The Red Sox love Jacoby Ellsbury, writes Michael Silverman. Manager Terry Francona likes that he is driving the ball a little more, imparting more backspin on the ball to help it carry. Ellsbury got the start in center field on Saturday, playing all 9 innings (although he was moved to left field in the 7th when Coco Crisp came in to pinch run for Mike Lowell). Ellsbury is expected to start opening day and bat somewhere at the bottom of a stacked Boston lineup.
Clay Buchholz has yet to secure the 5th rotation spot, and getting lit up for 4 runs in the first 2 innings of his start against the Hanshin Tigers didn’t help his cause. His command wasn’t there, and he left a lot of pitches up in the zone, although he did recover to retire the side in the third.
The Rockies have two vacant spots in their starting rotation and left hander Frankie Morales is pitching like he wants to fill one of them. Morales threw 3 innings Wednesday, allowing 1 earned run and walking 2 in a respectable outing against a solid White Sox lineup, and went 4 innings on Sunday giving up 1 run, 3 hits, and a walk against the Giants. He felt good about his command and feels like his secondary pitches (changeup and curve) are rounding into form. Catcher Yorvit Torrealba and Manager Clint Hurdle are please with the 22-year-old’s development, although he has a tendency to get a little energetic when he’s ahead in the count. The extra effort he exerts to finish hitters off tends to elevate his pitches in the zone, something Morales has been working on with veteran Torrealba. One would expect that a few more starts will help him temper his two-strike exuberance.
Clay Buchholz has been working to correct his mechanics, specifically straightening out the arch in his back on delivery. Red Sox pitching coach John Farrell seems to think that this, and maybe some first inning jitters, are causing him to leave pitches up in the zone. Whatever the reason, in his last two outings, Sunday and Friday, the young right-hander has been knocked around for 7 total runs, including home runs on consecutive pitches to the Twins’ Justin Morneau and Craig Monroe. Still, the kid has stupendous stuff, and that is likely to get him through a period where he finds out how mistake pitches are punished by major league hitters. If he doesn’t start the season in the Red Sox rotation, it won’t be long before earns his spot.
Sometimes you just have to put conservative attitudes aside and look at what’s right in front of you. 19-year-old Clayton Kershaw has all the makings of a future star: high 90s heat, a power curve, and a changeup that he really only needs to use 4 or 5 times a game… and he’s left-handed. Dodgers catcher Russell Martin’s praise begins to answer questions about the risks of turning the kid loose in the big leagues sooner than later. If his mechanics are so sound and his delivery is so relaxed, there doesn’t appear to be much of an injury risk. Combine that with his pitch arsenal, and there’s not a whole lot of downside. In his first appearance with the big league ST camp yesterday Kershaw faced three players, and he retired all three of them. Ken Gurnick of MLB.com says it’s a three way race for the 5th spot in the Dodgers’ rotation, with Esteban Loiaza as the clear front-runner.
So, you’re diligently preparing for your fantasy draft and searching desperately for this year’s Ryan Braun - the rookie fantasy sleeper stud that takes everyone by surprise and catapults your squad to a championship. Unfortunately, all you can find are experts’ “Top 100 Prospect” lists, which include prospects that are still a year or two away, or so-called “Sleeper” lists consisting of 2nd and 3rd year players that everyone in your league has already heard of (and are already planning to draft before you). What if - hypothetically - someone had organized a constantly updated list of rookie fantasy sleepers, tiered by starting status, ranked by predicted fantasy impact, and linked to recent news on each rookie, that you could have running in the background of your draft as a quick reference?
Mike Phillips of the Miami Heral that the rise to stardom as been lightning fast for Jacoby Ellsbury, who hit .353 in September while going 9-for-9 in stolen bases, then hit hit .438 in the Series when he replaced CoCo Crisp in the postseason. The speedy outfielder should reward fantasy owners with 100+ runs and 35-40 SBs.
Short stop phenom Jed Lowrie, who last year hit .297 in 93 games at Class AA Portland and then .300 in 40 games at Class AAA Pawtucket, hopes to make the major league squad by 2009. Julio Lugo still has three years left on his deal but Lowrie is still considered by many to be the short stop of the future.
Pitching prospect Clay Buchholz is the front runner for the fifth starting spot but knows that he still has to prove himself, especially after a shaky debut yesterday where he allowed hits to his first five Twins batters in a 28 pitch, 4-earned-run 3rd inning. If Buchholz doesn’t keep it together he could lose out to Bartolo Colon (who just signed a minor league contract with the BoSox) or Julian Tavarez, who are also competing for the job.
Brandon Funston of Yahoo Sports put together his list of the top 10 rookies to make a fantasy impact this year. We’ve summarized the basic information for you. He says he didn’t include Kosuke Fukudome even though he’s technically a rookie, and if he had Fukudome would be in his top 3.
1. Jacoby Ellsbury, Bos, OF
If CoCo Crisp is out of the picture and Ellsbury bats lead off, could have 40 SBs and 100+ runs
2. Clay Buchholz, Bos, SP
Will get babied by BoSox for 125-150 IP, 10 wins, and a k/ip
3. Joba Chamberlain, NYY, RP
Will be starting in the bullpen, limited to 140 IP or less, probably will make the rotation at some point
4. Evan Longoria, TB, 3rd Base
Funston predicts .280/20/75/75/0, if he starts
5. Geovany Soto, ChC, Catcher
Probably won’t be a top 100 fantasy player, but could have good value if drafted late
6. Joey Votto, Cin, 1st Base
Stuck behind 38 year old Scott Hatteberg but could get 20 HR and 10-15 steals with 450 ABs
7. Andy LaRoche, LAD, 3B
It’s between him and Nomar Garciaparra for the starting 3B role, has 20-25 hr power if he gets the job
8. Jay Bruce, Cin, OF
Norris Hopper/Ryan Freel will limit his chances of starting in the majors, but with the talent he has he should be up before the All-Star break
9. Colby Rasmus, StL, OF
Could be a 20/20 guy if he surpasses one of the current outfielders: Chris Duncan, Rick Ankiel, or Ryan Ludwick
10. Ian Kennedy, NYY, SP
Has held hitters to under .190 in 168 minor league innings. With the Yankees bat support he could reach double digit wins.
Now that spring training is well underway, here is some buzz from around the camps:
Pirates prospect Brad Lincoln is making a return from reconstructive elbow surgery from April 3, 2007. Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says that the 22 year old threw his first bullpen session Jan. 28.
While it might be a year or two away, T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com reports that the Rangers made a very strong deal when they traded away Mark Teixeira for prospects including short stop Elvis Andrus and pitcher Neftali Feliz. Both players are 19. Andrus has tremendous fielding and offensive potential and will most likely start at Double A Frisco this year. Feliz throws 95 mph with “no effort”, however the Rangers will probably bide their time with him to make sure he fully matures.
Clay Buchholz bedazzled the Red Sox slugging section on Tuesday, facing David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez, and Mike Lowell in a 40 pitch session, says Rob Bradford of the Boston Herald. Buchholz was “filthy” according to Kevin Cash. He is penciled in to start Sunday against the Twins. Needless to say, this is a sleeper stud that you should definitely draft in your fantasy league this year.
“Ladies and Gentlemen… Elvis has left the building.”
