Hamilton Scheduled For Surgery on Ab Tear

Bad news for Josh Hamilton owners, a group of which I am an enthusiastic member.

From the Newberg Report:

The Rangers have just announced that Josh Hamilton will have surgery tomorrow morning to repair his abdominal tear and is expected to miss another four-to-six weeks before a return to the big league squad.

In many leagues Hamilton owners will be just plain screwed. In my AL-only league I am seriously considering trading my nicely priced Hamilton to a re-building team if I can get equal value. But I won't sell Hamilton low. I still believe in his potential. When healthy he should be among the best players in the American League. I've been in contention this long without him I won't panic now.

UPDATE: Now it appears that the Rangers will be without the rapidly improving Brandon McCarthy as well.

Sigh. Per local reports, pitcher Brandon McCarthy has a stress fracture in his right shoulder and won't touch a ball for several weeks. Tomorrow's starter is expected to be Doug Mathis.

Five Fantasy Blogs You Should Be Reading

Last week the Poll Question of the Week was "What is your favorite source of fantasy information" and the overwhelming favorite source was Fantasy Baseball Blogs. Maybe this was to be expected coming from a poll based on a fantasy baseball blog, but I still found it interesting. There are hundreds if not thousands of fantasy baseball blogs of various degrees of quality. There is a long list of them in the blog roll in the sidebar to your right. There are actually lots of interesting things in the sidebar of this blog aside from advertisements. You can find links to all sorts of great information that aren't just fantasy based. I've been slowly building a list of the best MLB team blogs. You can catch up on my twitter comments and check out the RotoWorld.com widget. I also share HUNDREDS of articles every month through my Google Reader that could provide you with valuable information in your fantasy leagues. But I want to personally introduce you to five blogs that I love reading and I'm betting you will too. Please note these are not even close to all the blogs I read on a regular basis but an article that listed them all would have to list hundreds.

Baseball By Paul by Paul Sporer

Paul is a writer for FanBall.com's Owner's Edge and a frequent poster on the RotoJunkie Fantasy Forums in addition to his long running baseball blog. His last two articles helped inspire this article. If you aren't reading Paul on a regular basis read Roy Halladay: The Complete Picture and Patience is a Virtue and you will be hooked. His articles are very well written and occassionally statistically oriented. He is a big believer in examining the evidence and not making subjective decisions.

RotoProfessor by Eric Stashin (the Prof)

Eric is very good at breaking down players to get at what makes them tick (or not). With rare days off you'll get Eric's look at the daily boxscores where you are certain to hear about any pressing news or new situations for your fantasy players. But the best aspect of this site are the player breakdowns. I don't always agree with his conclusions, but that isn't as important to me as getting a studied second opinion on a player. Check out his recent look at the de-powered David Wright. I agree that there is more going on with Wright than just the new ballpark but unlike Eric I also believe that the park is having a significant impact.

The Jason Collette Blog by Jason Collette

Jason is another veteran of the RotoJunkie Forums (in fact he runs them now). He is an associate editor over at FanBall.com and a contributor to the Owner's Edge series. Jason used to write tons about minor league prospects which I loved but he's slowed on that angle in favor of others. Jason's blog tends to get at the questions lots of fantasy owners have about trading, using FAAB, farm systems and the waiver wire to better your team. Check out his top post today about Trade Vetoes.

The RotoExperts.com Staff Blog by RotoExperts.com Staff

The RotoExperts.com staff has a deep collection of great writers. The blog can be a little chaotic at times with several different writers chiming in on it. But the information is top notch and covers a wide gamut of topics. I used to write over there and I still love those guys so maybe I'm biased. But good is good and their blogs are good. They also have equally good staff blogs for Football and Basketball. Check out Jonathan Phillip's Letter to Frank Wren for some quality writing.

Razzball by Grey and Rudy

This may be the blog that I least needed to list, seeing as everybody who reads this blog already seems to read that one. But I'm doing it anyway for those that just don't know. These guys are funny and knowledgable. This is a rare combination in the Fantasy Industry. Everyone thinks that they're funny but they try too hard. Razzball isn't a blog full of jokes. It is like meeting your favorite experts at the bar and talking shop. They tend to list lots of players with lots of opinions. Sometimes they write mean things about Sidney Ponson and Livan Hernandez but that's part of the charm. But what I like most is the loyal community thay have over there. If this blog ever develops as large a loyal audience (and I think it will) I'll be a jolly jolly fat guy.

How Valuable Are Prospects in Your Fantasy League?

I'm in leagues that treat prospects like a precious resource not to be squandered and in other leagues that treat rookies and young players as worthless (until they hit 30 homers or steal 20 bases).

Check out this article by Joe Posnanski about pitchers taken with the number one pick and why MLB should allow draft picks to be traded. You may also find this Jayson Stark article interesting. Joe references it in his piece.

How are these players valued in your leagues? Share with the group in the comments section.

The Lenny Melnick Interview

Lenny Melnick has been around the Fantasy Baseball Block a time or two. He hosted the first Fantasy Baseball radio show and was one of the first acknowledged fantasy experts to have a mainstream media presence. I feel honored that he took the time to not only actively participate in the experts poll we hosted last week, but also that he took the time to grant me this interview. but that should not have been surprising. Lenny has always been generous with his time. He's has been engaged with fantasy sports participants for more than a decade. It is no wonder that the Godfather of Fantasy Baseball was voted the Internet's Favorite Fantasy Baseball Expert.

***

You have been voted the Internet’s favorite Fantasy Baseball Expert in a poll on my blog Advanced Fantasy Baseball. How does that feel after so many years in the industry and with so much competition out there?

I have known and worked with almost everyone mentioned in the poll. Just look at their longevity and it tells the story. These men are pros and each one deserves an award for helping to build the Fantasy Sports Industry into what it is today. After seeing the poll on day one, I emailed you a thank you note for mentioning me with them. It was a sincere thank you.

I understand that you did your first fantasy sports radio show in 1993. Were you working in radio before that? What were you doing and how did you find yourself talking about Fantasy Baseball on the radio?

In 1993, I owned a Corrugated Box Company located on Long Island, New York. Every morning for years, my partner in rotisserie leagues, Irwin Zwilling, called me from his Manhattan office. Together we would analyze the daily box scores. We often laughed as we referred to these calls as our radio show. Finally, in 1993, without ANY radio experience at all, we made it happen by buying a one-hour time slot on AM station WGBB in New York. We broadcasted the first radio show dedicated to Fantasy Sports. From that one-hour purchase of radio time, we went on to become part of two television shows, the Pennant Chase, and This Week in Baseball. We were also the first hosts of MLB Fantasy 411. In 1997, we brought MLB and Fantasy Baseball together by hosting a Fantasy Baseball seminar at the All Star game in Cleveland, Ohio.

Did you have a relationship with the other big names in the industry at that time? How did you end up recruited into Tout Wars?

We sent out press releases to all fantasy sports writers to advise them of our radio show. When John Hunt (USA Baseball Weekly) became a supporter he invited Irwin and I to participate in USA Today Baseball Weekly’s inaugural LABR Expert League. We won LABR twice. A little known fact is that Irwin Zwilling and I were also co-Founders of Tout Wars with Ron Shandler of Baseball HQ.

How is Irwin Zwilling doing these days? Are you guys still partners in any leagues?

Irwin will always be a dear friend and confidant. We no longer share any teams, but we do speak regularly. We still analyze the box scores.

You and Irwin created the “Control the Draft System”. Can you explain what that is and how you came up with it? Are you still using the same draft system today?

"Control the Draft" was developed by Melnick/Zwilling in 1988; it works best in the auction format. It is a system designed to improve money management in conjunction with player value. We may have been the first to group fantasy players into multiple tiers, rather than going into a draft looking at individual players.

I have tracked down a couple of your older websites and they all have one thing in common – a willingness to give personal Fantasy Baseball advice to anyone who asks for it. Are you still doing that with Fantasy Pros 911?

Fantasy Sports enthusiasts want information. In 2006, I challenged the industry at a convention in Las Vegas to pay more attention to customer service and customer needs. When I saw little response, I took the lead by establishing my own site dedicated to answering Email questions INSTANTLY. I also established a telephone hot line, where fantasy owners could call and speak to me seven days a week. We now have the same great email response at www.fantasypros911.com. We have even improved the hot line by providing a TOLL FREE number! This is unheard of anywhere else!

With a famous name like yours, any Fantasy Sports Site on the internet would be happy to host your podcasts and radio shows. Why Fantasy Pros 911?

I could never accomplish my goals of the ultimate customer service combined with the most current and best info available doing this myself. Paul Greco, Tony Cincotta, Pat Dicaprio, and I totally complement each other. We each excel in many different aspects of the Fantasy Sports Industry. Together we represent the most comprehensive Fantasy Sports site on the Internet. I am VERY proud of my Daily Podcast (seven days a week, Am I Nuts?). I make certain it is posted by 8am ET. I present in my own wacko style, which is hopefully entertaining, the most up to date Fantasy Sports Report you will ever find. I try to include all the news not seen or heard anywhere else and offer my own humble opinions along with it.

Lenny, do you have enough juice to get me into Tout Wars?

Forgive me, but I am NOT on the "juice" just ask Raffy, Sammy or Mac if you don’t believe me. Manny and Alex don’t know anything! If I win Tout this year…I OWN IT!

Do you have anything you would like to add for the thousands in attendance and to millions around the world?

Compete with all you've got. You get out of it what you put into it. Most importantly, HAVE FUN! This is sometimes lost in the shuffle but isn’t that why we play the game?

Where can people find your Podcasts and radio shows?

www.fantasypros911.com

We do Baseball All Year; Football is right NOW, Basketball, Hockey. We have 10 professional writers who are Fantastical! We have a TOLL FREE number to call seven days a week; you can talk to me anytime! We provide instant email replies with Thought and Dedication to giving you the best fantasy advice available. Look for LENNY'S DAILY PODCAST. It appears Seven Days per Week at 8am. On weekends, it usually appears at 9am but sometimes sooner.

The Saga of Phil Hughes and the Yankees Bullpen

He was supposed to be the new ace of the New York Yankees. A young star for a franchise with a long history of winning and turning good baseball players into media icons. But that did not happen for Phil Hughes as we expected. Instead he struggled, he got hurt, and he was replaced. But the talent that was on display in the minor leagues and in the Arizona prospect showcase was obvious and undeniable. He came into the Yankees camp and had a very solid spring. He was not the worst performer of the starters and by a considerable margin. But because the Yankees often have more faith in the highly salaried than in young phenoms, Hughes was sent to the minors yet again.

The Yankees did not start the 2009 season well. Injuries to the lineup's stars and poor performances by the aforementioned highly salaried starters led to unexpected losses and talk of firing the Yankees manager, Joe Girardi, for letting it happen. Chien-Ming Wang, once the Yankees' most reliable starter and winner, was pitching so horribly that he was placed on the disabled list to regain his strength and confidence. Meanwhile, Hughes has gone to Scranton-Wilkes Barre and pitched like the ace he was once destined to become. He was called up to replace Wang in the rotation.

Hughes was brilliant in his first start. Then horrible in the next two. He was mediocre in his fourth start, and in his fifth but was starting to flash that incredible ability we all knew was there. his sixth start was awesome. His seventh was not amazing but his skill as a pitcher was becoming obvious to all observers. But by now Wang was healthy again, appearing temporarily in the bullpen. The Yankees needed to make a decision on what to do with each pitcher. They chose to reinstall Wang into the rotation and pushed Hughes into the bullpen.

Which brings us to last night. Wang's first start since returning from the disabled list. Overall it would have to be classified as a mediocre start, but Wang looked a lot like the pitcher we had come to know. He had a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 5-1, and induced eight groundballs to just one fly ball in 4 and 2/3 innings. Hughes has yet to appear out of the bullpen.

Here is a question that Yankees' fans and fantasy baseball owners are interested in answering. Can Phil Hughes become the missing piece in the Yankees' bullpen? Most observers forget or choose to ignore that Joba Chamberlain was never meant to be a full time relief pitcher. It was never in the Yankees' plans. But he did so well that fans fell in love with the idea, probably because most had never seen him as a starter. No one ever expected Randy Johnson to stay in the bullpen despite his being brilliant in his few appearances there. Mostly because they knew how good he could be as a starter. You don't waste a brilliant starter in the bullpen. Relief pitchers are far easier to find than frontline starters. Admittedly the Yankees have made it look difficult at times.

I expect Phil Hughes to do an excellent job out of the Yankees bullpen. I expect him to win and save games when called upon to do so. I expect his strikeout rate to soar and his ERA and WHIP to shrink. This is based on his incredible talent as a pitcher and the boost that usually comes when a starter moves to the bullpen. But next year when Andy Pettitte is gone, Phil Hughes, no matter how good his bullpen resume, must...MUST be returned to the Yankees rotation. Hughes is not, and should not be the future of the Yankees bullpen.

Lest I forget that this is not my old Bronx Pride blog, a bit of advice for the owners of Hughes and Wang. Fantasy owners should not be afraid to re-activate Chien-Ming Wang. Wang looks like his old self again and should be the solid (not an ace) starter he was in the past and is expected to be again. Hughes owners should be patient, especially those in keeper leagues. Both pitchers should have positive value in AL-only leagues and in deeper mixed leagues.

A Name to Know: Bryce Harper

By now, assuming you read as many blogs as I do, or maybe you just watch ESPN's Sportscenter during the blog talk segment, you have to already know the name Bryce Harper. This is the kid who is featured on the cover of this week's Sports Illustrated. I didn't know a hell of a lot more than you about Harper until this morning. That is when I read just about every article I could find (old and new) about this high school catcher and freakishly talented boy being compared to Ken Griffey Jr. and LeBron James. The kid prefers to be compared to LeBron James.

Now I'm convinced that every fantasy owner should also know this name. I get crazy about prospects but aside from the occasional blurb in Baseball America I had not bothered to look into him. I'm not going to translate for you I'm just going to link you to a series of articles and a embed a video that should speak quite loudly.

Remember This Name - By Rich Lederer

Let me introduce you to the No. 1 pick in the 2011 amateur draft . . . Bryce Harper. I know, that particular draft won't take place for three more years. As such, how in the world could I make this type of a prediction now? Well, if you watched the 15-year-old, lefthanded-hitting catcher take batting practice, infield, and two plate appearances on Tuesday at the Area Code Games, as I did, then I have no doubt that you would be as enthusiastic about this phenom as I am. Harper has a power bat and a plus throwing arm that "already grades out to 70 on the 20 to 80 scouting scale," according to Dave Perkin of Baseball America. During infield prior to the game, Harper, in full gear, rifled the ball out of a crouch to second and third base with precision. Upon seeing him in action, I marked down "+ + arm" next to his name in my program. Although the rap on him is that he's not all that fast, I thought he ran very well from home to third on that triple, especially considering his age, size, and power. The kid is nothing if not impressive.

While I didn't witness Harper during the SPARQ (acronym for Speed, Power, Agility, Reaction, Quickness) testing that morning, he earned a score of 63.93, the 54th highest total out of 178 participants. It was the fourth-highest rating among the 25 underclassmen. Interestingly, he ran a 3.91 in the 30-yard dash, ranking in the top 10% in that category.

Revisiting Bryce Harper - By Rich Lederer

Harper made some more noise earlier this month at the third annual International Power Showcase High School Home Run Derby at St. Petersburg's Tropicana Field. Although Harper didn't win the contest, according to Baseball America's Nathan Rode, the tenth grader "played the part of Josh Hamilton" while Christian Walker, a third baseman from Kennedy-Kenrick Catholic High in Norristown, Pennsylvania "served the role of Justin Morneau."

Baseball's Lebron - Tom Verducci

When James was 16, he was a high school sophomore with an NBA game and a body to match. Harper has been compared to Justin Upton, Alex Rodriguez and Ken Griffey Jr., each a freakishly advanced high school player and each the top overall pick of his draft. But Harper, say the baseball men who are paid to make such assessments, has the ability as a sophomore that the aforementioned trio had as seniors. That is why Harper—to his own approval—is best compared to James. Indeed, Harper nearly fell off the couch one day last month when he heard a sports announcer call San Diego State pitcher Stephen Strasburg, the presumptive No. 1 pick in next week's draft, "the LeBron James of baseball."

Tommy Hanson, Gordon Beckham, and Andrew McCutchen Arrive

Wednesday was a big day for top prospects. Tommy Hanson, the Atlanta Braves stud pitching prospect was called up and will start for the Braves on Saturday. Gordon Beckham, the stud shortstop prospect of the Chicago White Sox was recalled and will start nearly everyday at a variety of positions. Andrew McCutchen, the stud center field prospect for the Pittsburgh Pirates will now roam the major league outfield.

Tommy Hanson and the Atlanta Braves

Tommy Hanson was called up by the Braves as part of series of moves. They traded for the Pirates' center fielder, Nate McClouth. Then they released 305-game winner, and future Hall-of-Famer, Tom Glavine. It seems this was mostly a cost-cutting measure as Glavine was due a significant bonus when activated. This move looks pretty classless to me. I understand that business is business, but Tom Glavine deserved better from the Braves. These are not the Braves they used to be. Kris Medlen was scheduled to start on Saturday against the Milwaukee Brewers, but has been moved to the bullpen in favor of Hanson.

Hanson has been dominating at Triple-A Gwinnett. He was clearly ready to take the next step in his development as a potential major league ace. Despite his potential, Hanson is still more likely than not to suffer through the ups and downs that all young starters experience. That said, you would be a fool not to pick him up, especially if you have the ability to stash him on your bench. Milwaukee is an awful tough team to face in your first start. He induces a lot of infield fly balls. He is fairly neutral as to whether he is a ground ball or a fly ball pitcher but take out the infield fly balls and he leans more towards being a worm killer. He does a very good job of keeping the ball in the park.

Season	Team	K/9	BB/9	K/BB	HR/9	AVG	WHIP	BABIP	LOB%	FIP
2006	Braves (R)	9.75	1.57	6.22	0.35	0.224	0.99	0.308	75.20%	2.12
2007	Braves (A)	11.10	3.21	3.46	0.74	0.199	1.05	0.28	73.70%	3.12
2007	Braves (A+)	9.60	4.80	2.00	1.50	0.239	1.42	0.29	74.70%	5.03
2008	Braves (A+)	11.03	2.48	4.45	0.00	0.117	0.65	0.19	80.70%	1.95
2008	Braves (AA)	10.47	3.77	2.78	0.83	0.202	1.13	0.273	75.40%	3.6
2009	Braves (AAA)	12.21	2.31	5.29	0.68	0.176	0.86	0.265	83.30%	2.42

Andrew McCutchen and the Pittsburgh Pirates

The Pittsburgh Pirates filled the gaping hole left in their lineup and in center field with top prospect, Andrew McCutchen. He was probably ready to get a shot at the major leagues but he is more of a leadoff hitter than a middle of the order player. He's been compared to Ricky Henderson a lot, but that is tremendously overstating things. He should get on base at a decent clip and steal bases, but he won't be the kind of roto-guy that can get you 12 points in steals all by himself. This leaves the Pirates lineup seriously lacking in power hitters.

I understand why the Pirates would want to trade McClouth. They can't really expect him to be a part of their next contending team which is probably still three or four years off. But McClouth was signed to a very reasonable deal. They should have shopped him around rather than trade him so quickly. To trade him for second tier prospects cheats the franchise and the fans. One top prospect would have been a much better deal for them than multiple prospects. Especially when they already have a roster (at more than one level) full of similar players. If the Indians can get Matt LaPorta for a couple of months of CC Sabathia, doesn't a cheap and signed McClouth have a similar value?

Season	Team	BB%	K%	OBP	SLG	ISO	Spd	BABIP	wOBA
2006	Pirates (A)	8.50%	20.10%	0.356	0.446	0.155	6.5	0.339	0.369
2006	Pirates (AA)	8.50%	26.70%	0.373	0.467	0.16	2.7	0.385	0.378
2007	Pirates (AA)	8.80%	18.30%	0.327	0.386	0.126	6.5	0.298	0.332
2007	Pirates (AAA)	5.60%	16.40%	0.347	0.418	0.104	3.6	0.364	0.337
2008	Pirates (AAA)	11.70%	17.00%	0.372	0.398	0.115	5.4	0.327	0.347
2009	Pirates (AAA)	7.80%	11.90%	0.361	0.493	0.189	8.1	0.329	0.383

Gordon Beckham and the Chicago White Sox

Let me tell you how much I loath Ozzie Guillen, the White Sox manager. A lot. He's a complete idiot. The first thing he does when the White Sox announce that Gordon Beckham is coming up (a move Guillen has been very much against) is try to crash the kid's confidence (I don't think it will work, but that is not the point) by telling everyone that he questions Beckham's ability to play at multiple positions. He also refuses to just give the kid a spot and let him stay there. Instead he'll rotate around the infield so that Chris Getz of all players can stay in the lineup. The White Sox will be much better when they get off their butts and fire Guillen. No manager has ever deserved it more.

To make room on the 25-man roster for Beckham the Sox have designated Wilson Betemit for assignment. Tough to believe they won't find a trading partner to take on Betemit. He could find himself back with the New York Yankees. Beckham is a very disciplined hitter for such a young player. He does not strike out much. He doesn't draw many walks but when you're hitting .458 at Triple-A, why bother? He should hit for decent power (in the 10-15 range) and steal more bases (that's Guillen's thing, stealing bases) than he did in the minors.

Season	Team	BB%	K%	OBP	SLG	ISO	Spd	BABIP	wOBA
2008	White Sox (A)	7.90%	12.10%	0.365	0.500	0.190	2.7	0.313	0.379
2009	White Sox (AA)	8.70%	16.30%	0.366	0.497	0.197	2.7	0.336	0.391
2009	White Sox (AAA)	0.00%	8.30%	0.440	0.625	0.167	4.1	0.500	0.469