike Rzepczynski, Florida Marlins, Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox, Detroit Tigers, Tampa Bay Rays, New York Mets, Toronto Blue Jays  Brandon Morrow salutes the crowd Sunday Today, Toronto Blue Jay Brandon Morrow arguably pitched the strongest outing of the year, let alone one of the finest in history. Morrow went 8 2/3 before surrendering a single to Evan Longoria. In only 136 pitches (93 for strikes), he gave up 1 hit and two walks. Oh yeah, then there was the 17 strikeouts, the most in a game since Johan Santana had 17 in 2006. Morrow, the first round pick of the Mariners in 2006 never found his footing in Seattle. The most one could have said, was that the young gun could strike people out (204 K in 196.5 IP). Seattle in fact only started using Morrow as a starter towards the end of last year. We got a small glimpse at how good he could be in the last game of last year with an eight inning, one-hitter and 9 K's against Oakland. Brandon certainly has had some ups and downs this season (13 quality starts out of 22), but more than not has shown us what he can do. Although this was the first game this year that he had more than 10 strikeouts in a game, Morrow has had seven games of eight strikeouts and three games with nine. Including tonight's game Brandon is leading the league, averaging 10.69 Ks per nine. It appears that Morrow is really hitting his stride now and has won four straight. Yes, his season ERA is high at 4.46 but after tonight I'd say Morrow has turned a huge corner and could be part of the elite for years to come, or at the very least a feared strikeout artist. As of this morning, Morrow was only owned in around 30% of leagues and that number will probably jump to around 40% by tomorrow. Comparatively, Max Scherzer of the Tigers is owned at around 60% and has similar numbers for the year so before you know it, Morrow will be gone in 2/3 of the leagues as well. Written by Evan Marx exclusively for TheFantasyFix.com. Evan stares at goats but nothing ever happens. Check back daily for more poor humor. Do you think Morrow will be a top ten pitcher by next year? 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, Brandon Morrow, Evan Longoria, Johan Santana, Max Scherzer, Toronto Blue Jays, New York Mets, Tampa Bay Rays, Detroit Tigers  Phillies Ryan Howard sprained his left ankle against the Nationals Tuesday While 2010 has been the year of the pitcher, it's also becoming the year of the injury. The Philadelphia Phillies placed slugging giant Ryan Howard on the DL today to the dismay of many fantasy baseball owners. He joins the ever growing list of injured All-Stars including teammate Chase Utley, Dustin Pedroia, Kevin Youkilis, Troy Tulowitzski, Ian Kinsler, Justin Morneau and Jason Bay to name a few (trust me there's plenty more). Although scans were negative on his ankle, he will still be out for at least two weeks. So who do you pick up to pick up the slack? Lets take a look… Exactly what will you be missing from Ryan Howard? You will be missing a bat forged by Zeus himself! (doesn't Zeus have better things to do than making baseball bats?) Season: 65 R / 23 HR / 81 RBI / 1 SB / .292 Last Month - 13 R / 8 HR / 23 RBI / 1 SB / .280 Here are some options from 50% owned all the way down to 5% Adam LaRoche (50% owned) Season: 52 R / 16 HR / 70 RBI / .254 Last Month - 11 R / 4 HR / 17 RBI / .264 LaRoche is the closest you can get to Howard's 81 RBIs for someone only owned in half the leagues. He will easily surpass his career RBI total and even has a shot at runs. Adam is striking out a lot (very Howard'esque) and OBP/SLG/OPS are all lower than his career averages. Nonetheless, a very fine replacement. Luke Scott (40% owned) Season: 44 R / 18 HR / 43 RBI / 1 SB / .282 Last Month - 9 R / 6 HR / 13 RBI / .315 Scott hasn't been Luke warm, he's been red hot recently. OPS is equal to Howard and actually slugging is 28 points higher! A very respectable .282 average too. Imagine how many RBI's he'd have playing on a good team. Gaby Sanchez (31% owned) Season: 49 R / 12 HR / 49 RBI / 4 SB / .288 Last Month - 8 R / 3 HR / 11 RBI / 1 SB / .227 Even hitting .227 in the last month, Sanchez is still close to .290 for the year. The rookie has power and has been a nice surprise since the beginning of the season. Ike Davis (21% owned) Season: 50 R / 15 HR / 53 RBI / 1 SB / .249 Last Month - 11 R / 6 HR / 17 RBI / .215 Oh if Ike could only hit more than one out of every four. Not only is Davis a good pickup, he will be a great option for keeper leagues. Only negative to Davis right now, is that the whole Mets team can't score for their lives. Lyle Overbay (5% owned) Season: 51 R / 12 HR / 40 RBI / 1 SB / .249 Last Month - 14 R / 5 HR / 12 RBI / .287 The season numbers aren't great but he's had a solid last month and one can only hope that he keeps it up in August. Article by Evan Marx exclusively for TheFantasyFix.com Evan says NO to drugs, helps little old ladies cross the street, reads to the blind and still somehow has time to write articles. What did you do today? Who are you picking up? Leave a comment at the top or hit us up on Twitter @TheFantasyFix Tags: The Fantasy Fix, Fantasy Baseball Advice, Fantasy Baseball Blog, Waiver Wire, Injury, Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Dustin Pedroia, Kevin Youkilis, Troy Tulowitzski, Ian Kinsler, Justin Morneau, Jason Bay, Adam LaRoche, Luke Scott, Gaby Sanchez, Ike Davis, Lyle Overbay, Philadelphia Phillies, Boston Red Sox, Colorado Rockies, Texas Rangers, Minnesota Twins, New York Mets, Arizona Diamondbacks, Baltimore Orioles, Florida Marlins, Toronto Blue Jays What a rough year for second basemen! As if fantasy owners didn't have enough trouble working around Chase Utley, Dustin Pedroia and Ian Kinsler injuries – now Martin Prado, one of the best run producers goes down with a broken knuckle on his pinkie. So assuming you were playing Prado at second and not third, who are the waiver wire options to replace all those wonderful runs and sweet batting average? Let's take a look…  1. Gordon Beckham, CWS - 60% owned Year: 43 R / 5 HR / 33 RBI / 4 SB / .245 Last Month: 12 R / 3 HR / 13 RBI / .359 People have been waiting for Beckham to break out of his shell all season long and it looks like he is slowly getting there. The past month has shown he can hit for power and average too. Yes, his ownership is high at 60%, so he is only available in smaller leagues - but this is the guy you want the most right now. 2. Neil Walker, PIT, 18% owned Year: 26 R / 5 HR / 27 RBI / 2 SB / .301 Last Month: 11 R / 2 HR / 14 RBI / .309 Walker is having an amazing rookie season. One thing is for sure, he can hit. In 52 games since being called up, 18 have been multi-hit games. From the stats right now, if Walker were to play a full season, he would end up with around 15 homers, 80 runs and 80 RBIs. 3. Alberto Callaspo, LAA - 47% owned Year: 44 R / 8 HR / 47 RBI / 3 SB / .277 Last Month: 7 R / 1 HR / 11 RBI / .292 In 2009, Alberto rigged up 79 runs and 73 RBIs. This year he is on pace for similar numbers and has a chance to surpass those now that he has joined a team that can actually score runs and win. 4. Ryan Theriot, LAD - 58% owned Year: 45 R / 1 HR / 21 RBI / 16 SB / .281 Last Month: 8 R / 1 HR / 4 RBI / 1 SB / .289 Theriot brings something to the table that none of these other guys do, speed. Sixteen stolen bases so far and a very good chance to steal 25 plus. He's hitting right around his lifetime average of .287, so no worries there. 5. Jeff Keppinger, HOU - 22% owned Year: 43 R / 5 HR / 36 R / 3 SB / .291 Last Month: 13 R / 4 HR / 8 RBI / 1 SB / .350 For the first time in his career, Keppinger is actually getting a chance to play a full season. The season numbers aren't jaw-dropping but he batting .291 and has been hot, hot, hot the past month! 6. Ian Desmond, WAS, 14% owned Year: 38 R / 7 HR / 45 RBI / 9 SB / .257 Last Month: 11 R / 6 HR / 18 RBI / .282 In his second season, Desmond has youth on his side. In the past six games, three have been multi-hits. Season numbers are pretty much on par with Hairston. 7. Jerry Hairston, Jr., SD - 12% owned Year: 41 R / 7 HR / 42 RBI / 8 SB / .251 Last Month: 15 R / 2 HR / 12 RBI / 3 SB / .277 The man of a million teams and positions, Hairston had the sixth most runs for a second baseman this past month. Jerry is on his way to have his best season ever, mostly because he usually only gets 200-300 total at bats in a whole season. He is currently on a five-game hitting streak. 8. Skip Schumacher, STL - 19% owned Year: 47 R / 3 HR / 26 RBI / 5 SB / .259 Last Month: 8 R / 1 HR / 7 RBI / 1 SB / .259 Things haven't exactly gone Skippy's way this year, but there's no denying that he can hit for average and score runs. The past two years he has averaged 86 runs and batted .303. 9. Sean Rodriguez, TAM, 10% owned Year: 36 R / 6 HR / 31 RBI / 7 SB / .259 Last Month: 8 R / 1 HR / 3 RBI / .246 Rodriguez had a 15-game hitting streak at the end of May and even had a spectacular week at the end of June (multi-hit games in six of seven), but has cooled off since. Currently, Sean is riding a five game streak, although all are one-hit games. 10. Christian Guzman, TEX - 32% owned Year: 44 R / 2 HR / 25 RBI / 4 SB / .276 Last Month: 8 R / 1 HR / 4 RBI / 1 SB / .206 Aquired from Washington, Guzman can hit for average and even has the ability to score around 80 runs in a season. Last month has been a poor showing of his talented bat, but hopefully the new team will inspire him. Article written by Evan Marx exclusively for TheFantasyFix.com. That's right exclusively... I ain't no cheatin man. Who are you picking up to replace Prado? Leave a comment at the top or respond to us on Twitter! Tags: The Fantasy Fix, Fantasy Sports Blog, Fantasy Baseball Advice, Injury, Fantasy Baseball, Martin Prado, Chase Utley, Dustin Pedroia, Ian Kinsler, Gordon Beckham, Neil Walker, Alberto Callaspo, Ryan Theriot, Jeff Keppinger, Ian Desmond, Jerry Hairston, Jr., Skip Schumacher, Sean Rodriguez, Christian Guzman, Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phillies, Boston Red Sox, Texas Rangers, Chicago White Sox, Pittsburgh Pirates, Los Angeles Angels, Los Angeles Dodgers, Houston Astros, Washington Nationals, San Diego Padres, St. Louis Cardinals, Tampa Bay Rays  5 R / 1 HR / 4 RBI / 2 SB / .367 Torres has been Torrid in the past month. He's batting .317 with 23 R, Seven HR, and 20 RBI. Not to mention the five steals. From Huff to Posey to Torres, the Giants have some hot hitters as of late. Juan Pierre (43% owned) 7 R / 5 RBI / 4 SB / .440 In what world does the leader in stolen bases, only owned in less than half the leagues? (its a rhetorical question if you didn't figure that out). Pierre can hands down win you this category every week, so besides his low average he should be on your team. Danny Valencia (5% owned) 5 R / 1 HR / 7 RBI / .565 Since being called up and owning third base for Minnesota, Valencia has batted a sweet .384. Nicknamed "The Franchise", Valencia became the first Twins rookie this week to have back to back four-hit games. Chris Johnson (8% owned) 3 R / 2 HR / 5 RBI / 1 SB / .500 The hot bat of Johnson is on a 14-game hitting streak. His power has finally found its way into the majors too, hitting four homers in the past 11 games. Matt Joyce (1% owned) 3 R / 3 HR / 10 RBI / .261 It's hard not to join in the fun when playing for a good team. In the past fifteen games, Joyce has increased his average from .175 to .232. Raul Ibanez (59% owned) 5 R / 2 HR / 5 RBI / .435 Ibanez has been on the top of his game for the past four years so this year was a bit of a surprise to fantasy owners with a poor first half of play. He has picked up recently with a ten-game hitting streak and three homers in that span. At 59% owned, there is a chance Ibanez is on the waiver wire in lighter leagues.  HURLERS Anibal Sanchez (23% owned) 9 IP / 1 W / 8 K / 0.00 ERA / 0.22 WHIP In Thursdays game against the Giants, Sanchez was one walk and one hit away from a perfect game. This was Anibal's only win in the month of July for five starts though. Hopefully this will lead into a strong August. Kevin Slowey (57% owned) 14 IP / 2 W / 7 K / 0.64 ERA / 0.64 WHIP Total season numbers aren't anything to brag about but the past two games have been gems – although against two of the worst teams in the league, Baltimore and Seattle. One amazing stat though is that Slowey hasn't walked more than one batter in a game in the past 16 starts. R.A. Dickey (32% owned) 14 IP / 1 W / 8 K / 0.00 ERA / 0.57 WHIP Although Dickey has struggled to get a win in the past seven starts (1-4, 2 no decisions), his ERA is only a measly 2.33. At least we know its not Dickey's fault for the dreadful 9-17 record in July. Brett Myers (44% owned) 9 IP / 1 W / 12 K / 1.00 ERA / 0.56 WHIP Myers manhandled the Cubs, pitching a complete game four-hitter while striking out 12. Myers seems to like the heat and has dominated teams in July. In those five games Brett has a 1.69 ERA, 0.75 WHIP, and averaged 7.5 K/9. Josh Tomlin (3% owned) 12.1 IP / 1 W / 7 K / 1.46 ERA / 0.73 WHIP In his second career start, Tomlin picked right back up from where he started in his dominance over the Yankees. Josh has only allowed one run in both games. Now don't get too excited, Tomlin is in no way supposed to be this good. As of right now he is a lucky rookie, trying to make an impression but I do wonder how he amounted a 51-24 minor league record… Brad Mills (0% owned) 7 IP / 1 W / 4 K / 0.00 ERA / 0.71 WHIP In his first start of the season, Mills destroyed Baltimore (shocker!) and only gave up two hits over seven innings. I'd like to see him pitch well against a better team before deciding if he'll stay in the majors. Miguel Batista (0% owned) 7.1 IP / 1 W / 6 K / 0.00 ERA / 0.95 WHIP Reliever Miguel Batista had the honor to fill in for rookie phenom, Stephen Strasburg (jeez… no pressure or anything). Well fill in he did, pitching five innings of scoreless ball, allowing only three hits and striking out six. Unfortunately its only a nice story, seeing as how he has given up 25 runs in only 56 innings. Article written by Evan Marx exclusively for TheFantasyFix.com. That's right exclusively... I ain't no cheatin man. Think Valencia or Johnson are the real deal? Leave a comment at the top or respond to us on Twitter! Tags: The Fantasy Fix, Fantasy Sports Blog, Fantasy Baseball Advice, Must or Bust, Week 18, Fantasy Baseball, Juan Pierre, Danny Valencia, Chris Johnson, Matt Joyce, Raul Ibanez, Andres Torres, Kevin Slowey, R.A. Dickey, Anibal Sanchez, Brett Myers, Josh Tomlin, Brad Mills, Miguel Batista, Chicago White Sox, Minnesota Twins, Houston Astros, Tampa Bay Rays, Philadelphia Phillies, San Francisco Giants, New York Mets, Florida Marlins, Cleveland Indians, Toronto Blue Jays, Washington Nationals 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  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 |  E.MarxA guy at the Yankee game the other day told me I wasn't a true Yankee fan because I had a red Yankee hat on - I told him he wasn't a true Yankee Fan because he had a David Justice Jersey on from 1990. Then I punched him.  ArchivesAugust 2010 CategoriesAll |
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