2008 Fantasy MLB News and Notes for 3/20/08–Prospects, Bullpens, and more
Bruce Reassigned—The hopes of many fantasy owners were dashed on Thursday, when the Reds assigned prized prospect Jay Bruce to AAA. It now appears that recently signed Corey Patterson will get the nod in centerfield and leadoff. I continue to be baffled by teams picking up retreads to plug into their lineups who will give them modest statistics at best, when they have young kids waiting in the wings who can have a good impact on their team. Thanks for hiring Dusty Baker, don’t be surprised if Joey Votto isn’t far behind. All is not lost for those who own Bruce, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him back in Cincinnati before too long, much like Ryan Braun last year. If you have a deep bench or can reserve players, holding on to Bruce is not a bad idea.
Also sent to the minors was Seattle catcher Jeff Clement, which comes as no surprise. One of the best catching prospects, Clement must bide his time one more year until the contract of Kenji Johjima expires. Clement hit 20 HRs and drove in 80 last year in the minors, so any injury to Johjima and you better run to your free agent pool and pick him up immediately. But for now, unless your league allows minor league players, Clement won’t be worth a roster spot until 2009.
Albert’s Assault—Albert Pujols continues to rip the cover off the ball, launching his 5th spring training homer on Thursday off of Adam Loewen. Fantasy owners with the first few picks in the drafts have been making difficult decisions. Is Pujols elbow injury enough to keep him sidelined for a large portion of the season? It has been reported that it is possible for him to play through the pain, but the only way to really fix the problem is reconstruction that will cost him an entire season. Pujols has also said if the Cardinals are out of the playoff picture this year, he will not press it as he has in the past. However, after his long ball today he said if it was a risk, he wouldn’t be playing. If you have the 6th or higher pick in the first round, it would be awful tough to pass this guy up. If he plays all year, he is capable of putting up the best statistics in fantasy.
Upton plunked—Paul Byrd hit BJ Upton in the left elbow with a pitch on Thursday, and he was forced to leave the game with the trainer holding his left arm. Details are scarce at this point, but the initial diagnosis was a triceps contusion and he returned to the team’s spring facilities for more tests. Apparently, it appears that he escaped major injury, but keep an eye here for more information as it becomes available.
Bullpen News
It is now official, Joba Chamberlain will start the 2008 season in the Yankees bullpen. Manager Joe Girardi would not put a timetable on when Chamberlain would be joining the rotation, not even committing that it would be this season. Joba has not been nearly as dominating this spring as he was last season, posting a 6.13 ERA in just over seven innings. This news isn’t a red flag to send Joba to the waiver wire. In rotisserie leagues he will still be a good source of strikeouts, and a low ERA and WHIP.
After looking so good all spring, B.J. Ryan most likely will not be ready to be the Blue Jays closer to start the season. Ryan had been trying to accelerate his recovery from Tommy John surgery to be ready to go from the start of 2008. However, he reported soreness after his outing on Monday, and now the team reports they will hold him out of games “for the time being.” Thanks for being clear, Toronto! So, it may be a month or more before Ryan gets back to being the closer up north. A safe strategy would be to handcuff him with Jeremy Accardo, just in case there are further setbacks.
Stop me if you heard this one before, but Kerry Wood is injured. I know, I know, I was as shocked as you when I heard it! Wood is now complaining of back spasms and was held out of scheduled appearance on Wednesday, although he pitched one inning on Thursday which he gave up one run and struck out two. Lou Pinella has stated that this won’t have an effect on the closer’s competition, but if Wood is not ready to go expect Carlos Marmol to get the ball in the 9th inning for the Cubs. It still seems that if Wood is healthy it is his job, but that is as likely as the Orioles winning the pennant.
Brad Lidge pitched to some minor leaguers today, and apparently looked sharp. Lidge faced five batters, striking out three and walking one. Although it was his first step towards trying to return from knee surgery, coaches were encouraged enough by what they saw to say there was a chance he will be ready to go by Opening Day. I would still keep my hands on Tom Gordon if Lidge was on my roster, but at least there is some encouraging news on Brad for a change.
Patterson Released—The pitching starved Washington Nationals released pitcher John Patterson today, a surprise move even with his recent struggles with performance and injury. The man who started Opening Day for the Nats in 2007 will now be looking for a job with just over a week to go until the season starts. Fantasy owners recall 2005 when Patterson burst on the scene with nine wins, a 3.10 ERA and 185 strikeouts. Since then he has done nothing but disappoint, starting just 15 games in the last two seasons. There will most likely be a team somewhere who will give Patterson another chance, but when a team that will now possibly start Odalis Perez in the season opener lets you go, most likely your productive years are behind you.
As always, your questions (adds, drops, trades, draft questions, etc) and comments are welcome at fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com. I guarantee a response within 18 hours.
Here’s some info on Jeff Clement. Seattle has a vesting option on DH Jose Vidro that is rumored to kick in at about 400 at bats. Seattle won’t let this happen, so he will likely lose his starting job sometime in May. Jeff Clement and OF Wladimir Balentien are the two main candidates to fill the void.