Dont Stop Believing!

Thanks for coming back The Hot Corner. Sorry about the lack of posting and I’ll try and get more current in these crucial final few weeks of fantasy baseball. If you have any questions or comments I will try and reply as quickly as possible and just submit them by clicking on the comments link. I’ve been noticing that people are giving up on their teams especially with football drafts lately. There is still a whole month of baseball to play and teams still have about a quarter of their games left to play. Stay active especially if you are in the running for the money. In a little while I may get some posts for football so stay tuned.

The important thing I must stress is to be aggressive and make trades especially if you’re not in first. Trade a closer to get some pop especially if you have some ground on the guy under you. Grab someone like Brad Hennessey to vulture a couple of saves that you lost. Probably nothing changes but you make gain a little in hitting. Another guy that I like, but may not be available is Raul Ibanez. After a career year last year, he had a slow start. However, this month he’s bounced back hitting over .400 with 9 bombs.

Looking for speed? Fantasy players in deep leagues might want to grab Kazuo Matsui. I’ll repeat that again. Fantasy players in deep leagues might want to grab Kazuo Matsui. I never thought I’d say that after his time with the Mets, but the less powerful Matsui has been a good option this month with 23 runs and is 11 for 11 in stolen base attempts. Plus he is showing that he won’t kill your average.

As I have always mentioned, look for guys in those tight pennant races. Chris B. Young, (Arizona’s speedy outfielder) is a player I like, who had two homers last night. Also Aramis Ramirez has been in a little bit of a struggle and it might be a great time to grab him if you can get him cheap. And after collecting 6 hits in the past two nights, Ian Kinsler may deserve another shot on your team especially if you have injuries as with Edgar Renteria. Thanks for reading.

Welcome back to the Hot Corner. Looking to fill an empty spot and get a leg up on your league? This article has some players that will help you. As I mentioned in the last few articles, stay active with your team and even some small trades can really sway your team a couple of points down the stretch. Many guys are heating up at the perfect time and making a big impact to your team. And in the words of the late Jimmy V, “don’t give up, don’t ever give up!”

Third Base

Well, for the record, kudos to anyone that has hung on to Garrett Atkins and has been starting him recently nonetheless. Today against a good young pitcher in Yovani Gallardo, Atkins collected four hits and cranked six RBIs. Ryan Zimmerman is another guy I like recently. The “Z Pack” as he is sometimes referred to has raised his average eleven points in the past seven games. He also collected 13 RBIs in his past 10 games, but may not be available in several leagues. Mark Teahen is probably a much more attainable option and is a good player for AL-Only Leagues.

Starting Pitching

If you’re looking for a spot start, take a look at Shawn Marcum of Toronto who has been pretty solid lately. He is pitching against the Royals on Friday and could get an owner a few good starts if you’re looking for a fill-in. Rich Hill has also pitched well recently and aside from a bad start versus the Nats has had a pretty solid July and is a good source of strikeouts. I like him for the rest of the year in the heated NL Central. And just in case you forgot, “It’s gonna happen.” Also another solid start for Orlando “El Duque” Hernadez even though he couldn’t pick up the win. Rick Peterson has done a great job this year with those Mets pitchers so I’d expect that ERA of his to stay around the low three area.

Outfield

If you’re looking for a replacement for Alfonso Soriano, look no further than Braves’ Jeff Francouer. He has tweaked his batting stance and has changed his batting average. Also keep an eye out for Jermaine Dye, who has been playing great of late. This year, Dye has always had fairly good power numbers, except now he is hitting for average and looks like a solid option for those missing Soriano. (Or Victorino)

The Trade Deadline’s Affect on the Fantasy World

Recently I have heard a lot of people wondering what the fantasy impact from the trades that occurred during the trade deadline. So, I will dedicate this article to explaining the effects and what it means to the owners of players involved as I will name some players that have values go up and the ones whose value is going down.

Value Increase

• Mark Teixeira: Tex’s value definitely goes up by going to Atlanta and any of you in NL leagues definitely are affected by his move to the NL. Anyway, now his value is going up because he is in a much better lineup and in a pennant race for the Braves. He will be batting cleanup with much better hitters around him as Renteria and Chipper are better than Sosa and Wilkerson. Expect more runs and RBIs as he will have at least some protection. He is a nice guy to grab if you need first basemen.

• Edgar Renteria, Chipper Jones, Andruw Jones, Brian McCann, Jeff Francouer, and Kelly Johnson: I just picked this guys because those are the players that come to mind that are probably owned Braves hitters unless you are in much deeper leagues. These players definitely have more protection meaning increase in average and more runs. For the last three I mentioned, possibly more RBIs because of the increase in runners on base. (Also, Braves pitchers will probably get more run support, leading to more saves from Wickman. That’s just a thought.)

• Jared Saltalamacchia: His value is going way as it looks like he is going to a starting role in Texas. He has always been a decent player, but now gets a chance to play all the time unleashing his fantasy potential. I think he is a pretty decent option and is a must have for anyone in leagues that require two catchers. Definitely could hold a decent average.

Value Decrease

• Eric Gagne/Octavio Dotel: Obviously Gagne and Dotel’s value is not going up. Both will be lose their closing jobs to act as set up men. Gagne will fill middle relief and set up man for Papelbon, which costs some of his value. On the same token, Dotel will be used to set up Wickman. Unless you are in a holds league or need the low ERA/WHIP, then your best bet is probably setting both of them loose and maybe looking at a guy like C.J. Wilson.