In one of the most anticipated deals of the summer, the Houston Astros traded pitcher Roy Oswalt to the Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday in exchange for J.A. Happ and two minor league prospects.
Oswalt will make his Phillies debut Friday night against the Washington Nationals.
From a fantasy perspective, Roy Oswalt’s value should receive a slight boost. Despite a 3.42 ERA and 1.11 WHIP in 129 innings with Houston this season, Oswalt owns a 6-12 record. With the N.L.’s third best offense in terms of runs-scored (opposed to the 15th) behind him, Oswalt has a great chance to double his win total in the last two months of the season with Philly.
On the surface, it may seem as though Oswalt’s new home ballpark may hinder his fantasy value. A closer look, however, says otherwise…
Most baseball fans believe success in the Home Run Derby translates to a power outage in the second half of the season. Josh Hamilton in 2008 comes to mind, but it would be foolish to make assumptions based on that one particular instance.
To answer this presumption, I tallied the first and second half home run totals of each Home Run Derby winner since 2000. The results may surprise you.
The following table shows the pre and post All-Star Break at-bat per home run rate (AB/HR) of each player in the season they won the Home Run Derby. (Note: an AB/HR rate of 14.0 simply means the player hit a home run once every 14 at-bats.)…
After weeks of anticipation, Seattle Mariners’ pitcher Cliff Lee finally has a new home.
Just hours after it was reported that the New York Yankees were close to acquiring Lee’s services, the Mariners dealt the 31-year-old southpaw to the Texas Rangers in exchange for Justin Smoak and minor leaguers Blake Beavan, Josh Lueke and Matt Lawson.
Mariners’ reliever Mark Lowe was also sent to Texas as part of the deal.
In terms of fantasy value, Lee’s has nowhere to go but down…
EDIT: Erik Bedard will miss Tuesday’s start with a stiff shoulder.
Seattle Mariners’ pitcher Erik Bedard is scheduled to make his first start of the season against the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday.
The 31-year-old southpaw had surgery to repair a torn labrum last August, and hasn’t pitched since.
In three rehab starts (11 innings) between Rookie League and Triple-A this season, Bedard boasts a 1.64 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and a 14/3 K/BB ratio.
He’s worth an add in all leagues, though managers should be leery of his long-term value…
Through 82 team games (324 at-bats) this season, Reds‘ second baseman Brandon Phillips is tied with Boston’s Kevin Youkilis for the major league lead in runs, with 62.
Phillips also has 10 homers and 10 steals at the mid-way point, putting him on pace for his fourth consecutive 20/20 season.
Perhaps the most surprising stat, however, is Phillips’ batting average. In four and a half seasons with the Reds, Phillips has never finished with a batting average higher than .288, and his career mark is an uninspiring .269…
Friday, July 30, 2010
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