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Free Agent Trends - Week 26
It has been a pleasure bringing you all a full slate of Free Agent Trends (several of my more loyal followers have nicknamed the column FAT) this season. We have had our ups and downs, but enjoyed a lot of hardcore analysis along the way. DD hopes you had some success and that maybe I helped you a just a little bit. With only a small sample of games remaining; this week's article will be shorter than our normal version. Even when the season comes to an official close our team of Geeks will continue to supply content for diehards in need of a fix, so stay with us throughout the fall and winter months.
Most Added - Taylor Teagarden has been a one-man gang of late and is making it very easy for the Rangers to let Gerald Laird head off into the sunset upon becoming a free agent. Teagarden is a terrific play for the final week for teams required to start 2 catchers or AL only. He should earn the job out of Spring Training and should net you 20 jacks with a solid BA. Laird is fuming, but tough luck.
Most Dropped - Yadier Molina has been out of the lineup since 9/14 with a bruised left thigh. He can be dropped immediately and rest assured that he will never hit .305 for a full season again - EVER.
Most Added - Ryan Shealy has deserved an extended look at the big league level for some time based upon his minor league production. He is doing everything in his power to earn a shot at the opening day 1B job in KC. Since 9/13 Shealy has nuked an amazing 5 jacks. He might be a nice final week sub at CI if your current player's team has clinched and is getting some rest.
Most Dropped - The highly publicized arrival of minor league mercenary, Kila Ka'aihue, has been essentially a non-event. Kila has been used for the most part as a pinch hitter and has lost valuable opportunities because of the mashing Shealy monster.
Most Added - Asdrubal Cabrera has had a huge September hitting .400 with 2 HR and 15 RBI. You might want to consider him in AL only while he is blazing this hot, but expect him to again be pushed by Josh Barfield in '09 for the starting gig. Cabrera projects as a utility role player rather than a starter in real life and fantasy.
Most Dropped - Rickie Weeks has lost a ton of playing time to Ray Durham and at this point can be dropped in non-keeper leagues. Even keeper leagues have to be concerned with his inability to properly cover the outside of the plate as well as to handle off-speed pitches. Everyone knows he can hit a fastball, but his .231 BA shows us that NL pitchers are fully aware of his weaknesses. DD still has faith in a recovery for '09, but the BA could always linger and weigh down his fantasy value.
Most Added - Cliff Pennington is seeing plenty of action at SS, 2B, and 3B for the A's. He smells like a utility player and should not be on your radar. His 0 HR, 5 RBI and .253 BA in 71 AB's are representative of what you might expect over a full season - nothing.
Most Dropped - Bobby Crosby has done the nearly impossible by remaining healthy enough to log over 500 AB's this season. His productivity, however, was horrendous. He is ranked 32nd among SS when considering 5X5 production. If you combine that with his injury history and you have yourself a flat beer - dump it.
Most Added - Alex Gordon is back from a hip flexor issue and will likely continue to hide his immense talent for the handful of remaining games. Gordon is going to snap sooner or later, but his lack of progress in his second season is frustrating. In keeper leagues DD is still advising all GM's to do what you can to own this guy despite his lackluster body of work in KC thus far. He has to tools to be a David Wright -ish talent, so expect him to improve next year at age 25.
Most Dropped - Nothing interesting here, so I am going to use this space to vent. On 9/6 I posted a demand to Brewers management to replace Bill Hall with Mat Gamel . At the time the Brewers had a 4 ½ game lead in the wild card and Hall was hitting .167 for September. Hall has since split time with Craig Counsell and it should come as no shock that his BA now stands at .161 for the month. Counsell has done a bang up job hitting .179 for September. They are now 2 games behind in the wild card and Mat Gamel is 1 for 2 hitting a cool .500 on his career. I am not a Brewers fan, but just hate watching teams play it safe. When LaPorta hits 40 bombs in 2 years for the Indians and CC is winning rings in the Bronx, Gamel will be hitting .300 on a team playing .500 ball. Gamel has just admitted to having an elbow issue, so it is too late anyway.
Most Added - Cameron Maybin is going to be special for the baseball fan and a member of the elite in our fantasy world. Maybin is as toolsy as they come with developing power and game changing speed. He will be an exciting part of the Marlins franchise until he becomes too expensive and is traded to a bigger market. He should approach 30/30 in his prime at a minimum - keeper league owners take notice. He looked great on 9/18 going 4 for 4 and then put on a fantasy expose by going 4 for 5 with 2 SB's and 3 runs on 9/19.
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Most Dropped - Nick Swisher should be required to eat a copy of the Moneyball book. Talk about all or nothing - Swisher is hitting .221 despite 24 HR. DD is keeping him in a dynasty league and hoping for the 40 HR season that could be a pipe dream. He needs to stay off the Best Damn Sports Show and in the batting cage.
All comments on SP's and RP's must be 10 words or less.
Most Added:
Jamie Moyer - Still useful for wins and 3.86 ERA
David Price - Future #1 may get a start this week
Phil Hughes - Bright future despite choppy start to career
Most Dropped:
Bartolo Colon - Season over, Time to gain some weight
Paul Byrd - Spot start only, finesse specialist
RELIEF PITCHERS
Most Added:
Chad Qualls - Surprising Snake's new Closer
Takashi Saito - Could return to 9 th inning next season
Most Dropped:
Brandon Lyon - In like a lion and out like a lamb
The rules are simple: Find SP's with two starts in the upcoming scoring period that are generally available in 50% or more leagues. Our goal is to maximize value for the coming week and then dump him for next week's choice. Flips can be a risky proposition and should only be completed with the assistance of Double Down or under close supervision of another Fantasy Baseball Geek.
For our final FT2SP of the season we are going high risk once again as it takes a lot at this point to move those ratios. If you are in a close battle in ratios or are H2H then steer clear. Scott Olson should get us a decent amount of strikeouts and at least one victory. Start #1 will be against the Nationals and Shairon Martis . Martis is not an ace in the making evidenced by his 0-3 record with an ERA of 6.23. Olson has owned the Nats this season going 3-0 with a 3.04 ERA. Start #2 is against the Mets and Johan Santana . This is not going to be easy as Olson is 0-3 with a 6.95 ERA against NYM this season. He is bound to figure them out one of these times right? The Johan has filleted the Fish in his 2 starts this season going 2-0 with a pristine 3.21 ERA. All of the evidence presented to you should give you the confidence to finally forgive Kyle Kendrick and Flip That Two-Start Pitcher.
Please email me with questions, comments, or to talk smack at: doubledown@fantasybaseballgeeks.com