At Home Plate - Fantasy Baseball: Fantasy Mailbag Week 15

At Home Plate

Fantasy Baseball: Fantasy Mailbag Week 15

Written by Daniel Paulling (Contact & Archive) on July 08, 2008

Jeff Francoeur was sent down to Class AA last week, but has already returned to the major leagues. According to the Braves’ official website, all they wanted to see what Francoeur smiling and having fun with the game. That’s good that he’s having fun again, but is his stroke fixed? We’ll find out soon.

What are your thoughts on Justin Duchscherer? Does he continue his amazing season?
--Jon

Through 92.0 innings this season, Duchscherer has a 1.96 ERA and 0.92 WHIP. To think he continues this would be asking for a little too much. The guy just isn’t Cy Young or Walter Johnson. Just how much he regresses in the second half is the question. I predict an ERA in the high 2.00s at season’s end, especially because he doesn’t really strike out that many guys. His arm could die, but I’d be more cautious with that next season, rather than this one.

Gotta cut one: Chien-Ming Wang or Matt Capps. Who should I send packing?
--Matt

Both of these pitchers don’t have great shots at returning before season’s end, and if they do, they might not give you much of anything. If I had to choose one, I’d go with Capps, since he’s likely to make a larger impact than Wang if/when he returns, because a closer can round into shape faster than someone who throws six or seven innings at a time.

Rank these third basemen for the remainder of the season: Longoria, Braun, and Cabrera.
--Ryan

A very tough question, but I’ll list them Cabrera, Longoria, Braun. Cabrera has the longest track record of success at the major league level. It’s not out of the question for him to return to his career numbers once he adjusts to the American League and as the Tigers offense continues to head up. The hard part was deciding whether or not Longoria goes through a rookie year slump. I don’t think he does.

Who do I pick up for vulture saves: Demaso Marte or Masa Kobayashi?
--Aaron

Since there really is no clear-cut candidate other than Kobayashi in the Indians pen, why not go with Marte? He has been improving his command over the years, owns a nice fastball, and should be closing somewhere in the near future. He isn’t the pitcher that Matt Capps is, but should fill in very nicely.

Is Aaron Harang a buy-low guy or a get-rid-of guy?
--Ryan

Harang is a definite buy-low guy (yes, still). Ever since his four-inning relief appearance against the San Diego Padres in The Game that Wouldn’t End, his season has been not so good. But don’t forget: this guy is top-15 starter in fantasy baseball. He will look like it soon. His ERA has been in the 3.70-range the last three seasons. He struck out more than 215 hitters the last two seasons. He doesn’t appear to be injured, so there’s no reason to think he’ll fall short of previous numbers. My gut tells me that Harang is ready to bust loose.

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