Crooked Pitch

Brandon Morrow of the Seattle Mariners is a perfect late-season addition for fantasy baseball squads. The 24-year-old pitcher startled fans by almost throwing a no-hitter in his first career start. If he had completed the honorable milestone, he would have driven the final stake into the heart of the New York Yankees’ 2008 Regular Season.

He can drive a final stake into your fantasy baseball competitor’s season, too.

Most people shied away from the relief-pitcher fearing that he would produce Braden Looper-type statistics as a starter. But, now everyone wants him. The MLB sophomore sparkled in his debut as a starter and will likely become a part of the Mariners’ future pitching-staff.

In all of his minor league starts, Morrow only threw 82 pitches. In Friday’s game against the Yankees, he tossed a total of 106 pitches. He confessed that, “[he] was tired. [His] arm felt great, but [he] was tired.” Morrow’s arm will progressively adapt to pitching more innings. But for now, owners can count on him to pitch about five solid innings without giving up a plethora of runs.

Also, the youngster will not need a lot of time to adapt. The 2006 First-Round draft pick only needed a mere sixteen innings in the Minor Leagues before jumping into the Majors. It will only be a period of time before he evolves into a full-time starter capable of pitching eight innings or so.

Originally, scouting reporters believed that his small repertoire would not last six-innings. However, in Friday night’s miraculous start against the Yankees, he pitched strong through 7.2 innings. In fact, he would have lasted longer had Wilson Betemit not broken his no-hit bid scoring a run.

According to Pitch F/X, he threw his fastball 58% of the time on Friday night. As a mediocre relief pitcher, he depended on his fastball 76% of the time. He will be pure gold if he continues to utilize his full repertoire of a fastball, split-finger, and a curveball.

Brandon Morrow’s flaw had always been controlling his fabulous pitches. But, he had no evident issues during Friday night’s game. Joe Girardi commented, “When you have stuff like that and you can locate with that stuff, you’re going to shut down a lot of lineups. He was electric tonight.” He will continue to “shut down,” powerful line-ups in the future.

His average velocity during last night’s game was 95.7 MPH. USS Mariner, one of the most-popular blogs covering the Seattle Mariners, believes that if he continues to throw 95 MPH pitches most of the time, “he’s going to be terrific.”

At this moment, ESPN.Com claims that Morrow is owned in only 33.0% of its various leagues. Patrick Dahl of Rotoworld believes that the starter is, “worth a flier in mixed leagues.” A key acquisition now could be the difference between being glorified as the league champion and not even being in the playoff-picture.

Scott Kazmir, the Tampa Bay Rays’ finest pitcher, was diagnosed with a left elbow strain earlier in the week. The 24-year old ace experienced pain in his pitching arm before Tuesday’s intrasquad game. With pain that felt “like a hyperextension,” how will this minor injury affect the pitcher’s fantasy value in 2008?

Minimally. Kazmir is a must-have for fantasy leagues that “record and award” points for strikeouts. In the 2007 Regular Season, the former-Met led the American League with 239 strikeouts. But, since he is playing for the infamous Tampa Bay Rays, I wouldn’t be confident in counting on him for wins. Depending on the configuration of your league, I would try drafting him earlier on around the Seventh Round. He should be an integral component of your fantasy baseball success in 2008.

Kazmir said that he will be resting for two weeks due to his recent diagnosis. The MRI results claimed that there was “no serious injury.” Once he recovers from this minor injury, he should be back to his old ways of striking out unlucky batters - I hope.

Ian Kinsler and the Texas Rangers have agreed to a five-year deal that could be worth $32 Million. The 25-year-old was the center of attention in the 2007 Regular Season, starting off the year with nine home runs in April. Although many Fantasy Baseball owners traded him when his value was sky high, Kinsler may be an excellent second baseman for Keeper Leagues.

Kinsler, a solid fantasy baseball performer, has a powerful swing and excellent speed around the bases. In the 2007 Regular Season, his production was cut short as the two-year veteran missed 32 games due to a left foot injury. Brian Walton of CREATiVESPORTS believes that the youngster’s, “third season [will be] a complete and productive one.”

The Fantasy Baseball 2008 Guide projects the Arizona resident to hit for a .274 average, with 19 home runs, 70 RBI’s, and 18 stolen bases. As evident, Kinsler is still developing into an All-Star caliber second baseman. But, his current production is sufficient and he is clearly one of the best second basemen in Major League Baseball.

Kinsler and Michael Young are the future of the Texas Rangers’ organization. They should also be the cornerstones of your Fantasy Baseball franchises, too.