Ginger-itis.
Photo Credit: slgckgc

Justin Turner fever is spreading faster than a maid’s buttocks in Dominique Strauss-Khan’s bedchambers, and like the IMF chief’s trysts, it’s been forcibly shoved down our holes. There’s already a Twitter account dedicated to Justin Turner Facts (@TurnerFacts) and Mets fans have embraced the ginger with open arms. Fantasy owners continue to have their curiosity piqued as well since Turner’s ownership rate has risen to 17-percent in Yahoo! leagues. He’s come out of nowhere to post a .333/.382/.492 line in 68 PAs and has driven in 15 to date. People love these random breakout stories and since Turner is eligible at 2B, it’s easy to see why fantasy owners are taking the plunge. That doesn’t mean I agree with their thinking. For starters, second base is not a “shallow” position as many people seem to think. Sure it isn’t loaded with elite talent, but there are a lot of good-to-great options at second, so it’s not like 12-team mixed league owners have to go out and add a dude like Turner. Second, while Turner has shown solid power in the minors the last couple of years, the Citi Field effect (coupled with the “major league pitchers are better than minor league pitchers” theory) means that you are looking at about 10 HRs this season. Third, his SB potential is pretty low, which hurts his value when compared to MIs who can traditionally swipe more bases. The best case scenario for Turner is that he becomes the next Darwin Barney. That’s not bad if you are in a deeper league that uses MIs and needs the BA help, but he’s hardly a difference-maker in fantasy. The worst-case scenario? Turner looks at his jersey, says “oh, that’s right, I’m a New York Mutt,” and immediately slips into a 0-for-234 slump.

Speaking of Mets, Angel Pagan is coming off the DL on Friday and fantasy owners in need of OF help should look to add him now. He’s owned in 35 percent of Yahoo! leagues and was sucking big time before hitting the DL with a strained oblique (.159/.259/.246 in 82 PAs). He was making weak contact this season with a 15.0 LD% and 16.1 Infield Fly Ball Percentage (IFFB%), but he stole four bases in 19 games and swiped 37 bags last year. Any OF who can steal bases is always a player of interest, but this one can actually contribute in counting categories as well. Keep in mind that if he's back batting second in the lineup, he'll be hitting behind R-machine Jose Reyes and in front of Carlos Beltran and company. There is definitely some upside to be had here, so fantasy owners should take a chance on him.

It’s a bit surprising that Domonic Brown is owned in just 28-percent of Yahoo! leagues. Sure he’s off to a 1-for-8 start and battled injuries early this year, but he’s shown good power in the minors and is a lefty hitting at Citizen’s Bank Park. He can even chip in a few SBs. Manager Charlie Manuel says he won’t play him against lefties initially, but Ben Francisco isn’t the answer in right field. Even with Chase Utley back, the Phillies lineup could use more juice and if Brown gets rolling, Phillies fans and fantasy owners alike will be calling for Manuel to “Ban” Francisco. Official No-Star-damus prediction: Brown will play and produce no less than an OF3 from here on out (with the upside of hitting like an OF2).

A lot of people got off the J.P. Arencibia bandwagon early in the season thanks to his struggles at the plate and the fact that he was in a platoon with Jose Molina. He’s killing it over his last seven games, however, rocking a .370 BA with three HRs, three doubles, and 11 RBIs. Even though it seems like he’s not having a “good” overall season, he’s actually the sixth ranked C in Yahoo!, yet is only 41-percent owned. Arencibia’s all-or-nothing approach at the plate (26.0 K% and 49.5 FB%) makes him a BA liability, but let’s be real here. The catcher position in fantasy is dryer than an old woman’s cooch, so while Arencibia will have his ups-and-downs, his plus-power makes him a lock to finish as a top 10 option at the position.

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I'm fairly certain that kid owns a few shares of Chris Carpenter. With a blank stare on his goofy face, he ignored our warnings of drafting an expensive, injury prone pitcher who has a below average K/9. I yelled "heads up!" during the draft season, but the blank stare continued while he pulled the trigger on Carp and took a Line Drive to the dome. Owners of the BABIP-riddled pitcher are now holding their heads, helplessly wandering around. Not even the world's largest ice pack can cure the woes of a .338 BABIP. Most people should know LD% is directly tied to BABIP, which in turn is directly tied to WHIP and ERA. A low LD% is more important than a high GB%. LD% is overlooked by many, I'm hoping to change that. Let's take a look at a few pitchers who have been beat up by opposing batters through the first seven weeks of the season.

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D’oh-quez.
Photo Credit: Wknight94

Edinson Volquez was demoted to the minors and promoted to the top of my shit list. I’ve been back and forth on his fantasy prospects, but I can’t advocate holding onto him right now unless you’ve got a ton of roster space or a death wish. I tried to give him one more chance after he struck out nine Cubs in six innings two starts ago. In true Volquez-ian fashion, he proceeded to get bombed for six earned runs in 2.2 innings yesterday. Now he’s headed to Triple-A and everyone wants to know, “does Starbonell still have love for Volquez (pause)?”

There’s no doubt Volquez has been terrible this year, posting a 6.35 ERA and 6.71 BB/9. That said, if he turns things around in the minors, I’ll be back for another hit of “High Volquez.” For starters, it’s encouraging that Volquez took the news of his demotion the same way Chyna took X-Pac’s X-Cock; according to manager Dusty Baker, “he took it like a man.” Despite the ugly surface numbers, there are some encouraging aspects about Volquez. His stuff remains nasty, he still generates a lot of weak contact (15.7 LD% and career-best 55.0 GB%), and his 22.0 HR/FB ratio is ridiculously high, even with the Great American Ballpark factor. So yes, even though Volquez has burned me more than once, I’ll be quick to forgive if he throws up a 3.50 BB/9 in the minors.

While Volquez has hit a low point in his season, Homer Bailey (who knows a thing or two about being left for dead by fantasy owners) has turned in a 2.08 ERA in four starts. The strikeouts could be better considering his pedigree (6.92 K/9), but he’s barely walking anyone (1.38 BB/9) and is generating more weak contact than ever (47.4 GB% and 15.8 LD%). He’s relied on his slider a lot more this year and is throwing his heater less than ever (55.0%; career mark of 69.7%). The new approach is paying off, so even though his fastball velocity is down from previous seasons, this does not look like a fluke. His 7.1 HR/FB (and thus, his ERA) will creep north since his 3.6 Infield Fly Ball Percentage (IFFB%) is almost five points lower than his career norm, but overall, this should be Bailey’s best fantasy season. Sure the K-rate may make him an SP4 at best, but he’s got more than enough upside to warrant more than the 49-percent ownership he’s currently sporting in Yahoo! leagues. He should be universally owned in 12-team mixers right now.

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Don't fuck with Kevin "Goggles" Gregg. 
Photo Credit: Ich 

Another day, another slew of potential weather problems on the MLB schedule. Personally, I would like to see the commissioner's office institute a rule that all players must wear weatherproof goggles for all games. Not only would these goggles look super cool, but they would eliminate the need for rain cancellations. Though until Bud Selig starts taking my suggestions on these matters, we'll still need to keep up to date with local forecasts. Here's what's on deck for Tuesday:

ARI vs. COL: The D-backs and Rockies are slated to play a double dip, but both games have potential problems. There is a 50% chance of thunderstorms from 1:00 PM till 8:00, at which time the chances only slightly decrease to 40% for the rest of the night.

CIN vs. PHI: 60% chance of thunderstorms.

ATL vs. PIT: 58% chance of thunderstorms.

NYY vs. TOR: 50% chance of thunderstorms.

KC vs. BAL: 50% chance of thunderstorms.

BOS vs. CLE: 35% chance of showers. 

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This is what happens when Cheeks gets mad.
Photo Credit: andy_c

It looks like we all survived the fake ass Rapture. Life goes on, and so does fantasy baseball albeit with a light Monday schedule. Even with the small number of games there are still some potential weather problems to be aware of. The pickings may be slim to find replacement starters in the free agent pool or on your bench,  but it's still better to have a mid-level player give you a shot at glory than to waste a roster spot on a superstar with a PPD. So lets get right down to the details.

BOS vs. CLE: 72% chance of thunderstorms.

TOR vs. NYY: 52% chance of thunderstorms.

DET vs. TAM: 67% chance of thunderstorms from 7:00-11:00 PM. The forecast improves to a 40% chance after that.

CIN vs. PHI: 69% chance of thunderstorms from 7:00-11:00 PM. The forecast improves to a 47% chance after that.

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Did Josh Johnson owners order up a Marlins ace or a fish filet? Photo credit: regisc

The world didn’t end on 5/21/11, but try telling that to anybody with Josh Johnson on his or her fantasy baseball team. Johnson’s surprise placement on the DL is obviously a very alarming situation for both his real life and fantasy owners, and I’m here to help read the tea leaves and explain what we’re dealing with here. In case you were wondering, I treat all forms of orthopedics injuries, but my specialty is shoulder post-operative rehab, I’m the shoulder guy and Johnson has a shoulder injury, you may want to pay attention.

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I've already declared my love for Jose Bautista. I know it, you know it and the restraining order tells me he knows it. Everyone knows that I ranked Jose as my No. 1 player in the Top 100 Fantasy Baseballers, everyone knows I said he would hit another 43 HR after he had already hit nine Home Runs in April and everyone knows about my attempts at creating a Jose Bautista hair doll. There's not much else to be said about the awesomeness that is Jose Bautista, oh wait, yes there is. After the jump of course.

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Cheeks may don a funny hat and a bathroom robe, but he doesn't use bible math.
Photo Credit: Jonathan Lidbeck

I'm sure by now everyone has heard this crazy nonsense about how the world is going to end tonight. Personally I don't how the world can go on without "Macho Man" Randy Savage, but we must persevere and never lose sight of the truly important things in life, like fantasy sports. Assuming you are alive tomorrow you are going to need to know what potential weather problems could plague your starters. That's where I come in. There is some wet weather in the forecast for most of the Midwest, but nothing that looks too serious. It's an interleague Sunday afternoon so teams will definitely do all they can to get the games in since any rescheduling would be a bitch.

Games for Sunday, May 22nd

CLE vs. CIN 50% chance of showers.
DET vs. PIT 58% chance of thunderstorms.
LAD vs. CHI 41% chance of thunderstorms.
COL vs. MIL 47% chance of thunderstorms.

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The Top 100 Fantasy Baseball rankings were posted a few days back and Gaby Sanchez made what was likely a one-time appearance at  No. 100. I like to keep that spot as a revolving door for names who deserve some attention, I'm sure a few of you remember that from the fantasy football days of milliondollarsleeper.com. Gaby earned a little recognition for his hot streaking ways, but he may have not been entitled to that designation. Someone was snubbed. I'm ready to slap the million dollar dream on Gaby, stuff a few hundos in his mouth and bring in the newest recruit. Who should it be? Who was snubbed?


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Yeah about that headline. Sorry. It was just too good to not use. I promise to keep it clean for awhile after this and that Doug Fister line.

Travis Wood (23%) was humming through five innings and then went limp in the sixth. The final line wasn't awful, but it could have been much better [5.1 IP, 3 H, 2 BB, 4 ER, 3 K]. Wood was on a string of good games after a horrible start to the season. I liked Travis coming (I'm not going to say, "I liked Wood coming") into the season and I still do. The strikeouts and walks are nice (7.69 K/9 vs 2.68 BB/9), it's just that ugly BABIP (.344). I know Travis is giving up plenty of line drives, but he does have a solid track record for limiting base hits and the defense behind him is pretty good. I'm still a believer. Anyone standing next to me?

More MLB action after the jump. Of course we're talking about the lesser-owned players and finishing with some bullpen news.

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