As a Toronto Blue Jays fan Week 2 of the MLB Baseball season (April 6 – April 12, 2013] ended in a disaster, and despite the 8-4 win by the Blue birds over the Kansas City Royals I find myself itching a bit closer to the panic button. Jose Reyes likely suffered an injury that will likely put him out of action for at least a month with a sprained ankle. It was a bad slide attempt into second (one of the rare times I’ve seen Reyes slide leg first) and depending on the severity of the injury Reyes could miss up to three months of action. With limited options on the Waiver Wire, owners might look to other teams with SS eligible, multi-position players (Marco Scutaro, Josh Rutledge, and Eric Sogard are some options) to replace Reyes until he returns from injury.
Speaking of injuries, I’m trying to figure out what to do after Zach Greinke required surgery to place a metal rod in his left collar bone. Greinke broke his collar bone thanks to Carlos Quentin, who is among the biggest morons in the majors. Quentin charged the mound after being hit by Greinke. Had he thought about it for a second, he’d realize that in a tight ball game and with runners on base Greinke wasn’t trying to plunk him. Instead the 240 pound Quentin charged and rammed into Greinke’s left shoulder, sending the 195 pound pitcher to the ground. For a guy that has been hit a record number of times, you’d think Quentin would know the difference when he is hit intentionally and when he’s not. Quentin was handed an eight game suspension by MLB, but the void he has created on some fantasy teams can’t be made up. Greinke owners should be considering this weeks top starting pitcher as a potential candidate to replace their injured star pitcher. You might also look at some future stars in Jose Fernandez and Shelby Miller, who turned in fine performances this week for their respective teams.
Justin Upton must really enjoy playing in Atlanta…the former Arizona Diamondback is off to one of his best starts going 15/39 so far with his new club. Upton has homered six times and driven in 19 runs. While J-Up has been performing, his brother B.J. has been struggling going 3/33. Roy Halladay continues to struggle and watching his two starts, I definately see something with him physically. The back injuries of the past few seasons must have required some significant adjustments to Halladay’s pitching mechanics cause he is no longer torquing his body as much as he once did during his windup. Halladay kept saying that it’s a mental issue, but comparing his mechanics to those of 2009, 2010 indicates a significant departure from his Cy Young years. Mike Trout continues to slump and the Angels have finally decided to move him down from the leadoff spot…but not far enough down in my opinion. Trout will now bat in the two-hole, when really he is probably most ideal in the #3 or cleanup slots in a lineup. Trout owners shouldn’t dispare as last years Rookie of the Year is bound to turn it around. He’s too talented not to and the talent around him will prevent him from going into a prolonged drought.
Now onto the weekly awards:
STARTING PITCHER:
Justin Masterson: Masterson started off the 2013 MLB season in a brilliant fashion for the Cleveland Indians earning his first win against the Toronto Blue Jays, in Week 2 Masterson was even better notching 2 more wins, including a complete game shutout. During his two appearences this week, Masterson pitched 16 innings, allowed no runs on seven hits and four walks. He struck out 15 batters during this stretch and making his fantasy owners (roto or points) extremely happy with his performance. He is still available in 29% of Yahoo! leagues and if you have Zach Greinke, Roy Halladay, Tim Lincecum, or Dan Haren you might want to give Masterson a look up. Word is that Masterson was finally able to undertake a complete off-season regime and so far the results have shown.
Honourable Mentions: C.C. Sabathia, Clayton Kershaw, Hisashi Iwakuma, and Jake Westbrook:
CLOSERS:
Jason Grilli: Grilli just edged out undisuputed closer kingpin Greg Kimbrel for the weeks honours (it was really close). Grilli notched three saves during the week striking out four and allowing three hits and two walks. With closers blowing saves all week long, I’m sure Grilli owners are thrilled that their guy wasn’t joining the likes of Sergio Romo, John Axford, Carlos Marmol, Kyuji Fujikawa and Sergio Romo (just a small sample of those who blew saves this week).
Honourable Mentions: Greg Kimbrel, Sergio Romo, Rafael Soriano, and Kelvin Herrera
CATCHER:
John Buck: Buck remains the Majors #1 catcher through two weeks (in fact he is ranked as the #3 player in Yahoo! rankings) and is now owned in 70% of Yahoo! leagues. With some of the star players at this position struggling, Buck continues to play well for the New York Mets. Buck was just 6/20 but he made those six hits count by hammering 4 home runs and driving in 14 runs. Not sure how long this is going to last, but those owning Buck should continue to enjoy the contribution he’s making early on in the season.
Honourable Mentions: Nick Hundley, Carlos Santana, Welington Castillo and Jason Castro
FIRST BASE:
Brandon Moss: The Oakland A’s currently lead the American League West and its partially due to the offensive contribution coming from their firstbaseman. Moss was 10/24, with five walks driving in 10 runs and hitting two home runs. I really don’t think Moss can keep up this pace (or anything close to this pace) for a full season but for the moment he is contributing a lot of offense and is available in more than 60% of Yahoo! leagues. Moss does have job security at first for the A’s and might be worth picking up as a backup.
Honourable Mentions: Prince Fielder, Chris Carter, Daniel Murphy and Billy Butler
SECOND BASE:
Robinson Cano: After struggling through the first week, Cano broke out in Week two going 10/22, with three home runs and eight RBIs on the week. Cano also scored seven times as the Yankee’s have won four straight. Cano is as solid of a fantasy player as they come consistently producing numbers for his owners. Cano is getting help with the resurgence of Vernon Wells and Lyle Overbay with the New York Yankees.
Honourable Mentions: Ian Kinsler, Brandon Philips, Michael Young, and Chase Utley
SHORT STOP:
Jed Lowrie: edges out Ian Desmond for this weeks award. Lowrie was 10/28 for the Oakland A’s, contributing seven runs and five RBIs. Lowrie hit 2 home runs and two doubles, but he did make three errors (for those who use errors as a statistical category). As long as Lowrie is hitting he will remain in the A’s lineup…wait…this is me assuming that the A’s have someone who could replace him. The SS pool did get smaller this week with Jose Reyes suffering a horrific ankle injury on Friday night.
Honourable Mentions: Ian Desmond, Jose Reyes, Marwin Gonzalez and Brandon Crawford
THIRD BASE:
Miguel Cabrera: Last years MVP and Triple Crown winner earns his first weekly honours. Cabrera went 12/27 on the week, hitting a home run and driving in six runs. Cabrera also stole a base and scored eight times for the Detroit Tigers, while also legging out a triple. Cabrera like Cano is a reliable and consistent fantasy performer who will generally never disappoint his owners. Batting in a stacked lineup definately helps to keep his numbers up.
Honourable Mentions: Matt Carpenter, Josh Donaldson, David Wright and Kevin Youkilis
OUTFIELD:
Coco Crisp: Crisp had an incredible week atop of the Oakland A’s lineup. He was 10/28, scoring eight times and notching three home runs (yes, three home runs). He also stole four bases and stuck out just three times. The A’s are off to a fantastic start and so is Crisp. Those who drafted Crisp are reaping their reward, but it probably will be short lived – especially if you are looking at Crisp to keep providing home runs.
Bryce Harper: Harper continues to produce early in the 2013 season going 10/24 on the week for the Washington Nationals. Harper hit three home runs, driving in seven runs and scoring five times himself. Having watched a few of the Washinton games Harper looks posed to have a monster season and he seems determined to prove himself to the league. For Harper owners this is only a sign of things to come…for those not owning him…we’ll they’ll have to just watch and admire with envy.
Jayson Werth: Werth has got to be one of the most frustrating players to own in fantasy baseball (I say this as an owner of Werth in several leagues). Just when you think he’s struggling he busts out with a 10/26 weekly performance contributing two home runs, five RBIs, two stolen bases and six runs. Werth is among those in the middle tier of outfielders, flirting with the top tier. When the guy is hitting he is really hitting so I recommend you keep him in your lineup and ride out the streak.
Honourable Mentions: Alex Rios, Dexter Fowler, Justin Upton and Norichika Aoki.
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