J.J. spent a lot of time doing this in '09 and '10.
Photo Credit: Keith Allison

Hey look at J.J. Hardy leading off for the Baltimore Orioles. The former Brewer/Twin has hit two Home Runs in his two games atop the batting order. Tonight he went 2 for 2 at the plate with two walks. He hit a double, a solo shot and crossed the plate three times. Hardy has his HR/FB% above 12% again after a couple injury shortened seasons. The power is back and he's streaking. His last two weeks of stats (coming into tonight) include a .342 AVG with 3 HR (good for a rank of 85). I don't know how long he'll be atop the batting order, but he's worth the add for now. "Va-J.J." is hanging around free agent pools in 79% of Y! leagues.

More MLB action from Friday after the break.

(Insert penis joke here)
Heh, I said “insert penis”
Photo Credit: slgckgc

Take a look at your innings pace. Far behind? Need some help catching up? Welcome to “Stream Pies” where we are serving up gooey loads of knowledge. Here, we’ll provide invaluable streaming advice on SPs who are owned in less than 30-percent of Yahoo! leagues. We list the options in order of best option to “least-best” option (with the best streamers starting at the top).

Welcome to the first installment of “Stream Pies.” Since it’s the debut of what promises to be the best streaming advice column in fantasy sports, we thought it was only right to do a weekend mega-edition.

So without further ado, open wide and take this “Stream Pie” to the face:

Anthony Rizzo went 1 for 2 at the dish in his MLB debut. He hit a triple, took two walks and scored a run. If we extrapolate this over the course of the season he will post a .500 Batting Average with almost 100 triples. We're talking about a record breaking season here. Don't even get me started on his career numbers. All joking aside the Rizzo looked pretty good tonight, even if it was against Livan Hernandez, Sean Burnett and Henry Rodriguez. I've made my projection [here] and Starbonell called Rizzo, "a respectable CI option" [MLB Real Talk], but now it's time for you to voice your opinion on the Padres top positional prospect. The 17% owned Rizzo hits waivers soon in Blog Wars (and all other leagues that use the "wait until called up to Majors" option for new players added to the pool), which means it's time to open up your imaginary wallets and shell out some FAABulous coinage. What do you expect from Anthony Rizzo and what will you be willing to spend to acquire Petco's newest victim?

Mike may have an iron glove, but this isn't fantasy football. We don't lose points for Fumbles.

The Royals top ranked hitting prospect has finally arrived. Kansas City has promoted Mike Moustakas to the big leagues (at the expense of the slumping sleeper Mike Aviles). The questions of, "when will the Royals call up Moustakas?" have now turned into, "what should we expect from Moustakas?". That's where I come in. The professional prognosticator has arrived. The official projection for the power hitting Third Baseman is waiting for you after the break.

The Rain? Steve Bartman did it. Or a goat. One of the two.
Photo Credit: Wallula Junction

There are currently delays in both Philadelphia and New York as I write this, but the weather will get better as the summer progresses. I promise. With this in mind I had a little pow-wow with the powers that be here at Sons of Roto and we have decided that I should transition from writing a daily Weatherology report to just providing breaking updates whenever the forecast looks particularly ominous. So going forward you won't see me here everyday, but still make sure to check back all the time cause I will be lurking in the background ready to jump in whenever some shit is about to go down. You'll also be seeing a lot of me after the Mavs win the title, and we begin the buildup to next years fantasy basketball season. I'mma go out with a bang though in my last daily report with the first ever three day weekend update extravaganza......

Friday June 10th

OAK vs. CHW: 65% chance of thunderstorms.
SEA vs. DET: 63% chance of thunderstorms.
TAM vs. BAL: 47% chance of thunderstorms.
CLE vs. NYY: 44% chance of thunderstorms.
CHI vs. PHI: 44% chance of thunderstorms.
NYM vs. PIT: 38% chance of thunderstorms.

Saturday June 11th

SEA vs. DET: 65% chance of rain.
CLE vs. NYY: 61% chance of thunderstorms.
CHI vs. PHI: 60% chance of thunderstorms. 
TAM vs. BAL: 57% chance of thunderstorms.
NY vs. PIT: 54% chance of thunderstorms.

Sunday June 12th

CLE vs. NYY: 60% chance of thunderstorms.
TAM vs. BAL: 40% chance of thunderstorms.
CHI vs. PHI: 38% chance of thunderstorms.

2011 AAA: .365 AVG, 42 Runs, 16 HR, 63 RBI, 5 SB (200 AB)

Starbonell recently soliloquized upon Anthony Rizzo in his Peabody Award winning MLB Real Talk series, but with the team's plans to call up the First Baseman on Thursday I wanted to go on record with an official projection. So project I will.

The Rizzo is going to transform into the Young Dirty Bizzo when he's promoted from the PCL to Petco on Thursday. The Tuscon Pades home stadium scores a 92 in HR for Left Handed Batters while Petco Park scores an atrocious 59 [Stat Corner]. The PCL is a hitter friendly league, the NL West is not. I think most people understand the video game numbers Rizzo has posted in AAA (.365/.444/.715) are not going to transfer to the majors. In 2010 Rizzo hit 20 HR in 400 double-A At Bats with Portland. The Seadogs home ballpark scores a 97 for LHB so he's accustomed to hitter friendly fields. Petco will be a rude awakening for the highly touted prospect. In fifteen weeks with San Diego, Rizzo could hit as few as 12 HR or as many as 18 HR. Another wild card is his BABIP. His current .413 average of balls in play is ridonkulous. He did post a .360 BABIP in high-A ball (2008), but that came with a 30% LD%. He's more of a 17%-18% LD% hitter so we could see his BABIP fall down to the .300 range in San Diego. What I see with Rizzo is a Fly Ball hitter who has plus power, a good eye at the plate (11% BB%) and a little speed. We're going to use a 26% K% (24% in AAA) and a .313 BABIP here. Projection .263 AVG, 16 HR, 3 SB, 54 Runs, 56 RBI (350 AB)

Photo Credit: Shannon Lamond

A heat wave comes rolling through the northeastern United States tomorrow, which has the potential to cause a lot of problems for fantasy owners. Temperatures getting dangerously close to triple digits combined with precipitation make for a very unpredictable forecast. All of the games listed below have a least some chance of being affected. I'm not saying you should sit Ryan Howard or anything over a 20% chance of thunderstorms, but you'll need to be aware of the situation (like Howard should be about the weirdo following him with a sledge hammer). Make sure to check in prior to game time as the skies may be clear or totally PPDed up. 

AZ vs. PIT: 52% chance of thunderstorms.
OAK vs. CHW: 50% chance of thunderstorms.
TOR vs. KC: 28% chance of thunderstorms.
NYY vs. BOS: 26% chance of thunderstorms.
CHC vs. PHI: 20% chance of thunderstorms.

Dee Gordon is already owned in 12% of Y! leagues, but he's still on waivers in Blog Wars (until June 10th) and all the other leagues which chose the "wait until called up to Majors" option for new players added to the player pool. Someone is going to spend their hard earned FAAB money on the speedy Shortstop. I won't be spending any FAAB on Gordon though, I spent all my funny monies on Brandon Belt (face meet palm). I would blow my wad on Gordon (hey now) if I did have any of my budget left over. I'd definitely spend more than Starbonell would. Starbs made his feelings known about Dee [here], my thoughts are in the comment section (good discussion there). Now that we know what to expect of Rafael Furcal's injury, thanks to Don, we can start up the polling process. What do you expect from Dee Gordon and what would you pay for him in terms of FAAB?

Did he lose an arm? I can't see his arm, it's gone is it? That limbless bastard!
Photo Credit: Craig Y. Fujii

[Editor's Note: Furcal didn't lose his arm. Don will take it from here.]

Rafael Furcal was placed on the 15-day DL this past Saturday with a strained left oblique, just two weeks after being activated from the DL with a thumb injury. Oblique strains are all the rage this year, they put the “in” in “injury”. They can also be tricky afflictions to overcome, as owners of Evan Longoria, Ryan Zimmerman and Brandon Beachy, among others, can attest. Oblique injuries are particularly troublesome for a baseball player because there are so many baseball related activities that involve trunk rotation and stress the area, such as swinging a bat or throwing (throwing is how Furcal did it). Typical recovery time for an oblique strain is 4-6 weeks. Furcal will be rested for roughly two weeks, allowing the acute phase of the injury to pass and settle down. Then he’ll gradually be worked back into activity and sent on a rehab assignment. As we’ve seen a number of times with various players with injured obliques, setbacks are common. Furcal is not the pillar of health or youth anymore, this is not the sort of injury you want to see if you’re relying upon him. It wouldn’t surprise me in the least if he suffered a setback during the recovery. I would anticipate a four week timetable until he’s cleared to begin baseball activities, with another week or two on top of that for a rehab assignment, and that’s a best case scenario given his extensive injury history and the unpredictable nature of this injury. With the young speedster Dee Gordon taking the reigns at Shortstop while Furcal is gone, the Dodgers have an opportunity to give him an extended look and infuse a little more excitement into the top of the lineup. Unless Gordon struggles they will have little reason to rush Furcal along, and if Gordon excels there could be playing time issues upon his return.

Prediction Furcal returns in six weeks, roughly around the All-Star Break. Mattingly immediately puts him back in the starting lineup as SS, benching Gordon and irritating all of Dodger nation and heavily invested fantasy owners. Not to worry, though, as Furcal only makes it two weeks before he’s sidelined again, this time it’ll be his back, which has given him trouble in the past and has now developed a dreaded compensation injury due the oblique issue. Maybe I’m going a bit far, but this is Rafael Furcal we’re dealing with here, nobody would be surprised if it happens.

Don Brown is the resident Physical Therapist here at SoR. He takes care of all our knife wounds and shares his expertise on the injuries of the sporting world. For any further questions or comments, he can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Past Injury Analysis
Buster Posey, Wandy Rodriguez [Busted]
Josh Johnson [JJ Sleeps with the Fishes]
Chipper, Sizemore, Beachy, Wright and Lackey [Glass Twins]
J.Broxton, B.Lyon and D.Aardsma [Unholy Trinity]
R.Zimmerman and P.Sandoval [Hot Corner Blues]

You know you're getting some action when you see crazy eyes like that.
Photo Credit: MC2 Joseph M. Buliavac

The 35% owned Jon Rauch picked up the Save for Toronto at Kansas City. Big Jon Stud pitched an uneventful Inning (0 H, 0 BB, 0 K) for his seventh Save of the year. Rauch isn't dominating anyone, his K/9 is below average, but he's been able to get the job done in the past and he's doing it now. Rauch owns an irresistible 1.09 WHIP and 3.65 ERA. Franky "Two Times" Francisco cannot say the same. The oft-injured reliever has a 1.78 WHIP and 6.06 ERA after his recent struggles. In Franky's past seven appearances he has 0 Saves, 2 Blown Saves and 3 Losses. The Jays cannot afford to keep blowing games in the last inning or two. Jon may not be able to maintain the low BABIP (.221 coming into tonight), but he does have a career 1.23 WHIP and 3.71 ERA. If you're looking to score some cheap Saves, visit the Bunny Rauch. You won't come away disappointed. 

In other Closer related news... Fernando Salas threw 44 pitches tonight. You may want to pick up the 23% owned Eduardo Sanchez for the next couple days. Also, Joakim Soria has been reinstated as the Royals Closer. Aaron Crow didn't record a Save while Soria was on sabbatical.