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    • Paul Goldschmidt going deep (USAT)

      I wasn’t necessarily down on Paul Goldschmidt entering the year, but he came nowhere near any of my teams, as he was being drafted aggressively, and he played in what I perceived as a loaded first base position. Not only has first base been a huge disappointment in general, but Goldschmidt has quickly developed into a true star I certainly didn’t expect, as he’s on pace to finish the season with this line: .329-43-108-130-14. That’s a monster no matter what position you play. While Chase Field is a huge advantage on his side, Goldschmidt has actually posted a 1.242 OPS on the road compared to .812 at home, so while the former is bound to drop, the latter is certain to rise as well. Goldschmidt’s 23.0 K% suggests his current batting average should drop a decent amount, but the power is for real, and he’s the favorite to lead first basemen in steals. Even if it’s obviously unsustainable, it’s worth pointing out just how terrific he’s been this year when batting with runners in scoring position, as he’s hitting .421/.457/.895 with five homers and 24 RBI over 38 at-bats. He also has 10 home runs over 81 at-bats with runners on base. One final Goldschmidt quirky small sample stat – he’s hit .529/.550/1.471 with five homers over 17 at-bats against Tim Lincecum in his career. That’s right, he has a 1.417 slugging percentage against the former two-time Cy Young award winner. I regret missing the boat with Goldschmidt in 2013, and come next year, he might very well be a unanimous first round fantasy pick.

      This “home run” trot is among the best ever.

      This Ian Kinsler slide wasn’t ideal.

      Read More »from Mostly MLB Notes: Striking Goldschmidt
    • Baltimore RHP prospect Kevin Gausman (USAT Images)

      Back in the off-season, when everyone published their 2013 prospect lists, Dylan Bundy was the Baltimore pitcher who received the most buzz, by far. Bundy was rated as the game's No. 2 overall prospect by both Baseball America and MLB.com, behind only Jurickson Profar, and No. 4 by Baseball Prospectus. He's a huge talent, no doubt.

      Bundy has yet to throw a pitch this season, however, as he's been sidelined with elbow discomfort. He received a platelet rich plasma injection in late-April and he'll be shelved until June. He won't help fantasy owners anytime soon.

      But the O's have another young right-hander in the system, well-regarded by scouts, putting up impressive numbers in the high minors. Kevin Gausman entered the season not far behind Bundy in the prospect ranks — No. 26 at BA, 36 at MLB, 13 at BP — and he's off to a terrific start at Double-A Bowie. He was brilliant in his most recent start at Trenton on Friday, pitching 6.0 innings, allowing four hits and one run, recording 10 Ks. For the season, the 22-year-old has a WHIP of 1.06, an ERA of 3.11, and he's whiffed 49 batters in 46.1 innings while issuing only five walks.

      Over Gausman's last five starts, his ratios are obscene: 1.78 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, 9.20 K/9, 6.20 K/BB.

      Interested? If you're involved in a moderately deep league, you should be.

      Read More »from Farm Report: O’s prospect Kevin Gausman building case for call-up
    • It's raining blown saves in Baltimore (USAT)

      Into the middle of May, Jim Johnson was untouchable, on a streak of 35 consecutive saves. Fast forward a week and he's a struggling closer looking for a break. That's life in the ninth inning. It's time for an audit in Baltimore.

      Johnson suffered a couple of blown saves last week, mostly death by a thousand cuts (with one homer mixed in). His squandered opportunity from Monday came on one pitch, a plate-centered fastball that Travis Hafner deposited into the Oriole Park seats in left-center field. Baltimore eventually lost the game in ten innings, its sixth straight defeat.

      "We will figure it out," Johnson told the team's official site. "I'll figure it out. There's no other option."

      Orioles manager Buck Showalter quickly gave Johnson a vote of confidence after Monday's loss. "Come back tomorrow and watch it again, he was one pitch away," Showalter said to Orioles.com. "Jimmy's a very consistent human being. Professional and a great teammate. We didn't do enough to win tonight. ... It's frustrating for him, but he wasn't the only one who could come out of this game a little frustrated."

      Read More »from Closing Time: Jim Johnson blows another; Patrick Corbin laughs at gravity
    • Alt-Jimenez (USAT)In the middle of April I spent a decent chunk of one Closing Time documenting why Ubaldo Jimenez was a waste of fantasy space. This didn't sit too well with many of the readers, who openly wondered why it was worth discussing in the first place.

      Ultimately, I accepted you were right. We moved the Jimenez file to the storage area and everyone moved on.

      And now, shockingly enough, we have to discuss Jimenez again. That's what you get with this enigma. Just when we thought we were out, we get pulled back in.

      Jimenez has been terrific over his last four starts, collecting three wins and posting a snappy 1.90 ERA. He's walked just eight batters over 23.2 innings and he's struck out 29. There's been a little batted-ball fortune here (.259), but nothing crazy.

      Read More »from Where does Ubaldo Jimenez go from here?
    • All my exes live in Texas (USAT)

      It's the middle of May and we've got plenty to talk about. Jurickson Profar's promotion. Doug Fister's college days. Derek Holland's OPS.

      As usual, we'll do it in chat fashion. I'll provide the polls, you provide the beverages, everyone bring something silly. In Michael Scott's lingo, this is a win-win-win.

      Headed for a magazine mock, so you're on your own for a while. Re-convene at 10:15 pm ET.

      Read More »from Late Night Fantasy Chat: 10:15 pm
    • Jurickson Profar has been raking at Round Rock (USAT Images)On Sunday afternoon, Buster Olney broke the news that Rangers prospect Jurickson Profar — rated by many as baseball's top prospect — had arrived in Arlington. Profar has since been promoted to the big league roster, with Ian Kinsler (ribs) hitting the 15-day disabled list.

      This is an actionable fantasy event, you guys. Add Profar where you can, then return here for additional details.

      GO. MAKE THE ADD. SHOO.

      Profar didn't race out to a huge start at Round Rock this season — he hit just .231/.355/.410 in April — but he's been on a tear lately. He's hitting .415 over his last 10 games, he homered twice on Saturday, and he's raised his slash to .278/.370/.438. Not bad for a 20-year-old at Triple-A. He's swiped six bags in seven attempts so far this year, too, and he's walked nearly as often as he's struck out (21 BB, 24 Ks).

      Yes, we all understand that Profar is just a kid, and it's only the PCL. Plus he'll have no guaranteed spot in the Texas lineup when Kinsler returns (probably soon). There are issues here, no doubt. We can make no guarantees with Profar. Everyone should understand that 20-year-olds sometimes fail. Blah-blah-temper-expectations-blah-blah-losing-advice-blah. (There, satisfied with the caveats? Great.)

      Read More »from Fantasy alert: Jurickson Profar gets the call as Ian Kinsler hits the DL
    • Stafford's mind-blowing 2012 left us all dumbfounded. (USAT)

      In every corner of the sports universe hard-to-explain anomalies push the boundaries of flukiness, crazy events that leave eyewitnesses with jaws dropped.

      Fantasy football is no exception.

      From Jerome Harrison’s trampling of Kansas City Week 14 2009 to Billy Volek’s unforgettable two-game stretch with the Titans in 2004 to an entire offseason week where neither Kenny Britt or Titus Young are incarcerated, unforeseen occurrences happen all the time, changing previously conceived notions about a particular player or team.

      Take Detroit’s Matthew Stafford.

      Last year, the former No. 1 pick was the definition of 'gunslinger.' Blessed with the game's finest target (Calvin Johnson), immersed in a pass-first offense and placed in numerous come-from-behind situations, the passer shattered Drew Bledsoe's single-season attempts record, firing an unreal 727 passes. Strangely, despite the high pitch-count, he found the end-zone a mere 20 times, the lowest number for a quarterback with at least 640 attempts in NFL history.

      Head-scratching.

      Read More »from First Down: Sizing up Stafford, Gronk’s soap opera and ‘Felony and Ivory’
    • Sweet thirtysomething swing (USAT)

      It's a casual Friday. All bullets, all the time.

      • The Arizona at Miami game got out of hand quickly, as the Snakes posted six runs in the first three innings and turned the game into a rout. Paul Goldschmidt clocked a couple of homers, because that's what Goldschmidts do, and I'd like to burn every nice thing I said about Kevin Slowey this spring.

      But let's try to find an actionable item here. Say hello to Arizona's cleanup man, Eric Chavez.

      The veteran lefty swinger filled the box score nicely, with three singles and a homer over five trips. Chavez knocked in two runs and is slashing .337/.398/.584 on the year. He's still a useful player at age 35, worthy of a fantasy audit.

      A decade ago, the Chavez story was much different. He was one of the superstars on the Oakland juggernaut of the early 2000s, one of the players Moneyball more or less ignored so we could all learn to appreciate Scott Hatteberg. Chavez offered a nifty mix of power and patience, and he also bagged six Gold Gloves in a row. Durability wasn't an issue back then, as Chavez logged 151 games or more in five of six seasons.

      Alas, the wave broke in Chavez's late 20s, when his body began to betray him. He missed a month of time in 2006 and things got progressively worse; from 2007-2010, he never played in more than 90 games. A career on a possible Hall of Fame trajectory quickly spiraled out of control.

      Read More »from Closing Time: Eric Chavez turns back the clock; Adam LaRoche springs forward
    • Not your night, Fernando Rodney (Getty)

      So Fernando Rodney was not exactly at his best against the Red Sox on Thursday night.

      Asked to protect a two-run ninth-inning lead, Rodney immediately issued a pair of free passes. Nine of the first 11 pitches he threw were non-strikes. He eventually loaded the bases via walk, then gave up a two-out, three-run double to Will Middlebrooks. And then he walked Jarrod Saltalamacchia, just to prove the first three BBs weren't flukes.

      Rodney's final fantasy line was a big steaming mess...

      Yup, you're reading those ratios correctly: 40.50, 7.50. Some of us are hurting today.

      Read More »from Maddon: ‘I’m not running away from Fernando. We’ll get him right’
    • Segura has been running, hitting like a man possessed. (USAT)

      Over the course of roughly 45 days, it's stunning how different the fantasy landscape appears. Alleged franchise cornerstones Matt Kemp, Albert Pujols, Josh Hamilton and R.A. Dickey, once thought to be indispensable, have underachieved. Meanwhile, afterthoughts Manny Machado, Starling Marte, Jean Segura and Shelby Miller, who were nothing more than late-round Hail Marys, are keeping many in contention.

      On this week's insightful program, Brad Evans and Brandon Funston redrafted the season, fearlessly forecasting what slow/hot starts in Fantasyland will continue. Also on this week's program, we chatted bloodied Bryce Harper, Vernon Wells' sudden versatility, the Dodgers bullpen and fantasy football mock trends.

      Too busy exercising your liver? No problem. Listen to the replays below:

      LISTEN TO HOUR 1 (MLB/NFL)

      LISTEN TO HOUR 2 (MLB)


      Read More »from The Fantasy Freak Show Podcast: Gronk talk, gaga for Goldy and selling Zim

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