Pieces

Some random thoughts.

Kosuke Fukudome- New Import/Less Hype

The early returns out of spring training for Kosuke Fukudome had been pretty muted until Monday’s batting practice round when Fukudome unleashed some towering blasts over the RF wall. Fukudome’s first couple batting practice sessions were nothing to write about as he took a number of pitches and then looked awfully uncomfortable against a sharp Kerry Wood on Saturday. Fukudome’s power translating to the Major Leagues will be one of the more important things to watch for this season. He’s considered a patient hitter with significant on-base abilities but more of a gap hitter than a traditional slugger. The Cubs are currently planning on batting Fukudome 3rd in front of Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez which should provide his on-base skills with plenty of Run opportunities but will likely limit his RBI chances. For fantasy owners Fukudome makes for a nice back-end OF option whose upside will largely be determined by how his power translates to MLB and how often he decides to run. If he can swipe 10 bases or so get close to our 20 HR projection he should have nice value, especially for those in leagues that reward BB’s.

Reds Potential Lineup- Griffey, Phillips, Dunn 3-4-5

Dusty Baker noted that he’d like to keep Brandon Phillips in the clean-up spot this season hoping to break up the two lefties (Griffey-3rd, Dunn-5th), which should be good news for Phillips fantasy owners. Last year hitting clean-up Phillips hit .306/.352/.493 (as opposed to his .288/.331/.485 total line) and his RBI rate jumped significantly once he moved from the 2nd to the 4th slot (as expected). His run rate dropped slightly, but this is protected a bit by Adam Dunn being behind him, making the move to the 4th slot an overall boost in his value. Surprisingly Phillips SB attempts rate stayed about the same in both lineup positions. From a statistical standpoint, Phillips batting 4th shouldn’t significantly impact his value and if Phillips improvements last season were legitimate he should continue to post excellent top tier fantasy numbers out of the 2B position. Unfortunately for Dunn’s owners his superior on-base skills will continue to get wasted towards the lower half of the Reds lineup.

Kelvim Escobar’s ailing shoulder

Kelvim Escobar was shut down earlier this spring due to some discomfort in his shoulder and is now not expected to begin throwing until mid-March. Starting that late would likely put Escobar out for all of April and possibly into May. Escobar’s injury is a bit more worrisome than the injuries to Yovani Gallardo and Brad Lidge, mostly because it deals with his arm and more specifically his shoulder. While elbow injuries to pitchers traditionally have the more violent nature to them, they’re often a bit more predictable in their rehab and treatment schedule. Shoulder injuries tend to have more recurrence issues and require more maintenance from the training staff.

The Rich Harden Annual Spring Tease!

Rich Harden is throwing comfortably and has yet to have any problems this spring, as he started facing hitters last week without issue. Sound familiar? Stop me if you’ve heard this one before… Rich Harden is the ultimate fantasy tease, flashing absolutely dominant stuff whenever healthy. Unfortunately health has limited him to just 72 innings over the last two years with a variety of injuries (back, oblique, shoulder, elbow). The shoulder has been the latest lingering problem as it landed him on multiple DL stints last season along with a number of delays in rehab from lingering inflammation. Shoulder injuries tend to be degenerative and difficult to treat and for that reason, I’m not getting sucked into Rich Harden again this year with anything other than a last round flier in a league where I can hide Harden in a DL slot.

Mike Hampton slotted as the Braves #4

According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, “Hudson’s every-fifth-day schedule would put him on pace to start the final exhibition game March 29 against Cleveland in Atlanta, with the pitcher behind him on pace to start the March 30 opener at Washington. Jurrjens is behind him in the rotation for now, but the rookie is competing for a starting spot. If he gets it, the Braves wouldn’t start him on opening day. It seems likely that Smoltz would slip into the spot behind Hudson late in spring training, with Jurrjens competing for a spot at the back of the rotation. The spring order announced Monday, when extrapolated, would put Glavine in line to start the home opener March 31 against Pittsburgh, in the left-hander’s first home game since returning to the Braves after five seasons with the Mets. Hudson could then be slotted to start the third game against Pittsburgh on April 2 (there’s no game April 1), followed by Hampton in the fourth game.”