Daily TIPS: Wednesday's Recap

As we near the halfway point of the season, owners tend to make more and more moves with their teams. Injuries have set in, team needs have been identified, and new players have emerged. Below I’ll outline a couple of players at positions you’ll most likely need to fill through free agency — OF, MI, CI, C — players who have been hot and can possibly help you now and  for the rest of the season: 

Outfield:

- David DeJesus: It seems like DeJesus ends up in on the waiver wire every year. In June he’s hitting .356/.406/.610. He won’t continue at this rate, but he’s a guy who should give you a .280 AVG with an .800 OPS and a few steals the rest of the way.

- Gary Matthews: Matthews has been awful this year but has picked it up this month — .340/364/.472. Expect similar numbers to DeJesus the rest of the way.

Middle Infield:

- Mark Grudzielanek: I’ve talked about him before and he’s continuing to hit — .309/.356/.473 in June. He always seems to hit around .300 which is good to have from a MI.

- Ray Durham: Durham is another one of those “professional hitter” types who typically (with the exception of last year) puts up good, but not great numbers. He’ll give you a .285 AVG along with occasional power and steals.

Corner Infield:

- Rich Aurilia: He’s hitting .395 with an OPS over 1.000 in June. He’s shown this type of power in 2001 and 2006, so it’s not completely foreign. Don’t expect it to continue, but he’s a nice stop-gap.

- Russell Branyan: In June Branyan has gone .306/.381/.861 and is getting regular at-bats. He’s had seasons of great power before, so this isn’t a complete fluke.

 Catcher:

- Jeff Mathis: He’s hitting .310/.429/.517 in June and taking at-bats away from the struggling Mike Napoli. He could make a valuable second catcher

- Chris Iannetta: He was a hot name last year and really struggled. But this season he’s now starting to hit. In June he’s hitting .300/.447/.600 with three home runs. He’s no longer splitting time with Yarvit Torrealba, making him all the more valuable.

 
Elsewhere...

* J.D. Drew went 4-for-5 with a homer and four RBI. He’s now hitting .327/.432/.601 and has hit eight of his 13 home runs in June. The potential is always there for Drew, but so is a potential injury. He’s a great sell high candidate if you can get good value for him. If not, ride him out and hope he continues.

* It was another very good outing for Jeremy Guthrie last night — 8 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 1 BB, 7 K. In seven of his last eight starts he’s allowed three runs or less while compiling a 35:14 K/BB rate. Amazingly, he’s still available in a lot of leagues, so get him if you can.

* Armando Galarraga went six innings and allowed no earned runs to pick up his seventh win. He now has a string of five games where he’s allowed a total of seven earned runs, which has brought his ERA down to 3.03. With Dontrelle Willis in the minors the rotation spot is his. His sub 2:1 K/BB ratio is a bit of a concern, but he’s worth grabbing if available.

* In his first game since coming off the DL, Mike Gonzalez earned the save for the Braves by pitching a perfect ninth. Expect him to get most if not all of the saves for the rest of the season.

* Chad Tracy went 3-for-5 to bring his average up to .250. He’s struggled somewhat since his return from injury but does have three homers and is slugging .462 in 52 at-bats. Keep an eye on him to see if his improvement continues.

* Alex Rodriguez went 3-for-4 with another home run last night. Since coming off the DL on May 20th, he has been sensational — .382/.476/.765 with 10 HR, 29 RBI, and 6 SB.

* In his second game since being called up, Chase Headley went 1-for-4 with a home run. He should be owned in all keeper leagues and is worth owning in any league where you can stash him on your bench.

* At first glance it seems like Andy Sonnanstine has put together a nice run. After last night he’s gone five straight games allowing three runs or less. However, he hasn’t gone a full six innings in any of those games. His near 4:1 K/BB rate is enticing, but until he can go deeper into game consistently, he needs to be avoided.

* Shaun Marcum allowed four runs in six innings last night. It was just the third time this season he’s allowed four earned runs in a game and he’s yet to allow more. As I wrote last week he has a very low BABIP against so you want to keep an eye on him, but his other numbers are exceptional.

* Maybe Salomon Torres wasn’t a bad choice at closer. He picked up his ninth save last night and since May 24th, he’s saved eight games and allowed just one run.

* Carlos Zambrano left yesterday’s game with soreness in his shoulder. It’s not known yet if he’ll miss time.

* Fausto Carmona experienced a set-back in his planned return from hip injury. He was scheduled to throw rehab games starting tomorrow but still has pain in his hip. He’ll be re-evaluated in three days.

* Homer Bailey was sent back to Triple-A after going 0-3 with an 8.76 ERA. If you can stash him in deep keeper leagues do so, otherwise cut ties.

 
QuickTIPS 

Spot-start candidate:
Josh Banks at Yankees. Banks has pitched extremely well this season — 1.29 ERA, 1.04 WHIP — and hasn’t allowed a walk in his last three starts while striking out 12. 

Avoid:
Zack Greinke at St. Louis. Greinke has been struggling and hasn’t pitched well against the Cards — 7.04 ERA in 15.1 IP. St. Louis is hitting .277 with a .775 OPS against righties. 

QuickTIP Results 

I said start:
Kevin Slowey — W, 6 IP, 1 ER, 7 H, 2 BB, 4 K 

I said avoid:
Kyle Kendrick — L, 3 IP, 6 ER, 6 H, 2 BB, 4 K

Comments

[Doc]

I've got a core staff of Webb, Kazmir, Billingsly and McGowan. Is Guthrie a better option than any of the following going forward? I'm in real need of ERA and WHIP.

Randy Johnson
Jesse Litsch
John Maine
Jarrod Weaver

[Matt Bair]

I'd probably take Guthrie over Litsch. I like Litsch but he's been giving up a lot of hits lately. Guthrie is more likely to sustain his ERA and WHIP and end up with similar number to last year.

[TIPS]

Doc,

I still think that RJ has the highest upside of the group. Even if he's pitching at level slightly below his norm... when healthy, he's still good for 6 IP, 2-3 ER, 6 K's and a good shot at a win.

Also, send me an email to fantasytips@yahoo.com and I'll give you access to a better site for asking these type of questions.

Thanks,
Jeff