Roto Professor

According to tsn.ca (click here for the article), the Colorado Rockies have placed Todd Helton on the DL due to a “strained lower back”.  Joe Koshansky has been recalled from Triple A to take his place on the roster.

Helton had been hitting .266 with 7 HR and 29 RBI on the season.  He is generally a much better hitter, hitting above .300 every season since 1997 (he hit .280 in just 93 AB’s that season).  Just stash him away from the time being if you own him.

To take his spot on the roster, the team recalled Joe Koshansky from Triple A, according to TSN.  He was hitting .281 with 18 HR and 78 RBI in 306 AB.  If he gets regular AB’s, he could prove to be a good short-term option, but there’s no guarantee he gets that chance.  In tonight’s game, Jeff Baker got the start at 1B (where he also played yesterday).  Baker is hitting .270 with 6 HR and 28 RBI on the season prior to tonight’s game.  If you have any interest in either player, check the boxscore for the next few days to see who the team decides to play.

A few little tidbits for this holiday evening:

• Johnny Damon injured his left shoulder in today’s game against the Red Sox.  He went back towards the wall and almost made a great catch on a drive by Kevin Youkilis, but the ball dislodged from his glove after slamming into the fence (the ball literally sat on the top of the fence for a second, before falling back into the field of play).  According to Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News (click here for his post), an MRI has showed a “sprain of the left AC joint in his shoulder” leaving him day-to-day.  Losing him would have hurt both the Yankees and fantasy owners, so consider this a big break, at least for now.  If you are in daily leagues, leave him on your bench for now.  Brett Gardner figures to see time in the lead-off spot while Damon is unavailable. Read the rest of this entry »

According to John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer (click here for the post) the Reds’ Aaron Harang will not make his start scheduled for tomorrow, with Josh Fogg taking his turn in the rotation.  Harang is currently suffering from “tightness in his forearm”, which he did last season as well.  As Fay points out, he missed one-start, which corrected the problem.

I wouldn’t push the panic button quite yet on him.  Like Fay said, he had a similar problem last season and it certainly didn’t affect his numbers, as he finished the season 16-6 with a 3.74 ERA and 213 K.  At this point he would have to be considered a questionable play for next week, though we will have more on his condition if and when it becomes available.  When healthy, Harang is a #2 fantasy pitcher, so hopefully this extra rest is all he needs. 

Photo courtesy of Icon Sports Media, Inc.

According to Paul Hoynes of The Cleveland Plan Dealer (click here for the post) have not only removed Joe Borowski as their closer, but have also designated him for assignment.  He certainly has struggled this season (1-3, 6 SV, 7.56 ERA) and this move makes it obvious that one of the three relievers mentioned yesterday, Masahide Kobayashi, Rafael Betancourt and Rafael Perez, could emerge as the team’s closer.

Borowski will probably catch on with another team, but I would be shocked if he get a chance to close games again this season.  Feel free to drop him in all formats.  Like I said yesterday, I would take a flyer on Kobayashi first myself, with Perez being the fallback option.  There has been no official word as to who will get the chance to save games, though, so what the Indians actually do when they get a chance will be telling.

Lots of little news floating around this morning, so let’s take a look at what is going on.

• According to Carroll Rogers of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (click here for the article), the Atlanta Braves have indeed demoted Jeff Francoeur down to Double A.  The opted to send him there, as opposed to Triple A, so “he can work with manager Phillip Wellman, with whom he’s had a close relationship in the past”.  After hitting .260 with 29 HR in ‘06 and .293 with 19 HR last season, he has struggled mightily thus far in ‘08, hitting just .234 with 8 HR.  i would definitely just stash him away for now and hope that is stay away from the team ends pretty quickly.  Read the rest of this entry »

I recently had the opportunity to pose five questions to Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune (click here to read his coverage of the team).  He gave us some insight on Geoanny Soto, Ryan Dempster, Kosuke Fukudome and much more, so let’s get right to what he had to say:

1) A lot of people questioned if Geovanny Soto would be able to maintain the type of performance he posted at Triple A last season.  What have you seen from him to explain his success thus far?
Paul Sullivan: He got in much better shape and some of it’s just experience. Read the rest of this entry »

First, I want to wish everyone a happy and safe July 4th.  Enjoy your BBQ’s or whatever you might be doing today.  Now, onto last night, where there were some great pitcher’s who took the hill last night, including Tim Lincecum, Cole Hamels, Jon Lester, Justin Verlander and Javier Vazquez.  Let’s take a look at their performances and all the rest from yesterday.

Home Runs:

• Aubrey Huff - Baltimore Orioles - 2

RBI:

• Jeff Baker - Colorado Rockies - 4
• Brandon Phillips - Cincinnati Reds - 3
• Jose Reyes - New York Mets - 3
• Carlos Delgado - New York Mets - 3
• Jose Guillen - Kansas City Royals - 3
• Aubrey Huff - Baltimore Orioles - 3
• Chad Tracy - Arizona Diamondbacks - 3
• Rich Aurilia - San Francisco Giants - 3
• Ivan Rodriguez - Detroit Tigers - 3 Read the rest of this entry »

There’s a lot of little newsbits out there tonight, so I thought it would be a good time to lump them all together:

• Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer (click here for the post) is reporting that the Indians will be removing Joe Borowski as the team’s closer.  While there is no word on if there will be one set replacement or if the team will opt to use a variety of relievers, depending on the match-ups.  Hoynes names Masa Kobayashi, Rafael Betancourt and Rafael Perez as potential pitchers to use in that role.  Kobayashi may have been the best of the bunch thus far, and he already has 4 saves on the season.  He’s probably the pitcher I’d take a flyer on first if I was in need of saves, with Perez coming in second. Read the rest of this entry »

Not earth shattering news, but this does give Damion Easley some short-term value if you want some pop from your middle infielder, as he figures to see the bulk of the AB’s at the position.  According to Adam Rubin of New York Daily News (click here for the post), Castillo will be out of action due to a “strained left hip flexor”. 

Castillo is a shell of his former self and really doesn’t have much value at this point, as he has no power and does not run quite as much as he used to.  If you were using him, I’d suspect that you are playing in a deep league that requires a middle infielder.  Easley hasn’t shown the same power he did last season, when he hit 10 HR in 193 AB, but with regular playing time he could give you a slight boost if you are really desperate for a middle infielder.  He would not be my top option, however, but will have some value in deeper leagues for a few weeks while he’s playing.

According to Rubin, the Mets also demoted Carlos Muniz and recalled OF Chris Aguila and 2B Argenis Reyes.  Neither have any fantasy value.

According to Tim Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (click here for his post), Ryan Braun is out of the Brewers line-up for the second straight game.  Braun is currently suffering from a “sprained right hand”, as well as going through a slump, he is hitless in his past 3 games (0-14).

Hopefully a few days off will help him get things back on track, as Braun has proven that last season’s rookie outburst was no fluke.  He’s hitting .278 with 20 HR, 58 RBI and 45 R over 338 AB.  He has also stolen 8 bases.  The Mets gave David Wright a day off last week and he has been tearing the cover off the ball since, so fantasy owners can only hope for the same result (though Wright was not suffering from any injury).
Read the rest of this entry »