Alexei Amarista signed a deal worth $1.25 million with the Rockies (there is a club option for 2018). He’s hit .230 for his career with a sickly .276 OBP. Come to think of it, his .320 SLG might be even worse. Over 606 career games he’s posted a .596 OPS. Yikes. NL-only reserve round stuff.
Jose Bautista got an extra $500,000 on his 1-year, $18.5 million deal (there is a mutual option worth $17 million next season which includes a $500,000 buyout while there is a vesting option worth $20 million in 2019). Each of the last seven years he’s posted an OBP of .358, though last year was the first time in seven years that his SLG was under .498 (it was .452). With health, the 36 year old is a good bet for 30 bombs while pushing 100 RBI, but his health cannot be taken for granted at this point.
Gregor Blanco signed a 1-year deal with the D’backs. Love the hustle. He’s worth a reserve round selection in NL-only leagues.
Is this a family of Bigfoot in Yellowstone?
Michael Brantley (shoulder) has progressed to hitting off a tee. How sad is it that we’re excited about that development with Brantley? At this point Brantley has an ADP of 201.1, 46th in the outfield, a season after he appeared on the big-league diamond just 11 times.
Scratch Jake Diekman off your target list in AL-only leagues. He will have surgery next week for ulcerative colitis and likely miss at least the first half of the season. Diekman saved four, won four and generated 26 holds last season with a 3.40 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 59 strikeouts in 53 innings for the Rangers.
Maybe we aren’t the only ones who are smart?
Dillon Gee has signed with the Rangers. It’s a minor-league deal as he attempts to return from surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome. He could make starts for the club. Don’t know why they would really want him to though as he’s posted a 4.97 ERA, 1.51 WHIP and a mere 6.23 K/9 rate. No interest in this corner.
Brandon Guyer is a name to remember for DFS play. Guy is a masher against lefties. For his career, over 542 plate appearances, he’s posted a fantasy line of .288-17-50-77. His OBP is impressive at .390 while the .469 SLG also plays everywhere. He agreed to a 2-year, $5 million deal with the Indians (there is a club option for 2019).
The HOF news is close. Here are my thoughts on who should be enshrined in the Hall of Fame. Ron Shandler has come up with the Fantasy Hall of Fame by setting statistical baselines that need to be reached in order to be enshrined.
The Player Profile Series, in the Fantasy Alarm Draft Guide, is up and running. We will have videos and articles on players like: Rick Porcello, Jake Arrieta, Danny Duffy, Felix Hernandez, Andrew McCutchen, Randal Grichuk, Adam Duvall, Gary Sanchez and so many more. To gain access to the profiles, and the rest of the Guide, click on the link that will take you to the on-going greatness.
Brandon Kintzler saved 17 games last season for the Twins. That was off the waiver-wire stuff that was a big boost for his owners. He didn’t dominate by any means, not with 35 strikeouts and a 1.23 WHIP over 54.1 frames, but he only walked eight men and generally did the job that was asked of him. Seems like he’s going to try and ramp things up a bit this season by lessoning the rate he throws his fastball (he threw the pitch 88 percent of the time last season). "As closer, I didn't want to get beat with my second-best pitch. I felt like if I could throw my fastball wherever I want, I'd rather you beat me on that." He will incorporate off-speed pitches this year as he attempts to retain the closer’s gig in Minnesota.
Aaron Nola is a guy I’m a fan of. Here’s some audio about his lack of health restrictions this spring and what it could mean.
The Tigers are interested in adding an outfielder to the mix. They were kicking the tires on Gregor Blanco, who signed with the Diamondbacks, so maybe they will now focus on Peter Bourjos. Peter the Cheetah is a strong defender who has never developed as an offensive performer. Still, the Tigers currently have names like Anthony Gose and JaCoby Jones to man their centerfield spot. That’s a pretty unexciting group at the moment.
Ray Flowers can be heard Monday/Tuesday and Thursday/Friday, 8 PM EDT, Wednesday 7 PM EDT on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio (Sirius 210, XM 87). You can also hear Ray Sunday nights at 9 PM EDT PM on the channel talking fantasy sports. Follow Ray’s work at Fantasy Alarm and on Twitter (@baseballguys).