Today is June 6th, the 70th 67th anniversary of D-Day and the first day of the MLB First Year Player Draft. Here are your fantasy baseball links for today:
2011 Third Base Rankings: June | FanGraphs Fantasy Baseball
ROTW Rankings: Pitchers | Baseball Guys
Rest of the Way Ranks
2011 Holds Rankings Update: June | FanGraphs Fantasy Baseball
Give me Romo in the top tier.
Pitch ‘em when and where they’ll win | The Hardball Times
Fascinating stuff about streaming pitchers - but what about those of us who are under the max innings pace?
Starting Pitchers ERA-xFIP Differential Update | FanGraphs Fantasy Baseball
Will They Rebound? A Look at the Largest ISO Decliners | FanGraphs Fantasy Baseball
Below are the five hitters who the biggest declines in their ISO rates versus last season. Using my mastery of sabermetrical statistics and my expert scouting eye, I will attempt to determine which, if any, of these hitters will rebound, making that particular player a good trade target.
FANTASY BASEBALL ADVICE - WHAT'S THE CALL? | RotoExperts
Perception vs. Reality
Don't Believe the Hype: Morse, Crow, and More | Roto Hardball
He won't stay as ridiculously hot as he has been over the last 11 contests, but, besides maybe a dip in batting average, this is who Morse is. He has done nothing but rake since 2007, and the Nationals are finally giving him the plate appearances to let everyone know that's what he can do.
A Portrait of the Hitter as a Young Sell | Razzball
Buy/Sell
Follow the jump for more of the latest fantasy baseball news and analysis from around the web.
Lillibridge, Deep League, Waiver Wire, White Sox | FanGraphs Fantasy Baseball
If there’s one player I never thought I’d be writing a waiver wire post about, it’s Brent Lillibridge. When you have a .194/.253/.298 triple slash line in 298 PA’s coming into this season there’s little reason to. Even his Triple-A numbers aren’t very good. Yet, somehow, here we are.
The Wire Troll: Ben Revere to the Rescue | RotoRob
Brett Lawrie and Allen Craig: Waiver Wire | FanGraphs Fantasy Baseball
Fantasy Baseball Diamond Market: Jordan Schafer, Greg Halman | KFFL.com
UPDATED: Revisiting Jordan Schafer's long-term status in Atlanta, plus a hard-throwing, wild pitcher is returning to the Cincinnati Reds.
Slump or Dump: Jorge Posada and Chris Carpenter | Roto Hardball
If we look past Carpenter’s poor ERA, WHIP and Win totals, we see a pitcher who is actually performing at a high level. Carpenter’s K/9 of 7.26 would be his highest in the last 3 years, and his BB/9 of 2.26 is below his career average. He’s stranding fewer runners than he normally does, and allowing more home runs as well, but the main factor driving Carpenter’s poor results this season has been his terrible luck on balls put in play. Opponents have a robust .343 BABIP against Carpenter this year, which accounts almost entirely for his poor ERA and WHIP numbers.
Fantasy Baseball Two Start Starters, Week 10 | Razzball
Prince Fielder and David Ortiz: Old Dogs Learning New Tricks | Beyond the Box Score
I would guess that both players realized they were being pitched differently, and sought to make changes in their batting style over the offseason. Specifically, it seems like they became determined to make better contact. This makes sense, if true; when you see fewer pitches to hit, it is all the more important to make contact on the ones that you do see.
Troy Tulowitzki: Fewer Strikeouts, Worse Hitter? | Beyond the Box Score
Yes, Tulowitzki is striking out less and making more contact--on other pitches besides fastballs. He's improved his wOBA/swing (.189 vs .233) and Whiffs/swing on non-four seam fastballs this year (16% vs 10%), but it appears the trade off may have been a less effective approach to fastballs. Nearly tripling your swing and miss rate on fastballs is not just a function of luck.
Buy Low: Dan Uggla | BaseballPress.com
Let's just get it out of the way: Dan Uggla is struggling. This isn't the garden-variety two-week kind of scuffling, however. With a .172/.242/.312 triple-slash line (batting average/on-base percentage/slugging percentage), Uggla's 553 OPS is sixth-worst among all MLB regulars who qualify for the batting title, a list which will soon, due to his time on the disabled list, lose the similarly struggling Adam LaRoche.
What to do about Justin Smoak? | FanGraphs Fantasy Baseball
This is one of those rare situations in fantasy sports where a player performs exactly like you expected, but somehow still ends up a disappointment in your mind.
Buy Low: Shin-Soo Choo | BaseballPress.com
The main culprit for Choo's struggles this season is his inability to hit lefthanded pitching. Throughout his career he has struggled against lefties, posting a triple slash of .260/.338/.373 while striking out 28.7 percent of the time and walking 7.9 percent of the time. This season, his numbers are even uglier against lefties, as he's hitting .214/.276/.257, while striking out 31.4 percent of the time and walking only 3.9 percent of the time.
The quality pitching of Jair Jurrjens | Baseball Analytics
Overall, batters are hitting .234 against Jurrjens and if you haven't seen him yet hit the corners, you can always wait until the All Star Game, cause he'll be there.
Injury Report: June 6: Evan Longoria, Jimmy Rollins, Jake Peavy & More | Rotoprofessor
FANTASY BASEBALL ADVICE - INJURY REPORT | RotoExperts
Utley, Matusz, Jenks, Howell, and Bailey: DL Returnees Early Results | FanGraphs Fantasy Baseball
Chase has not been himself since he has returned from the DL. Right now I don’t find it alarming that his LD% is low (and its effect on BABIP or AVG). Instead I am worried that he has yet to uncork a long fly ball. I see no reason to sit or drop him, but I would continue to monitor him as the season goes on.
Roto Medic: Comeback Hurlers | Fantasy Baseball Cafe
These guys have all been out for a few weeks but seem primed to step back into action soon.
Prospect of the Day: Kyle Gibson, RHP, Minnesota Twins | Minor League Ball
Gibson is tall and lean at 6-6, 210 pounds. His fastball varies between 87 and 93 MPH, but it plays up due to the contrast with his slider and changeup, both of which rate as plus pitches according to scouts. He throws strikes and has a great feel for pitching, and is an adept ground ball generator not especially vulnerable to the home run. Gibson doesn't have the excellent velocity associated with a classic number one starter, but his pitchability and strong secondary pitches should make him a fine number two or three starter.
Minor League Update, Week 10 | Razzball
Chisenhall, Moustakas, Lawrie, Rizzo, Allen, Goldschmidt, Alonso, Gibson, Mesoraco, Nieuwenhuis, Ackley, Moore, Miller
Prospect Tracker: Devon Mesoraco, Trayvon Robinson & Tyler Flowers | Rotoprofessor
Prospect Week: Blackmon, Robinson, Viciedo | Fantasy Baseball 365
Prospect Report: Could Paul Goldschmidt Be 2011′s Version Of Mike Stanton? | Rotoprofessor
Is it a lock that [Goldschmidt] steps into the Major Leagues and produces immediately? Of course not. However there are plenty of reasons to be hopeful that he can not only excel, but be a viable option in all formats. Obviously 1B is one of the deepest positions, reducing his appeal to an extent, but that certainly isn’t a reason to avoid him.
Quantifying Dustin Ackley | The Hardball Times
The Forecasts calculate a current true talent level of .266/.347/.408, and, given normal aging and no major injuries, expect him to maintain that production for another five or six years. That might not be the star hitter that was expected when he was drafted, but even when considering a glove of roughly -5 runs, Ackley still ties Scott Sizemore as having the top current talent level among minor league second basemen.
Prospect Week: Brett Jackson coming to Chi-Town? | Fantasy Baseball 365
Long-term, Jackson looks like a guy that could be a mid-level fantasy outfielder, capable of .270/.370/.460, 15/30 HR/SB seasons (much more value in OBP leagues). However, at 22 years of age and with no experience above double-A (and too many strikeout at double-A), I'd have to put his potential fantasy impact in 2011 at a very minimal level.
The Ten Least Feared Hitters Of The 2011 Season To Date | Baseball Nation
Reviewing the ten hitters who have seen the greatest percentage of pitches in the strike zone so far this season.
2011 MLB Draft Board | MLB Bonus Baby
If you're like me and you've neglected reading up on all of the draft-eligible players, here's a quick and dirty ranking.
The Shortest Possible Baseball Road Trip | Harvard College Sports Analysis Collective
I wonder how much a trip like this would cost, once you factor in game tickets, gas, food, souvenirs that you would no doubt want to pick up at each park...