By Dalton Del Don – Senior Writer
HOT
Dontrelle Willis – Willis is a major league leading 3-0 with a 3.32 ERA after three starts. He’s also struck out 17 batters over 19 innings. Remember, the WBC is at least partly to blame for his sub-par 2006 season. Still, April is always his best month, so he’s not a bad sell-high candidate. Willis is 12-1 with a 2.49 ERA during his career in April. Plus, he’s never a big help in WHIP.
Jimmy Rollins – He was my favorite second round target in fantasy leagues this year, but since I was often given an early pick, unfortunately he never fell to me. Dating back to early August of last year, Rollins has now clubbed 19 home runs – the second most in the majors during that time span. He’s also walking more and has been successful on 33 out of his last 35 stolen base attempts. A move in the order to the cleanup spot isn’t out of the question. He’s a legitimate top-15 fantasy player.
Adam Dunn – Dunn missed Sunday’s contest because of back spasms, and he still strikes out way too much to bat .280, let alone the .326 he is now. Still, he’s extra motivated this year and will probably finish with a batting average closer to .260 than last year’s .230. He could also swipe 20 bases if he were so inclined. Dunn will put up a 50-homer season one of these years.
Grady Sizemore – 92 extra base hits as a 23-year-old is special. Apparently, that power is going to translate into more home runs immediately. I admit, I should have been even higher on him entering the year, as a 30/30 season looks likely. If he maintains his early season improved ability to walk, how many runs is he going to score this year? 150?
NOT
Michael Young – Despite the media’s insistence on calling him underrated, Young is actually a slightly overrated baseball player. And fantasywise, his lack of HRs and SBs really hurts, but getting 700 at-bats and playing in Ameriquest still leads to big numbers in the other categories. While the .222 average isn’t anything to worry about, Young’s best seasons are behind him.
Alfonso Soriano – Fellow RotoScoop scribe Robby, an Alex Rodriguez apologist, has to be kicking himself right now for taking Soriano over him. How Soriano performs after signing the huge contract is of some concern, but it’s obviously too soon to panic. Remember, he has a career .325 OBP and .833 OPS, so he’s not a superstar in real baseball. Still, he’ll hit enough bombs and steal enough bases to be worthy of that first round pick you spent on him. I would say the 11 strikeouts in 11 games is worrisome, but he fanned 160 times last year during a 40/40 campaign.
Ryan Howard – A repeat of last year’s .313 average was next to impossible if he continued striking out once every 3.2 at-bats, but the early season slump has also seen a big drop off in power, as Howard has slugged just one long ball so far. He’s also being pitched around more frequently, as he’s already walked 16 times, many intentional. Don’t worry, the power numbers will be there.
Ichiro Suzuki – I made a bet before the season started that Albert Pujols would have a better average than Ichiro Suzuki this year. Entering Sunday, Pujols was batting .158 while Ichiro was hitting a robust .192. Both had big days, so the inevitable bounce backs have already started to occur. As the person backing Pujols, the stat that caught my eye with Ichiro is the fact that he’s already struck out eight times in 26 at-bats. It’s probably nothing to worry about, but he did strike out 27 times (high for him) while hitting .283 over the final two months last season. Maybe this is the beginning of a decline for the 33-year-old; although a big rebound is at least as likely, since he’s set to enter free agency and command a huge contract after the season.
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