http://www.yardbarker.com/content/player/99 Recent articles about Jorge Cantu en-us More bad news in Yankeeland, as Alex Rodriguez has joined fellow All-Star Jorge Posada on the DL. We explain what this means for them, and how to replace them on your fantasy team. Tue, 29 Apr 2008 23:10:19 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/261468 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/261468 Adding a player from the waiver wire isn't about chasing the best deals available. It is important to know what your team needs before you go free agent shopping. The question is, do you know what your team actually needs? AccuScore fantasy expert Tim Williams shows you a three step method of evaluating your teams needs, allowing you to determine if adding Frank Thomas will actually help your team. Fri, 25 Apr 2008 13:00:49 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/257422 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/257422 In this daily column, we take a look back at the night that was in fantasy baseball highlighting the best/worst performances, emerging fantasy options and developing trends. Check out the Fantasy Baseball Happy Recap every weekday on FSE! Wed, 23 Apr 2008 11:42:00 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/255512 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/255512 A couple of aces have shown on Tuesday, that maybe they still have it. In Detroit, Justin Verlander might not have been dominant, but right now he'll take it. Verlander threw six innings giving up just one run and striking out three against the Rangers. After the way he started the season, Justin and his fantasy owners must be breathing a sigh of relief that he was able to pitch so well. After being talked about as someone potentially to drop after his last awful start, C.C. Sabathia came back with a vengeance Tuesday against the Royals. Sabathia went six shutout innings and struck out 11, and is in line to take the win. As I have said previously, I don't expect him to come close to last year's Cy Young statistics, but he should be more than a .500 pitcher this season. Not that Ted Lilly would be described as an ace, but another guy that fantasy owners were starting to think of parting ways with had a turn around start himself. Lilly collected his first win of the season giving up just one run in six innings, while striking out four. Like Verlander, he wasn't dominant (he did walk four), but it was good to see a guy that some players put some big stock in having a good time out. It was good news/bad news for the Brewers on Tuesday. The good news was young gun Manny Parra had a better outing than his last couple. Parra has struggled going deep into games, and that continued as he only lasted five innings. But, he did give up only three runs today, and was in line for the win….until the bad news game into the game. After converting give straight save chances, Gagne has now blown two in a row. He continues to show that it was most likely foolish for the Brewers to sign him to that ridiculous contract. Red Sawks rookie Jacoby Ellsbury is really heating up now. After having two Click below for the rest Tue, 22 Apr 2008 23:05:39 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/254421 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/254421 The day after the Mets lost Pedro Martinez for a month or more, Oliver Perez came out and made us all forget about that injury with a stellar performance tonight against the Marlins, leading the Mets to a 13-0 win. Wed, 02 Apr 2008 21:26:44 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/226974 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/226974 This week's Risers & Decliners lists the players who have had their stock rise in value by emerging as winners from their spring training position battles. Conversely, you'll also find the players with declining stock, due to loss of their starting job, ineffectiveness or injury. Mon, 31 Mar 2008 09:30:34 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/224998 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/224998 Position Battle Winners Joe Crede will be the starting 3B for the White Sox beating out Josh Fields…..wait this just in, Crede is injured already!?!?!?! He fouled a ball off his foot and it is possible that he might miss Opening Day. Still think that Crede is only playing to increase his trade value, but knowing his injury history, maybe Fields isn't going to AAA just yet. As previously reported, it is official that Jorge Cantu will man third base for the Marlins. If he is able to continue what he did in Spring Training and regain his 2005 form, Cantu could be a major sleeper who could also still have 2B eligibility in your league. Jayson Nix was also named the starter at 2B for the Rockies. Those of you in keeper leagues were hoping for Ian Stewart to score an upset win here, but he has been sent to Colorado Springs. Nix will hit for a decent average and run some, but don't count on him to give big production. Former Mets' prospect Carlos Gomez has been named the starter in center for the Twins. Was he the best man for the job, or are the Twins just trying to show they got SOMETHING from the Santana trade? Gomez will run a lot, just don't expect too much more. After his last spring performance it is now very likely that the 5th starter for the Mets will be Orlando Hernandez. El Duque gave up just one run in 5 innings, while Mike Pelfrey blew the game in the 9th. It's just a matter of time, before Hernandez gets hurt, but it looks like to start the year he will be the Mets' last starter. After cutting Claudio Vargas, it is likely that the last three spots in the Brewers' rotation will go to Carlos Villanueva, Dave Bush, and rookie Manny Parra. Parra has the most upside of the three, with big time strikeout potential, although he did have some injury problems while in the majors. He is worth a flyer in larger leagues. Villanueva and Bush will most likely be owned in most leagues as well, and you can expect them to produce similar to the way they did last year. Shockingly Sent to the Minors After fighting to get back after Tommy John surgery sidelined him all of 2007, Francisco Liriano will start this season in the minors. Now before you lose your mind, he is scheduled to start one game for single-A and one game for Triple-A before being reevaluated where he stands. If Friday night's performance means anything, he won't be gone long. Liriano went five innings giving up just one run and striking out seven against the Pirates. Ok, so maybe he was already pitching against AAA talent. Another shocker was the news that Gerald Laird beat out top prospect Jarrod Saltalamacchia for the starting catching job in Texas. Fantasy players all over are now searching for other options to start at catcher before Opening Day. I don't expect it to be long before the Rangers realize they made a mistake, but for now are JR Towles, Chris Snyder, or John Buck available for you? Not as much of a surprise was the news that Evan Longoria, the Rays' top prize was optioned to the minors. Most expected this after news that if Longoria spends a month in the minors the Rays can put his free agency off until 2014. If you own him, don't release him unless you really can't afford the roster spot, Evan will be back before the middle of May. Finally, superstud in waiting Cameron Maybin was sent down to AAA after struggling at the end of spring, going hitless in his last 18 at bats. Maybin is another guy that I don't expect to be in the minors for long, so if you own him and can afford to stash him, do yourself that favor he could have a major impact when recalled. Last, Reds big pitching prospect Homer Bailey was sent to the minors this week. Bailey was passed by Johnny Cueto and Edinson Volquez this spring, and now you have to wonder if all the predictions that we have been reading about for the last few years will come to fruition. Cueto and Volquez are hot pickups as young arms that have big time strikeout potential. If they are available, I would suggest grabbing one of them. Injury News B.J. Ryan threw a bullpen session on Thursday and now it seems that he is back on track for a mid April return. Ryan reported no soreness after 22 pitches, and is looking to return in the April 11-13 range. Scott Rolen now has a timetable to be on the shelf. Reports out of Toronto have him out a minimum of six weeks, meaning it will be mid May before the former Gold Glove winner is back at the hot corner for the Jays. John Smoltz also threw in the bullpen, and said that he is targeting April 6th as his return to the mound. Kelvim Escobar may have suffered a major setback in his attempt to the mound. Escobar reported discomfort in his shoulder after his latest bullpen session and he has been shut down indefinitely. After 18 wins last year, owners were expecting another big season out of him, but now I can't say that I wouldn't just cut ties with him now before worse news comes down. Perpetual Sleeper Jeremy Hermida will start 2008 on the disabled list due to a tight hamstring. He is eligible to be activated on April 5th, but given the fact that he has bought a summer home on the DL, this sends up big red flags on Hermida. Horrible Performances Newly acquired star Eric Bedard didn't exactly instill a lot of confidence in his last spring start. Bedard gave up four runs in just six innings. You can still expect big things out of Bedard this season as long as he stays healthy, don't put to much stock in his spring stats (8.63 ERA). Brewers oft-injured ace Ben Sheets didn't finish his spring off the way he would like either, as he gave up a whopping nine runs in just five innings. If he can stay healthy, Sheets has the ability to be a top 15 starter, but that is about as likely as Rocco Baldelli staying healthy. Lastly, soon to be out of the rotation Mike Mussina had another crappy outing on Friday. Mussina gave up 5 runs in 5 1/3 IP, but will still be part of the Yankee rotation anyway. Good Performances Rays number 2 starter Matt Garza completed his excellent Spring Training with five strong innings. Garza gave up two runs, while walking two and striking out two. Because of the injury to Scott Kazmir, Garza will be starting the second game of the season for Tampa Bay. After posting a 2.45 ERA this spring, you can expect good stats from him this year, just don't expect too many wins. Stephen Drew doubled and tripled in the same game on Wednesday, and 10 of his 15 hits are for extra bases. He is one of my big sleepers for the 2008 season, and the fact that he is starting to hit for more power, makes me more confident in that prediction. Florida 1B Mike Jacobs hit a pair of homers against the Yankees on Sunday as he tries to live up to his hype that is now a couple of years behind him. Other News The Milwaukee Brewers have announced that 3B Bill Hall will bat 5th, while Corey Hart will be in the 6th slot to start the season. This could have a positive effect on Hall's RBI numbers, and a slightly negative effect on the number of runs scored that Hart will have. It really shouldn't have much effect on how you draft Hart, although I think many expected him to bat higher, but this could bump Hall back to a late round selection, hoping he can duplicate his breakout season after this vote of confidence from his manager. Sat, 29 Mar 2008 14:59:44 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/223461 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/223461 The Red Sox exciting 6-5 win over the A's this morning in Japan officially kicked off the 2008 season. With Spring Training winding down and opening day for you favorite club less than a week off, teams are starting to set their final lineups, rotations and bullpens. Over the past few days, several hotly contested position battles have been settled. In this piece, we will highlight the winners and losers and provide the fantasy impact. Tue, 25 Mar 2008 13:00:39 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/217847 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/217847 According to the Sun-Sentinel, the San Francisco Giants have claimed Jose Castillo off waivers and that the Florida Marlins have decided not to pull him back. The non-move of pulling Castillo back, to me is not to much of a surprise. Castillo has never been the greatest with his bat .256 career average with 33 homers and 181 homers over 4 seasons. His strength has always been his defense at the hot corner, which is something the Giants are looking for. Sat, 22 Mar 2008 16:45:18 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/214440 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/214440 A small roster move by the Marlins could have a big fantasy impact. We explain why the Marlins dropping Jose Castillo is such great news for Jorge Cantu, and why it is okay to take a flier on him. Sat, 22 Mar 2008 11:42:05 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/214092 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/214092 Dallas McPherson has come one strong early in Marlin's camp. We explain why this may or may not work out. Sun, 24 Feb 2008 02:19:04 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/163632 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/163632 We sort through the daily websites and articles, so you don't have to. We pick out the things you need to know for your fantasy season, and explain why they are important. Fri, 22 Feb 2008 23:01:14 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/162024 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/162024 One month ago I brought up Jorge Cantu as a player that the Seattle Mariners should take a look at. Seattle never showed any interest in Cantu, who agreed to terms with the Florida Marlins today. He signed for $500,000. More after the jump! Fri, 04 Jan 2008 23:28:54 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/60093 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/60093 It appears the Marlins are set on stockpiling 3B talent to replace Miguel Cabrera's power. The Marlins inked Jose Castillo to a contract in December and now have inked Jorge Cantu to a deal as well to compete for the starting gig. MLB is reporting… MLB.com has learned from a Major League Baseball Players Association source that the Marlins reached agreement on Thursday with Cantu on a one-year contract worth $500,000, plus incentives that could tack on another $100,000 based on plate appearances. The deal is expected to be announced today. I have no problem with this deal. Why not get as many options as possible to replace one of the greatest hitters in franchise history. No sense settling on a guy like Castillo. Fri, 04 Jan 2008 17:44:05 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/59936 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/59936 The Mariners could look at Jorge Cantu as an infield option, and are apparently back in the Johan Santana mix. Wed, 05 Dec 2007 20:18:48 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/40855 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/40855