I’ll admit that SEAL snipers are cool, but I’m tired of hearing about pirates unless they’re Pittsburgh Pirates. I love the young lineup that they throw out and they seem to be jelling. A lot of pundits liked Cincy as a overperforming team with a young core — but it could be the Pirates filling that role in 2009. In other news, Toronto is the hottest hitting team in the majors, so players like Aaron Hill and Marco Scutaro may have been picked up in your league.
Because there isn’t much to say to preface this article, I felt the need to add a quote that I remembered today. This beauty comes from Dennis Haysbert as Cerrano in Major League. I can never decide if it’s better than “hats for bats” (which was the name of one of my fantasy teams about 10 years ago).
“I say f*ck you Jobu. I do it myself.” — Pedro Cerrano
This week we examine another group of players that could make an impact this season. For hitters, I’m bullish on guys in good lineups and players that have won good spots in the order. The pitchers list is composed of mostly young guys that are unproven in the majors. A lot of these guys are dicey, so proceed with caution.
HITTERS
Scott Rolen's altered stance may improve his production
Scott Rolen – 3B – Toronto Blue Jays
Rolen changed his stance to one that puts less stress on his shoulder. He performed well at the end of last season and he’s continued his success in the beginning of 2009. I think that surgeries have probably sapped his old power potential, but he could still hit 20 homers. Toronto is one of the hottest hitting teams in the league, so he’s worth picking up while he’s playing well.
Jason Kubel – OF/DH – Minnesota Twins
He’s one of the first players I put on the list this week. Shortly thereafter, he hit for the cycle which got him some SportsCenter time. Kubel is hitting 4th for the Twins behind Denard Span, Alexi Casilla, and Justin Morneau. He’ll have a lot of opportunites to drive in runs and has the potential to hit 20+ homers. He hit .272 with 20 homers in only 463 ABs last year and was a career .320 hitter in the minors.
Akinori Iwamura – 2B – Tampa Bay Rays
In his first two seasons in the MLB, Iwamura hit .285 and .275. He didn’t really put up eye-popping stats in those years, but he can be a solid fill-in player. He scored 90 runs last year and is on pace to score 100+ so far this year.
Chad Tracy – 1B/3B – Arizona Diamondbacks
Tracy only managed to rack up 500 ABs over the past two seasons. Prior to those two half-seasons lost to knee injuries, he hit 27 and 20 home runs. He’s been batting mostly 4th and 5th, but he hasn’t played every day. He’s a guy to keep an eye on though.
Jason Bartlett – SS – Tampa Bay Rays
He has very little power, but he can still be a useful fantasy player. In 6 seasons in the majors, Barlett has only 13 home runs and last season he hit just one. This season, he’s off to a hot start with 2 homers already. Bartlett is a career .280 hitter and he should easily surpass 20 SBs. If he steals 30 bases, he’ll be a great value.
Cody Ross – OF – Florida Marlins
Ross has 50 homers in 986 major league ABs, so the guy clearly has pop. He hit 22 bombs last year in only 461 ABs. He started off with a poor first week but he’s picked it up recently. Ross could be a bargin if he duplicates his 20+ homers from last year.
Freddy Sanchez – 2B – Pittsburgh Pirates
He’s always done work with the bat, but he doesn’t fill up box scores. Sanchez is a career .301 hitter and averages 79 runs, 8 homers, and 67 RBI per 162 games. He could improve on those averages in what I think is a better than average Pirates lineup.
PITCHERS
Max Scherzer could emerge as a solid option
Max Scherzer – SP – Arizona Diamondbacks
He is clearly a superior talent but he also clearly needs polish. He pitched 56 innings with a 3.05 ERA for the D-Backs last year but walked 21 batters. In his first two starts of 2009, he’s walked 6 batters in 10 IP. Before that, he made a rehab start for Single A Visalia and pitched 4.2 innings while walking 4 and hitting a batter. Scherzer needs to hone his control, but he could blow up sooner rather than later.
John Lannan – SP – Washington Nationals
In Lannan’s first two seasons in the majors, he had ERAs of 4.15 and 3.91. His strikeout rate is a little troubling, but he has a lot of potential. He showed that potential in his last start where he K’d 8 batters in 6.1 IP while only allowing one run.
Paul Maholm – SP – Pittsburgh Pirates
He may be in his prime and he’s proven that this season and last. In 2008, Maholm was 9-9 with a 3.71 ERA and 139 K’s in 206.1 IP. This year, he’s 2-0 with a 0.87 ERA and 6 stirkeouts in 20.2 IP. His strikeout rate should increase since he has a career 5.7 K/9 ratio. I also think the Pirates are better than most people think so his win total could be in the teens.
Dallas Braden – SP – Oakland A’s
At 25, Braden finds himself as the ace of the A’s. With Justin Duchscherer’s injury, Braden has the most major league experience in the A’s rotation other than Dana Eveland. He doesn’t have an overwhelming strikeout rate with Oakland, but Braden did strike out 390 batters in 346.2 minor league innings. He’s 1-2 this year but in that span he has allowed only 3, 2, and 1 runs for a 2.79 ERA.
Rick Porcello – SP – Detroit Tigers
Porcello landed in the majors at only 20 years old thanks to Dontrelle Willis’ issues. The Tigers’ staff is in shambles and Porcello may be the main bright spot this year. He doesn’t strike out many batters, but he could develop into a very good starter.
