ALCS is Over

The Rays have finally completed the ALCS and will find themselves, yet again, in unchartered territory. Their next stop will be the finest stage of all...the World Series. The young and fine tuned Rays will find themselves against the Phillies of Philadelphia.

But over the course of 7 games in the ALCS, fantasy owners should consider some numbers and players.

Baldelli - It seems like I have a man crush on this guy and well I will admit it, I do! This guy knows how to play baesball but for some odd reason the baseball gods don't seem to want him on the field...until now. After suffering through injury after injury Baldelli seems to have found a way to please the baseball gods. He had an RBI in the decisive game 7 and signs point for him to be a productive fantasy player in 2009. This guy will be a sleeper.

David Price found himself with an opportunity to cement his name on the playoffs and he came through. He closed out game 7 and seems to be on his way to a full time player in 2009. Expect fantasy owners to over reach for this guy on draft day. I try to stay away from guys like this, young/full of potential/but has proved nothing in the bigs. He has the potential to put up big numbers but don't go reaching until spring training reports come out on where he will be situated on the roster.

Matt Garza, earned the ALCS MVP, will be high on darft day if he continues his success in the playoffs. It seems like any player who stands out on the big stage finds himself drafted higher in drafts. This guy has the potential and stuff to be a dominating pitcher but don't be fooled with the playoff success. He has pitched around 320innings in his career and the extra innings he is throwing this year might spoil his 2009 season. I still think he is a solid number 3 pitcher.

Jon Lester - This guy seems to have a arm of a robot. After throwing 81 and 63 innings in 06 and 07 respectively, he went for 210.1 innings and added another 26.2 innings in the playoffs. Not sure how this will affect his 2009 performance. In my eyes, he still stands as a solid number 3, like Garza.

Pedroia had a career year in 2008 but I am not sold on this guy just yet. I see his SB total, 20, being a legit number but I am not sure he can sustain his power, 17HRs. This is where his value comes from, putting together a player who can steal 20 and bring in 15-20HRs with a .300AVG is a solid mid single round talent. If you don't have the chance to fill in the 2B with the likes of Utley or Roberts, Pedroia isn't a bad choice.

Lester/Lincecum/Wolf

Jon Lester of the Red Sox, after throwing a no-hitter, is now dominating hitters. In his past 10 starts he has dropped his ERA from 4.31 to 3.18 and is 5-1. This pitcher should be on all rosters.

Tim Lincecum of the Giants is in a little rut at the moment. In his past two starts he has given up 9ER's in 12 innings of work. But a good sign is he is still striking batters out, 11K's in 12IP. Owners, don't worry about Lincecum because he was bound for a little bump in the road. Did you really expect this kid to have a 1.99ERA for the entire season. Expect a few more poor outings scattered throughout the rest of the year. As long as he is pitching expect around 8-9K's/9IP. If you don't have his services, see if you the owner is willing to part with Lincecum. The worse response you can get is no.

Randy Wolf of the Padres has put together 7 great starts in his past 8 games. In those great starts he has allowed no more than 3ER's in at least 6 innings of work. But owners should be smiling and feel a little gitty over his strikeout numbers. In those 7 starts he has 45K's in 45.1 innings of work. Wolf has always been a streaky pitcher and this is the perfect time to grab him. His high strikeout totals is a great indication he has his A-game. He should be available in most leagues. See if he is out there and grab him as a starter but if he falls apart, just drop him again.

Curt Schilling

Curt Schilling of the Red Sox had surgery which will end his season and perhaps his career.

From a fantasy this is great news. He was never going to be the dominating pitcher was but he was still serviceable on fantasy rosters. The great news is the situation is now complete so owners can now cut ties and free a spot on rosters and that DL spot for someone else. Also, for owners of Lester, Masterson, and Buchholz this means one less person to worry about when competing for a rotation spot. At this point, Lester and Masterson will be the ones who see time on the mound unless Buchholz finds a way to pitch himself back into contention, I woundn't see why not.

No No for Lester

Jon Lester of the Red Sox has thrown the first no-hitter of 2008. With a 130 pitch start the cancer survivor baffled Royals hitters all night and earned himself a spot in baseball history.

Lester finished with a line of 9IP, 0H's, 2BB's, and 9K's.

Going into this game Lester was throwing extremely well allowing only 6ER's in his previous 25.1 innings pitched while striking out 17. Fantasy owners should have Lester on their teams, even before the no-hitter, because of his strong outings.

Congratulations Jon Lester!

Jon Lester

After a poor start in Tokyo, Japan, Jon Lester of the Red Sox came back in his second start to baffle Oakland hitters with a 6.2IP, 3H, 3BB, 3KK, 0ER performance. This is a great sign for this young pitcher and fantasy owners because he is still young and being able to come back after a poor performance and pitch well. But I guess this is nothing since he overcame cancer last year.