Fantasy baseball Weekend Wrap

Bat Of The Weekend: Brandon Phillips – 6/12, 4 R, 1 2B, 3 HR, 7 RBI, 1 SB

Phillips went 30-30 in a breakout 2007 campaign and entered 2008 as the top rated second baseman in some preseason rankings. Phillips got off to a slow start from a power perspective but is really beginning to turn it on as we head into May. The Reds’ 2B is a legitimate 30-30 threat and one of the elite players at his position.

Arm Of The Weekend: James Shields – 9 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 K (CG, W)

James Shields was nasty Sunday afternoon in Tampa, throwing a complete game 2 hitter and in the process giving the Rays their first series sweep of the rival Red Sox. Don’t look now but the Rays starting pitching ranks among the best in baseball and will only improve once Scott Kazmir returns in early May....wierd to read. I know.

Worst Weekend: Giovany Soto - 0/8, 8 K

Yikes.

WHO WAS HOT

BATS

Josh Hamilton - 8/13, 4 R, 2 2B, 1 HR, 6 RBI
Nate McLouth – 4/12, 4 R, 3 HR, 5 RBI - PRINCE's MINIONS

David Murphy – 6/13, 2 R, 1 2B, 1 3B, 5 RBI

Matt Kemp – 5/12, 2 R, 1 HR, 5 RBI

Alex Rios – 7/13, 4 R, 1 2B, 1 3B, 1 RBI, 1 SB - PRINCE's MINIONS

I had a nice weekend having had two of the weekends Studs starting on my team. Obviously if you can pick up any of these guys you should do so. If you're in a deep league I'm guessing you won't have a chance at picking up any of these guys. If that's the case monitor them through most of this week and if they continue to produce like this you may want to think about swinging a trade. If your league isn't that deep you might be able to pick up Kemp or Murphy but dont' count on it.

ARMS

Pat Maholm – 9 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 4 BB, 2 K (CG, W)

Vicente Padilla – 9 IP, 7 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 2 K (CG, W)

Jonathon Sanchez – 8 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 10 K (W)

Brian Burres – 8 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K (W)

Chien-Ming Wang – 7 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 9 K (W)

Billy Wagner – 2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 2 Saves

Boy I could have used any one of these guys for my pitching staff this weekend. Personally of the bunch I like Wang and Padilla the most. I think you can look for those two to keep it going most consistently of the group. So if you have to decide between them my advice is with Padilla or Wang but all are pitching well right now. Also Wagner gave up his first hit of the year this weekend. All I have to say is, "Wow".

WHO WAS NOT

BATS

Alex Gordon - 1/11, 6 K

Casey Blake – 0/9, 5 K

Jim Thome – 1/9, 6 K

Gary Matthew Jr. – 0/10, 3 K - PRINCE's MINIONS

Kevin Youklis – 0/10, 3 K

YIKES! With most of these guys I wouldn't be too concerned. I'm leaving GMJ in my starting lineup and I think most of you can afford to do the same with these struggling players.

ARMS

Barry Zito – 3 IP, 7 H, 8 ER, 3 BB, 1 K (L)

Livan Hernandez – 2.2 IP, 9 H, 7 ER, 1 BB, 2 K(L)

Matt Morris – 1.2 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 1 K (L)

Miguel Batista – 1 IP, 2 H, 3 ER, 5 BB, 2 K (L)

Ubaldo Jimenez – 2.1 IP, 7 H, 6 ER, 3 BB, 1 K (ND)

Bob Howry – 0.1 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 1 K (L)

That's ugly. These struggling pitchers I would treat differently than the struggling hitters. I think with Zito, Livan, and Morris you need to drop immediately. Livan hasn't been good in a while while Barry Zito’s latest debacle moved him to 0-6 and possibly the bullpen and Matt Morris finds himself out of a job. As far as Howry concerned he looks to be out of the mix for closer now and Marmol will probably be up next. Which works great for me because I have Marmol! If you can pick up or acquire Carlos Marmol at this point you may want to consider it. He will get you a lot of K's, a great K/9, he has an ERA of 1.65 and a WHIP of .8 so I don't see what's not to like. Plus, I see him succeeding as a closer in Chi-Town. He's got the stuff.