Royals pitching prospect Luke Hochevar may get called up to start Sunday after the Royals placed starter John Bale on the 15-day DL to recover from a “dead arm”. He may be a good spot-start option for fantasy owners, as he is pitching very well at Triple-A Omaha with 12 strikeouts in 17.1 innings and a 2.60 ERA in three starts and is regarded as one of the top prospects in the minors. If Hochevar pitches well and Bale is out for longer than expected he could be a great long term roster addition as well.
Posts Tagged ‘Fantasy Sleepers’
Cup of Coffee Brewing for Luke Hochevar
Friday, April 18th, 2008Breaking News: Evan Longoria Called Up
Saturday, April 12th, 2008Tampa Bay Rays prospect Evan Longoria will make his Major League debut today against the Baltimore Orioles. Opportunity knocked for Longoria when Willy Aybar was placed on the disabled list Friday after missing his second straight game with a sore left hamstring. Time to pick him up in fantasy leagues if he’s available because of the tremendous upside; if he plays well enough during this stint he could keep the job for good.
Prospects Jeff Samardzija and Clayton Kershaw Face Off
Friday, April 11th, 2008Cubs prospect Jeff Samardzija beat out Dodgers prospect Clayton Kershaw for the win Thursday night. Samardzija allowed four hits and a walk while striking out five in seven scoreless innings, leading his Tennessee Smokies to a 2-0 win over Kershaw’s Jacksonville Suns. Kershaw pitched well but allowed two runs on seven hits in five innings. He struck out a season-high eight, including Samardzija twice.
“He got me a couple times,” Samardzija laughed. “It was good to get a chance to see him throw from the batter’s box. He’s got some pop on his fastball.”
Despite the 2 earned runs, Kershaw’s eight K performance is encouraging and he definitely has a chance to make it to the Majors this year.
Edinson Volquez Crushes Phillies in Debut
Monday, April 7th, 2008Reds rookie starting pitcher Edinson Volquez received a standing ovation from 26,566 fans after allowing only one run to the Phillies while striking out 7 in 5 1/3 innings pitched on Sunday. If you missed the boat on picking up Johnny Cueto for your fantasy squad, Volquez is your man. He had the most K’s of any pitcher in spring training and looks to continue that trend into the regular season. Johnny Cueto is one of his best friends and the two have a friendly rivalry going which should motivate them both this season. When asked about Cueto’s slightly better 10K performance last week, Volquez took a light-hearted jab:
“Cueto cheated, because I didn’t pitch seven innings like him,” Volquez said smiling. “No, I don’t feel like we’re in competition. We’re all teammates. I just feel really excited to get my first win in Cincinnati.”
They Call Him Johnny 10K
Friday, April 4th, 2008That’s “Johnny 10K” Cueto, of course.
In his debut on Thursday, Cueto got the win for the Reds against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Faithful readers of MLBPN would have (hopefully) already owned him on their fantasy teams and had him in the lineup for his overwhelming performance. If not, now is the time to try to claim him off the waiver wire if he isn’t gone already, which he probably is.
Through 7 innings Cueto struck out 10 batters, something no Reds pitcher has done in a major league debut – ever. Cueto had a perfect game going until the sixth inning when he allowed his only hit of the game, a home run by Justin Upton. There was already a major fantasy buzz about Johnny 10K after his strong spring showing, but now that buzz has reached a fever pitch. Even Manager Dusty Baker can’t help but be impressed:
“He was hitting that low and away fastball and mixing in his slider and an occasional changeup,” said Baker. “He threw the ball as well as anybody can throw the ball. The way he threw the ball today has no age to it.”
Sure its only his first start, but Johnny 10K is looking like the real deal. Did we mention he’s only 22 years old?
Evan Longoria Demotion: A Blessing in Disguise?
Tuesday, April 1st, 2008Fox Sports columnist Ken Rosenthal writes that while many fans may be shocked that the Rays demoted Evan Longoria to Class AAA even after posting a 1.002 OPS this spring, it may turn out for the better. The Rays say they want to give Longoria a little more time to develop, a strategy that every fantasy owner can agree worked well with the Brewers and last season’s ROY Ryan Braun. So, rather than starting Longoria in the Majors with the possibility of him having an Alex Gordon-like slow start, the Rays will keep Longoria in the minors for at least three weeks to make sure he is ready (which he is) and more importantly to ensure that they get an extra year out of him before he becomes a free agent. Keep an eye on him if he’s available on your waiver wire.
Edinson Volquez Has All But Locked Up a Spot in the Reds’ Rotation
Tuesday, March 25th, 2008In Tuesday’s spring training game against the Philly’s, Edinson Volquez continued his break-out spring with another dazzling performance, pitching five innings while allowing only one run and striking out five. His spring line looks like it should belong to a seasoned fire-baller like Johan Santana rather than the young kid who was 3-11 with a 7.20 ERA in 20 games for the Rangers over three seasons. Volquez has made 2 starts (both wins) in 6 spring appearances. In his 20 innings pitched he’s allowed only 6 runs for a 2.70 ERA, and struck out 26 for the highest K/9 ratio in the majors (yes, better than Johan’s).
Reds manager Dusty Baker hasn’t officially announced that Volquez will win the job, but from what he’s been saying about the pitcher it would be a shock if that wasn’t the case. Baker had this to say about Tuesday’s outing:
“He looked very good, especially since it was his second time seeing those guys,” Baker said. “I like his mound presence and his poise. He’s in the strike zone. He throws quality strikes.”
When asked point-blank if Volquez was the fifth starter, Baker said that he had a “great chance”.
Those words should be all the encouragement a savvy fantasy manager needs to pick Volquez up off of the waiver wire before the official news comes out. There is no telling how productive a Major League season Volquez could have with no track record to speak of, but if his amazing spring is any indication he could be very, very good this year.
Breaking News: Colby Rasmus Reassigned to Minors
Monday, March 17th, 2008CBS Sportsline reports top Cardinals prospect Colby Rasmus has been reassigned to minor league camp. Rick Ankiel will be the starter in Center Field.
While this is a huge blow to fantasy owners who drafted Rasmus expecting immediate production, he still warrants attention in deeper leagues with a lot of bench space. Manager Tony La Russa must have thought he wasn’t quite ready yet, but that doesn’t mean he won’t get called up after a couple of months of solid production in the minors.
Manny Parra Is Cruising for a Spot
Monday, March 17th, 2008In his latest start Saturday, 25-year old Brewers pitching prospect Manny Parra held the Kansas City Royals to three hits and one unearned run over five innings. He had 7 strikeouts. He now sports a ridiculous 0.64 ERA with 15 strikeouts in only 14 innings pitched.
According to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel there are six pitchers vying for three openings in the Brewers rotation behind Ben Sheets and Jeff Suppan. Parra is joined by Yovani Gallardo, Carlos Villanueva, Claudio Vargas, Dave Bush, and Chris Capuano for the final spots. Unfortunately, the fact that Parra has the least amount of major league experience of the group could factor in. Manager Ned Yost knows he has a difficult decision to make:
“The likelihood of two big-league pitchers going to Triple-A is getting more real. But this is the big leagues. We’re here to win. Nothing personal.”
However, Yost is keeping the door open for Parra to prove himself, and it will be hard to keep that kind of talent out of the rotation for long.
“If you’ve got four guys throwing the ball well, you’re going to go with experience,” he said. “But don’t read anything into that, either. I’m keeping an open mind. I’m waiting until the last second to form an opinion.”
Johnny Cueto Is Still Pitching Lights Out
Monday, March 17th, 2008John Fay of Cincinatti.com reports that Reds prospect Johnny Cueto continues to dominate the competition this year. After destroying Winter Ball (4-1 with a 2.84 ERA), Cueto has been equally impressive in spring training. Before today he had pitched 9 innings with 8 strikeouts and had given up only 1 run. Today he faced the potent Detroit Tigers lineup and pitched very well, going for 4 innings with 4 strikeouts and 2 earned runs.
If Cueto is available in your Fantasy draft pool (which he may not be yet) he should be drafted as a major sleeper for the significant upside.
