2011 Sleeper Candidate: Felix Pie OF Baltimore Orioles

One of my many bad habits is falling in love (in a macho, manly sorta way) with certain players. Years ago now I fell for Felix Pie and he's starting to love me back. It is interesting that I was also once enamored with Corey Patterson who is also showing signs of life with the Baltimore Orioles.

Pie and Patterson both came up through the Chicago Cubs system. They both left as disappointments. But at least in the case of Felix Pie, that conclusion was probably premature. The Cubs never really gave Felix Pie an extended opportunity to become accustomed to the majors. He was constantly being pulled in and out of the lineup, up and down from the minors, and suffering from an assortment of injuries. He never received more than 194 plate appearances with the Cubs and even those came haphazardly spread out across the 2007 season.

In January 2009, Pie was traded by the Cubs to the Baltimore Orioles for Hank Williamson and Garrett Olson. Although the trade seemed to signal an ending of sorts for Felix Pie it was likely the best thing for his career. It is easy to blame the Cubs for mishandling Pie as a prospect, they done that quite a bit. However, teams in contention, or in the case of the Cubs, in constant desperation to be in contention, needs players to perform or get out of the way. It is the same reason that so many Yankee prospects see more success on other teams.

Last season the Orioles allowed Pie to spend the entire season in the major leagues. He received a career high 252 at-bats and showed signs of the player he has the potential to become. He achieved his major league best walk rate (8.5 percent) and ISO (.171) and improved plate discipline. That led to his opportunity in Spring Training. He beat out the power hitting Nolan Reimold and began this season on fire. Then he got hurt and was out of the lineup for months.

The good news is that upon his return to the majors, especially since the hiring of Buck Showalter as the Orioles manager, Pie is again on fire. As of this writing, Pie has hit safely in 12 of his last 13 games, batting .392 and showing power and speed on the bases and real effort on defense. In such a small sample size it is difficult to know whether Pie has continued his development or has just experienced a couple of nice hot streaks. However taken together with the evidence of progress during the 2009 season, it looks pretty good.

Fantasy owners should definitely have Pie back on their radar. He had incredible tools and the potential to become a 30/30 type player. At just 25-years old Pie could still be a star in the major leagues. He is with a team that has nothing to lose by giving him that opportunity.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F%C3%A9lix_Pie

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/p/piefe01.shtml#trans

http://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=3751&position=OF

You can buy the Nike Hypertuse or Nike Huaraches from Amazon.com and you will also be doing your part to support Advanced Fantasy Baseball. Of course you don't need to buy hundred dollar shoes to help. If you buy things from Amazon.com anyway, be it MP3 tracks or magazine subscriptions, baseball caps, books, clothing or even food, just follow one of the links on this site. You will get the same great discounts and a few cents will head this way. Thanks for your support.

Remember Mark Prior? Don't Call It a Comeback.

Mark Prior was once the man. He was a stud starter for the Chicago Cubs and helped propel them to one of their best seasons in decades. He was coveted by fantasy owners everywhere. But Dusty Baker was his manager, thus his arm was destined to fall off, and it pretty much did.

From Fox Sports:
Right-handed pitcher Mark Prior, who came out of USC with a hype along the lines of Stephen Strasburg, is still trying to piece his injury-plagued career back together.

Prior, 29, will work out for major league clubs at USC on Wednesday. Prior, who has not pitched in the big leagues since going 1-6 in nine games with the Cubs in 2006, has been working with USC pitching coach Tom House, the former big-league pitching coach who has worked with Prior since his high school days in San Diego.

Most major league teams are expected to have a scout in attendance.
Prior was the second player selected in the 2001 draft, Minnesota opting for high school catcher Joe Mauer, and then Twins general manager Terry Ryan being criticized at the time for passing on a pitcher that many claimed was ready to step directly into a big-league rotation.

Prior did receive a then-record $10.5 million signing bonus, and appeared to validate the Cubs decision in 2003, his first full big-league season, when he was 18-6 with a 2.43 ERA. Prior, however, developed shoulder problems that required surgery after that season, and has made only 57 big league starts since.

— Tracy Ringolsby

Prior seems a long way from being an effective pitcher for fantasy owners. However, you never know. Stranger things have happened than a former stud pitcher regaining some semblance of effectiveness again. He is worth watching but don't act too rashly.

Carlos Zambrano Suspended Indefinitely

Carlos Zambrano, once the unquestioned ace of the Chicago Cubs has been suspended indefinitely. Zambrano has been suspended largely because he can not stop blaming everyone else for his declining skills. And the Cubs are tired of it.



"It becomes a bit of a tired act," said general manager Jim Hendry to ESPN after the Cubs' 6-0 loss to the White Sox on Friday afternoon.

Apparently Zambrano was angry that Derrek Lee missed Juan Pierre's double hit down the first base line. Just check out the above video to see Zambrano's complete meltdown.

For Fantasy owners this is bad news. I have a feeling we will not see Zambrano pitch again until he joins another team. I think the Cubs will have a difficult time getting anything of value for him but they will also be reluctant to just let him go. If you can stash him I would do so but do not let the thought of Zambrano's triumphant return prevent you from picking a more promising player from your waiver or free agent list.

I wonder if the Cubs will be inspired to put Andrew Cashner to work as a starting pitcher. What do you think?

Jake Fox May Solve Your Joey Votto Problems

The Cincinnati Reds star first baseman, Joey Votto, has been placed on the disabled list with "Stress Problems" which we're left to assume are the result of his inner ear problem. Why the Reds are calling this stress is a mystery to me. But the Reds do a lot of things I don't understand. Why was Joey Votto continuing to fly around the country with an ear infection anyway? They made a serious problem even worse by not simply putting him on the DL when they discovered the problem. They've also hesitated to disable their other injured players. Brandon Phillips is now playing with a fracture in his thumb. If he keeps batting, it will only get worse.

Mark Sheldon of MLB.com:

Dizziness from the inner ear infection that's been dogging Reds first baseman Joey Votto struck again Friday night. The club has avoided putting Votto on the disabled list for more than two weeks but that could change soon.

Votto, the team's best hitter, started against the Brewers but came out of the game before the Reds took the field for the bottom of the second inning. Catcher Ramon Hernandez moved to first base and Ryan Hanigan took over behind the plate.

After the game in the manager's office, a 40-minute closed-door meeting was held with Reds manager Dusty Baker, general manager Walt Jocketty, head trainer Mark Mann and Votto.

No roster move was announced once the door opened, but Baker said that Votto would not play on Saturday.

Votto emerged from the meeting and appeared to be in a good mood but declined to comment to reporters.

"Not right now," Votto said.

Baker was asked if Votto was OK.

"No , not really," a somber Baker responded. "He felt similar symptoms that he's been feeling in the past and just came out."

It was the third time since May 11 that dizzy spells have forced Votto out of a game. On May 21 after a battery of tests, the inner ear infection was revealed.

The conditions of the inner ear infection can be exasperated by flying, which Votto did with the club on Thursday during the off-day. Unlike with the previous incidents that happened on the West Coast following flights, the trip to Milwaukee is a relatively short one.

Replacing Votto, especially in NL-only leagues is going to be difficult. But if you're in a weekly transaction league or just a league with some owners who are slow on the draw there may be an option for you. The Chicago Cubs recently called up slugger Jake Fox. Fox is a former catcher who has struggled to find a position. He has spent most of his time recently at outfield and first base but has also spent time at third base. The guys at the Fake Teams Blog have posted an informative article that may discourage you from picking him up.

But after you're done being discouraged note Fox's slash line of .423/.503/.886 that's insanely good. I don't care how bad his defense is or what league he's been playing in or what he's been injecting (that's just a joke I haven't heard a thing). Fox is blocked by Derek Lee at first base but the Cubs could squeeze him into the outfield to fire up the offense. Fox is also a prime candidate to DH in inter-league games. I haven't checked the schedule for the Cub's AL games (okay I did, six games against the White Sox and Tigers to end June) but I'm trying to be optimistic here. Fox was leading the minors with 17 homeruns at the time he was called up. If there is a manager on the planet I trust to fit to fit a bat like this into the lineup it is Lou Pinella. I won the FAAB Bidding in my primary NL-only league with a $32 bid. Even if he doesn't play much it can't be much worse than collecting awful at-bats from the scrubs likely to be on the waiver wire at this point in the season.

Jake Fox Statistics Courtesy of FanGraphs.com

Season	Team	BB%	K%	OBP	SLG	ISO	BABIP	wRC	wRAA	wOBA
2006	Cubs (A+)	9.80%	19.70%	0.383	0.574	0.261	0.337	55.8	21.7	0.421
2006	Cubs (AA)	4.50%	22.80%	0.304	0.435	0.166	0.326	24.2	2.6	0.336
2007	Cubs (AA)	4.50%	20.10%	0.327	0.504	0.220	0.312	57.2	11	0.367
2007	Cubs (AAA)	4.80%	23.20%	0.343	0.535	0.253	0.314	17.8	3.5	0.381
2007	Cubs	6.70%	14.30%	0.200	0.286	0.143	0.167	0.4	-1.5	0.214
2008	Cubs (AA)	10.60%	18.80%	0.397	0.580	0.273	0.324	89.3	32.8	0.428
2008	Cubs (AAA)	1.70%	26.50%	0.242	0.479	0.256	0.25	11.9	-4.4	0.305
2009	Cubs (AAA)	10.20%	18.80%	0.503	0.886	0.463	0.442	57.3	34.7	0.574
2009	Cubs	0.00%	25.00%	0.750	1.000	0.250	1	1.9	1.4	0.764

The Cubs Name Kevin Gregg Closer

From the Chicago Tribune:

MESA, Ariz. - Cubs manager Lou Piniella named Kevin Gregg the team's closer on Sunday over Carlos Marmol. Piniella spoke to both pitchers this morning and made his announcement after batting practice at HoHoKam Park. Piniella's difficult decision was made even harder because he knows what Marmol can do while he’s only just learning about Gregg.

Statistically speaking, Gregg has outperformed Marmol this spring, throwing 8 1/3 shutout innings in nine appearances. Marmol has compiled a 4.50 earned-run average and hit five batters in eight innings, not counting his numbers from the World Baseball Classic. Marmol and Gregg both have 10 strikeouts, while Marmol has walked one and Gregg has walked two.

I think this is the right decision for the Cubs but there are going to be a lot of disappointed Marmol owners as this news spreads. Gregg should be a perfectly compentent source of saves without the gaudy strikeout numbers that Marmol provides. Marmol of course is a perfectly fine choice as a middle reliever with saves potential.