Kendrys go BOOM!!!
Sorry. Just had the get that out of the way. There’s nothing better than throwing in a late-slate GPP lineup you did on the air for everyone to hear and your “bargain” first baseman smacks a grand slam. We’ll see how the rest fares as the night rolls on, but for now, I’m feeling pretty pleased with myself. I’m not a screenshot guy, but if you missed the show, here’s the lineup I put together.
Of course, I probably just jinxed myself, but hey…it’s all about having fun, right. And if you can make a little bank while having fun, that’s even better.
But let’s talk about the game from today and see if we can’t find some nuggets of tasty information to help us all in both our seasonal and daily leagues.
First off, I have to start by gushing over Antonio Senzatela. Who? I thought you might ask that. It just means you have to start listening to me on SiriusXM more. But just to show you I’m not a bad guy, I’ll tell you. A few weeks ago, I was hosting SiriusXM Fantasy Baseball with Lisa Ann. We were still wrapping up a mock draft while we were on the air, but had Patrick Saunders from the Denver Post joining us to talk about the injuries to Ian Desmond and David Dahl.
At the end of the interview, Saunders says that he’d like to offer up a little late-round sleeper for the fantasy folks. Now when a beat writer starts talking about sleepers, you have to listen. So he says we need to pay attention to this 22-year old right-hander who threw just 34.2 innings at Double-A last year because of shoulder inflammation but was looking sharp this spring and stood a very good chance of making the starting rotation out of camp. He mentioned his four-pitch arsenal, his surprising command of his secondary offerings and his presence on the hill. Saunders sounded impressed and that, of course, piqued my curiosity.
Not only did I immediately put Senzatela on my watch-list, but then I also backed-out my mistaken auto-pick at the end of the mock and swapped in the Rockies hurler. Lisa Ann was pissed. It was her pick next and she had queued him up for her last selection.
Fast forward to today and Senzatela was on the bump to face the Brewers in hitter-friendly Miller Park. I had Senzatela on my NL-only team and at the last minute, I said, “What the f***,” and started him. Oh baby, was that a tasty treat!
It didn’t start out all that nice as the youngster labored in the first inning and found himself with runners on second and third with one out. He walked the bases loaded and I was sure this was going to be the fantasy baseball gods kicking me in the groin. But the bullet was dodged as he induced a ground ball double-play to second and escaped unscathed. What made me even happier was that he waited at the first base line for DJ LeMahieu to give a proper thanks. All class, rookie! All class.
He came out for the second inning and immediately gave everyone a scare as a pitch got away from him and hit Keon Broxton in the face. Well, Broxton has a protective extension that comes along the left jaw line so it hit that, but it was a scary moment. Not just for Broxton, but for Senzatela as well. Everyone knew it was an accident and all breathed a sigh of relief as Broxton walked off with trainers under his own power. But how the youngster was going to handle that was the real question as a moment like that can rattle the best of men.
How about we just wrap it up with a pitching line of five scoreless innings with three hits, two walks and six strikeouts? Yeah. It was nice. Senzatela did a great job of shaking off a bad moment, mixed in all four of his pitches and came out looking like a champ. Adam Ottavino may have cost him the win when he gave up a solo shot to Kirk Nieuwenhuis, but we have to look at the big picture and appreciate what we saw.
Now I’m not going to sit here and tell you to go out and grab this kid in your 10-team mixed league, but he’s certainly worth a look in a 10-tem NL-only format. He’s probably worth a look in a deep 15 or 16-team mixed too. Don’t go bananas though as there are several elements still working against him besides his inexperience. There’s the fact that he’s got a history of should injuries. There’s a potential innings-cap in play. And of course, he pitches for the Rockies which puts roughly half his starts at Coors Field.
But wouldn’t it be nice if he did pan out? If he did turn out to be one of those hurlers who can throw at any park, no matter the dimensions? It would, wouldn’t it. I’ll just sit back, cross my fingers and enjoy the ride!
In other action today…
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While he still may be a mental case, you can’t deny Yasiel Puig his moment in the sun after the way he’s opened the season. Against those lowly Padres, the much-maligned Cuban went 2-for-3 with two home runs, four RBI, two runs scored and a pair of walks. Yes, two home runs. Booo-yah!!! He’s now batting .417 with three homers on the year and while it’s obviously still way too early to rave about him, this is certainly a promising start, especially for where you drafted him. I’m hoping he’s turned a corner mentally, but if someone were to offer you something strong for him, you got make that deal!
Love seeing Wil Myers do his first bit of yard work today as well. While I never bought into his claims of going 40-40 this season, I still believe he can reach that 20-20 plateau once again and continue his ascension towards stardom. I’ve got high hopes for him in spite of his supporting cast and ballpark.
Speaking of firsts, Jose Peraza popped his cherry on the base paths today. He was just 1-for-5 with a run scored and a stolen base and has gotten off to a bit of a slow start, but hopefully this gave him a little confidence and he can get on with the business of stealing. Grand Theft Peraza is the nickname I’m hoping to give him, so if he keeps on stealing, be sure to start tweeting with a hashtag for him. #GrandTheftPeraza
Here’s a little fun fact from that Reds game as well – Michael Lorenzen was the first pitcher to hit a pinch-hit home run since 2009. The last guy to do it? Remember Micah Owings? Yep. And he was on the Reds when that happened too.
I will happily acknowledge Daniel Nava’s two home run today, but if you ask me if you should pick him up, I may have to smack you. Unless you’re in an NL-only league or an insanely deep (like 20 teams) league, you can leave him be. That’s as good as it gets and you’re never getting that again. Just go back and look at Nava’s history. He is not someone upon whom fantasy championship dreams are built.
Another first of the season as Kyle Schwarber hit his first home run today. I still don’t buy him as a catcher and I still don’t buy him as a leadoff hitter, but considering how many of you folks do love him, I can legitimately say I’m happy for you. The guys in my leagues who own him are douches, but I’m still happy for you readers out there.
I also really liked what I saw from Lance Lynn today. He went 5.1 innings and allowed two earned runs on five hits and a walk with four strikeouts. He threw 61 of his 98 pitches for strikes and induced seven ground ball outs. The pitching line may not look all that special to you and the pitch-count is pretty high for not even six frames, but it’s all about baby steps here, Dr. Marvin. Baby steps to the pitcher’s mound. Baby steps to the quality start. If he can continue to improve his command, he could prove to be one of the best late-round draft bargains this season.
And as I wrap up today’s Bender, let me leave you with this. Which is more mind-blowing – Geovany Soto banging two home runs in a game or James Shields giving up only one home run to the Tigers. I wish I knew the answer because both are something straight out of the freakin’ Twilight Zone.
Enjoy the rest of baseball tonight!
Bender out.