Pick-Up Lines: week of 7/21/05

by Brandon Wilson
July 21, 2005

Each week, we publish this article which highlights the players that are probably free agents in your league, but should be considered as pick-up targets. We try to offer some shallow league targets as well as some deep league targets so that different types of leagues will be covered. As always, feel free to e-mail questions to me and they will be addressed here or on the message boards.

Shallow Leagues (Mixed Leagues)
Eric Byrnes, OF, COL (.268, 7 HR, 27 RBI, 3 SB)
On the same day Preston Wilson was traded away the Rockies acquired Byrnes to play center field.. An everyday player in Coors Field? Sign me up. He is a .271 career hitter and last season he hit 20 home runs and stole 17 bases. Those 17 steals were more than twice as many as anyone else on the station to station A’s team last season. The only reason to hesitate at grabbing him is the notion that he could be traded again due to salary considerations. If he stays in Colorado, he will be valuable for the remainder of the season.

Kyle Farnsworth, CL, DET (1-1, 1.85 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 3 Saves)
It looks like Troy Percival is done for the season. After missing a month earlier this year with the injured muscle in his forearm, the same injury has forced him to the disabled list again. This time they are saying he will need two months or more to heal. In the meantime, Farnsworth will take over as the closer for the Tigers. Now 29 years old, Farnsworth had only 4 saves prior to this season. He has always been a flame thrower and so it was not surprising to see him strike out the side for a save over the weekend. It may be the “ten cent head” that he has been accused of having that has kept him from becoming a dominant closer to this point. That may have been on display Sunday when he was ejected from a game after tackling Royals pitcher Jeremy Affeldt. Pick him up, but don’t be surprised when he gets a suspension for the incident.

Deep Leagues (AL or NL Only)
Jason Dubois, OF/DH, CLE (.234, 7 HR, 22 RBI, 145 AB)
The Indians did not acquire Dubois to sit him on the bench. They will find a place for him to play and find out what he can do before the end of the season. In his Cleveland debut, he played DH in place of the injured Travis Hafner and went 0-3 with a pair of strikeouts. He will strikeout, there is no question about that, but when he does make contact, the ball will fly. He should be good for some home runs, hopefully enough to offset the potentially poor batting average.

Jody Gerut, OF, CHC (.273, 1 HR, 12 RBI, 1 SB)
The other player in the Cleveland-Chicago trade that sent Dubois to the Indians was Jody Gerut. After missing the first month and a half recovering from surgery to repair a torn ACL in his right knee that ended his 2004 campaign prematurely, Gerut returned in mid-May but his power has not returned. Gerut can play all three outfield positions, but as a left handed hitter, he is not likely to replace Jeromy Burnitz or Todd Hollandsworth regularly so his time may have to come in center field. The good news is that he is walking more often than he strikes out this year, so he could be used as a lead off hitter when he is in the lineup. In any case, he is worth a pick-up in NL-Only leagues.

Extreme Leagues (Ultra Leagues)
Felix Pie, OF, CHC (currently with Double-A West Tenn)
Felix Pie has missed a few weeks due to an injured ankle. Had he not been injured, it could be Pie getting time in the Cubs center field instead of Jerry Hairston or Jody Gerut. In any case, if the Cubs decide they are sellers at the trade deadline, Jeromy Burnitz could be traded. If Burnitz is traded and Pie is healthy, he could be called to play center with Gerut and Hairston getting time in right field. He is rated as the 17th best prospect in baseball in Baseball America’s mid-season update and is clearly the Cubs future in center field.

Adrian Gonzalez, 1B, TEX (.194, 2 HR, 4 RBI)
Gonzalez is hitting .311 with 13 HR at Oklahoma City after spending the first two weeks of the season with the Rangers. The Rangers have a number of prospects that will need to be protected on the 40-man roster this season and while Gonzalez is ready for the majors, he is blocked by Mark Teixeira who was voted to his first of what will probably be many All-Star games this year. Whether the Rangers are buyers or sellers, Gonzalez could be moved to a rebuilding team, that needs a big league first basemen, by the trade deadline.

Brandon Wilson is a member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association and can be reached by e-mail at brandon@athomeplate.com. You can read more of Brandon’s work at his website www.baseballmuse.com