Roto Roundup: Yasiel Puig, Anibal Sanchez, Starlin Castro and Others

If you have any fantasy baseball questions, make sure you post your questions in the Fantasy Baseball Questions Thread on the front page. I will probably post another one in the next day or two. Ask away.

Yaslel Puig homers twice; Puigmania has arrived!!

Dodgers outfield prospect Yasiel Puig is certainly making a big impression in his first two games in the big leagues. In his first game, he made a tremendous throw to double up Chris Denorfia at first base to end the game. Last night, he hit a game tying home run to left center on the first pitch he saw from Clyaton Richard in the bottom of the fifth inning. Then, in the bottom of the sixth inning, he hit a two-out, two-run home run to right field. Puigmania is alive and well in Los Angeles. He finished the game going 3-4 with 2 HRs, a double, and 5 RBI.

I was listening to Inside Pitch on SiriusXM Radio yesterday afternoon, and heard Jim Bowden say that he would not be surprised to hear Puig mentioned in the same breath as Bryce Harper and Mike Trout in a few years. That is some lofty praise.

Giancarlo Stanton begins rehab assignment

The injury prone Giancarlo Stanton finally began his rehab assignment last night, playing for Jupiter in the Florida State League. He went 0-3 and left the game in the sixth inning. Per MLB.com, the Marlins hope Stanton can return from the DL sometime next week. Fantasy owners are hoping he can stay healthy and be the power hitter they drafted in the early rounds of fantasy drafts this season.

Anibal Sanchez likes pitching at home

It appears Tigers starter Anibal Sanchez likes to pitch at home. Last night, he had another solid outing, limiting the Rays to one run on four hits, a walk and nine strikeouts. Sanchez is now 6-5 with a 2.65 ERA, 1.78 FIP, 2.40 xFIP, 1.09 WHIP and 98-19 K-BB rate in 78 innings this season. Coming into his home start last night, Sanchez had limited hitters to a triple slash line of .168-.216-.229, a 1.70 ERA and a 54-8 K-BB rate. He has now given up two runs or less in nine of his twelve starts this season.

Is Sanchez the best starter on the Tigers thus far? His ERA, FIP, K/9, and fWAR say yes.

Round'em Up

Angels first baseman Albert Pujols struggled in the first month of the 2012 season, but turned things around to put up a very good season, hitting .285-.343-.516 with 30 HRs, 85 runs and 105 RBI. It was a good season, but not Pujols good. This season, Pujols has struggled at the plate, hitting just .245-.315-.408 with 8 HRs, 30 runs and 32 RBI, and is on pace for just 22 HRs and 91 RBI. He is dealing with plantar fascitis in his foot and probably needs a DL stint, but with the Angels playing horribly, he is still playing every day. His .165 ISO and .408 SLG is, by far, the worst of his career. I think we are seeing the beginning of a fast decline period for Pujols. It happens to all the great hitters.

Who would have thought that Jordan Zimmermann would be the Nationals best starter this season? Not me. Especially after how well Stephen Strasburg and Gio Gonzalez pitched last season. Zimmermann was in total control last night, but came away with a no decision, as he held the Mets to 2 unearned runs on 4 hits, a walk and 4 strikeouts. He is now 8-3 with a 2.16 ERA, 0.91 WHIP and a 53-11 K-BB rate in 87.2 innings this season.

Cubs shortstop Starlin Castro was ranked pretty high in many fantasy shortstop rankings coming into this season, but he has disappointed Cubs fans and fantasy owners thus far. Coming into last night's game, Castro was hitting just .258-.294-.356 with 3 HRs, 28 runs, 21 RBI and 3 stolen bases. Not what fantasy owners expected from him at this point in the season. Manager Dale Sveum apparently has had enough and moved him down to the seventh spot in the Cubs lineup last night in a move to see if he can snap out of his funk.

Playing on the same team as Miguel Cabrera has its disadvantages, and the fact that no one is talking about the season Prince Fielder is having is one of them. Fielder went 3-4 with a HR and 4 RBI last night, raising his triple slash line to .283-.395-.519 with 12 HRs, 30 runs and 48 RBI. He has homered in three straight games now, and is on pace for 35 HRs and 139 RBI. Not quite Miguel Cabrera, but pretty damn good.

Red Sox shortstop Stephen Drew had a big night at the plate for the Red Sox last night, as did several others in the Red Sox lineup as they lit up the Rangers for 17 runs. Drew went 4-5 with 2 doubles, a HR, 3 runs and 2 RBI, and is now hitting .232-.330-.419 with 5 HRs, 21 runs and 24 RBI in 155 at bats this season. Drew had a fast start to his big league career, but those days appear way back in the rear view mirror, as Drew was never able to reach the potential many expected.

Speaking of struggling, Giants starter Tim Lincecum has struggled so much over the last year or so, that he recently stated he would be fine with a move to the bullpen. Maybe that comment took a load off of his shoulders as he had one of his better outings of the season last night. Lincecum limited the Blue Jays to one run on three hits, a walk and six strikeouts to earn his fourth win of the season. He is now 4-5 with a 4.75 ERA, 1.39 WHIP and a 74-32 K-BB in 72 innings. Will this be the start of a turnaround for Lincecum?