Tagged: Braves farm system

Fantasy Baseball Stock Report: Jurrjens, Ross, Roberts, and Schierholtz

BY ROB SHAW

Twitter: @RobShawSports and @BloombergSports

Watch Bloomberg Sports Anchors Julie Alexandria and Rob Shaw breakdown the top players to buy low and sell high on the fantasy baseball stock report.

Selling Jair Jurrjens:

The Braves hurler is now in the minor leagues after an atrocious start.  Jurrjens has been one of the more underappreciated hurlers of the last few years.  He won at least 13 games in three of the last four seasons, twice with an ERA sub-3.  However, this season, he lost some of his stuff as he failed to make it out of the fifth inning in three of four starts and not only is he walking way too many batters, but the opposition is hitting .411 off him.  With his fastball in the decline, perhaps a confidence boost in the minor leagues will do the 26-year-old some good. Feel free to release him from your fantasy team.

Buying Cody Ross:

Fantasy managers may have forgotten that Cody Ross once carried a power bat in Florida, surpassing 20 home runs in back-to-back seasons.  Sure, he has some World Series heroics a couple of years ago, but playing for the Giants kept him in a pitcher’s park that ate away at his power stats.  That changes this season as Ross is now playing at Fenway and already has five home runs, three of which have come at home.  A streaky hitter, Ross has had home runs in consecutive games twice already this season.  With Carl Crawford and Jacoby Ellsbury out, Ross should enjoy regular playing time.  This is a player to target for his power.

Selling Ryan Roberts:

The good news for super utility man Ryan Roberts was the 19 home runs and 18 stolen bases last season.  The bad news for Roberts was the .239 average over the second half of the season.  Unfortunately, Roberts resembles the second half player from last season as his average is sub-Mendoza line with just 10 hits in 66 at bats.  At 31 years old, it’s fair to say that what we saw last season was too good to be true.  Roberts is now losing out on playing time to Cody Ransom.

Buying Nate Schierholtz:

A 1-17 struggle has brought the average down to .283, but Nate Schierholtz remains an intriguing fantasy option and should continue to get regular playing time in the outfield for the Giants.  The addition of Buster Posey has a huge impact in the lineup, and Schierholtz has proven capable of hitting with power and surprising speed over the last few years.  If this is finally the first time that the veteran will get 400 at bats, Schierholtz can surprise with some fantasy value.