Tuesday's MLB trade deadline featured a few surprises, but none greater than the Texas Rangers' acquisition of Ryan Dempster.
The 35-year-old is enjoying a career year, and was perhaps the most talked about player on the sports betting market. After Dempster nixed a deal to the Braves last week and trade talks between the Cubs and Dodgers fell apart as the deadline approached, the Rangers swooped in Tuesday afternoon and landed him for two prospects: third baseman Christian Villanueva and right-hander Kyle Hendricks.
First, let's take a look at how the move to Texas might affect Dempster's fantasy value...
Chicago Cubs’ pitcher Ryan Dempster allowed seven earned runs for the second consecutive start on Thursday, recording just one out before being yanked. Along the way he walked four, hit a batter and yielded four hits, including a grand slam to Stephen Drew.
Through six starts, the usually reliable Dempster now sports an unsightly 9.58 ERA and 1.87 WHIP. Given his steady production over the last three seasons (3.49 ERA, 8.20 K/9, 3.28 BB/9), one can’t help but wonder: What’s wrong with Ryan Dempster?
There are many different effective strategies when it comes to drafting starting pitchers. Some will hoard the top talents in the year after the year of the pitcher, while others will rely on weekly spot-starts. Both approaches work, but I have employed a much different scheme in recent seasons:
Ideally, you own just one or two reliable starters. They must maintain a consistently low ERA (preferably no higher than 3.50—3.75) and WHIP (Carl Pavano was a great example last year). Strikeouts aren't important...
Continuing our 162-game journey, Fantasy Baseball Insiders Tonight got a close look at Nationals’ starter Luis Atilano on Wednesday. Who the heck is Luis Atilano, you ask? Let’s find out…
Game No. 19 – Washington Nationals vs. Chicago Cubs
After winning his major-league debut against the Dodgers last Friday, Luis Atilano toed the rubber against the Cubs Wednesday afternoon...
We’re just three days removed from Opening Day, yet Fantasy Baseball Insiders has already scored four games as part of our journey to watch 162. Wednesday featured the Giants/Astros matchup in Houston…
Game No. 4 – San Francisco Giants vs. Houston Astros
Edgar Renteria was the story of this game, going 5-for-5 with a walk, one run and two RBI. San Francisco’s shortstop is now 8-for-11 on the season. The 34-year-old hasn’t been fantasy-relevant since 2008 when he hit 12 HRs and stole 11 bases while batting .332 in 494 at-bats...
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
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