On this day in 1912, Detroit Tigers pitcher Al Travers turned in a Vin Mazzaro-esque performance, giving up 24 runs on 26 hits in 8 innings pitched against the Philadelphia Athletics. It was the only game he pitched (he was one of manager Hughie Jennings' replacement players; 19 of his regulars were protesting the suspension of Ty Cobb), but according to Baseball-Reference he sports a WAR of -2.1. Travers' ERA+: 22. Today is also a pretty significant day in US history; it is the anniversary of Plessy v. Ferguson (1896, Brown v. Board of Education was yesterday, btw) and of the creation of the Tennessee Valley Authority (1933). Finally, happy birthday to Joakim Soria (1984) and Tina Fey (1970). Here are your fantasy baseball links for today:
Royal Revolution | Baseball Prospectus
As the spring turns into summer and fall, and moves on to next year, we’ll almost certainly start seeing the wave of prospects begin to fully take over in Kansas City.
Top 100 Baseballers | Sons of Roto
Re-ranking players regardless of position.
Anyone that plays fantasy baseball had one thought once they saw the line: "Holy crap, who has him??" and then they scurried off to their league’s website to see if anyone took the beating.
A Reminder That Elite Pitchers Don't Walk Guys | Beyond the Box Score
Walks are often at the core of any good offense's output, and the best pitchers in the game are able to stifle that in order to limit the damage that hard contact can do. Many pitchers can miss bats or keep the ball on the ground, but the very best pitchers are able to combine those kinds of skills with the ability to avoid handing guys free passes.
On the Beat: The Incumbent | Baseball Prospectus
Royals farmhands, rumors, and scouting reports.
Labrum Surgery vs. Tommy John Surgery | Roto Hardball
Pitching Injuries: what's the difference between Tommy John surgery & a labral repair? This article gives a compare & contrast of the two.
Hot and Cold for Fantasy Baseball | Razzball
Before you close the deal ... | The Hardball Times
Trading for closers before the MLB trade deadline can be tricky.
Chris Davis and Justin Turner: Deep League Waiver Wire | FanGraphs Fantasy Baseball
Fantasy Baseball Diamond Market: Eric Thames, more | KFFL.com
Another power bat joins the Blue Jays, and a more anticipated call-up coming to KC.
Follow the jump for more of the latest fantasy baseball news and analysis from around the web.
Fantasy Beat: Alex Rios, Enigma | Baseball Prospectus
As mentioned before, Rios is putting the ball on the ground more than at any other time in his career. While the increase in ground balls will certainly erode anyone’s power numbers, Rios has been hit with a double whammy as his HR/FB rate has steadily decreased over that same time—save for a spike last summer.
Bautista and hits to left field | The Hardball Times
Of 35 batted balls, 28 were hits. Twelve of those hits were home runs, 12 were singles, and four were doubles. Eighteen were fly balls, four were ground balls, and 13 were line drives. Based on the description from MLB Gameday). In 35 at-bats, 68 total bases, an .800 batting average and a 1.942 slugging percentage.
Can Dan Uggla Turn His Ugly Season Around? | LestersLegends.com
Obviously you can’t just cut him, but should you cut your losses and try to move him based on his name value alone? On the flip side, if you don’t own him should you put a feeler out to see what his asking price is?
Logan Morrison: Sell High Candidate or Blossoming Prospect? | Rotoprofessor
The fact is he doesn’t have a track record of power numbers, but he’s 23 years old and he’s 6-3 235 already, he could certainly be developing power now that never existed before. A lot of people might tell you to sell high on Morrison, but I think a 23 year-old guy who could finish the year with a line of .300-80-20-80 is worth holding on to.
Jason Kubel: Sell High? | FanGraphs Fantasy Baseball
But for all that he’s done so far, it’s still a guarantee that Kubel will be losing some playing time as the season progresses, in part by default, in part because of his own limitations and in part due to his teammates’ eventual returns from injury.
Rejuvenated Jhonny | Fantasy Baseball 365
While there might be a little bit of room to sell high given his current power binge, if you managed to snag Jhonny off of waivers, you may have just found yourself a season-long value.
Gaby Sanchez on the rise? | Marlin Maniac
A decrease in strikeouts and increase in walks would obviously be beneficial to Sanchez’s game, but neither of those two things will up his wOBA as high as his BABIP has this season. Right now, we feel pretty strongly that he is a better player than what we thought we had, but it seems pretty obvious that he is not as good as advertised so far this year.
A Quick Look at Eric Hosmer | Baseball Analytics Blog
I hope the Royals encourage him to keep taking those pitches. Eventually he'll get the calls, and pitchers will be forced into the strike zone where he can smack the ball.
Ubaldo Jimenez Finds the Plate | Roto Hardball
One thing that jumps out from his pitching mix this year is that he's using his fastball less than he's ever used it before. This is a fastball that was one of the best in the game last year, and now batters are having their way with it.
Dan Haren Likes American League Hitters | FanGraphs Fantasy Baseball
If you have a ridiculously deep starting staff, Haren does actually register on the radar of a sell-high candidate, but it better be for a pretty spectacular package, and you ought to be prepared to wince when you see his final line, because he may very well put up a sub 3.00 ERA, a WHIP barely north of 1 and strike out 215 batters.
A closer look at Joaquin Benoit's recent struggles | Bless You Boys
As long as it's not injury related, and again they say it's not, Benoit should be able to work through it. Don't give up on him yet. Remember Brandon Lyon had an ERA of nearly 7 in the month of May himself in 2009 before becoming the darling of Detroit by going a few months without allowing a run to score.
Fantasy Focus: Danny Duffy No Longer Dithering | Baseball Prospectus
That said, there are some warning signs here that we at least need to be aware of before we empty our FAAB coffers at Duffy's feet. He has thrown over 100 innings in a season exactly once, back in 2009. Following last season's retirement and return, Duffy made just 14 starts and logged 62 1/3 frames. Unless the Royals are overly careful with his young arm, he will set a career high for innings, and will do so with most of those coming against the most talented hitters in the world (except for when he faces the rest of the AL Central, I mean).
Collateral Damage: Stressing Out | Baseball Prospectus
Injury news
Injury Report: May 18: David Wright, Josh Johnson & More | Rotoprofessor
The Cheeks Weather Report (5/18/11) | Sons of Roto
A fantasy baseball weather report.
Prospect of the Day: Danny Duffy, LHP, Kansas City Royals | Minor League Ball
Duffy is an highly-intriguing prospect, one of the best southpaw prospects in the game, and there's a good chance he can stick in the rotation.
Fantasy Baseball Player Prospecting: Danny Duffy, more | KFFL.com
Kyle Davies is injured, just one development among a few that could mean a longer stay than advertised for KC's top pitching prospect.
Future Shock Blog: Minor League Update: Games of May 16 | Baseball Prospectus
2011 Fantasy Baseball Week 7: The Rookie Report | The Fantasy Fix
Feeling in a New York State of mind this week as I take a look at four Mets' rookies and some others around the MLB making an impact. The Mets should fall completely out of contention by July 1st making them a prime spot for young players to playing time.
Daily Dish: Jurickson Profar, Martin Perez Deliver For Rangers | Baseball America
Prospect Update
John Drennen Runs Afoul Of Drug Program; Edgar Ramirez Also To Sit | Baseball America
Suspensions for two minor leaguers
Fantasy Baseball 2011: Should the Reds Call Up Yonder Alonso? | Minor League Ball
The Reds can accomplish three things with calling Alonso up: 1) see if he can hit better than who they are running out there in left field on a daily basis, 2) can he improve the lineup, 3) increase his trade value, should they decide to deal him by July 31st.
Painting the Black: The Evolution of Dusty Baker | Baseball Prospectus
If Jose Bautista can start hitting for power and Curtis Granderson can begin hitting left-handed pitching, then why can’t Dusty Baker start handling pitchers with more care?