By Dalton Del Don
There have been a lot of rookies who have failed to impress this year, but Colby Rasmus isn’t one of them. His .772 OPS doesn’t jump out, and his .114/.220/.182 line against southpaws is an abomination, but Rasmus is hitting .358 in June, and his defense in center field has been the absolute best in baseball (30.1 UZR/150). Moreover, he recorded 74 steals with an 81% success rate over four abbreviated seasons in the minors, so more activity on the basepaths should be expected (he has just one steal this season). Better plate discipline is a must, but Rasmus looks like a keeper.
Troy Tulowitzki has been a star during June, posting a 1.146 OPS with five homers and five steals over 18 games. After some trepidation with a slow start following last season’s disaster, it’s clear Tulow’s true skill resembles the player he was back in 2007. His walk rate has skyrocketed, and despite a terrible 53% success rate throughout his career, his nine steals in 2009 already represent a career-high. With Coors Field aiding him and an obvious green light on the basepaths, it wouldn’t be a stretch to call him the second most valuable fantasy shortstop.
I like playing golf, but I’m one of those spectators who only pays attention during the majors. But this is pretty impressive.
While he’s suffered a couple of minor injuries in the process, Khalil Greene has hit three homers over his first three starts since rejoining St. Louis. Notably, he’s also yet to strike out since returning from his bout with anxiety. His absence was short enough to question whether the issue has been truly solved, but judging from comments, it seems his frame of mind is finally in the right place. And there’s absolutely a spot at third base for him. Remember, Greene hit 27 homers with 97 RBI just two seasons ago while playing half his games in Petco Park, and with a .226 BABIP this year, there’s room for plenty of improvement from here on out. There’s actually a decent amount of upside, and there’s no way he shouldn’t be owned in any league that isn’t extremely shallow.
I just don’t understand why the Celtics are shopping Rajon Rondo – and make no mistake, they are. Even Danny Ainge didn’t deny this Tuesday, only arguing against the reason WHY he was (Rondo showed up late to a playoff game, etc.). Am I missing something here? It’s not a stretch to call Rondo one of the best young players in the NBA or the most valuable commodity on Boston’s current roster…As someone who lives 90 miles from Sacramento, the Kings BETTER not pass on Ricky Rubio.
Elijah Dukes has to be one of the worst base runners I’ve ever seen. He’s a stellar 2-for-9 during SB attempts this season. And he’s not any better from station to station either.
Over 59 at-bats from the right side in 2009, Randy Winn has posted a .102/.115/.136 line – he had a .934 and an .812 OPS from that side during each of the past two seasons, respectively.
Sticking with my beloved Giants – and this may only interest SF fans and NL-only players – but I’ve read a lot of misinformation recently regarding their infield alignment. Let me be clear, the team could definitely upgrade, but based on the current roster, the best lineup features Travis Ishikawa at first base. The only reason he was benched for a 10-game stretch earlier this month is because Pablo Sandoval, the team’s best hitter by far, had to move to 1B because he was hurt and couldn’t make the throws from 3B. Well, he’s healthy now and back to the hot corner, and Ishikawa, who currently has an MLB-best 25.0 UZR/150 rating at first base and slugged seven homers during spring training, has hit three long balls over the past four games. Ishikawa is no star, but he can be useful despite the terrible April, and Juan Uribe should never be in the lineup at his expense.
Not to go too overboard on SF news, but it looks like there’s a real chance Madison Bumgarner will be pitching for the Giants this season. Still, those in redraft leagues shouldn’t feel the need to roster him right now, as his recent performance (12:6 K:BB ratio over the past 20 innings) suggests the learning curve remains fairly steep.
Howie Kendrick has hit .333/.385/.556 with a homer and two steals over nine games since getting sent down to the minors, so he needs to be picked up if any impatient owner dropped him.
During Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN, Steve Phillips had this to say: “Juan Pierre is a difference maker in this lineup. They are different with him in the lineup.” And he was absolutely correct – they are worse.
So I’ve tried to trade for Alex Rodriguez in a couple of my leagues to no avail. He’s actually a pretty interesting case. On one hand, he’s an excellent buy-low target, entering Tuesday batting .153 in June and with a .198 BABIP on the season. And with his recent benching for “rest” in the news, including the fact he’ll sit at least once a week from here to the All-Star break, his owners may be willing to move him. Rodriguez was coming off a big May and is now playing in the most HR-friendly park in the majors, so he could be a monster from here on out. However, as Tom Verducci recently noted, ARod has hit just .246 since he turned 33 last July 27. Over that span his OPS is .880 (compared to .969 beforehand). He’s also stolen just five bases over those 96 games. And the hip is a pretty important part of hitting, so he definitely carries risk. Usually I make a claim, then back it up by numbers, but that isn’t always applicable. To me, Rodriguez just FEELS like someone who could go nuts from here on out.
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