Fantasy Baseball: Saturday's Roto Roundup

Getting a late start after getting home late from dinner last night, and cooking breakfast on Mother's Day. Just read some of Buster Olney's Sunday morning blog post, and here is what he had to say about Stephen Strasburg's first major league start estimate:

Our colleague Tim Kurkjian is on record as guessing June 8, when the Washington Nationals will be at home against the Pittsburgh Pirates -- and you know what? That date makes complete sense. There is one off day built into the Syracuse schedule this month, and I think they'll use that to give Strasburg a little extra rest. That would put him in line to pitch either on June 3 or June 8. The Nationals' game on June 3 is at Houston, and you'd have to believe Washington would want Strasburg's first game to be in Washington. By throwing the right-hander against the Pirates at home in a mid-week game, they'll have a perfect storm for possible success in place: An enormous and welcoming home crowd and a subpar team on the other side of the field.

I own Strasburg in an NL-only keeper league at $14, so I am looking forward to activating him in early June.

Speaking of minor league prospects, it appears the Pirates will also wait till at least June to bring up Pedro Alvarez and Jose Tabata, as Dejan Kovacevic from the Pittsburg Post Gazette writes:

Looking back, Andrew McCutchen had no such issues last year, and he might have been a better example of the free-agency/arbitration cases than ones focused entirely on development. But even he acknowledges that the extra two months he spent in Indianapolis last year were pivotal toward the outstanding rookie season that followed his June promotion.

"They just want to make sure you're ready, and I understand that now," McCutchen said. "I remember, going back to spring training of '07, I did really well and thought I was ready. Then, I started badly for Altoona and realized how much more experience I needed. I know we've got some talented guys down there right now, but they'll be here when they're ready. Just do what you have to do to make that happen."

Tabata stole two bases last night to give him 16 for the season. It appears Tabata will be a top of the order hitter since his power has not developed. With Tabata and Andrew McCutchen at the top of the Pirates lineup, and Alvarez and Garrett Jones in the middle, the Pirates will have the makings of a Thunder and Lightning type lineup come 2011.

Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira sent a few "Tex messages" out of Fenway Park yesterday, three in total, and he is red hot after a very cold, frigid one might say, start to the season.

Another huge piece of information from Olney's blog post this morning is this:

In a weird way, Boston's problems are liberating for the Red Sox front office. Epstein can make moves, such as the pursuit of Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Russell Martin, aimed to improve the Red Sox for now, but also to reconstruct the team for next year.

Quite interesting that Olney just threw out that name in his discussion of the Red Sox. The Dodgers need pitching, but I am curious who the Red Sox would give up for Martin if such a deal should happen. I will take a closer look at this later today for Monday's article.

Speaking of the Red Sox, Olney adds this:

I'd be stunned if Ortiz finishes the month on the Boston roster.

The Rangers have called up pitching prospect Derek Holland per Drew Davison of the Dallas News:

Derek Holland is scheduled to make his first start this season during the upcoming series with the Oakland Athletics, most likely Wednesday.

More thoughts after the jump:

Rockies rookie starter Jhoulys Chacin shut out the Dodgers for 7+ innings on Saturday. He struck out 7 while giving up 6 hits and 2 walks. He has yet to give up a run in 14+ innings so far. He should be picked up in NL-only leagues, and is an option in deeper mixed leagues.

Rockies third baseman Ian Stewart hit his 6th HR and drove in 3 in the Rockies win over the Dodgers. He is hitting .293-.396-.554 on the season, and may finally be reaching his potential after struggling a few years in AAA.

Yankees catcher Francisco Cervelli had 3 hits and drove in 5 runs on Saturday, and there is some push in New York for the Yankees to push Jorge Posada to DH and allow Cervelli catch every day. Cervelli shluld be picked up on AL-only leagues and is an option in mixed leagues should that happen.

White Sox starter seems to have righted the ship with his second consecutive dominant start on Saturday. He gave up 2 runs on 3 hits, and struck out 8 in winning his second game of the season. It appears to be safe to put Peavy back in your lineup going forward.

The Brewers just keep scoring runs in bunches these days after scoring 17 runs against the Diamondbacks on Saturday night. Jody Gerut lead the attack by hitting for the cycle and driving in 4 runs. Ryan Braun had two hits, scored 4 runs and drove in 4.

Reds starter Aaron Harang had his best start of the season, going 6 2/3rd innings, allowing two runs on 7 hits and striking out 9. The Reds need more performances like this from Harang to compete in the NL Central, or to increase Harang's trade value.

Reds catcher Ryan Hanigan had 3 hits and drove in 5 in the Reds rout of the Cubs on Saturday. Hanigan is hitting .409-.509-.636 and is taking starts away from Ramon Hernandez.

Cubs starter Tom Gorzelanny struck out 9 Reds in the losing effort, and has now struck out 36 batters in 35 innings, while walking only 11. His ERA sits at a solid 2.83 so far this season with his WHIP at 1.20. He is one reason why Carlos Zambrano is in the bullpen.

Update (11:23 am)

More from Olney on Seattle's woes:

The Mariners continue to be a mess -- they're 11-19, have lost eight straight and are averaging 3.1 runs per game. Chone Figgins is hitting .192.As Larry Stone writes, it's not a good time to be trying to trade for hitting, because there are so few sellers right now. Which is why the Mariners' best shot for upgrading their offense might be a deal with the Kansas City Royals for Jose Guillen, which is going to be a pricey gamble. Another possibility: Maybe Seattle could try to acquire Hank Blalock, who is hitting close to .400 in Triple-A for the Rays.

 

 

With each Seattle loss, the chances that the Mariners will be trading Cliff Lee before the deadline mount.

I was chatting with Lookout Landing's Jeff Sullivan about Lee a few nights ago. He thinks the Mariners hold tight and attempt to make a run for the AL West, while I agree with Olney. I think Seattle can get back more in a deadline deal involving Lee than they gave up to the Phillies this past offseason.