Fantasy Baseball Blog News of the Day - May 9th

Who doesn't enjoy a good fantasy baseball challenge? Arod on the DL, Tulowitzki out until mid-season, Gallardo out for the year, etc...But if fate didn't throw curveballs like these our way, what would be the point of actually playing out the fantasy season? We could just take our pre-season stat projections, apply them to all players drafted, and pick a winner without even playing a single game.

But players really play, and players really get hurt. Enjoy these challenges, don't get frustrated (as it really is still early), and use your creativity when trying to find a way to keep your teams afloat.

And without further delay, here is today's fantasy baseball blog news of the day:

-Greener on the Other Side takes a look at some of the early season BABIP winners & losers

-Roto Authority has updated their post on all closers in the league

-Fantasy Gameday takes a look at the top K/100 pitchers

-Crooked Pitch gives their week 5 fantasy MVPs

-According to Razzball, you know your fantasy baseball team sucks when...

I'll have some more juicy baseball thoughts for you this weekend, so stay tuned.

MLB Blog Poll - Week 4 (NL Vote)

First off, sorry for the lack of updates recently; it's the busy time of year for my real job (budget season), so that's been monopolizing much of my time. I plan on making some updates this weekend, so stay tuned.

This week, we voted on the NL MVP, CY Young, and Rookie of the Year. Here is how we voted in the weekly MLB Blog Poll brought to you by Baseball Happenings.

NL MVP:

1) Chase Utley - He's already known as the one of the top second basemen in the league; this is the year that he's proving to that he's more than just an elite second baseman, he's one of the elite players in the entire game.

2) Chipper Jones - He's still hitting well over .400 after nearly 100 at bats...enough said.

3) Derrek Lee - Gold glove defense, and he's hitting nearly .360 with 7 HR & 20 + RBI's.

NL CY Young:

1) Jake Peavy - Continues to be one of the most consistently dominant starters in the game today.

2) Tim Lincecum - He's on pace to finish with a 26-0 record and 233 K's...which probably won't happen; no matter, he's been one of the best this season & has found ways to get wins with a limited offense behind him (it helps only have allowed 4 ER all season).

3) Ben Sheets - He drops a few spots this week after his recent missed starts, but he has been very impressive this season; let's hope he can get & stay healthy.

NL Rookie of the Year:

1) Jair Jurrjens - The league is hitting only .214 against him, and he's on pace for a 19 win season; not bad for a 22 year old.

2) Geovany Soto - Is actually giving fellow rookie Fukudome a run for his money right now for the title of best rookie in the Windy City.

3) Johnny Cueto - He's going to be a stud for a long time, but he's suffering some growing pains right now. He keeps putting up quality starts & showing great control, but he has allowed at least one HR in every start this season (for a total of 6 on the year).

MLB Blog Poll - Week 3 (AL Vote)

Time for another weekly MLB Blog Poll. This week, we evaluated the MVP, CY Young, and Rookie of the Year candidates in the AL (if the season were to end today). You can find the entire results at Baseball Happenings or directly here.

Our voting for this week is below; one item to note, we're looking like geniuses for picking Ellsbury for Rookie of the Year - he's had an incredible past week (in 27 AB, he's hitting .370 with 11 R, 2 HR, 4 RBI, and 6 SB!), and now appears fully entrenched in the CF job for Boston. Crisp will get some playing time now & again, but there is no denying Ellsbury talent & ability to be an every day player in the majors.

AL MVP:

1) Manny Ramirez - He's on pace for 162 RBI & appears focused on the task at hand...helping the Red Sox win another championship.

2) Josh Hamilton - He's the real deal

3) BJ Upton - Doing a bit of everything

AL CY Young:

1) Cliff Lee - Proving he can pitch great against more than just the Oakland's lineup. After two wins against the A's to start the year, he threw his second 2 hitter on Friday, this time against the Twins. The league is hitting only .111 against him.

2) Felix Hernandez - Impressive thus far

3) Ervin Santana - Has pitched well on the road so far (shocking), and continues to pitch great at home (expected).

AL Rookie of the Year:

1) Jacoby Ellsbury - This race is bound to heat up now that Longoria is up in the majors to stay, but Ellsbury has played well so far this year. He's showing a great eye at the plate (12 BB's to only 4 K's), and is running with success on the basepaths (6 SB).

2) Nick Blackburn - Been a solid addition to the Twins rotation

3) Evan Longoria - He's in the majors to stay, and has shown a solid eye at the plate so far.

Prospect Watch - Pitchers - Week 2

Today I bring you part two of our weekly Prospect Watch series, this time focusing on some of the top pitching prospects in the minors.

What's Interesting:
-Kershaw continues to pitch well, although he still doesn't have a win on the season
-Homer Bailey has been pitching extremely well, showing good control although not striking out as many as he has in the past; has he finally matured as a pitcher?
-David Price has yet to pitch in a game this season, although he is starting to throw bullpen sessions
-Max Scherzer - Wow. That's really all there is to say. His performance thus far in this young season compares well with some of the best minor league pitching numbers we've seen in recent years, including those from Tim Lincecum, Cole Hamels, and Francisco Liriano. Will he be in the majors soon? If so, will his success continue (like those mentioned)? Only time will tell, but stay tuned.

Yahoo's Sabermetrics Table - 2008 Season to Date

Yahoo has posted their 2008 season-to-date sabermetric stats, updating the 2007 season ending totals which you can view here. This includes many sabermetric stats for MLB hitters & pitchers thus far this season.

This tool includes stats such as contact %, HR rate, BB rate, K rate, and others for hitters (9 total cats) & BB/9, K/9, BABIP, FB %, GB%, and others for pitchers (17 total cats).

The direct links are below:

-Sabermetric Batters
-Sabermetric Pitchers
-Glossary

This is good stuff, and if you're a stat geek (like me), it will keep you busy for quite some time looking through the details to try to figure out if a player who has started the year hot or cold will keep it up at his current pace.

Enjoy!

Prospect Watch - Hitters - Week 2

This is the second edition of our Prospect Watch. This gives you an idea of how some of the top hitting prospects in the minors are doing so far this season.

What's Interesting:
-Longoria was already called up by the Rays & signed to a long term deal (amazing how much can change in a week!)
-Heyward already has 7 steals on the season & hasn't been caught yet
-Rasmus is off to a rough start
-Maybin has cooled off some from his fast start, and has an alarming 25 K's in only 54 official plate appearances

The pitching report will be posted soon.