Fantasy: Trend or Mirage?

by Dan Clasgens 5/29/2008 8:48:00 AM

We go around the horn and look at some players that are having early fantasy success and discuss whether or not you can expect to see it continue:

1B: Jason Giambi, Yankees
He is on fire of late as he's hitting .412 over the past two weeks, including 4 HR's and 7 RBI's. The homeruns aren't much of a surprise. He now has 11 long balls on the season, but don't expect the batting average to stay anywhere near the .412 clip. The fact that even after all of this success he is still only .244 on the season should tell you all you need to know...MIRAGE

2B: Ian Kinsler, Rangers
Few second baseman have been as hot of late as Kinsler. Over his last 91 at bats he's batting .308 with an impressive 5 HR's and 18 RBI's helping the Rangers and fantasy owners alike to victories. He is currently on a 12-game hitting streak and knocking the cover off the ball while batting leadoff for Texas. Kinsler remains a high-end fantasy option at the position and though he may cool off a bit, expect solid production all year long...TREND

3B: Kevin Kouzmanoff, Padres
Kouzmanoff has been highly touted since his arrival to San Diego and over the past week he has is starting to live up to the hype as he has went yard four times. He now has 8 HR's and 22 RBI's on the year. Don't forget he hit .317 with 11 home runs in the second half last year, making him a nice sleeper going forward...TREND

SS: Jhonny Peralta, Indians
Peralta has hit three homers in his past five games to help power the Indians. He now has 11 HR's on the year. There has been little debate over Peralta's power potential. Still, his .225 average and the fact he's only batted above .270 once since 2002 is hard for some owners to overlook and suggests struggles ahead...MIRAGE

OF: Hunter Pence, Astros
Pence broke on to the scene as a rookie in 2007 in a big way and after a slow start his sophomore campaign has picked up momentum. He has managed 34 hits in 93 ABs in May and hit 6 HR's and 21 RBI's in that span. Playing in an explosive offense and in a hitter's park, there's no reason no to expect more of the same ahead for Pence...TREND

OF: Carlos Quentin, White Sox
Quentin now has 47 RBI on the year, with seven in his last four games. That puts him on pace for 146 RBI's on the year. Listen, there is no doubt about Quentin's potential as he could easily be a 30-30-100-100 guy. However, injuries remain a concern and as long as you don't expect him to continue at his current pace you won't be left disappointed. He's a budding star...TREND

OF: Nate McCloth, Pirates
McLouth started May with a .342 average and saw it drop as low as .298 before getting it back to .310. He has been one of fantasy baseball's biggest surprises early on, but maybe it's time to start think about selling him while his value is still high...MIRAGE

C: Bengie Molina, Giants
Catcher is one of the hardest positions for a fantasy owner to fill, but Molina owners have been pretty lucky so far with their low-end starting option. Over the past 21 days Molina is batting .400 and has hit 2 HR's and 16 RBI's. Still, the Giants' lineup is terrible and the fact that he has never hit above .300 tells me that he is going to fall from his current .339 average probably to something closer to his three-year average of .284...MIRAGE

SP: Scott Kazmir, Rays
He won his fourth straight start, striking out 10 in seven innings to lead the AL East-leading Tampa Bay Rays over the Texas Rangers 7-3 Monday night. He has given up two runs over 26 innings during his winning streak (0.69 ERA). The elbow problems that sidelined him April appear to be a thing of the past. Expect him to be a fantasy ace as long as he remains healthy...TREND

SP: Bronson Arroyo, Reds
He has won his last two starts and last three decisions dating back to May 10. He has a 1.67 ERA in that span. The WHIP and ERA are both dropping down quickly as he pulls back to .500 at 4-4. After a slow start to year, Arroyo is once again finding his way back into line-ups.  He's a streaky pitcher though and the fact that his career record is 59-63 tells you that he's nothing more than average as a fantasy starter. Shop him while he is on the good side of things...MIRAGE

SP: Rich Harden, A's
Harden has been outstanding since his return to health from a shoulder injury. After picking up two wins in first two games back, Harden received a no-decision in a pitcher's duel vs. Roy Halladay on Wednesday night. There's no doubt about Harden's ability, but it seems every time he gets rolling, he's winds up right back on the DL. Sell high and play it safe...MIRAGE

RP: Jose Valverde, Astros
Houston's closer is 10 for 10 in save opportunities during the month of May while posting 1-0 record, 1.29 ERA, 0.86 WHIP and 15 K's in 14 innings pitched during that span. He pitched for the first time since taking a liner off his head Friday and recorded the save Wednesday night against Philly and appears to have avoided something much more serious. Valverde saved 47 games last year for the D-Backs and is on pace for 45 saves in '08...TREND

Related posts

Add comment


(Will show your Gravatar icon)  

  Country flag

[b][/b] - [i][/i] - [u][/u]- [quote][/quote]



Live preview

12/4/2008 1:34:07 PM

Powered by BlogEngine.NET 1.3.0.0
Theme by Mads Kristensen

About the author

Name of author Author name
Something about me and what I do.

E-mail me Send mail

Calendar

<<  December 2008  >>
MoTuWeThFrSaSu
24252627282930
1234567
891011121314
15161718192021
22232425262728
2930311234

View posts in large calendar

Recent posts

Recent comments

Tags

Disclaimer

The opinions expressed herein are my own personal opinions and do not represent my employer's view in anyway.

© Copyright 2008

Sign in