Fake Teams Podcast, Episode 23: You Can't Argue With That
Andrew and Zack discuss our Midseason Outfielder Rankings, including their thoughts on Yasiel Puig, Bryce Harper,Mike Trout, Adam Jones and my "interesting" outfielder rankings. What? What? You don't like my rankings? They also discussed Wil Myers, Gerrit Cole and Chris Archer, so make sure you listen to their thoughts on the podcast.
You can listen to their awesome podcast in two ways:
2013 Midseason Position Rankings
In case you missed our 2013 Midseason Rankings, below is a link to each of our Consensus Position Rankings for the rest of the season:
Consensus Midseason Position Rankings
Shelby Miller DL bound?
Cardinals young starter Shelby Miller lasted just two pitches last night before he had to leave last night's start vs the Dodgers. Miller was struck in the right elbow by a line drive off the bat of Dodgers leadoff hitter Carl Crawford. I hope he doesn't have to hit the DL, but he appeared in pain after being struck. Miller has had a great rookie campaign, making 22 starts, he is 11-7 with a 2.89 ERA, 3.09 FIP, 3.30 xFIP, 1.13 WHIP and a 132-35 strikeout to walk rate in 121.1 innings this season.
On the ESPN telecast last night, they reported that the Cardinals are calling Miller's injury a right elbow contusion. I am sure we will hear more about his injury later today, but with Carlos Martinez pitching well in AAA, the Cardinals may play it safe with their young starter and place him on the DL.
Here is a tweet from the Cardinals twitter account last night in Miller's injury:
INJURY REPORT: X-Rays on Shelby Miller's right elbow were negative.
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) August 8, 2013
For more on Miller's injury, and the Cardinals reaction to the injury, make sure you check out Viva El Birdos, SB Nation's Cardinals fan site.
Josh Donaldson is a Top 5 Fantasy Third Baseman
The best thing about major league baseball is the fact that every year several players have a breakout season that no one expected, and Josh Donaldson is having one of those seasons. Yesterday afternoon, Donaldson went 2-4 with a HR, 2 runs and 2 RBI, raising his triple slash line to .294-.373-.483 with 17 HRs, 56 runs and 63 RBI.
Amongst qualified fantasy third baseman, per FanGraphs, Donaldson ranks tied for 5th in home runs, 7th in batting average and runs scored, and 4th in RBI. I admit, I did not see this kind of season from him back in March, and I think I may have turned down a trade offer involving him in the offseason. Silly me.
For more on Donaldson, check out Athletics Nation, SB Nation's A's fan site. It is also the very first SB Nation site if I am not mistaken.
Round'em Up
The Mets called up infield prospect Wilmer Flores on Monday and eceived his first major league start at third base last night, and he made the most of it, going 2-4 with a double and 3 RBI in the Mets 5-0 win over the Rockies. Flores was hitting .321-.357-.531 with 15 HRs, 69 runs and 86 RBI playing for AAA Las Vegas before his call up. The issue for fantasy owners, and the Mets, is where will he ultimately play once he is handed an every day job in the big leagues. If he plays second base, he will have plenty of value for fantasy owners. If third base or outfield, not so much.
Flores teammate Matt Harvey just continues to dominate hitters every fifth day. Harvey shut out the Rockies on 4 hits, no walks and 6 strikeouts in a complete game shut out. Harvey is now 9-3 with a 2.09 ERA, 0.86 WHIP, and an amazing 178-29 strikeout to walk rate in 159.2 innings on the mound. Over his last 10 starts covering 69.2 innings, he has given up just 16 runs on 45 hits, 10 walks, and 83 strikeouts, and has given up one run or less in seven of those ten starts.
ESPN's Mark Simon tweeted the following after Harvey's start last night:
Matt Harvey fastball velocity by inning 1-3 94.7 mph 4-6 95.3 mph 7-9 96.0 mph That's what we call "A Verlander"
— Mark Simon (@msimonespn) August 8, 2013
Yep. But Harvey is better than Verlander right now.
I recently traded for Kendrys Morales in my AL only keeper league, paying a steep price for him as well. To garner his services, I had to give up a $5 Miguel Sano for the $28 Morales. I had to do it, as I need the power and BA that he provides, as I was competing for this season. Yesterday, he went 2-4 with a double and an RBI, raising his triple slash line to .300-.353-.485 with 17 HRs, 51 runs and 64 RBI in 427 at bats. His name has popped up in trade rumors before the July 31st trade deadline, specifically with the Rangers, and ESPN's Jim Bowden wrote a piece yesterday stating it would make sense for both teams. I imagine the Rangers will look to sign Morales in the offseason to replace Nelson Cruz, who I think they won't re-sign.
Orioles first baseman Chris Davis is having one heck of a year, isn't he? Davis went yard again yesteday, driving in three, in the Orioles 10-3 win over the Padres yesterday afternoon. Davis is now hitting .302-.375-.676 with 41 HRs, 80 runs and 106 RBI and is on pace for an unbelievable 58 home runs and 151 RBI. I have already stated that I think Davis is a slam dunk first five pick next year, and I would love to see him hit 60 home runs this season. Unfortunately, some writers can't stop themselves from dropping the "PED" words as the reason for it if he does hit 60.
Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen is doing his best to put his name atop the National League MVP race. Last night, McCutchen went 2-3 with a HR, RBI and a stolen base, and is now hitting .312-.384-.511 with 16 HRs, 71 runs, 65 RBI and 24 stolen bases in 30 attempts. He has hit in 8 of his last 10 games, with multiple hits in 7 of those games.
Some have mentioned Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw as an MVP candidate, and I think he has as good a chance as anyone other than McCutchen, as there isn't any one player having a dominant season like Miguel Cabrera, Mike Trout and Chris Davis are having in the American League.
More from Fake Teams:
- Streamer Report: Thursday's Streamers
- Three (Possibly) True Outcomes: Kyle Crick
- Deep League Thoughts -- Colonel Saunders
- Minor League Review: How Are Some of This Year's Top Draftees Doing So Far?
- Closer Report: Volatility continues in 2013
- Roto Roundup: Justin Verlander, Julio Teheran, Darin Ruf and Others
- Risers and Fallers: Mike Moustakas, Russell Martin and Others