in

Fantasy Sports Forums at ScreamingSports.com

All your fantasy sports teams on one site. Powered by Fantasy Sports Dashboard. Network with friends and leaguemates with blogs and groups.

Tags

Fantasy Baseball

MLB Stock Market - May 14th Edition

Poor closers.  Their roles are so magnified because of the nature of their jobs, just like kickers in the NFL.  Thus, one bad outing can cause fans to grumble; two bad outings could mean his job is in jeopardy.  That also makes them easy fodder for bears, so much so that we felt bad and awarded a bull spot to a questionable closer:

Bulls

Chris Young - OF - (Arizona Diamondbacks):  Of late, Young has been batting third a lot, which is huge news for his owners.  Not only does Young benefit from more RBI opportunities than at his customary leadoff spot, but his runs scored should not be affected, as Conor Jackson and Justin Upton will still be batting behind him.  Upton is clearly a player on the rise, and the Diamondbacks seem to think the future is now.

Jesse Litsch - SP - (Toronto Blue Jays):  Litsch entered the season as the fifth starter, but he has become more dependable than the far-more-expensive A.J. Burnett.  He is now 5-1 on the season with a 1.17 WHIP.  While his ERA is a mediocre 4.11, he is on a run of four consecutive good starts.  The Jays don't score runs, so starting any of their pitchers might mean you won't earn a win, but Litsch and the others at least do well in the other categories.

Eric Gagne - RP - (Milwaukee Brewers):  Yes, Gagne was a bear last week.  Yes, Gagne did actually lose the closer's job.  Yes, Gagne was shaky in his last outing.  But if the Brewers handed the position back to Gagne after only a few days and one shaky outing by the closer-by-committee, then it is clear that they are committed to Gagne as their closer for the considerable future.  Even if his peripheral stats are not up to par, he will get you some valuable saves.

Runners-up Bulls:  Eddie Guardado - RP - (Texas Rangers); Lance Berkman - 1B/OF - (Houston Astros).

Bears

Ryan Doumit - C - (Pittsburgh Pirates):  Doumit was a nice find for some savvy owners who scoured the waiver wire, but a broken thumb will sideline him for the considerable future.  In my opinion, finger injuries are the worst for hitters because they often try to come back too early and the bad finger affects their grip on the bat.  For now, shelve him, and if you have room on your DL, keep him there until he shows he is fully recovered.

C.J. Wilson - RP - (Texas Rangers):  In what is starting to look like a repeat of last year, Wilson started out strong as the closer, but has faded lately.  With Eddie Guardado's return, Wilson's hold on the position would appear to be tenuous at best.  Guardado has already notched a save, so if Wilson has one more bad outing, it could be Every Day Eddie's turn again.

Troy Percival - RP - (Tampa Bay Rays):  Percival was a revelation in April, anchoring a suddenly good Rays bullpen with nine perfect innings.  May has been a different story, with Percival's racking up two blown saves already in the early stages of the month, including two home runs in six innings of work.  Percival is still the Rays' closer for the considerable future, but since he gets by more on guile than stuff lately, be wary of good and bad weeks from him.

Runners-up Bears: Vernon Wells - OF - (Toronto Blue Jays); Brad Penny - SP - (Los Angeles Dodgers)

Comments

You must be a registered user of Screamingsports.com to leave a comment - Please click here to register or sign in.

No Comments
You must be a registered user of Screamingsports.com to leave a comment - Please click here to register or sign in.

ScreamingSports.com, FSDashboard, Inc.