A Look In The Minors

After a horrible start to the year, and two pitiful starts after being sent to the minors, Francisco Liriano appears to be taking baby steps in his return to the majors. Make no mistake about it, this is not a quick fix and he will be back. I don’t see Liriano returning to Minnesota sooner than the All-Star Break unless he is owning the minor leagues. So for those of you (like me) in keeper leagues holding on to him, you have a difficult decision to make. Like I said, he is still on my roster, but it is not necessarily cemented that he will stay there.

Starting to hear some rumblings that the promotion of Dodgers’ stud lefty Clayton Kershaw will be sooner rather than later. In fact, I read one report that it could be around the 18^th of May. If you are in a keeper league, I’m sure Kershaw is already owned, but for those of you in seasonal leagues start to find that guy on your roster that you deem expendable for when Clayton descends upon Chavez Ravine. He definitely could have a monster fantasy impact in 2008.

Reds’ prospect Homer Bailey continues to struggle with his consistency. After getting off to an impressive 3-1 start in which he allowed just three runs in those four starts, Bailey has now started giving up runs much more frequently. In fact, he was bombed in his last start allowing six runs over 4.1 innings and recording just one strikeout. He has been a top prospect for a long time now, but after his disappointing performances in 2007, being passed over by Johnny Cueto and Edinson Volquez, and now more inconsistency in 2008, it is hard to get too excited about Bailey until he can put a solid month together.

Although he is blocked at third in Colorado by Garrett Atkins, I can’t help but notice what Ian Stewart is doing in AAA. The average is still a little below where we would like to see it (.265), but it just 35 games Ian has nine homers and 30 RBI. There was a thought to putting him at second to try to get his bat in the lineup, but I don’t see that happening in the near future. Just keep tabs on any possible injuries in Colorado, all Stewart might need is a chance, and he might never go back down.

Everyone’s pick to have the most impact at the beginning of the season, Jay Bruce continues to toil at Triple-A. Although the way he is hitting, he might not be there for much longer. In his last nine games Bruce has amassed 17 hits, including six multi-hit games. He has hit two homers and drove in eight during this time. He hasn’t stolen a base, but does have seven on the season. Like Kershaw, Bruce is the kind of guy that you make sure ends up on your team when he does reach the majors, ESPECIALLY in keeper leagues.

Finally, even though he is just in AA, Matt LaPorta has some people noticing him. An outfield prospect for the Brewers, LaPorta is absolutely raking. In 36 games this year, LaPorta is batting .325 with 10 roundtrippers and 38 ribeyes. He also has 12 doubles, and even better, walks nearly as many times as he strikes out. It will be tough for him to crack the lineup in Milwaukee with Ryan Braun, Mike Cameron, and Corey Hart out there, but this is certainly a name to keep an eye on.

Injury News

It now appears that Alex Rodriguez will not be ready to rejoin the Yankees when he is eligible to come off the DL on Thursday. He has resumed most baseball activities including batting practice, fielding ground balls, and running in the outfield, but he is not running the bases. It looks as though the Yankees will be cautious and most likely hold him out of the big Subway Series this weekend against the Mets. They do not want a repeat of the last time A-Rod came back for just a few days, before ending up on the disabled list. This is crushing to fantasy owners, as you most likely spent the first or second overall pick on him. Unfortunately, however, there is nothing you can do but wait for the reigning MVP to get back on the field.

A nagging hamstring injury has sent Angels’ third baseman Chone Figgins to the shelf for 15 days. The speedy utility man has a strained right hamstring, was placed on the DL retroactive to May 4^th (the day after the last time he played) meaning he is eligible to come back on May 19^th. So far, it doesn’t sound like Mike Scioscia is sure that he will be able to return then, but it is far too soon to make that prediction.

The Toronto Blue Jays have taken another devastating injury, as CF Vernon Wells broke his wrist and will miss the next 6-8 weeks. Wells injured himself on a diving catch on Friday night and will be out of action until the end of June at the earliest. Stash Vernon on your injury spot, and hope that he is able to make a full recovery. However, broken wrists usually take time to heal, and even after he is back, he may not have 100% of the strength in that wrist. Beware!

Dodgers SS Rafael Furcal will be forced to the DL with a lower back strain, an injury that has cost him his team’s last five games. Since he has missed those games, the move will be retroactive to May 6^th, meaning best case scenario he will return on May 21^st. Furcal is leading the NL with a .366 batting average, and has been one of the best surprises of the fantasy season. Not only is he performing above expectations, but he is doing it at a shallow position.

Braves pitcher (closer-to-be?) John Smoltz says he hopes to be able to return to the field by the end of the month, perhaps in the next two weeks. He began to throw again recently, and thinks his rotator cuff will be strong enough for him to be able to throw in games again soon. He has been throwing from growing distances and so far has reported no pain. Those of you who drafted him (and kept him) have just bought your selves what appears to be a great source of saves.

In a triumphant return from the disabled list, Jimmy Rollins went 3-5 with a homer, a double, and three ribbies on Friday. Unfortunately, he followed that game up with an 0-9. Rollins absolutely needs to be back in your lineup immediately, as he should quickly get back on track to another great statistical season.

A less than triumphant return was had by A’s starter Rich Harden. He was activated off of the Rich Harden List, oh I mean Disabled List, on Sunday in time to start against the Rangers, but he was knocked around from the start. Harden only lasted 3.2 innings, while giving up five earned runs. You can’t go sending Harden to the waiver wire after that start however. When he is healthy, Harden is a top 15 starter, he just is never healthy. If he is able to make his next start he could throw seven shutout innings and strikeout ten. While he’s healthy, keep him active, when he finally gets hurt again, you know what to do.

Other News and Notes

Following yet another horrible outing, Kei Igawa will be headed to the Yankee bullpen, and rookie Ian Kennedy will be recalled to start Friday against the Mets. As far as I am concerned, this is non news. Neither Igawa or Kennedy should be owned at this point, but for all you Yankee homers out there, your boy Kennedy is getting another shot. This could get ugly!

Replacing injured Phil Hughes has been Darrell Rasner, who has been more than the Yankees could have hoped for. Rasner has gone six innings and allowed two runs in both of his starts, winning each. He hasn’t been striking out enough batters to be considered a great fantasy option, but considering the kind of offense he has behind him, he could be a good injury replacement on your team.

A couple of NL Central closers were removed from their duties this week. In Milwaukee, Eric Gagne was FINALLY taken out of the 9^th inning for the time being, after blowing his latest game. This bullpen situation will be a mess, as there is no clear cut favorite to get the saves. The first shot went to Salomon Torres, but he couldn’t finish out his first try so the save ended up going to Bob Shouse. Right now your guess is as good as mine who will close each time for the Brew Crew. They have announced it will be the dreadful “closer by committee”, but if I had to guess I would go with Dave Riske. Cards closer Jason Isringhausen asked to be removed as the closer for the time being to clear his head. Izzy had a bad run of appearances, and will probably need a week or two before he is ready to reclaim his role. For now it appears that Ryan Franklin will get the save chances, although with Tony LaRussa you never know what you are going to get.

A possible great pickup could be Indians rookie Aaron Laffey. He was pitching a no hitter into the sixth inning in his first start before the Yankees batted him around and chased him from the game. His next start he pitched seven beautiful innings, but lost on one unearned run. Third time was a charm as Laffey threw seven shutout innings for the second consecutive start, only this time finally got some run support en route to his first major league win. He isn’t a huge strikeout guy (eight in 19.2 innings), but could win his share of games and is a nice end of your rotation player.

Perhaps the hottest hitter in the majors is the Marlins’ Dan Uggla. In his last ten games, Uggla has raised his batting average by 34 points, hit seven homers and drove in 15 runs. He should be owned in all leagues, and if you own him, it wouldn’t hurt to see if this hot spurt might be enough for you to trade up to one of the top, more consistent options at second.

At the time of the trade, Mets’ GM Omar Minaya was killed for trading Lastings Milledge for Ryan Church and Brian Schneider. Six weeks into the season, a lot of Mets’ fans have some apologizing to do. Not only is Schneider been great behind the plate, but Church has been unconscious at it. After his third homer in the past five games on Sunday, Church is hitting .321 with seven dingers and 26 RBI. Now I don’t know if he can continue this all year (or if five years down the road this trade looks awful), but for right now Church is scorching hot. In my opinion, he won’t continue producing at this rate and is a great sell high candidate, especially for that Mets fan in your league.

Speaking of sell high, have you seen Kevin Youkilis’ gaudy stats? The American League Player of the Week, Youkilis is now hitting .322 with eight homers and 30 ribbies. Considering his career high is 83 RBI and he has 30 already, I would say that Youk is due for a pretty good slow down at some point here. Do yourself a favor and get something good for him now, his value will never be higher.

Another hitter who has been “lava hot” in May is Placido Polanco. He was dropped in a couple of leagues that I play in, and if that is the case for you and you don’t have one of the top five or six options at 2B then snatch him up right away. Polanco won’t hit for a ton of power, but should hit .320 or better, and at the second base position that is enough to be a good option.

For those of you in deeper leagues, keep an eye on Rangers rookie Brandon Boggs. He wasn’t listed as one of the top prospects in the Rangers’ organization, but he is making the most of his opportunity. Through his first 11 games, Boggs is hitting .326 with two taters and eight ribs. Don’t think he is worth owning yet, but if he is able to keep up at this pace, he is worth a flyer in 16+ team leagues.

For more, you can visit my site . I also accept emails about adds, drops, trades, keepers at fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com. I guarantee a response within 18 hours. How am I doing? Since this is only my second article as a member of the Office, any feedback would be appreciated.