Lind and Clement

Adam Lind of the Blue Jays and Jeff Clement of the Mariners both hit their first home runs of the season last night. Both players are highly touted prospects within their respective organizations.

Lind was called up from AAA after Marcum was placed on the DL. He was hitting .328, 6HR, 50RBI's in 189AB's. This kid can hit if he is given the chance.

Clement was called up from AAA and was hitting .337, 14HR, 43RBI all in 172AB's. After being sent down earlier this year Clement found his swing and it has translated into a 2nd chance at the big leagues. He is suppose to be the starting C for the Mariners, especially since Johjima is tearing up the bench lately, so look for Clement to fill some stats for you in the C position (as long as he gets accustomed to big league pitching).

Marcum/Halladay

Shaun Marcum of the Jays was placed on the 15-Day DL with a right elbow strain. So far this season Marcum has shown he can handle big league hitters and this DL stint is brutal for owners because he has given owners great numbers. With a 2.65ERA, 86K, 27BB, and 1.00WHIP all in 98.2 innings. Adam Lind was called up to replace Marcum on the roster. Lind has been hitting AAA pitching this season.

Roy Halladay of the Jays is feeling no ill-effects from a line drive to head during his last outing. Owners should be happy because Halladay is an ace pitcher and any time on the DL would hurt fantasy owners.

Cito Gaston

Cito Gaston is back leading the Blue Jays after back-to-back world series wins in 92/93. I hope the Jays can compete and make the AL East an ultra-competitive division with a exciting race for the wild card and division title.

Wells and Rios

Vernon Wells of the Blue Jays is back in the lineup and this is great news for everyone who owns Wells and also Alex Rios. Rios has been in a terrible slump and I attribute some of his struggles at the plate to Wells being on the DL. With Wells back in the lineup, Rios is hitting lead-off and this is good news for owners who need steals but bad for RBI production. But at this point, owners don't care as long as he gets out of his slump.

See if there is an owner out there that is willing to part with Rios for a bargain price, if there is an owner out there who does make the deal as soon as possible.

BJ Ryan

BJ Ryan of the Blue Jays seems to have hit a rough patch in his past 2 save chances. He has blown both saves and earned the loss while allowing 5ER's over 1.1 innings. For those who own Ryan make sure to grab Scottie Downs because he has been the 2nd closer in the Jays bullpen because the Jays were easing Ryan back into his duties after tommy john surgery.

With Ryan showing some holes in his game, the Jays are hoping this has nothing to do with injury but just some poor pitches and some timely hitting by their opponents.

Barajas

Catchers are hard to find in any fantasy format but when they do it can add that one surge of power that can propel you into fantasy euphoria. Rod Barahas of the Blue Jays is swinging the hot bat. In his past 10 games Barajas has 10H's, 2HR's, 8RBI's, and has raised his average by 25 points to .298. Ride the ship when it is going well and bail when it starts to sink. This is a great catcher to buy into right now but it won't last. Enjoy his stats until they dry up.

Litsch

Jesse Litsch of the Blue Jays recorded his 7th win and has shown he belongs in the big leagues. But I am not sold on his performance as of yet. His numbers are fairly good but he has yet to prove he can pitch through an entire season effectively. The more I see this pitcher throw for the Jays the more I see a pitcher who will get banged up in the future because of his low strikeout rate.

His current ERA of 3.18 will eventually start to creep upwards and most likely land in the high 3's/low 4's. His ability to keep the ball in the park and also throw strikes does help his cause but at the end of the day, I believe this is a great candidate to sell high on. Try and see if there is a team in your league that needs some help in pitching and see if you can grab a mid-tier bat from them.

Jesse Litsch

Jesse Litsch of the Blue Jays just threw his first complete game shutout of his career against the Royals. So far this season Litsch has proven his ability to pitch at the big level compiling a 6-1 record with a 3.57ERA in 58 innings. This is a great option for all owners who are in need of help with their pitching. The only problem is he most likely will be on someone else's team especially after his complete shutout.

Litsch is a respectable 4-5 starter in mixed leagues because his inability to strike people out but with his low BB rate (8BB's in 58 innings) he is a good option. Bottom line, he should be owned.

Blue Jays Info

Alex Rios of the Jays is looking forward to a new month because the month of May has treated him with nothing more than a warm spot on the bench. Since May 1, Rios' average has dropped from .320 to .253. During this span, he has 15 hits (5 extra based hits with only 1HR), 3RBI's, 23K's, and 1SB. Owners who have Rios were all smiles during the month of April but are finding it hard to swallow his production or lack of it during this month. Don't worry about Rios, the hitting will return and his capability of being a 5-tool player is what should keep you motivated to keep him on your roster. If you look at the Jays lineup, they have all been struggling mightily in the past10-15 games.

Roy Halladay had a rare relief appearance after a prolonged rain delay. Owners who had him in their lineups soaked up 2.1 innings while adding 2K's. This is a prime example of keeping all your pitching positions filled even when a pitcher is not scheduled to start. During the course a season you usually grab a few innings and maybe even a win. Every stat counts.

Masa Kobayashi

Kobayashi of the Indians picked up his second save in as many games last night. This Japanese import was a pick of mine to pick up the closer duties after the loss of Borowski to injury but instead Betancourt was put into the closer role.

For owners who picked up Kobayashi congrats, just a little late. Now, for owners who need saves go out to the wire and see if you can pick this guy up because it seems he will be coming into the 9th to close out games. Combine Kobayashi with Scotty Downs of the Blue Jays and you can start to climb back into the saves category race.

Scotty Downs

Scotty Downs of the Blue Jays just recorded his 5th save of the season. With BJ Ryan coming back from Tommy John Surgery and not pitching on back to back nights, Downs has come out and pitched extremely well for the Jays. With 5 saves and an ERA of 2.60 he is the closer for the Jays when Ryan can't pitch. For owners who are seeking some help in the closer position, picking up Downs is a must. Expect Downs to grab 5-10 more saves this season while helping with the other pitching categories. With 18K's in 18.1 innings of work, he's a nice addition to your roster.

Toronto Blue Jays

Just something to think about.

The Toronto Blue Jays have scored a total of 4 runs in their past 4 games. Ouch!

The Big Hurt

Well well, the Blue Jays released the "struggling" Thomas and so far they seem to have overlooked something. Since the signing of Thomas by the A's he seems to have started something. In 27AB's he's hitting a mediocre .259 with no homers. But don't expect the 0 HR's to continue.

Owners in AL-only leagues should have him in their lineups on a daily basis. Mixed league owners should have him on their bench for the time being. Wait for the power to come back.

PS - With an $8 million plus extension I would have tried to trade him first before straight out cutting him.

Pitch Counts

After watching Roy Halladay of the Blue Jays pitch another complete game, his 4th in a row, I just had to say something here in this blog. Are you fucking insane!!! It's barely May and you are have your ace throw 4 complete games in a row. He's thrown 110, 117, 107, and 112 pitches in his last four outings. What the hell are the Blue Jays thinking when they keep this guy out on the mound for these pitch counts. Yes, I understand that these pitch counts aren't over the top but why not keep your ace from throwing excessive innings, especially early in the season, and keep the arm fresh for August and September. It boggles my mind because if they take him out in the 7th or 8th inning they save maybe 20-25 pitches each game. Times that number by 4 and you have another game.

Now looking into the games itself. The Jays are not hitting and have given Halladay 8 total runs in his complete games streak. But in the past 3 games, which are all losses, the Jays have put up a total of 4 stinkin' runs for Roy. Okay, so the Jays need Roy to pitch to keep them in the games but this isn't smart. Logging so many pitches this early in the season just doesn't seem healthy especially for someone who is your bread and butter, someone who is going to carry the team into the playoffs, and someone who is the life blood of the team.

As for the fantasy impact, since this is a fantasy blog, owners who have Roy in leagues where they count CG's you'll be blessed to have him. Only problem is will he last for the entire season.

Posada

J. Posada of the Yankees is still suffering from shoulder soreness and will most likely hit the DL sometime soon. At the present time, Posada is waiting for a second opinion to see if he needs something more serious, like surgery. Owners who have Posada should be a little pissed since he does fit into the top 5 catchers in the bigs. You can't really replace Posada and his stats but you can grab a hot catcher off the wire. I have been touting Kurt Suzuki since the beginning of the year. This A's catcher seems to be legit so far, albeit he has cooled off a bit in the past week.

Here are a few other options at the catchers spot.
- Paul Bako - Reds
- Chris Coste - Phillies
- Greg Zaun - Blue Jays
- Yadier Molina - Cardinals
- Ramon Hernandez - Orioles

Don't go out and trade for another catcher just yet. This is a position, in my opinion, where if you didn't have the chance to draft the top 5 catchers you just go and live on the waiver wire searching for hot hitting catchers. At this point, you just sit back and hope Posada comes back sooner rather than later.

Matt Stairs

Matt Stairs of the Blue Jays is getting plenty of at-bats because of the departure of Frank Thomas. So far, Stairs is swinging a hot bat.

In 20 games so far he has hit safely in 16 of them with 4 multi hit games.

2008 season stats .328, 3HR's, 6RBI's, and 7K's.

Everyone who owns Stairs should sell high on this guy. He's not going to provide you with 400+ at-bats and give you the numbers you want. At this point in his career he will give the Blue Jays more help than your fantasy team. He should be a platoon player where he pinch hits or takes a few games a week in the field. Sell high and reap the benefits with a proven everyday player.

Adam Lind

Adam Lind of the Blue Jays will get a chance to prove himself on the Major League stage after the release of the Big Hurt. This news is really only for AL-only leagues so if you are in an AL-only league, please make sure to keep your eye out for this player.

He has the ability to go deep with his 11HR's in 290AB's in the 2007 season.

The Big Hurt

The Toronto Blue Jays and Frank Thomas have officially departed ways after the Jays demoted Thomas to the bench after struggling to start the year. I see Thomas being signed by another team in the AL and to be more specific, I see the Tampa Bay Rays picking him up as a DH. Remember all those rumours about Barry Bonds landing in Tampa, well...now the Rays can add a veteran player into their clubhouse while avoiding the legal baggage Bonds would bring. Thomas would make a decent fit in the Rays lineup and with his proven work ethic he'll be a welcome addition to help the young and upcoming Rays.

For fantasy owners this doesn't make a large impact unless you are in an AL-only league. The person who gains the most from this departure is Matt Stairs. He will start seeing more plate appearance as the DH.

BJ Ryan

BJ Ryan of the Blue Jays is officially back from Tommy John Surgery and collected his first save of the season. Owners of Ryan should take some caution with this and maintain Accardo as a back-up just in case something happens with Ryan. Also, since the Blue Jays want to take care of Ryan's arm you will find the Jays holding Ryan back from back-to-back days of pitching. Ryan is coming back early from surgery and you never know how this will pan out in the future especially since he has an erratic pitching style that puts more than usual amount of pressure on the arm.

Owning both Accardo and Ryan should be a good hedge.

Starters Review

E. Jackson of the Rays had a great start and is adding to a nice start to this season. His season stats so far...14IP, 7H, 1ER, 6BB, 10K, with a 0.64ERA. Go out and grab this pitcher for your roster before someone else in your league does. Always ride out hot streaks with pitchers and make sure to kick them to the waiver wire when they fall.

K. Millwood of the Rangers has come into the 2008 season with a strong stats (21IP, 19H, 3ER, 9BB, 11K, and a 1.29ERA) but is getting killed by his teammates with 2 losses. Advice...this is a nice start and like Jackson, pick him up and ride out his hot streak.

S. Marcum of the Blue Jays had an amazing 2007 and now is tearing up 2008 with a stat line of 14IP, 9H, 4ER, 2BB, 16K, and a 2.57ERA. With Halladay, Burnett, Mcgowan, and Marcum...the blue Jays have a crazy rotation when they are all kicking. Marcum should be in all rotations as your 3 starter.

D. Eveland the lefty from the A's is throwing something, something sweet. Stat line of 13.1IP, 9H, 1ER, 4BB, 13K, and an ERA of 0.69. Go out and grab this pitcher for his next start. Ride the hot streak.

K. Correira of the Giants is pitching well but with a team like the Giants behind him don't expect too many wins. He should be considered for your team only on a start to start basis.