Fantasy Football Week 1 Rankings
In case you missed it, I posted links to the position rankings for Week 1 of the 2013 NFL season last night and you can check them out in the link below:
Make sure you check out the Fantasy Football War Room on Sunday morning for all of your Start/Sit questions, running from 8:00am to 1:00pm over at SB Nation Fantasy.
Xander Bogaerts hits first major league home run
Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts has a bright future, and I have already written here previously that I think he should be playing every day right now. He has an excellent hit tool and power tool, and will more than likely be the Red Sox starting shortstop in 2014. Well, he gave us a glimpse of what we can expect from him in 2014 yesterday on one of the biggest stages in baseball - Yankee Stadium.
Bogaerts went 2-4 with a HR, his first big league home run, 2 runs and 3 RBI in the Red Sox 13-9 win over the Yankees. He has just 24 at bats since his call up, and he is hitting .333-.360-.500 with a HR, 4 runs and 4 RBI.
I was trading text messages with an owner in several of my home leagues, and he projected a 20-80-.295 season from Bogaerts in 2014. I think he could approach the 20 HRs, but see the 80 RBI and .295 batting average a little optimistic, but as a Bogaerts owner, I would be perfectly fine with that projection. What kind of numbers do you forecast for him in 2014?
For more on Bogaerts, make sure you check out Over the Monster, SB Nation's Red Sox fan site.
Brett Lawrie: Young and injury prone
Toronto's third baseman Brett Lawrie was all the rage heading into 2012 drafts, after his spectacular 2011 major league debut, where he hit .293-.373-.580 with 9 HRs, 26 runs, 25 RBI and 7 stolen bases in just 43 games. Last season, he was injured and played in only 125 games, disappointing many fantasy owners, as he hit .273-.324-.405 with 11 HRs, 73 runs, 48 RBI and 13 stolen bases in just under 500 at bats.
He has continued to disappoint his owners in 2013, hitting .261-.317-.425 with 11 HRs, 35 runs, 41 RBI and 7 stolen bases in 87 games in another injury-filled season. What should we expect from him in 2014? Lawrie turns 24 in January, so he still has a few years before we call him a bust, but he will have to stay healthy for a full season before we pin him with the bust label. He has disappointed in the power department over the last two years, with a low .400s slugging percentage, so one would hope he can improve in the power department at some point in the next year or so, as owners expect more power from the third base position than he has shown so far.
For more on Lawrie and the Blue Jays, make sure you check out Bluebird Banter, SB Nation's Blue Jays fan site
Round'em Up
In his first major league start, Nationals pitcher Tanner Roark shut out the Marlins on just four hits, no walks and 4 strikeouts in 6 innings of work last night in the Nationals win. Roark had previously been used as a long man in the Nationals bullpen, and now has 4 wins in 10 big league appearances. That has to be some kind of record, no?
I expected more from Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman this season, and maybe I was a year early on him returning to the 30 home run, 90 RBI club. Last night, Zimmerman went 2-5 with 2 HRs, 2 runs and 3 RBI, and is now hitting .276-.349-.452 with 19 HRs, 68 runs and 67 RBI in 127 games. He could be moving across the diamond in 2014 due to his issues throwing the baseball after his shoulder surgery. He should come cheaper in 2014 drafts, and return to the 25-30 home run hitter he was a few seasons ago.
A's starter Dan Straly hasn't been one of the more consistent starters in the American League, but he has put together three solid starts in a row now. Yesterday, he shutout the Astros on 2 hits, a walk and 7 strikeouts over 7 innings in the A's 2-1 win. He moved his record to 9-7 with a 4.15 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and a 109-48 strikeout to walk rate over 134.1 innings.
The Astros have several young starters who are flying under the radar of fantasy owners looking for streamer options. Brett Oberholtzer is one such starter. Yesterday, he was the unlucky loser in the Astros 2-1 loss to the A's. Oberholtzer limited the A's to one run on 7 hits, no walks and 5 strikeouts over 6 innings on the mound, and is now 4-2 with a 2.65 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and a solid 35-7 strikeout to walk rate in 54.1 innings this season. He has given up two runs or less in five of his seven starts since being added to the Astros starting rotation.
Braves shortstop Andrelton Simmons is quite possibly the best defensive player in the game, but last night he hit a game-tying home run off of Phillies closer Jonathan Papelbon. Simmons went 3-4 with a HR, 2 runs and 2 RBI and is now hitting .253-.298-.393 with 15 HRs, 69 runs, 52 RBI and 5 stolen bases in 10 attempts. He may not hit for a high average or get on base much, but 15 HRs from a late round shortstop is not bad at all.
The Red Sox have scored 54 runs over their last four games, but one hitter who has not really participated in the run production is second baseman Dustin Pedroia. Sure, he had three hits on Friday night, but he has only six hits in those four games and two runs scored. On the season, Pedroia is hitting .299-.373-.415 with 8 HRs, 79 runs, 78 RBI and 16 stolen bases, which is solid production, but he may drop a few spots in my second base rankings this offseason due to the drop in power.
More from Fake Teams:
- Streamer Report: Sunday's Streamers
- Roto Roundup: Yusmeiro Petit, Jose Fernandez, Omar Infante, and Others
- Around the League - A.L. and N.L.
- MLB Prospect Rankings: Reviewing My Bold Prospect Predictions, Part 3
- Early Look at the Top 50 fantasy starting pitchers for 2014
- Roto Roundup: Julio Urias, Pablo Sandoval, David Ortiz and Others