Fantasy Baseball AL East Notebook: Tulo, Sanchez, Hyun Soo-Kim, & more
We held our annual FOX Sports Experts Fantasy Baseball Draft last week. Thought it was interesting to see how the position popularity broke down through the first five rounds – 60 picks. Only quirks were OBP instead of AVG and quality starts instead of wins. Here’s the visual aid:
Toronto Blue Jays
Aaron Sanchez won the fifth spot in the rotation. Sub-6.00 K/9 rate in 41 appearances last season has higher ceiling, closer to 8.00 based on minor league sample sizes as a full-time starter. Assume ERA closer to 4.00 than 3.50. Gibbons said he could be moved to the bullpen later on in the season.
Thanks to Carlos Correa, we’re at the point in Troy Tulowitzki’s career where yet another injury scare doesn’t completely come as a surprise or reason to panic based on ADP. Tulo took a Bartolo Colon pitch off his hand last week. It was diagnosed a bone bruise.
Blue Jays claimed Jesus Montero off waivers after the Mariners gave up on a key piece of the trade that sent Michael Pineda to the Yankees. He hasn’t played in 100 major league games since 2012 and has a career batting average of .253.
New York Yankees
Rob Refsnyder looked to be a lock for the starting gig at second base. Starlin Castro’s arrival derailed those plans. Now, he’s heading back to the minors to get work at third base. That transition with Castro at second and Didi Gregorius at short derails Refsnyder’s perceived fantasy value. He hasn't shown the power production needed out of the hot corner.
When you hear "spring training stats don’t matter," you see Aaron Hicks is tied with Starlin Castro for the team lead in homers with two.
C.C. Sabathia and Ivan Nova are fighting for the No. 5 gig in the Yankees rotation. Fighting is the wrong word, but doing-everything-to-lose-the-gig was too wordy and hyphen’y. Sabathia and Nova both boast bloated ERAs well north of 5.00. Sabathia’s opposing batting average allowed is .304. Yum.
Boston Red Sox
Did you know Carlos Marmol was with the Bo-Sox this spring? He was cut today, but was on the spring training roster and walked seven in four innings pitched. Memories, like the corner of my mind.
Travis Shaw hasn’t picked up a hit in a week - an 0-13 stretch – and is still hitting .353 this spring. Pablo Sandoval is working his way back from a, um, back injury and is in danger of losing his starting gig to Shaw to start the season. Shaw carries a strikeout rate above 20 percent for those feeling frisky.
Baltimore Orioles
The Korean Baseball Organization may get Hyun Soo-Kim back after he managed just eight hits in 44 at bats (.182 BA) with no homers.
Looking for middle infield help and love spring training stat potential? Check out second baseman Jonathan Schoop who hit 15 homers in 86 games for the O’s last season. Not one to carry a high batting average in the minors, he’s hitting .358 this spring. He could hit 100 points less if he earns regular season playing time, but could also flirt with 20 homers. His ADP is currently 2B-18 on NFBC.
After an injury scare, catcher Matt Wieters could be ready by Opening Day.
Tampa Bay Rays
Logan Forsythe hit a career-high 17 homers last season. He’s now pegged to leadoff for the Rays in 2016. His .359 OBP – also a career high – makes him a popular candidate to leadoff. However, his BABIP was 27 points higher than career norm. Perhaps, we see some of that speed his showed at Double-A back in the day – 17 stolen bases in 2010.
Read More: Fantasy Baseball Divisional Notebook Archives
