Tagged: Jim Thome

July 31, 2012

Fantasy Baseball Injury Report: Teixeira, Grandal, Thome, Francisco, and Morales

Twitter: @RobShawSports and @BloombergSports

Bloomberg Sports Anchor Rob Shaw breaks down the injuries and comebacks of five players and how they affect your fantasy team.

Mark Teixeira, 1B, Yankees

The Yankees big bopper aggravated a wrist injury diving for a ball on Monday night. The injury first occurred Sunday, but now it looks like he will miss some time. An immediate X-Ray came back negative, but Teixeira will have an MRI Tuesday, which could dictate whether he has to spend some time on the disabled list.

Big Tex has 20 home runs and 71 RBI this season. Even with the recent swoon, the Yankees were thought of as a safe bet for the playoffs. However, if Teixeira joins A-Rod on the DL, things will change. Most notably, the Yankees could end up being buyers prior to the trade deadline.

Yasmani Grandal, C, Padres

In the midst of a rally against Reds hurler Mike Leake Monday, Grandal had to leave the game with a strained oblique. We’ve seen a lot of this injury this season and it usually ends with the player landing on the disabled list. The 23-year-old Cuban has been great in his rookie season, batting .312 with five home runs and 15 RBI in 24 games.

Jim Thome, DH, Orioles

Thome is one of the most dangerous sluggers in baseball, but nearing 42 years old, staying healthy has been a challenge lately. The Orioles have given him an opportunity to play everyday, and just when he was getting hot, Thome hurt his neck and is now getting an MRI in Baltimore to determine whether a stay on the DL will be necessary.

Frank Francisco, RP, Mets

While his 4.97 ERA may be ugly, Frank Francisco does have 18 saves in 21 attempts and was enjoying a fine June with a 2.16 ERA before he went down with an oblique injury. The 32-year-old veteran is now on the mend and could return as the Mets closer as soon as Friday. The Mets interim closer has been Bobby Parnell, who remains a bit too hittable despite a 100-MPH fastball. He has blown two of his last three saves.

Kendrys Morales, 1B/RF, Angels

Talking about injuries, Morales missed nearly two seasons, all because of a celebration after hitting a grand slam that resulted in a broken ankle. While he has been back all season, it wasn’t until Monday night that we saw a vintage performance. He blasted two home runs from both sides of the plate for six RBI in one inning.

Morales now has 11 home runs and 45 RBI through 84 games. He has been striking out too often and not walking enough, but it was a nice turn-back-the-clock performance for a player who could still have some solid years left in the tank.

For more fantasy inishgt, visit BloombergSports.com.

July 2, 2012

Fantasy Baseball Weekend Recap: Perez, Young, Thome, Davis, Alvarez, and Hosmer

Twitter: @RobShawSports and @BloombergSports

Bloomberg Sports Anchor Rob Shaw breaks down the weekend in baseball and how it affects your fantasy team.

Martin Perez, SP, Rangers

Perez made his major league debut Saturday night against Oakland. The 21-year-old southpaw had five strikeouts and gave up six hits, one walk and two earned runs in 5.1 innings pitched. He had struggled in the minor leagues this season with a 1.29 K/BB ratio at AAA. However, he has been better in the past and there is reason to be excited about his future.

Chris Young, SP, Mets

Young has only started 13 games since 2010, but his numbers during that stretch are among the best in baseball. He has a 2.19 ERA and 1.16 WHIP, compared to Roy Halladay’s 2.60 ERA and 1.05 WHIP and Cliff Lee’s 3.00 ERA and 1.05 WHIP. This season, he has started five games, his greatest workload since 2009. The last time he made 20 starts was in 2007.

Jim Thome, Orioles

Thome spent his first 12 seasons with the Cleveland Indians and has since been on seven teams over the last 10 years. Moving to Baltimore allows him to play more regularly as a designated hitter. He has had 40 home runs in 553 at-bats over the last two years and could bring some power to the Orioles’ lineup and your fantasy team.

Shaw also discusses three players whose slumps have ended and who are putting up big numbers in recent weeks. First is Mets first baseman Ike Davis, who has six home runs, 24 RBI and a .333 average in 19 games since June 9th. Second, Pirates third baseman Pedro Alvarez has seven home runs, 19 RBI and a .377 average in 15 games since June 16th. Finally, Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer has a .423 average, one home run and three RBI in his last seven games.

For more fantasy insight, visit BloombergSports.com.

June 21, 2012

Ballpark Figures: Hall of Fame Predictions Part One

Twitter: @RobShawSports and @BloombergSports

Bloomberg Sports Anchors Julie Alexandria and Rob Shaw discuss players who they think will definitely be inducted into the Hall of Fame and players who are debatable.

Definites

Based on his statistics, Manny Ramirez should be a Hall of Famer. He has 2574 hits, 1831 RBI and 555 home runs in his career. He is a 12-time All-Star and has two World Series rings (’04, ’07) and nine Silver Slugger awards. However, his use of PEDs has tarnished his statistics and will keep him out of the Hall of Fame.

Though Albert Pujols is struggling a bit this season with the Angels, he has already cemented a spot in the Hall of Fame. He has 2,142 hits, 456 home runs and a .325 batting average in his career. He is a three-time MVP (’05, ’08, ’09) and a nine-time All-Star and has won two World Series (’06, ’11), six Silver Slugger awards and two Gold Glove awards.

Like Pujols, Ichiro Suzuki‘s numbers are down this season, but he deserves induction into the Hall of Fame based on his past performances. He has 2,504 hits, 432 stolen bases and a .323 average in his career. The 10-time All-Star also won MVP and Rookie of the Year honors in 2001 and has earned 10 Gold Gloves and three Silver Sluggers.

Derek Jeter is another player who is a shoe-in for the Hall of Fame. The 12-time All-Star has 3,177 career hits, 344 stolen bases and a .313 career average, as well as five Gold Gloves and four Silver Sluggers. Above all, he is a big-time winner with five World Series rings.

Chipper Jones, set to retire at the end of this year after 19 seasons, is certainly Hall of Fame-bound. He has 2,650 hits, 459 home runs and a .304 average in his career, in addition to an MVP award (’99), seven All-Star selections and two Silver Sluggers.

Alex Rodriguez, a 14-time All-Star and three-time MVP, is another player whose Hall of Fame candidacy is in question due to PEDs. However, it can be argued that after the steroid era ended, A-Rod still put up good enough numbers to warrant induction. He has 2,841 career hits and 640 home runs, and is 76 RBI away from 2000 for his career. He has one World Series ring (’09), 10 Silver Sluggers and two Gold Gloves.

Jim Thome is headed for the Hall of Fame with his 608 career HR. The five-time All-Star has had 12 seasons of 30+ HR and 100+ RBI but he is not just a home-run hitter. He has 1,710 walks, ranking 10th all-time.

Mariano Rivera is another player already in the Hall of Fame. He is the all-time saves leader with 608 and has a 2.21 career ERA, good for 13th all-time. He is the greatest closer of all time and one of the most clutch performers in sports. Despite being 42 years old, Rivera was as good as ever before his season was cut short by a torn ACL.

Questionable

Jamie Moyer sits at 269 wins as he is currently pitching in AAA and trying to make another comeback, this time with the Baltimore Orioles. If he returns shortly and assuming he pitches every fifth day, he could potentially start 19 games and could pick up the six wins he needs to reach 275 for his career. If the 49-year-old can somehow keep pitching into his fifties, he could have a shot at 300 wins and the Hall of Fame.

Johnny Damon‘s easiest path to the Hall of Fame is to get another 254 hits to reach 3,000 for his career. If he gets just 54 more hits and 17 more home runs, he would join Rickey Henderson, Barry Bonds and Craig Biggio as the only players to have 2,800 hits, 250 home runs and 400 stolen bases. At the moment, he is one of five players to have 230 home runs, 400 stolen bases and 2,700 hits.

Scott Rolen is one of three third basemen to hit above .280 and hit 300 or more home runs, and one of four third basemen to have 8,000 or more plate appearances and an OPS of .850 or better. At 37 years old, if Rolen can collect 77 hits the rest of this season and average 100 hits over the next four years or 133 hits over the next 3 years, he would reach 2,500 hits. In addition to his defense, position and more than 300 HR, he would have a very strong candidacy.

Todd Helton‘s chances to make it into the Hall of Fame may be hurt by playing at Coors Field. However, if the 38-year-old can hit 46 more home runs over the next five years, he’d reach 400 home runs and have a strong case with 2,500 hits and 400+ home runs, a feat only 25 Major Leaguers have accomplished. He has hit 227 home runs at home and just 138 home runs on the road, so he may need to do more than most for people to believe in his Coors-tainted candidacy.

Vladimir Guerrero needs just 51 home runs to reach 500 for his career. Among players with at least 8,000 career plate appearances since 1950, his average of .318 ranks sixth behind Tony Gwynn, Wade Boggs, Rod Carew, Ichiro Suzuki and Todd Helton. he is one of only seven players in history with at least 350 home runs, a batting average of at least .310 and at least 2,500 career hits. Among the six others, only Manny Ramirez is not already in the Hall of Fame.

If Lance Berkman stays healthy and plays into his early 40s, he has a shot at reaching 500 home runs. If he can hit nine home runs the rest of this season, he’ll have 132 to go, which would mean four full seasons at his career pace of 33 per 162 games.

Tim Hudson has one of the 10 lowest ERAs of any pitcher with at least 2,000 innings pitched since 1990 and is tied for the fourth-most wins among active pitchers with 185. He also has the lowest home-run rate of any pitcher with at least 2,000 innings pitched since 1950.

For more baseball insight, visit BloombergSports.com.

November 5, 2011

Jim Thome Returns to Phillies

After spending last season with the Twins and Indians, Jim Thomes will return to the National League in a backup role with the Phillies.

Thome, who boasts 604 home runs for his career, has the most opposite-field home runs of all-time. This isn’t exactly something new for Phillies fans as their current first baseman Ryan Howard boasts the most ever in a single season.

Since Thome left the Philles and was replaced by Howard, Thome’s on-base percentage has been 21 points higher than Howard’s (.389 to .368). With Howard recovering from an Achilles injury, Thome is a fine backup option.

For more insight visit BloombergSports.com for the Front Office Product

August 26, 2010

Players To Target For Specific Category Help

By Eriq Gardner //

Some players are well-rounded contributors. They post good numbers in all fantasy baseball categories.

Then, there are the players who might be strong in certain categories, but weak in others. At the beginning of the year, a player who expresses a consistent shortcoming can be a liability. For example, Ichiro Suzuki has always been phenomenal in stolen bases and average, but any team that rosters him will need to cover his lack of production in HR and RBI by rostering others who can make up for his deficits there.

As the season wears on, however, the standings necessitate a different game-plan. A team owner might find he has a big lead in a certain category, or maybe he finds a big deficit. Either way, no amount of production will yield much movement.

Instead, competitors who wish to earn extra points in the standings must examine the opportunities for best potential gain. This often means that competitors should roster players who are more one-dimensional. A player’s overall value during the final few weeks of the season becomes less important than contributions made in specific categories. If you’re up by 20 HR over the next team, but find yourself in the thick of a close steals race, a player like Ichiro can be a lot more valuable to you than even a superstar like Miguel Cabrera.

Let’s examine some players who are largely unowned in 10- or 12-team mixed leagues, who can provide great targeted value in specific counting categories:

HOME RUNS:

Jim Thome is 39 years old and doesn’t play every day anymore, but he can still be an elite power producer. He’s hitting a HR in 6.27% of his plate appearances, which ranks third among all batters with at least 150 AB. The Twins have conserved their use of Thome this season because of his age and the team’s depth. But Thome’s been playing more and more as the team finds itself in a battle with the Chicago White Sox for supremacy of the AL Central, and Justin Morneau remains on the disabled list. If Thome is healthy, look for him to be in the lineup as much as possible when the team faces an opposing pitcher who is right-handed. That’s where he gets most of his at-bats, and where he does the most damage.

RUNS BATTED IN:

Pat Burrell was left for dead by many after he got cut by Tampa Bay earlier this season. But he’s become an important cog in the offense of the San Francisco Giants as they fight for a wild card spot. In the past month, Burrell has been moved to the cleanup position of the Giants lineup, hitting behind three players — Andres Torres, Buster Posey, and Aubrey Huff — who do a good job at getting on base. In this time, Burrell has done his job by knocking them home 19 times. His August RBI total ranks sixth in baseball. Burrell has the skills and now has the opportunity to continue to be a great source of RBI down the stretch.

RUNS:

Coco Crisp has been phenomenal since coming back from injury on June 22. On a value-per-game basis this season, only a handful of players have been better. But let’s focus on runs scored. Since June 22, Crisp ranks 15th in baseball with 39 runs. The 14 players ahead of him are owned in virtually all leagues. For Oakland, Crisp bats leadoff. A top position in the lineup translates to more at-bats, which is necessary when attacking a counting stat like runs. Crisp has decent, but not spectacular on-base skills. When he gets on base, though, it usually translates to a run, thanks partly to his great speed. No matter Oakland’s position in the standings, Crisp has motivation to produce. It’s expected that the team will buy out his contract at the end of the season, meaning he’s playing for a new deal.

STEALS:

Eric Young Jr. has long been touted as a beneath-the-radar prospect who could make quite the impact at the major league level for fantasy owners. In four minor league seasons from 2006-2009, he averaged a tremendous 66 steals per season. What makes Young special is not just his speed, but also his plate discipline. During this time, he was an enormously patient batter, drawing walks and maintaining an OBP above .387 in three of those four minor league seasons. Now at the big-league level in the hitter-friendly ballpark of Coors Field, Young has carried over his skills, with 10 steals in just 24 games. Stealing .42 bases per game ties him with Crisp for the major league lead. Young is batting leadoff, qualifies at 2B and in the OF, and has been earmarked for full-time playing time going forward.

Tomorrow, we’ll examine some pitching categories.

For more on fantasy baseball insight, check out Bloomberg Sports’ fantasy kits

August 20, 2010

(Video) Bloomberg Sports’ Ballpark Figures: USA Today’s Steve Gardner

By Bloomberg Sports // Ballpark Figures: Stock Report– Bloomberg Television’s Michele Steele and Bloomberg Sports Fantasy Analyst Rob Shaw are talking baseball. For the details surrounding the K-Rod Mets saga, Jim Thome’s power display, the injured second base superstars, and Josh Willingham and Jacoby Ellsbury, Bloomberg Sports brings on USA Today baseball columnist Steve Gardner. For more fantasy insight visit the Fantasy Windup at USAToday.com as well as BloombergSports.com for your top notch data analysis.