Monday Musings

There were just 4 games on the slate today, but as always, there is fantasy baseball to discuss! Let's get to it...

• Johan Santana has been simply dominant this season, and is showing absolutely no effects of his early spring arm troubles. Those troubles were why I preferred Tim Lincecum as the #1 pitcher to own entering the season over Santana, but I'd reverse the two if I had to draft right now. It would be nice if the Mets could score some runs for him and stop butchering the ball on the field when he pitches, though. Santana now has a 4-2 record despite an ERA of less than 1 (0.78), and in both of his losses, he gave up nary an earned run. That's right. Nothing, nada, bubkus. Santana owners would obviously rather see a perfect record, but they still should be thrilled that he is on a roll and healthy. As I've also mentioned on this blog, his home ballpark even gives him an added boost this season.

• John Lackey threw 5 innings in a AAA rehab start yesterday (allowing 3 runs), and it looks extremely likely that he will be activated by the Angels and start on Friday. Check back for an official announcement, but Lackey should be active in fantasy leagues immediately. We also may see an announcement on a plan for Ervin Santana very soon, so watch for that, too. (I would also activate him immediately once he gets back to the mound for the Halos.)

• Troy Tulowitzki, on a nice run in his last three games (two hits in each of the three games, with 2 homers and 4 RBI), strained a quad late in the game yesterday and it may hold him out of the lineup tomorrow. He should be considered day-to-day and, as such, you'll need to check the lineup tomorrow to see if he's been penciled into it. Despite a relatively slow start, Tulowitzki is actually the 10th-ranked SS in fantasy leagues at the moment, not counting players who actually play other positions who may qualify at SS in certain leagues (such as Michael Young, for example). He should be starting in virtually every format. I still expect a big year from him and believe in his talent.

• Clayton Richard has replaced Jose Contreras in the rotation for the White Sox, and he will get the start tomorrow against the Indians in Cleveland. While Richard is an acceptable add in deep AL-only leagues, I wouldn't go near him in shallow AL-only formats and obviously not in mixed leagues. Even in a deep AL-only league where he's added, I wouldn't start him right away and I'd take a wait-and-see approach. Richard was terrible in 8 starts in the majors last year, and he was terrible this spring, too. At least he's been mediocre in 16 2/3 relief innings so far this season, sporting a 4.32 ERA, but 10 K's against 5 walks and a 1.68 WHIP are nothing to write home about.
  

• Matt Capps was able to complete two bullpen sessions over the weekend without incident, and seems ready to be back on the mound tomorrow, should a save situation arise. Actually, the Pirates may get him out there even if it's not a save chance, just to see if he's really all the way back as quickly as they can. He should be back in fantasy lineups tomorrow.

• Josh Hamilton completed a short rehab assignment tonight and will be activated by the Rangers in time for tomorrow night's game against Seattle. He should be activated by fantasy owners, too; get him into your lineup immediately if you own him. Ron Washington now has to divvy up left field playing time between Marlon Byrd (.308 average and 16 RBI in 107 AB's), Andruw Jones (1.078 OPS in 51 AB's), and David Murphy (just a .207 average in 58 AB's). Byrd should be owned in AL-only leagues, and so should Jones. Murphy is probably going to get the least amount of playing time of the three here, and should only be owned in deep AL-only leagues right now. Expect to see Byrd getting the majority of the at-bats for now, with Jones being worked in more often than Murphy is.

• Free Willy! Willy Taveras came up with a 5-for-5 game tonight that included 4 runs scored, 2 RBI, and a stolen base for good measure. Taveras raised his average from .283 to .315 with the effort, and as such I'm recommending him as a sell-high candidate. Taveras has exceeded expectations so far, not only with the batting average but with his power (his current .414 slugging percentage is 73 points higher than his career average) and also his plate discipline (he has 12 K's and 11 walks, yet for his career he has 338 K's with just 127 walks). Maybe Taveras really has turned a corner, as a proverbial light switch does turn on for players in their age-27 season at times, but I remain skeptical that he can keep this up. That said, he will provide fringe mixed league value for as long as he's healthy, even if he regressed to his career norms, based on his solid run total and stolen base total. He's on a pace to score 128 runs and steal 43 bases, and that...will get it done (as Lakers TV analyst Stu Lantz would tell you). I can't really argue with his 48% owned-percentage in Yahoo leagues.

• Bronson Arroyo is pitching more like Charles Bronson or, perhaps, Bronson Pinchot. Does he have a death wish, or is he trying to be a perfect stranger to goodness for fantasy owners? (That's what you call all-out on the Charles Bronson and Bronson Pinchot references, folks.) Despite moving to 5-2 tonight, Arroyo allowed 5 runs in 7 innings, and his ERA is an ugly 7.02 so far. Need more ghastly stats? OK, fine. Arroyo has a 1.61 WHIP, opposing batters are hitting .317 against him, and he has 23 K's compared to 15 walks in 41 innings. So he's barely striking out a better per two innings. Of the 51 hits he's allowed, 10 of them have left the yard. Don't chase the wins here, even in NL-only leagues. Stay away until he can prove he isn't a total and complete gas can.

• John Koronka is getting the first crack at replacing the injured Anibal Sanchez in the Florida rotation, but if you think Koronka is a good fantasy option, then you might be on crack! Honestly, it's always possible that Koronka could surprise and prove to have decent NL-only value, but I would give him the Charles Manson treatment here. In other words, I wouldn't go anywhere near him for his start tomorrow against the Brewers.
  

• Carlos Delgado could miss the entire week with his nagging hip injury--Jerry Manuel acknowledged that he will be out for at least a few games--and it's possible a DL stint will be necessary. Fernando Tatis should get most or all of the starts at first base for as long as Delgado can't go, and isn't a terrible stopgap option for Delgado owners in NL-only leagues. Tatis is hitting .356 in 45 AB's on the season.