NOTE: I’ll be
looking at some hot and cold hitters on a weekly basis this year, but it’ll be
done with a little bit of a twist. I’ll be doing a stock watch on hitters each
week — whose stock is up and whose is down. Who should you buy… who should you
sell… and who should you hold on to. This ought to help you in your attempts to
bolster your rap sheet of grand theft fantasy felonies. (Statistics are current
as of games played May 5, 2008)
This is a different look at the Stock Report this week. I am looking at some recently DLed players as well as some players coming off the DL or just recently called up.
STOCK UP
Wladimir
Balentien, OF – SEA : 2 R, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 0 SB, .238 AVG in 21 AB
Wladimir Balentien was Adam Jones’ running partner in
the minors last year and with Jones’ trade to Baltimore they won’t have to
fight for a spot in the Seattle OF. He has been a swing and miss guy in the past,
not walking much and striking out a lot. The good news is that he’s lowered his
Ks from 160 in 2005, to 140 in ’06, down to 105 last year. This year he had six
homers and 20 RBI in 63 Triple-A at bats. He’s got five hits in 21 at bats to
start this season with Seattle, but two of those hits have been three run shots
— including one off of the untouchable Cliff
Lee. He’s also increased his steals
in the minors the last three years from 9, to 14, to 15. Take a shot at
Balentien in all leagues, especially AL-only because he will play nearly
everyday with Brad Wilkerson no
longer on the team.
Verdict : BUY
Jeff Clement is the other of the Seattle call
ups this week that should be looking to make a splash early in 2008. He is
eligible at catcher in some leagues, but not all. He should gain catcher
eligibility soon if he is not eligible in your league. He’s had a rough first
week, but he’s a must have in AL-only leagues, and he should be mixed league
viable as well. He will back up Kenji
Johjima and get ABs at DH as well.
This setup should make him more productive than that other young catcher recently
called up (Jarrod Saltalamacchia) because
he’ll be getting regular playing time. He hit 20 homers and drove in 80 runs
last year in AAA, and he was hitting nearly .400 this year before getting
called up.
Verdict : BUY
Curtis
Granderson OF – DET : 13 R, 5 HR, 9 RBI, 1 SB, .311 AVG in 45 AB
Curtis Granderson sure didn’t waste any time getting going this year did
he. After 45 AB he has scored 13 runs, hit five homers, driven in nine, and stolen
a base. Don’t worry about the lack of stolen bases. He’ll get the speed going.
The encouraging thing for Granderson owners this year is that Graderson has
walked ten times and only struck out six. He has shown good discipline and bat
control so far this season.
Verdict : HOLD
Shane
Victorino OF – PHI : 9 R, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 2 SB, .243 AVG in 70 AB
Shane Victorino came off the disabled list Tuesday amid rumors that he
may have to fight for playing time. He pinch hit in the first two games back
and has started the last five games. Don’t worry about his playing time. You
really think that the Phillies will sit him down to play Geoff Jenkins? Victorino
is 6-for-23 with five runs and a steal since coming back. It was a good sign
that he stole a base so soon after coming back to the lineup.
Verdict : HOLD or BUY
STOCK DOWN
Alex
Rodiriguez 3B - NYY : 14 R, 4 HR, 11 RBI, 1 SB, .286 AVG in 91 AB
Alex Rodriguez was the consensus number one pick in
fantasy leagues this year. He was also placed on the disabled list earlier this
week. ESPN’s Stephania Bell said on the "ESPNEWS Fantasy Insider"
show that Rodriguez could be out until the All-Star break. Her bandwagoning colleague,
Matthew Berry, also doesn’t expect A-Rod to play before the All-Star break. But
I don’t buy it. Berry is notorious for saying crazy stuff so that he can claim
to have “called” something correctly when it happens — but most of the time it
doesn't. While A-Rod may be out a little longer than his 15-day DL stint, don’t
panic to replace him and destroy your season in the process. Expect him to miss
at most just one month, since Grade 2 strains can be a month-long thing. He
should come back like a ball of fire looking to make up for lost time.
Verdict :
HOLD
Jimmy Rollins sprained his ankle on April 8th
against the Mets and was day to day. He missed a game, pinch hit on the 10th,
and was supposed to be back after the weekend. Then he was out of the lineup
and pinch hit a few more times, the last of which came on April 19th. This was
a poorly handled injury. If the Phils had simply placed him on the DL right
away, he might’ve been doing his five-category thing as early as last week. As
it is now, he’s expected to come off the DL this Thursday. Get him back in the
lineup as soon as you can.
Verdict : HOLD or BUY
Troy
Tulowitzki SS - COL: 10 R, 1 HR, 11 RBI, 1 SB, .152 AVG in 105 AB
“Troy Tulowitzki might have been last
year’s rookie of the year if the voters took defense into account. He is a
great defender with a terrific arm. This season he’s only hitting .172 in 93 AB
with one homer, Wednesday night. He’s got an 83% contact rate but a hit rate
slightly below 20%. This should improve greatly this season, as it was 34% last
season. He should end up somewhere around .280 with solid power and a decent
number of steals. You just hope he doesn’t cross the line from slow start to
bad season.”
That was
the paragraph that was supposed to be in last week’s article. Since then Tulo
has been diagnosed with a torn quad and is out a lot longer than originally
expected. According to his agent, “with
the help of God [Tulo] will be back in two months” — but we know how credible
agents are. If you’re in a keeper league you have to hold on to him. If it’s a
yearly league you’ve got a tough decision. DL him if you can, but if you can’t,
you have to be honest about a replacement and about being able to survive with
him on your bench.
Verdict : HOLD or SELL
Josh
Willingham OF - FLA: 16 R, 6 HR, 16 RBI,
2 SB, .341 AVG in 91 AB
Josh
Willingham was having a great start and looked like he was on his way to a
breakout campaign with six early season homers and a .341 batting average. He
was placed on the DL Friday with a back injury — yes, the same dreaded back
injury that plagued him towards the end of last season. If you need the roster
spot you can dump him, but DL him if you can. Backs can be iffy, so if you can
sell him when he comes back, do it. Let
the risk be someone else’s problem.
Verdict : HOLD or SELL
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