by Ryan Lester of www.lesterslegends.com
Texas Rangers slugger Nelson Cruz has started the year on fire hitting .323 with 12 runs, 7 HRs, and 17 RBIs. The only thing that can slow him down is his body. He landed on the 15-day DL with a hamstring strain. He was expected to have a good year, but not to carry fantasy teams. You’ll have to make do without him for a couple of weeks. Craig Gentry got the call. Gentry is more of a speedster than a power hitter. He had 49 SBs last year for Double-A Frisco. He was hitting .293 with 12 runs, 2 HRs, 12 RBIs, and 5 SBs for Triple-A Oklahoma City. David Murphy and Gentry figure to share the ABs. Neither is a great fantasy option.
Oakland will be without Brett Anderson as well. The talented young southpaw landed on the DL, retroactive to April 25th, with a forearm strain. Anderson is off to a fast start with a 1-1 record, a 2.35 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, and 17 Ks in 23 innings. Chad Gaudin could take his spot in the rotation, but offers little fantasy value.
Additionally Notes From The Rotoprofessor:
- Jorge De La Rosa was officially placed on the DL, with Jhoulys Chacin being recalled to take his spot in the rotation.
- In a surprise move, Chris Iannetta was sent to Triple-A. It’s just a matter of time before he returns, so if you’re in a two-catcher league, don’t release him quite yet.
So, I received an offer… trade my Johan or Wainwright and I would receive Lester and Anderson.
I was leaning towards Johan.. but just saw Anderson is out 4-6 weeks.
Do I reject the trade? Or accept and hope Anderson comes back fine in 6 weeks?
Also.. if you would do the deal… which one? Johan or Wainwright?
I would move Johan straight up for Lester, if he is willing to throw in Anderson this deal is even better. Sounds to me like someone is giving up on Lester in April, which could be a nice opportunity for you. If given the option, I’d personally want to keep Wainwright over Johan.
PS. I’m not the Professor, just a student, so don’t put too much weight into what I say.
Lucky me. Cruz and Anderson are on one of my fantasy teams, DeLaRosa is on the other.
Papi, that’s definitely a tough call. If it was prior to the injury, it’s an easy call. Your improving your pitching tremendously.
With Anderson out, it certainly becomes a little bit more cloudy. I had Santana as the highest rated of the three (Wainwright & Lester), so trading him almost straight up for Lester is a little bit of a concern for me.
If the pitcher is close (and they all are), I’d generally lean towards the NL pitcher. As good as Lester is, he still has to routinely face the Yankees and Rays…
I think the most significant thing about the Ianetta move might be Miguel Olivo getting the full time gig for sure now. He has been hitting very well and he’s proven to have some pop over the last couple years, in Coors he could easily be a top 10 catcher if he plays every day.
Will, I just don’t see it with Olivo. It was a hasty move by the Rockies made from a few bad games.
Yes, Olivo can hit for power, but so can Iannetta. While Olivo’s average is good this season, his BABIP is .385. For his career, he’s at .297. His strikeout rate is at 36.2%. Basically, the average is going to plummet, it’s just a matter of time.
With Iannetta, his BABIP was .118. Clearly, a lot of his struggles were based on bad luck.
It’s just a matter of time before Olivo struggles and the team recalls Iannetta.
I don’t love Olivo, but I do like him more than Iannetta.
I don’t expect the average to continue, nothing from his past shows that it will. I imagine he’ll finish the year right around .250 which is about standard for him over the last few years.
But the power is legit. He had 23 homers for Kansas City last year in less than 400 AB’s. It was his fourth straight year of double digit homers. And now he’s in Coors and he’s in a better lineup. And right now he’s hitting 6th which is a good run producing spot so I expect an uptick in his RBI total this year. I think if he gets 450 AB’s he’s certainly capable of .250, 20-25 HR’s, 70-80 RBI. That’s top ten catcher.