Investing & Maybe Fantasy Baseball

Super duper middle infield sleeper Daniel Murphy whose recovering from an intercostal strain has just begun running and swinging a bat. He has yet to play in a game. His availability for Opening Day is up in the air. Even if he begins the year on the DL I’m going to target him in every draft I’m in. He’ll hit for a 290+ average and could score 80+ runs with some pop and stolen bases.

Chase Headley broke his thumb sliding into second base yesterday. I didn’t like Headley before the injury, but if he drops beyond the 10th round in a 10-team league he could provide sneaky value.

Last week Albert Pujols began running the bases again. This is important to note because he had offseason knee surgery and he just turned 33 years two months ago. Pujols is currently going 7th-8th overall in NFBC drafts, which means I will not own him on any league. He has a low ceiling and has a low floor, which means there isn’t a lot of profit to be made at his current ADP.

In response to his poor spring, John Danks replied, “I can’t get away with quite as much as I was able to before surgery. But maybe it’s good for me in the long run, learn how to pitch a little bit.” That’s not what potential fantasy owners want to hear when they’re considering rostering them on their teams. So far this spring he’s only thrown 7 innings, but he’s given up 10 earned runs. Danks will pitch today and the most important to look out for is the velocity on his fastball. So far his fastball has sat in the high 80s, which is leading to grumblings he’ll start the year on the DL.

Stephen Drew is still recovering from the effects of a concussion he incurred on March 7. He’s currently visiting specialists in Pittsburgh for further evaluation.

Lastly, I’m one of the sponsors of the Saber Seminar. Check out the logos on the left rail, it’s pretty obvious which logo doesn’t fit. The seminar hasn’t been confirmed yet so check out their IndieGogo page and donate. I haven’t been able to go the past two years because of work, but this year I’m definitely going to go.

Carl Crawford played as the DH in his first game on Saturday. His availability for Opening Day is still up in the air. His response about being ready Opening Day doesn’t give me a lot of hope he will make it “I’m definitely trying to make it back by opening day. Will it happen? I don’t know. It’s definitely something I would like to do.”

Adrian Gonzalez and Matt Kemp both hit their first home runs on Sunday.

Casey Janssen saw his first game action on Sunday against the Phillies Triple-A team; he pitched against four batters and got them all out. This is a move in the right direction for him to be ready for the beginning of the season. Sergio Santos is still a must own for any Janssen owner.

Yesterday Zack Greinke threw a bullpen session and he was pain free. Six days ago he received an injection of platelet-rich plasma to temper inflammation in his right elbow. I bet he begins the season the DL, but that wouldn’t be that big of a deal because they have two days off the first eight days of the season and will not need a 5th starter until April 13.

John Lester thew six scoreless innings on Sunday, striking out six batters. However, the Rays lineup looked more like a good Triple-A team instead of a Major League team. I’m still not buying Lester this year; his K% and Whiff% has decreased year over year the past three seasons.

Tyler Skaggs was just optioned to Triple-A. He pitched in give games, throwing 12 innings. In those innings he gave up 11 earned runs. Skaggs wasn’t overly impressive last year in the majors so spending a couple of months in Triple-A should benefit him.

It’s looking more likely Hiro Nakajima will see most of his time at second base rather than shortstop.

Logan Morrison will not be ready for Opening Day.

Roy Halladay was pulled today after only throwing one inning today. He was pulled because he had a stomach virus. In the inning he did pitch scouts reported his velocity was in the 87 mph range, which isn’t an improvement from his last outing. I dropped Halladay to my 52nd in my starting pitcher rankings because I want nothing to do with him this season. However, if his next 2-3 starts he’s vintage Halladay I’ll probably move him up in my rankings.
Wil Myers, unsurprisingly, was sent to the minors today (Triple-A specifically). Odds are he won’t be up until June in order to avoid the Super 2 designation.

Grant Green, of the Oakland Athletics, was optioned to Triple-A today. I believer in Green’s bat and I believe he’ll eventually get an opportunity to play later this year, probably at third or second base. Green will not be a superstar, but he can hit .295+ with maybe 10 home runs, but that’s about it because he doesn’t have any other above average tools.