Fantasy Baseball Update

Fantasy Basball Update
by: Rotoworld.com

LATEST FANTASY BASEBALL HEADLINES

It's been a busy week and there's plenty of stuff to cover today, so let's skip the usual chatter and get right to the notes from around baseball.

* Colby Rasmus came into this season as a consensus top-10 prospect and was thought to have a legitimate shot at replacing Jim Edmonds as the Cardinals' starting center fielder. Instead, he was sent to Triple-A despite posting a .982 OPS during spring training and slumped at Memphis, hitting just .210 in April and .218 in May. He put together a big June, hitting .333/.441/.535, but then missed time earlier this month with a groin injury.

Ramus had just returned to the lineup Tuesday when he suffered a sprained knee that's expected to sideline him for at least a month and will keep him from playing in the Olymp! ics. He once seemed like nearly a sure thing to spend a chunk of this season in the majors, but between the injuries and hitting just .249/.346/.395 the 22-year-old may not make it to St. Louis until 2009. His 11 homers, 49 walks, and 15 steals in 89 games are still a good sign, so don't give up on him.


* Overreacting to his recent struggles, the Blue Jays sent Jesse Litsch to the minors Thursday despite his decent 8-7 record and 4.46 ERA overall this season. Litsch is 23 years old, has gone 15-16 with a 4.12 ERA in 39 career starts, and has posted better secondary numbers-strikeouts, walks, homers allowed than he did as a rookie last season. Given that Toronto is all but out of the playoff picture, he likely deserved to remain in the rotation and work through his problems.

Whatever the case, the Blue Jays recalled southpaw David Pur! cey from Triple-A to replace Litsch in the rotation and he's worth watching after showing major improvement recently. A first-round pick in 2004, Purcey has always racked up plenty of strikeouts, but struggled with his control for his first three pro seasons before something finally clicked for him last year. Now that he's finding the strike zone with regularity, Purcey looks capable of becoming a solid mid-rotation starter.

In 30 starts between Double-A and Triple-A over the past two seasons, Purcey has a 3.62 ERA and 176-to-50 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 179 innings. Striking out around one batter per inning is nothing new for Purcey, but he's issued just 2.5 free passes per nine innings during that time after walking 5.1 batters per nine innings from 2004-2006. Don't expect him to be a mixed-league option, but Purcey has a chance to provide some solid value in AL only leagues.

* Jeff Baker has officially taken over as the Rockies' second baseman, starting six straight games at the position even with Troy Tulowitzki's return from the disabled list crowding the infield picture. Baker's bat was mediocre when he was playing primarily first base or an outfield corner, but he has enough pop to be one of the league's better hitters at second base and has been surprisingly effective defensively for someone who made his MLB debut at the position earlier this year.

Baker is a .274/.329/.488 hitter with 17 homers, 55 total extra-base hits, 71 RBIs, and 77 runs in 484 career plate appearances, including .297/.344/.510 in 224 trips to the plate this season. His solid-looking raw numbers are due largely to playing home games at Coors Field, as he's hit just .218/.282/.341 on the road during his career, but Baker isn't going anywhere and raw! numbers are all that matter for fantasy purposes. He could b! e a majo r sleeper down the stretch.

* Oliver Perez had three shutout efforts in his first four outings this season, but then went through an ugly eight-start stretch that saw him post a 7.51 ERA with more walks than strikeouts from late April through early June. He's gotten back on track since then and after fanning a dozen over 7.2 innings of one-run ball Thursday he now has a 2.53 ERA and 57-to-21 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 57 innings spread over his last nine outings, including five straight Quality Starts.

* After a week full of contradictory stories about what the Cubs planned to do with Kerry Wood, the oft-injured closer finally landed on the disabled list Thursday due to a blister on his right index finger. Wood hasn't pitched since July 11 and the DL stint was backdated to make him eligible for a quick return, but he's unlikely to be ready by the end of the month. Carlos Marmol will keep filling in for Wood and should be able to pick up a few saves despite his own recent struggles.

* Carlos Delgado posted the worst OPS of his career last year and hit just .198 this April as many people began speculating about the Mets replacing him, but he's been one of the NL's best hitters since May 1. Delgado delivered a key two-run double Thursday against the Phillies and is hitting .284/.363/.530 with 16 homers and 18 doubles over his last 74 games. He's been especially great this month, going 29-for-73 (.397) with five homers, eight doubles, and 16 RBIs in 20 games.

Fantasy Baseball Update

AL Quick Hits:
As expected, the Mariners are no longer counting on Erik Bedard (shoulder) being able to make a start before the trading deadline . Meanwhile, Jarrod Washburn said Wednesday that he'd "strongly consider" waiving his partial no-trade clause for a deal to the Yankees . Roy Halladay picked up his 12th win by holding the Orioles to one run over seven innings Thursday and now ranks third in the league with a 2.82 ERA . With Jorge Posada (shoulder) no longer an option behind the plate and Jose Molina sporting a measly .560 OPS, the Yaankees are said to be interested in veteran catchers Gerald Laird, Paul Lo Duca, Miguel Olivo, and Rod Barajas . Gil Meche tossed seven shutout innings Thursday against the Rays for his eighth victory . Daniel Cabrera was rocked by the Blue Jays for seven runs on 11 hits Thursday and is now 1-5 with a 6.56 ERA over his last 10 outings following a very promising start to the season . Jason Bartlett returned from the disabled list Thursday by! going 3-for-3 with a double. With as many as a dozen teams said to be scouting George Sherrill, he doesn't figure to be a closer for much longer.

NL Quick Hits:
Jimmy Rollins was benched Thursday for showing up late to the ballpark, but made the final out of the game as a pinch-hitter . Ryan Braun notched his second straight four-hit game Thursday and is now hitting .382 this month . Carlos Zambrano hasn't totaled more than six strikeouts in a start since April 6, but improved to 11-4 with seven innings of two-run ball Thursday against the Marlins . Showing no sign! s of slowing down, Xavier Nady went 2-for-4 with a homer Thursday and is now sporting a 1.060 OPS this month . Bronson Arroyo is 5-0 with a 3.09 ERA in his last five starts, reportedly drawing the Rockies' interest despite being owed $23 million over the next two years . Lastings Milledge returned from the disabled list Thursday and resumed starting in center field, with Willie Harris sliding to left field . Josh Bard came off the shelf Thursday after sitting out two months with an ankle injury suffered when Albert Pujols slid into him . General manager Jim Bowden said Thursday that the Nationals will non-tender Chad Cordero (shoulder) after the season, but may try to resign him to an incentive laden deal.