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Time For MVP/Cy Young Considerations

Cy Young Award, Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes, Fantasy Baseball Strategy, Fantasy Baseball Updates, MVP, White Rabbit 1 Response »

Aug 132010

The White Rabbit Speaks

With less than one third of a season to play, it is time to look at the leaders of baseballs’ two major awards, the Cy Young award winners and the Most Valuable players of each league.

The National League has three pitchers standing out above the others. Ubaldo Jimenez has lead the Colorado Rockies all season. He is 17-3, 2.55. He has slowed down a bit but is still a leader for this award. How many wins a pitcher gets is always a major consideration for this award.

Adam Wainwright of the St. Louis Cardinals has been outstanding. He is now tied with Jimenez for wins on the season, going 17-6, 1.99. He seems to be picking up speed rather than slowing down. He is certainly a front runner.

Roy Halladay of the Philadelphia Phillies is still in the race. Roy is 14-8, 2.34. Halladay is the type of pitcher who can pour it on from now to the end of the season. His numbers could very well top the others by seasons’ end.

All three pitchers are playing for contenders. This is also a general consideration for the award. It could come down to which pitcher gets his team into the playoffs.

The American League has six leading contenders for the award.

David Price of the Tampa Bay Rays has surprised many with his season thus far. He is 15-5, 2.84. He wins the big games for the Rays.

C.C. Sabathia of the New York Yankees again is a major contender. He is 15-5, 3.14. He’s known to pitch great down the stretch run. C.C. could pull it off again.

Carl Pavano of the Minnesota Twins is having his best season, going 14-7, 3.28. He shows no signs of slowing down and should finish strong.

Three others still appear to be in the running.

Clay Buchholz of the Boston Red Sox is 13-5, 2.49. Justin Verlander of the Detroit Tigers is 13-7, 3.72. And Phil Hughes of the New York Yankees is 13-5, 3.92. These pitchers will need some help the rest of the way to have a chance of taking this award.

The MVP award is still wide open in each league.

The Colorado Rockies outfielder Carlos Gonzalez has been outstanding and hot, hitting .322 with 25 homers and 77 rbi’s.

Cincinnati Reds first baseman Joey Votto has been carrying the team on his back and is hitting .319 with 28 homers and 77 rbi’s.

And of course, St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols has been picking things up and is now hitting .310 with 28 homers and 84 rbi’s.

The American League has even more contenders.

Josh Hamilton of the Texas Rangers is showing no signs of slowing down. He is hitting .357 with 24 homers and 78 rbi’s.

Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers is having another outstanding season, hitting .339 with 26 homers and 93 rbi’s.

The Boston Red Sox third baseman Arian “the boomer” Beltre has to be considered. He is hitting .331 with 21 homers and 79 rbi’s. Beltre has been hitting solid and should continue to improve on those numbers.

The New York Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano has been leading the best team in baseball all season. He is hitting .327 with 21 homers and 72 rbi’s.

A darkhorse in the race for MVP may very well be Delmon Young of the Minnesota Twins. Young has been on fire for quite some time now and is hitting .319 with 14 homers and 84 rbi’s. If he continues hot, his numbers should rapidly rise.

The season has a ways to go. Players get hot and cold. Who will rise above it all in the end? It’s your pick now. Who do you think will win these prestigious awards?

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Showalter Has Orioles Cooking!

Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes, Fantasy Baseball Strategy, Fantasy Baseball Updates, Jesse No Responses »

Aug 122010

By Jesse West

Since Buck Showalter took over as manager of the Baltimore Orioles, the team has gone 8-1. That’s outstanding!

The team was just dwelling by itself as the worse team in baseball and Showalter appears to have awaken them. The bats have come alive and the pitching is finally pitching.

Before the season began, I thought if the young pitching came around, this team had good hitting and could make a statement in the powerful AL East. But everything fell apart early.

The outfield of Felix Pie, Adam Jones, and Nick Markakis is playing and hitting solid. First baseman Luke Scott is having his best season and hitting with power. With Brian Roberts back from the DL and hitting well, the team is now potent and opponents are feeling the heat!

But the pitching is finally starting to pitch. Brad Bergensen just threw a 2 hit complete game victory as the team got 13 hits. This type of play hasn’t been seen in Baltimore all season.

One has to wonder what Showalter has done to change things around. Instilling confidence has to be a key ingredient. These Orioles always had it in them. And the return of Roberts helped give confidence to the rest as well.

Where do they go from here? Showalter has been successful everywhere he has been. I suspect he will make the Orioles competitive for the remainder of the season. Next year they just may be able to make a run at the AL East.

And that would make 5 power teams in 1 division. Don’t be surprised, I thought it would happen this season.

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Fantasy Baseball News

Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes, Fantasy Baseball Strategy, Fantasy Baseball Updates, Jesse 1 Response »

Aug 082010

By Jesse West

Baseball continues through the heat of August as playoff positioning starts to take shape. As teams fight to better their position, the Fantasy manager is busy making and molding his own team as he looks towards the playoffs.

Here are a few up to date items of interest for you, the Fantasy manager. Hopefully, they will help you to stay on top of your teams situation.

White Sox 2nd baseman Gordon Beckham suffered a groin strain in todays game. He is expected to miss tomorrows game and will evaluate his condition at that time. It is likely he will miss Tuesday as well.

Mariners outfielder Chris Coghlan will undergo knee surgery that will finish his season. He has a torn meniscus.

The Dodgers released outfielder Garret Anderson. Anderson was hitting .181 with 2 homers in a part time role. This should end a very fine 17 year career.

Oaklands 1st baseman Daric Barton left todays game with left shoulder spasms. At this time it is not considered serious.

Phillies 1st baseman Ryan Howard states he will be back on the playing field on the 17th, the first day he is eligible to come of the DL. Howard says his ankle is still swellen but it is deceiving.

Jays outfielder Vernon Wells made a sensational leaping catch today as he slammed in the outfield wall. As he fell to the ground, he dislocated his toe. It is not known how serious it is and is listed as day-to-day for the time being.

While the Rays played in Toronto, they sent pitchers Jeff Neimann and Wade Davis back to Tampa to be examined by the team doctors. Both are complaining of shoulder stiffness. It is expected that Jeremy Hellickson will be called back up to pitch for Davis on Tuesday.

And I’ve saved the best for last. This needs to be spoken about.

Rockies outfielder Carlos Gonzalez is severely red hot! Everyone get out of his way!

Gonzalez on the season is hitting .327, 25 homers, 77 rbi’s. But in his last 10 games, he is hitting .489 with 7 homers and three 4 hit games. This man is on his way to being a number 1 draft pick next season. Playing in Coors field doesn’t hurt either.

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Pitchers That Have Arrived

Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes, Fantasy Baseball Strategy, Fantasy Baseball Updates, Jesse, White Rabbit No Responses »

Aug 062010

The White Rabbit Speaks

2010 is being hailed as the “year of the pitcher”. And for good reason. The overall stats of pitchers shows that they are dominating for the first time in many years.

The biggest impact has a been a slew of rookie pitchers that are having a major impact on their teams. But as rookies go, next year may be a different story.

But there are a few pitchers that many thought were a year or two away from bringing their game up to the next level. These pitchers should continue to dominate for years to come. These pitchers “have arrived”.

Clay Buchholz of the Boston Red Sox threw a no-hitter a couple of years back and then got sent back to the minors. He then had control issues. The Sox did not give up on him. This year he is 11-5, 2.59. In 111.0 IP he has given up 90 hits with 78 K’s.

David Price started the All-Star game this year. Tampa Bay Rays fans dreamed of the day that Price would dominate. He is 14-5, 2.82. He has 140.2 IP, 117 hits, and 124 K’s.

Clayton Kershaw showed flashes of greatness last season for the Los Angeles Dodgers, but surely it was too soon to expect much more. He is 10-6, 2.94. In 137.2 IP, he has given up 110 hits with 144 K’s.

Everyone had Mat Latos on their radar during the draft this year, but he was only a speculation. He has become the ace of the strong San Diego Padres pitching staff. He is 11-5, 2.47. In 123.2 IP, he has given up 88 hits with 119 K’s. Remarkable!

But the biggest surprise in my book is the Cincinnati Reds pitcher Johnny Cueto. He has become a winner, the guy you turn to when you need that big victory. Cueto is 11-2, 3.24, with 136 IP, 127 hits, and 98K’s.

These are the pitchers that you should be able to count on down the stretch drive. They know how to win the big ones. These young pitchers have finally arrived!

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