The Morning Drive: Strasburg signs

The Morning Drive has been a bit inconsistent of late. Two factors there: 1) Time 2) It's that time of year when the little news and notes become sort of redundant. I just don't think it does much to say, "Ryan Howard hit 2 homeruns last night. This could be the start of a hot streak." This isn't to say that I will stop doing this all together, but it may not be a daily fixture for the time being. Now to real fantasy baseball news. Because you don't live under a rock at the bottom of the Atlantic, you know that the Nationals came to terms with number one pick Stephen Strasburg. Having already been added to CBS Sports' player pool, the question becomes not if he will make a fantasy impact, but when he will make his big league debut. Chances seem slim for this season since Strasburg's last official outing was back in late May. However, one can only imagine the attendance boost if the Nationals management chose to debut Strasburg at home before the end of the regular season. Even if that happens Strasburg is not likely to go deep into any game. His fantasy impact will come next season. Stay tuned to FB365 this offseason as Strasburg is likely to debut in the Arizona Fall League. You can be sure that I will be analyzing what happens. In terms of keeper leagues Strasburg is another story. He'll pitch with the Nats in 2010, there is little doubt about that. He will (should), however, be under some strict rules with regards to pitch counts and innings. With only just over 100 innings pitched his final season at San Diego State, Strasburg is likely to have a 150 inning max with 130 being a good number to use as a guideline. Kevin Gregg has been given every chance to keep his closer's job with the Cubs. Lately, things have begun to fall apart in a big way. Lou Piniella said, "I think we're going to make some changes as far as what we're going to do in late innings." The first option has always seemed to be Carlos Marmol, but he's no shoe-in for the job as his walk rate has skyrocketed this season. Because of that Angel Guzman and John Garbow may also get a look. This could become a closer-by-committee situation. Fantasy owners needing to make a quick decision should aim for Marmol first. David Wright says he wants to return to the Mets lineup as soon as he is eligible to come off the DL. My only question is: Why? Concussions are a serious career threatening issue and Wright trying to act like a tough guy by getting back on the field and contributing to a hopeless season for the Mets seems highly unnecessary. Keeper league owners are already concerned with the almost total loss of power from Wright this season. Though he may come back and prove perfectly healthy for the remainder of the season and beyond, I just don't see how the risk is worth taking. Francisco Liriano is headed to the 15 day DL with arm fatigue, though there may be some mental fatigue mixed in there as well. You may have already severed ties with Liriano this season. If not, at least now you don't have to struggle with the debate of whether or not to start him every week. Hopefully this break gives Liriano time to come to grips with who he is as a pitcher now. Though he may not have the ability to dominate as he did before major arm surgery, he's not this bad. Those deep keeper/dynasty leagues who would use someone like Liriano for next season may want to think about buying real low. His value may have just hit rock bottom.