Crooked Pitch

Thank you for visiting Crooked Pitch! While you're here you'll find tons of valuable fantasy baseball information to help you win your fantasy baseball league. If you're new here, or haven't done so yet, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. You can also follow Crooked Pitch on Twitter @crookedpitch Thanks for visiting!

There comes a time for every fantasy baseball owner where they need to find a short-term pickup. Not someone to center the team around, not a high risk/high reward prospect, no, just someone to fill in until an injured player gets back. The criteria for choosing such a player comes down to two things; durability and consistent performance. If you are scrambling for some short-term relief, here are three players that are probably available.

A.J. Pierzynski | Chicago White Sox | C
Over the past three seasons Pierzynski’s logged at least 472 at-bats each year. During this time he’s averaged 14 home runs, 58 RBI and scored 62 runs. He hits both left and right handed pitching well and he is under no real challenge to lose his job. He also hits in the middle of a veteran lineup with plenty of opportunities to drive in runs. He is currently available in 77% of Yahoo leagues.

Lyle Overbay | Toronto Blue Jays | 1B
Currently available in over 90 % of Yahoo leagues, Overbay has, at least, 425 at-bats in each of the last three seasons. Over that time he has averaged .277 with 16 home runs, and 68 RBI. He is currently batting .342 with ten RBI.

Bronson Arroyo | Cincinnati Reds | SP
There is a good chance Arroyo is sitting available in your league right now (Currently available in 75% of Yahoo leagues). He has 200-plus innings pitched in each of his last three seasons. Coming off a 2008 campaign where he posted 15 wins, he has averaged 166 strikeouts and a WHIP of 1.33 for the last three years.

These players may just buy you enough time to get your regulars back in the lineup and still keep you in first place contention.

If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. You can actually beat ‘em and still join them says Pat Burrell who has signed a two year, $16 million deal with the Tampa Bay Rays.

On the surface this is a great deal for the Rays. They get another big bat in the lineup, and this bat can actually hit lefties.

Burrell doesn’t seem to benefit from the move as much as the Rays do. He’s moving to a park that is a bit tougher on hitters than Citizens Bank is (although they are pretty close) and he didn’t fare too well last season against American League pitchers (.200/.339/.400 with two home runs, three RBI), even though the sample size was limited at 15 games / 50 at-bats.

However, Burrell will now get to DH instead of playing the field which could be a benefit. Time will tell on that one.

Burrell’s 187.34 Average Draft Position won’t likely change too much with this move to Tampa. He’s still a 16th round pick who should hit between .250 and .260 and blast 25-30 home runs.

The Los Angeles Angels just signed Brian Fuentes to a two year, $17.5 million deal which fills their need for a closer.

Last season in Colorado, the 33-year-old lefty saved 30 games with a 2.73 ERA. In 62.2 Fuentes struck out 82 and walked only 22.

Fuentes got better as the season rolled on in 2008. He had a 3.41 ERA in the first half and a 1.84 ERA in the second half. He also increased his strikeout rate fanning 45 in 25.2 second half innings in relation to 37 strikeouts in 37 innings in the first half.

In addition to Fuentes getting better in the second half, he also showed marked improvements from 2007 in some key areas. He increased his K/9 from 8.22 to 11.78 while reducing his BB/9 from 3.38 to 3.16. Most of the time those kinds of swings are recipes for success for a relief pitcher. Fuentes also dropped his HR/9 from 0.88 to 0.43. These improvements all came while his hit rate took a beating. In 2007 Fuentes was a bit lucky with a 25.5% hit rate. In 2008 his hit rate climbed into the unlucky level of 31.7%. If he gets a normalization back toward his career mark of 29.8%, you could see Fuentes’ numbers get better in 2009.

Fuentes’ stock certainly rose with this announcement in the fantasy world. He’ll see more opportunities to earn saves pitching for the Angels. And, if his stats keep trending in positive directions, you could see him break into the top 10 area of the closers ranking list.

News is out that the Boston Red Sox have signed starting pitcher Brad Penny. Penny had a disappointing 2008 season going 6-9 with a 6.27 ERA and a 1.21 strikeout to walk ratio (51:42) before being shut down with shoulder problems.

Prior to 2008, Penny scored consecutive 16-win seasons and hovered around the 200 innings pitched mark. His strikeout to walk ratio in 2006 was 2.74 (148:54) and 1.85 (135:73) in 2007.

His declining strikeout to walk ratios over the past three years is troublesome. Penny should no longer be considered an upper end of the rotation guy. But he should slide into the Red Sox rotation nicely behind Beckett, Matsuzaka, Lester, and Wakefield and could be a nice fantasy option as a back of the rotation, very late round flier kind of pick.

A little slow this week with the All-Star game and no injuries or call-ups, but I wanted to get a list up this week. You can find my daily updates at RotoSavants.com. As always I will try to supply one from each of the following positions at my weekly review here on Crooked Pitch (C, CI, MI, OF, SP and RP) I will include there current availability which may have changed since my initial review.

C - Gerald Laird - I have reviewed him before and he is a quality backup or injury fill in and Texas prefers to use him behind the plate when healthy. I expect him to get right back to work when he gets of the DL.

He is owned in 12% of CBS leagues

CI - Chad Tracy- I was shocked to see him only at 23% ownership as he is worth owning in mixed leagues and can play 1B or 3B. His flexibility and 20 homer potential are must adds. He won’t likely reach the 27 homers he did 2005, but he is a great backup for his flexibility.

He is only owned in 23% of CBS leagues.

MI - Jed Lowrie - He might not give this up this season and starting in Boston he should get enough R and RBI opportunities batting even at the back of the order. Being a SS makes him that more valuable and any league playing MI he should be owned. I would play him over someone like Betancourt.

He is only owned in 12% of CBS leagues.

OF - Cody Ross - Something about those Marlins they find the talent to compete every year. It’s a shame they don’t play in a big market to get a better fan base, but then they probably wouldn’t play these young guys. Ross is on a tare and in his age 27 year is having a huge season. All of his ratios look good and even his BABIP is a bit low at .270.

He is only owned in 60% of CBS leagues.

SP - Anibal Sanchez - His ownership will shoot up once people see he is almost back and his name will carry value for his no hitter. I don’t see him as the pitcher with an ERA under 3 he had that year, but he is surely able to help your team. Plus as well as the Marlins are hitting he should have a good opportunity to get some wins.

He is owned in 4% of leagues.

RP - Octavio Dotel - I suggested him back when Gagne was pulled for ineffectiveness, but now I am suggesting him more as a ratio helper as the season wears down. If you are doing well in wins then he is a good help in K, ERA and WHIP. Plus he is getting the odd save to only increas his value. His K/9 stands at 12.76!

He is only owned in 18% as of this morning on CBS.

Here is a review of this weeks best pickups as reviewed on Roto Savants. It’s been an extra week since my last article so I am going to try to get back on track for weekly updates. I will still have one of each of the following (C, CI, MI, OF, SP and RP). I will include their current availability that may have changed since my initial review. The reviews are how I view the player today.

C - Kelly Shoppach- He will never replace Victor when healthy, but he is a good stopgap at the catcher position. I would use him as an injury fill in/ backup in mixed leagues. He has good power, but lacking in the average and OBP categories.

He is currently owned in 30% of leagues.

CI – Billy Butler - He was discussed on The True Guru show last week along with later suggestion Adam Jones. I think he has turned it around and with enough AB’s he will be a usable player. Don’t expect more than 10 homers in the second half, but a good pickup for a breakout second half.

He is only owned in 35% of CBS leagues.

MI – Nomar Garciaparra - Kind of a cheat here, but at 4 games played at SS he should be eligible by Friday for MI. Could be a surprise second half player if healthy with SS eligibility. He has shown some power since coming back and may help for those with a week SS/MI option.

He is only owned in 22% of CBS leagues.

OF – Adam Jones - A slow first half has dropped his ownership and made him a good pickup for a strong second half. The average is up over .280 now although the power is still lacking. I could still see a 15/15 season, which would make for a good pickup.

He is only owned in 39% of CBS leagues.

SP – Ian Snell - I was going to suggest Buchholz, but since my recommendation he has crossed my threshold of 60% ownership. Snell though is still available in many leagues and hopefully a DL stop has helped fix what was bothering him. His bad season has been based largely on luck factors and a dropped K/9. If he ups the K/9 to last years rate he should be a plus. He still won’t get wins in Pittsburgh though.

He is owned in 29% of leagues.

RP – Joel Zumaya - I still like him to close, but there have been rumblings of making him into a starter next year. I don’t think this will factor in this year and any need for a closer will be filled by Zumaya, but keeper leagues should keep him in mind as a possible back end starter for next year.

He is only owned in 27% as of this morning on CBS.

We start to enter trade talk time so keeping an eye on guys changing leagues or getting full time spots will be my target now. As always I will try to supply one from each of the following positions at my weekly review here on Crooked Pitch (C, CI, MI, OF, SP and RP) I will include their current availability, which may have changed, since my initial review.

C – Jarrod Saltalamacchia – He is in for starting duties while Laird is out and if he can start to put things together he may keep them whether it is C or DH he should continue from this point to play 5-6 days a week.

He is owned in 50% of CBS leagues.

CI – Chris Davis- This falls under possible trade or call up moves.  He is not up yet, but pushing hard and playing well.  He has 30 homer potential so keep a close eye for openings in Texas.

He is only owned in 4% of CBS leagues.

MI – Jeff Keppinger – He is back from his injury and is a must add if you are in need of BA help in mixed leagues.  He lacks in power and the OBP will drop due to a lack in BB’s, but he should hit over .300 and get enough runs and RBI’s to be of use at SS or MI.

He is only owned in 33% of CBS leagues.

OF – David Dejesus – Another one trick pony in OBP, but has enough runs and RBI’s to be useful.  The surprise here is the added power this season.  He is on pace for 17 homers this year which would be a career high and give him bench status on most rosters.  He is a good fill in and can steal around 10 bases too.

He is only owned in 48% of CBS leagues.

SP – Gil Meche – I am surprised to see him dropped so much as he was never an ace even last year.  He will have an ERA around 4 to end the year and a few wins, although limited in KC.  I would carry him as my 4th or 5th starter.

He is owned in 33% of leagues.