Keeper League Advice

All of a sudden star players are hitting the DL with season ending injuries, or close to it, and for individuals who are not in contention for a fantasy championship this season this is a great opportunity to cash in.

If you are in a keeper league and are sitting in the "build for next year" mode please take note. Guys like Carlos Lee, Evan Longoria, and Carl Crawford are names that have found themselves on the DL as of late and this is the time to try and trade for them.

If owners who are in contention for a championship own these guys try and make an offer for one of them. These players are all keeper worthy players and if their owners are serious about winning a championship, this year, will gladly trade them away for players who are producing now. Lets be real here, you can not go out onto the wire and replace a Lee, Longoria, and a Crawford.

Instead of just sitting and waiting for the year to end go out and see if you can build a strong keeper list for the 2009 season and hopefully you'll be in contention this time next season instead of worrying about your keeper list.

Quick Tip

The final stretch of the season is quickly approaching and this is the time of year where name value is thrown out the window. When you are looking for players, just cover up the names and take the stats for what they are...STATS. This is what will separate winners from the lower tier fantasy players. Who cares about name value right now when some no name dude is hitting .310AVG for the past 2 months.

This is the time of year when every stat counts and every stat left on the waiver wire will haunt the owners who were contemplating of picking them up but was afraid to drop a player just because of his name. So, go out there and see who is on the wire that has been lighting things up on the field. If you don't take the chance now you'll be sitting in your chair in the off-season thinking of how lame it feels to finish second when you had a golden opportunity to finish first.

A Few Things to Take Note of...

CC Sabathia of the Brewers is still cruising after being traded from the Indians. He is now 6-0 with his new team and has, alone, completely turned my one of my fantasy teams from being a bottom feeder to a contender. I don't see him turning into a terrible pitcher, like his start to the season, but if you are pretty solid in pitching but need some help in hitting go out and see if you can grab one of those great bats out there. Guys like Hanley, Wright, A-Rod, Holliday, and Sizemore are guys that should be in your trade negotiations.

Billy Wagner of the Mets is still recovering from a left arm strain and should be coming back from the DL when he is scheduled to but you never know with arm injuries. The bullpen is kind of in trouble so if you are in dyer need of saves look to Heilman or Kunz but at this moment your guess is as good as anyones since their bullpen sucks!

Carlos Zambrano of the Cubs has hit his 3rd HR of the season.

A-Rod of the Yankees is struggling but if you are in need of a hitter see if you can grab him from a disgruntled owner. You won't get him on a HUGE significant discount but you might find it a little easier to grab him.

Mike Aviles of the Royals continues to hit. In his past ten games he has raised his AVG from .314 to .341 while collecting 21Hs with 2HRs. This is a guy you want on your team RIGHT NOW!

Teams to Pick On

If you are in need of pitching but can not afford to trade away hitters for pitchers I have a plan for you. Go to the waiver wire and see who are the probable pitchers for the next day. Make sure to grab some pitchers who are pitching against the following teams.

A's - .244BA
Pirates - .245BA
Nationals - .245BA
Giants - .254BA

On top of the poor team batting averages these teams struggle to score runs (minus the Pirates). So if you are in need of pitching help try and see who is pitching against these clubs and pick them up. This is the time to gamble and see if you can rise in the pitching standings.

Notable Pitchers

Shaun Marcum of the Jays is back and it seems he is back to his normal self. Go out and see if you can grab this pitcher because with his DL stint he might be able to finish the season on the mound instead of being rested for the final month of September.

Gio Gonzalez of the A's is going to be on the big league team and people in AL-Only leagues should take notice. Go out and acquire his services.

Joba

Job is on the DL and if you are in a keeper league and the owner who has Joba is in contention and needs help, go out and try to make a deal for Joba. This is a great chance for owners who are in keeper leagues who are out of contention to try and acquire Joba in a trade.

Get it done!

Jeff Karstens

So far Jeff Karstens of the Pirates is throwing some sort of magic towards the plate because batters seem to have no clue what the hell is going on. Hitters are hitting .143 through 15IP. Jeff just got off a 2-hitter and is 2-0 after 2 starts and it seems owners are jumping and to the FA wire to find and pick him up.

BUYER BEWARE!! Jeff is not a pitcher you really want to go overboard with if you are trying to protect some pitching categories. If you are gambling and need some luck to make a move in your league standings take the chance but don't think Jeff is going to bring you a championship.

I think you have seen the best of Jeff so far in his first 2 starts because if you look at his minor league numbers they are not too impressive.

The Prince is Back

Well it took some time but it seems like the HR stroke from Prince Fielder is finally here. Over the past 4 games he has 5HRs and 6RBIs. The problem with Prince and his owners is he was drafted for 40+HRs and is not living up to his draft position. He will most likely land himself in the low to mid 30's in HRs and this is what owners should expect from him when they drafted him and not the 50HR season he had last year.

If you are in need of help in other categories this might be a great time to send Prince to another team via a trade because of his recent hot streak with HRs. In my current keeper league, I am trying to grab a legitimate first rounder for next year (Hanley, Wright, A-Rod, Reyes, and maybe Kinsler) and Prince is one of those players that I am trying to package in a deal.

Remember, realistic expecatations is a very important part of fantasy baseball and to be brutally honest most people, including those "fantasy experts" seem to have a problem with it.

Focus on Categories

I can not say this enough to any fantasy owner who is in contention for a fantasy championship, THIS IS THE TIME TO FOCUS AND ATTACK CATEGORIES. I have a few friends who have asked about how to really win a championship or even hold a lead in a league, well this is how you do it and it is very simple.

The first thing you need to do is look at the standings in an UNBIAS way. I this is hard since you love all your players and you think they will have career years every year, well this is wrong. Don't expect some player to all of a sudden turn it around and hit .320 the rest of the way when he is a .275 hitter and he is currently hitting .295. He'll most likely hit around .270 the rest of the way to bring his average back down to his career average, remember the law of averages!

Secondly, sort each category and see where you sit compared with the rest of the league. If you are behind by say 30HR's don't expect to make that up unless you find a way to deal for Dunn, Howard, or A-Rod. At this point in the season, barring injuries, you can find yourself overcoming a 15-20HR's difference and maybe even 25 if you have a huge power surge and the people above fall into hitting singles. Make sure to sort each category and see if you can realistically climb up and gather enough points to be in first. REMEMBER, don't just look above you in the standings but also look below you. Someone who is 2HR's behind you or .001 point in average behind you can easily surpass you.

Thirdly, now that you have sorted each category and you know what is above and below you, you have to choose which categories you are very strong in and which categories you need to improve. So in my situation, I have a lead of around 20-25 in saves (I have been trying to deal closers forever but with no luck) so it is the time to send a closer or two to someone for a player you need. If you need steals try for a player like Taveras, if you need average look for Ichiro, and if you need power look to Dunn or Howard.

Fourthly, many of my friends have never thought about this but trade players to a team that can take points away from a team above you. For example, if the team above you in the overall standings is competing with someone over saves give a closer to the person via trade and see the guy above you lose a point in a category. This is completely fair and breaks no ethics issues.

Fifth, the baseball season is very long and players tend to tire throughout the season so expect many players to slow down their pace from earlier in the season. This really applies to rookies who have not endured a full season of MLB baseball and are almost running on fumes. This is particularly true for young pitchers who are approaching their season high in innings. The more innings a pitchers throws over his career high the more chance he will tire and lose his effectiveness.

I hope this little post helps you keep you in the lead or gives you what you need to know to climb in the standings.

Liriano

Francisco Liriano is back in the majors for the Twins and he is expected to be here for the rest of his career. Owners who have him should be overjoyed with his call-up since he was absolutely tearing things up down in minors. For the ones who don't have him go out and see if he is on the waiver wire because this is a guy you need to grab. Look for Liriano to have around 10 or so starts for the rest of the season and don't be shocked if you see him dominate for the entire time.

This is the type of pitcher that can make a difference in your pitching categories. Plus, if you were the one that added Chris Carpenter as a free agent as well you could see two top tier pitchers dominate for the final two months of the season.

Between the two they are capable of putting up HUGE numbers for example 10-13Ws, 120-140K's, low 3 ERA, and combine that with a WHIP around 1.1...nice end to the season eh?