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This is the home of FSWA member Johnny Archive, who is honored to be a Feature Host at BlogTalkRadio. Johnny is the commissioner of the prestigious JAIL fantasy baseball league, a Top 100 Blogger at MLBlogs.com and is the original Fantasy Sports Consultant. Recent guests include Comedian/Actor Craig "The Lovemaster" Shoemaker, Jeff Erickson of Rotowire.com, Mike Siano of MLB.com, Lenny Melnick, Bob Sikon of FantasyBaseballTradeMarket.com and writer Matt Hackenmiller -- who actually joined the show in May of 2009. This show is part of The Fantasy Sports Channel at BlogTalkRadio. Call-in Number: (347) 945-6845
Date / Time: 6/28/2009 8:53 PM UTC
Buy & Sell
Note: Ownership is based in Yahoo! Leagues.
Three to Buy
Lance Berkman (.239/.372/.479, 97% Ownership)
Although Lance Berkman’s batting average has been a disappointment this season, his BB/K rate is excellent and the power is still there. There are a couple of signs that Berkman could be headed for a big second half of the season. Even though his BABIP stands at .247, Berkman has never had a BABIP below .300 in a season. This means that he has been hitting in a lot of bad luck so far in 2009 despite having virtually the same LD% as 2008. This could be a complete opposite from last season where Berkman raked during the first half and leveled off over the summer.
Adam LaRoche (.267/.363/.498, 31% Ownership)
A classic slow starter, LaRoche got off to better start this season only to tail off during April and May. A potential free agent next year, LaRoche has been rumored as the next Pittsburgh Pirate to be shipped out of town. That leaves a question about what hitting environment he will be in after the All-Star break. But for his career, LaRoche has a second half line of .297/.360/.548 so if he is available on the waiver wire, now might be the time to stash him on your bench.
Aaron Harang (5-7, 3.66 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, 93.1 IP, 77 K, 82% Ownership)
From 2005-2007, Harang went from an under the radar to dominant fantasy pitcher. He suffered through a painful 2008, which scared off a lot of owners. It now appears that Harang is back to those previous levels. His K/9 and BB/9 rates are right in line with what he was doing in his past outstanding seasons. Going forward it looks like he can maintain this level of success because his FIP is almost exactly the same as his current ERA and his BABIP is right around league average. Acquiring Harang now will give your pitching staff a boost for the second half of the season.
Three to Sell
Michael Bourn
(.294/.369/.412, 62% Ownership)
The Bourn Ultimatum has been pretty impressive so far this season considering how awful he was last year. The reason you have Bourn on your roster is for stolen bases, but if Bourn can’t get on base, it makes that skill null and void. With that said, Bourn is still striking out quite a bit. His BABIP of .369 is well above the league average, which means he has hit in a lot of luck so far this season. Another concern is that Bourn is hitting fewer ground balls this season and not trying to leg out base hits. I know some players can make dramatic improvements from year to year, but right now it appears that Bourn is playing way above his head.
Mark Reynolds (.263/.350/.546, 86% Ownership)
This slugging Diamondback has shown some improved skills so far in 2009. Despite his development, there are still some questions about his continued production. Obviously, his strikeouts are the most glaring worry as he is striking out 37.4% of the time. That tells us that his batting average will most likely continue to come down quite a bit. If that is the case, no matter how many home runs he hits, that low batting average will be a hindrance to your roster. One other point, Reynolds is also hitting fewer fly balls this season, which could lead to fewer home runs during the summer months.
Rick Porcello (8-4, 3.55 ERA, 1.36 WHIP, 78.2 IP, 44 K, 56% Ownership)
Porcello has produced 8 wins through June 2009 despite being in only his second professional season. Not known as a strikeout pitcher, he uses a heavy sinker to get outs. Although Porcello has done well so far, there are many glaring question marks about him going forward. His BABIP is well below the league average and there is a huge discrepancy between his ERA and his 4.82 FIP. But the main thing to remember is that he is a very young pitcher and the Tigers are going to have to monitor his innings during the second half of the season. If this is a case, he will have fewer starts to make an impact on your roster.
Name to remember
…Rajai Davis, Oak.-OF. For the time being, Davis has won the centerfield job in Oakland. With Rajai on your roster, he brings the threat of stolen bases as he stole 29 while playing for San Francisco and Oakland last year. Normally the Athletics have shown a distain for the stealing bases, but they must feel safe in letting Davis run as he has 9 SB in thirteen attempts so far this season. If he can start to get on base a little more, the more of an opportunity he will have to use his speed to aid in the stolen base category.
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