Billy Butler optioned to AAA

The Royals optioned the struggling Butler to AAA Omaha yesterday to work on his hitting. He was hitting .263/.330/.339 with only one homer. Chances are you don't own Butler anyway, but it's worth following his progress, as he will be a valuable fantasy player at some point. Just not quite yet.

Closer Alert: Dan Wheeler

Troy Percival left yesterday's game with an injury. We'll find out more with the MRI results today, but it looks like Percival will miss a little time at least.

Dan Wheeler finished the game and earned the save for the Rays and appears to be the front-runner for save opportunities. Al Reyes could get some chances, too, but my money's on Wheeler.

UPDATE: The Rays placed Percival on the 15-day DL. Joe Maddon was reluctant to name a closer, so it stands to reason that Al Reyes and Dan Wheeler will both get opportunities. They're both very decent pitchers who should get the job done.

Jay Mother-Freakin' Bruce

I love Jay Bruce. There, I said it. 3-for-3, 2 walks, 2 runs, 2 RBI and a stolen base in his major league debut.

Now, for the "but."

But, keep in mind, he's a rookie. He's 21 years old. There will be bumps in the road. Ryan Braun's rookie season may have gotten our expectations a little out of whack. Braun's 2007 was a once-in-a-lifetime rookie season. (Well, maybe twice in a lifetime. Pujols' 2001 was pretty awesome, too.)

So, keep your expectations in check. If someone offers you Jimmy Rollins for Jay Bruce, take it. My projection for Bruce this season:

65 R; 16 HR; 60 RBI; 12 SB; .290 AVG

Daisuke Matsuzaka injury

Our friend, Daisuke, left yesterday's game after four innings with what was called "shoulder fatigue" (although he was seen grabbing his lower back). It doesn't sound serious, but he'll probably skip his next start.

Hopefully, you sold high on Daisuke last week. If not, now probably wouldn't be the best time to try.

Gavin Floyd

I noticed a lot of people picking up Gavin Floyd in my leagues lately, which makes me happy. His 2.93 ERA and 1.08 WHIP have duped people into thinking he's a good pitcher. Yes, he has good stuff and could be a good pitcher at some point, but right now he's walking more batters (27) than he's striking out (25). That ERA and WHIP are going up, my friends. Beware.

UPDATE: Well, Floyd went and proved me wrong today (kind of). As a regular reader of this blog, he was annoyed to see me picking on his K/BB rate, so he posted 7 K with o BB today in six innings against the Indians. However, his ERA and WHIP did increase, so I was right, but for the wrong reasons.

Clay Buchholz to pitch at AAA for now

With Bartolo Colon pitching so well, the Red Sox have more than enough starting pitching. For now, it looks like Clay Buchholz is the odd man out.

Buchholz has been on the DL with a broken finger nail, but when he comes off the DL, he'll be pitching for Pawtucket. It's hard to imagine Boston allowing a talent like Buchholz to stay in the minors for long, so at the very least, we'll probably see him coming out of the Boston bullpen in the near future. In the long run, I'm sure someone (I'm looking at you, Bartolo) will get hurt and Buchholz will regain his rotation spot.

I can't help but wonder if things would be a little different had Jon Lester not thrown a no-hitter so recently. I really don't know, but I will say that Buchholz is the superior pitcher, 2008 ERAs be damned.

Matt Holliday on the DL

15-day with a strained hamstring. Nothing to be too worried about but it sucks having to replace a guy like Holliday - even if it's only two weeks.

Jay Bruce gets the call

The Reds will bring Jay Bruce up to the big club today.

GM Walt Jocketty said, "When Jay comes up, he'll play a lot. We wouldn't bring him up and not play him."

This means that Bruce should be on your team. He will play and play well.

Clayton Kershaw Watch

There is considerable speculation that Dodgers phenom Clayton Kershaw (what an awesome name) will be called up to start for the big club on Tuesday. If that's the case, I would grab Kershaw if at all possible. He's not yet available in the Yahoo! game but he is available over at ESPN.

The positives:

• Career 11.7 K/9 rate in the minors
• Has allowed only 9 homers in 202 1/3 career minor league innings
• Has been protected by the organization, with strict innings/pitches limitations
• Most major leaguers have little to no experience facing him

The negatives:

• High career minor league BB/9 rate (3.9)
• The Dodgers will keep him on a strict innings/pitches limitation, meaning he may be pulled out of games early, thus limiting his potential for wins
• The move could be temporary as Jason Schmidt has been making rehab starts lately

The positives outweigh the negatives. Would I use a #1 waiver priority on Kershaw? Yes, yes I would. But keep in mind that he is young (20) and it will be a slightly bumpy ride. But I'm a sucker for anyone who can get you a strikeout per inning (which he will).

UPDATE: As you probably know by now, Kershaw started on Sunday for the Dodgers and pitched very well: 6 IP, 2 ER, 1 BB, 7 K.

Line Drive Rate and BABIP - Who's Getting Lucky?

In general, a player's batting average on balls in play should be about .120 higher than his line drive rate. If the difference is greater than that, he's getting lucky. If it's lower, he's getting unlucky. With that introduction, let's take a look at some notable names who are getting lucky in the batting average department.




This is not a comprehensive list. I just picked some names that stood out as key fantasy contributors. You can consider these players over-valued right now because their batting averages are artificially high thanks to a lucky BABIP number. I'm not saying you should run out and trade these players immediately. Just know that you can expect to see their batting averages dip in the coming months.

Interesting to see both Upton boys on the list. Also, B.J. Upton led the majors in BABIP last year (.393) with only a .196 line drive rate. Maybe he's one of those guys who finds a way to beat the odds, possibly because of his speed.

Another interesting note: Matt Kemp is currently leading the majors in BABIP (.412), but the amazing thing is that his line drive rate (.299) supports that BABIP. Kemp is a going to be a superstar.

Closer Alert: Salomon Torres

Our friend, Ned Yost, says that Salomon Torres will get the bulk of the save opportunities while Eric Gagne is out. The length of Gagne's absence is very much up in the air, with the range of possbilities spanning one week up to the entire season. Either way, grab Torres.

Dan Uggla - What's the Deal?

Before the season I projected the following line for Dan Uggla:
96 R, 27 HR, 81 RBI, 2 SB, .258 AVG

Currently, he's on pace for the following line:
130 R, 50 HR, 115 RBI, 7 SB, .323 AVG

Two things are clear:

1. I misunderestimated (to quote our great president) Uggla's ability.
2. He can't keep up this pace.

So, what should we expect from Uggla from this point on? Let's tackle each category.

Runs: He has consistently been hitting in the #5 spot in the order, so it's difficult to imagine that the 130-run pace is even close to sustainable. I still think my 96-run projection makes sense, so let's say he scores 60 more runs.

Homeruns: Uggla hit 31 last year and seems to have taken a leap that will allow him to surpass that number. However, it's hard to see him hitting 40. I'm going to say 35 for the season, meaning 21 more homers.

RBI: With Hermida, Ramirez, and Jacobs getting on base in front of him, Uggla should continue to rack up RBI. The 115-RBI pace that he's set should slow down a little as Uggla cools off, though. Let's say 105 for the season, meaning 73 more RBI.

SB: Uggla has already matched his stolen base total from last year with a big two. He stole 6 in his rookie season, so let's say he matches that with 4 more.

AVG: This is the big one. If Uggla can maintain a .300+ average, he'll be in Chase Utley territory among second basemen. He hit .282 in his rookie season and .245 last year, and was a career .276 hitter in the minors, so .323 seems unsustainable. Here's the most disturbing part. Take a look at Uggla's line drive rate and his batting average on balls in play (BABIP) over the past three years:

The general rule is that the BABIP should be about .120 higher than the line drive rate. You can see that Uggla's BABIP was .141 higher in 2006 and .123 higher last year. This year? .217 higher. Based on that, it's hard to see Uggla hitting better than about .260-.270 the rest of the way. He'll probably end up with an average around .280-.285 for the season, thanks to his hot (lucky) start.

So, here's what Uggla should get you from this point on:
60 R, 21 HR, 73 RBI, 4 SB, .265 AVG

Where does that place him among other second basemen? I'd say Uggla ranks about sixth, behind Utley, Upton, Phillips, Roberts, and Kinsler and just ahead of Cano.

Chone Figgins to return

Mike Scioscia is saying that Chone Figgins will be back in the starting lineup tonight after spending some time on the DL. Adjust your lineups accordingly.

The Top 25 Fantasy Baseball Players in 2010

UPDATE: I haven't looked at this blog in almost a year. I noticed today that there are a bunch of comments on this post, basically bashing it for being so bad. What I think a lot of people aren't noticing is that I posted this in MAY 2008. Now that 2010 is here, those searching Google for "2010 Fantasy Baseball Rankings" are stumbling upon this post. So, yes, it looks awful. But when you consider that I posted it two years ago, I'm actually mildly proud of it. Matt Kemp, Justin Upton, Evan Longoria, and Ian Kinsler are incredibly good calls. Obviously, Alex Gordon, Clay Buchholz, and Alex Rios are incredibly bad calls, but you have to take the bad with the good. Once again, MAY 2008. That is all.

UPDATE #2: If anyone actually cares, I posted my CURRENT Top 25 for 2010.

Part of the reason I love fantasy baseball so much is because I enjoy looking forward to the future. My two main daily activities are investing and fantasy baseball which are both forward-looking. Due to my obsession with projecting future outcomes, I'm already looking ahead to next season and even the season after that! So, just for fun, here are the top 25 picks in 2010. Enjoy.

1. Hanley Ramirez (SS)
2. David Wright (3B)
3. Alex Rodriguez (3B)
4. Miguel Cabrera (OF/1B) - Leyland's already given up on him at third base.
5. Albert Pujols (1B)
6. Matt Kemp (OF) - Yes, he's going to be that good.
7. B.J. Upton (OF) - Think Alfonso Soriano in his prime.
8. Jose Reyes (SS)
9. Johan Santana (SP)
10. Ryan Braun (OF)
11. Justin Upton (OF) - Top 100 in 2009, top 20 in 2010, eventually #1 overall.
12. Prince Fielder (1B) - Slow start this year, but he'll be ok.
13. Grady Sizemore (OF)
14. Chase Utley (2B)
15. Alex Gordon (3B) - He'll get it together. You just watch.
16. Jimmy Rollins (SS)
17. Matt Holliday (OF)
18. Curtis Granderson (OF)
19. Ryan Howard (1B)
20. Clay Buchholz (SP) - It's tough to rank any pitchers this high, but I'll take a chance on Buchholz.
21. Evan Longoria (3B)
22. Ian Kinsler (2B) - I believe he'll be a perennial 20/20 guy at second base.
23. Alex Rios (OF)
24. Lance Berkman (OF)
25. Nick Markakis (OF)

Honorable mentions: Jay Bruce (OF), Joba Chamberlain (SP), Mark Teixeira (1B), Carl Crawford (OF), Geovany Soto (C).

Thoughts?

Jake Peavy to the DL

Swelling and a strained elbow, but no ligament damage. He hopes to only be out for two weeks, but this sounds like the type of injury that could linger.

Closer Rankings

Due to popular demand (one guy), here are closer rankings from this point on. I've ranked them by Fantasy Value (FV) and included their ranking (among the players listed) in the Yahoo game.



The strategy here is simple: buy low and sell high.

Some buy-low candidates include Putz, Nathan, and Saito.

Some sell-high candidates include Valverde, Lidge, and Wood.

I have to say, I'm very concerned about Sherrill. I highly recommended him before the season and I can't complain about his performance as he is tied for the Major League-lead in saves with 17. But his peripherals are ugly. I'm trying to see if I can get something for him in some of my leagues before those peripherals start translating into blown saves.

Others who worry me: Rodriguez, F. Cordero, Jenks, Hoffman, and Gregg. With most of these guys, it's the K/BB ratio that has me concerned.

One example of a trade I made in one of my leagues: Brandon Lyon for C.C. Sabathia. I had five closers in that league and only four starters so it was a no-brainer.

UPDATE: I also just traded George Sherrill for J.J. Putz in one league. I feel pretty good about that.

Quick hits

• John Smoltz doesn't think he'll be back in the next few weeks as he had previously planned. His shoulder still hurts. This means Rafael Soriano (who should be back in a week or two) will be the Braves' closer for a little while at least.
• All signs point to Alex Rodriguez returning to the Yankees' lineup on Tuesday night. He was 3-for-10 with one homer in two extended spring training games. He'll probably be a little rusty, but you can never, ever bench A-Rod. (Unless "Acting Like a Little Bitch" is a negative-points category in your league.)
• Cliff Lee finally had a rough outing. Hopefully you traded him after his last start when his value was as high as it will ever be. I tried, but was unsuccesful.
• The most valuable fantasy player over the past week? Alfonso Soriano. 10 R, 7 HR, 14 RBI, .516 AVG, but zero steals. He only has three steals for the season and those who drafted him in the second round were banking on a 30/30 season. With his injuries, it doesn't look like that will happen. Coming off his recent hot streak, I would think about selling high on Soriano, since he probably won't hit 7 homers every week.
• Josh "The Natural" Hamilton tweaked something on Saturday, but he appeared as a pinch hitter on Sunday, so he should be fine. Nothing to worry about.
• The Mariners optioned Jeff Clement to Tacoma today. He was clearly pressing at the plate and not showing the patience that made him such a stud prospect. I'm sure he'll be back at some point this season, hopefully with less jitters.
• Rick Ankiel will probably miss a few games but avoid the DL.
• Jorge Posada thinks he'll be back at the beginning of June.
• The D-Backs expect Doug Davis back at some point this week. What happens to Max Scherzer? The team isn't giving any hint yet. If he goes to the minors, his value takes a big hit. If he goes to the bullpen, his value takes a small hit as he would likely be among the best relievers in baseball, with value exceeding that of Broxton, Chamberlain, Bell, and others.

Santiago Casilla to the DL

Everyone's favorite middle reliever and heir-apparent to closer Huston Street has landed on the DL with some sort of arm thingy.

Jason Isringhausen, too. But no one cares about him and his ugly face.

Players who make me feel stupid

These are the players who have made me feel like an idiot for recommending them before the season, with a note about how much I now hate them. (I probably won't do a post on those players who have made me feel smart because I don't like to partake in the masturbatory process of self-congratulations. Call me humble.)

Rich Hill - I hate you and all your walks and your minor league demotion. You'd better pull a Zack Greinke and come back with a vengeance.

Corey Hart and Jeff Francoeur - Hit some homeruns, you wimpy bitches. The other numbers aren't bad, but hit some damn homers!

J.R. Towles - When you're the second-best catcher on a team with Brad Ausmus, things are not good.

Jeremy Bonderman - More walks that strikeouts is not a good way to pitch. You and Rich Hill can go get married and have lots of kids with no control.

Waiver Wire Talent Available

I looked through the ESPN player listings for good players who are owned in less than 50% of all ESPN leagues. I would suggest checking your league for these players and picking them up if they're available (and you have room).

Ryan Garko (42.8%) - He's been hitting between Victor Martinez and Travis Hafner. The RBI opportunities will be there.

Hiroki Kuroda (26.2%) - Kuroda's been unlucky, racking up only one win. That will change.

Greg Maddux (48.7%) - Yes, he's old and he plays for a shitty offensive team, but Maddux is still a pretty good pitcher and Petco is a pitcher-friendly park.

Jonathan Sanchez (41.6%) - Poor run support, but the strikeouts are nice.

Baseball Prospectus' expected wins statistic

Baseball Prospectus defines its "expected wins" statistic as follows:

Expected win record for the pitcher, based on how often pitchers with the same innings pitched and runs allowed earned a win or loss historically (this differs from how it was computed, which was a more complicated, theoretical calculation).

I found the pitchers whose actual win totals exceeded their expected win total most dramatically. This is a quick and dirty way of identifying potentially overvalued pitchers. Here are the top ten, along with some other notables:

1. Brandon Webb
2. Andrew Sonnanstine
3. Ervin Santana
4. Livan Hernandez
5. Mike Mussina
6. Tim Hudson
7. Tim Redding
8. Joe Saunders
9. Aaron Cook
10. Micah Owings

11. Ted Lilly
14. Tim Lincecum
15. Carlos Zambrano
16. Daisuke Matsuzaka
17. Brad Penny
18. John Maine

Chances are, you don't own fatty Livan Hernandez anyway, but some of these guys could be sell-high candidates.

There's a noteworthy theme here. Most of these players are on good offensive teams (Redding and Lincecum being the notable exceptions).

Obviously, Brandon Webb is a great pitcher and you're very fortunate if you own him. On the other hand, his value will probably never be higher (Matthew Berry over at ESPN ranks Webb 10th overall). So, if you can trade Webb straight-up for Jake Peavy, Johan Santana, or a top-notch hitter, I'd do it. If you can't get big-time talent, though, hang onto him and enjoy the ride.

Tim Hudson should be sold high if possible. The ERA (2.54) will not stay this low, the strikeouts (35 in 56 2/3 innings) aren't great, and he's just not going to continue to win 2 out of every 3 starts.

I absolutely adore Tim Lincecum, but his value will also probably never be higher, especially when you consider how pathetic the Giants offense is.

Daisuke Matsuzaka is an interesting case. I highly encouraged readers to draft him this year, but he is a screaming sell-high candidate. The 4:3 K:BB ratio belies his 2.45 ERA and 6 wins. I do think his control will get better, but the ERA will definitely go up and the wins will definitely decrease in frequency. Some possible targets: C.C. Sabathia, Josh Beckett, and Erik Bedard.

How about the flip-side? Here are those who have been the most "unlucky":

1. Shawn Chacon
2. Joe Blanton
3. Odalis Perez
4. Felix Hernandez
5. Shawn Hill
6. Adam Eaton
7. Justin Germano
8. Jeff Francis
9. Aaron Harang
10. Hiroki Kuroda

12. Matt Cain
13. Adam Wainwright
21. Clay Buchholz

The correlation between pitching for a poor offensive team and being an unlucky pitcher is obvious.

The names that stand out here are Felix Hernandez (who does pitch for a shitty offensive team, but is still very talented), Hiroki Kuroda, Aaron Harang, Adam Wainwright, and Clay Buchholz (whose current DL-status could get you a very nice discount).

Other than those five, this group is not incredibly interesting. Feel free to ignore the rest.

What We Know

It's been a little while since I've posted anything. But, with the season 1/4 of the way finished, I think it's time to re-examine the fantasy baseball landscape. Here's what we know so far:

Cliff Lee is a god. Anyone who saw this coming (I don't know of anyone) is also a god. While the current level of performance is unsustainable, Lee has clearly turned a corner. At some point, he's going to give up a few more walks, as .7 BB/9 is far better than his career mark of 2.9 BB/9. From this point on, I'd look for an ERA in the low 3's and about 13-15 more wins. That ain't bad, but if you can get a true stud fantasy performer right now, I'd say do it. Basically, he's for real, but not this real.

Lance Berkman is not over the hill. Power, average, and stolen bases! What a steal in the second or third round he turned out to be. Like Cliff Lee, Berkman clearly won't be able to keep up this pace, but barring injury, he'll be a top-10 fantasy performer this year.

Rich Hill is a heart-breaker. I feel like I'm breaking up with my girlfriend of the past two years. "We had some really good times together, Rich. I'm just not in a place right now, emotionally, where I can put the effort into this relationship that you need and deserve." (I've been cheating on him with Jair Jurrjens, but don't tell him.) Seriously, he may get things figured out, but it's just not worth the trouble at this point.

The sluggers are struggling. A lot of fantasy owners drafting at the end of the first round were faced with the decision of Prince Fielder vs. Ryan Howard. Now, we know the correct answer: Lance Berkman. Fielder and Howard have both been tremendously disappointing. Will they turn it around? Yes. Will they hit 50 homers? No. At this point, you have to modify your expectations to something like 35-40 homers, and a sub-.275 batting average for both players. If I was going to buy low on one of them, it would be Howard because he has a better supporting cast (Utley and Burrell).

Josh Hamilton is the real deal. He won't keep up his current RBI-per-game pace, but he should easily top 120 with about 30 homers.

C.C. Sabathia is still very good. The K-rate is better than one per inning and the big guy is pitching for a contract. Buy low if it's not too late.

Closers-by-committee suck. The Cardinals and Brewers are like the Denver Broncos of baseball. Think of us poor fantasy players and pick a closer. Please.

Matt Kemp is good. The power has been lacking, but the nine steals are nice. I'm still looking for at least 20 homers and now it's looking like 30 steals.

Young pitchers are frustrating. Clay Buchholz, Johnny Cueto, and Chad Billingsley have all been brilliant at times, and awful at times. Stick with these guys. Over the long haul, there will be more brilliant than awful. Feel free to cut bait on Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy. Andrew Miller and Jon Lester fall somewhere in the middle.

It's nice to have a good catcher. Currently in the Yahoo game, there are only two catchers (Geovany Soto and Brian McCann) ranked in the top 100 players. And the sixth-ranked catcher (Mike Napoli) only plays every other day. The best power option before the season started (Victor Martinez) is homerless. Be thankful if you drafted Soto in the 13th round.

Third base is deep. Eleven third basemen rank in the top 100, including names like Kevin Youkilis, Aubrey Huff, Mark Reynolds, and Edwin Encarnacion (and not including Miguel Cabrera and Alex Rodriguez.) These are guys who could've been had after the 12th round. That's good value.

You have an idea of how good your team is. If you're near the bottom of your league right now, it is officially time to panic. Make some trades for guys who have gotten off to slow starts (Howard, Fielder, Cabrera, Guerrero, Teixeira, V-Mart, Cano, Sabathia, Verlander, etc.). Take a few chances. And be vigilant with regard to call-ups (Jay Bruce, Clayton Kershaw) and closer changes. It's not too late, but it's going to take some effort (and luck).

Yovani Gallardo

Bad news for our friend, Yovani. He's likely done for the year with a torn ACL. It's safe to drop him and go scrounge around the waiver wire pile for a replacement.

Call-Up Madness

Here are some notable prospects who have been called up recently and their potential impact.

Jeff Clement (C - Seattle)
I think all the rain and coffee has warped the little brains of those in the Mariners' front office. They just signed the 31-year-old Kenji Johjima to a three-year extension. Yes, he of the .459 OPS. At least they've come to their senses to some degree and realized the organization's best catcher should probably be in the majors.

Word is that the M's will give Clement starts at both catcher and DH, so playing time shouldn't be a concern. Considering Clement was hitting .397/.535/.692 at AAA, production shouldn't be a concern either.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the only catchers who will out-produce Clement from this point on are Victor Martinez, Russell Martin, Brian McCann, Joe Mauer, and Geovany Soto. If you don't have one of those guys, go get Clement right now. (J.R. Towles is close, by the way.)

On a side note, I LOVE that Clement walked 22 times and only struck out 12 times in 23 AAA games. It doesn't help much in fantasy baseball, but Mariner fans should be excited.

Wladimir Balentien (OF - Seattle)
Another Mariner! This is fun. Balentien hasn't been nearly as impressive as Clement this year (.254/.329/.619) in the minors, but he did go 2-for-4 with a homer and three RBI in his first game with the Mariners.

With the Mariners cutting Brad Wilkerson, Balentien should get plenty of playing time. The power is legit and you could very well see 20 homers this year. I'm less optimistic about the batting average, though. Think .250-.270. If you're in an AL-only league, you should go get him. In deeper mixed leagues, he's borderline, depending on your outfield depth.


Nick Adenhart (SP - Los Angeles Angels)
Due to Dustin Moseley's utter suckiness, the Angels called up Adenhart to start tonight's game against the A's. My guess would be that Adenhart will only be in the majors until John Lackey is done with his rehab, which may be in another week or so. That means you'll probably only get one more start out of Adenhart after tonight (for now, at least).

Now the hard part: will he be any good? Here are his AAA stats this season:

31 IP; 19 K; 15 BB; 0 HR; 0.87 ERA

The ERA is beautiful and he seems to have a knack for keeping the ball in the park. The troublesome part is the K/BB ratio. Unless he does something to improve that ratio, Adenhart's going to have a tough time becoming a star in the majors. I could see him having a Jon Garland-like career (which isn't bad).

Should you own him? In a mixed league, probably not. If you're in an AL-only league, he might be worth a shot.


Brandon Wood (3B - Los Angeles Angels)
Nothing to get excited about here. I wouldn't expect Wood to be up for an extended period. Once Howie Kendrick comes back (soon), Chone Figgins will move back to third, leaving no room for Wood.

I should note that, even if Wood was going to be in the majors for an extended period, I wouldn't be overly excited. Too many strikeouts = low batting average. Occasional power is nice, but not enough to overcome his other flaws.


Jarrod Saltalamacchia (C - Texas Rangers)
Word is that the Rangers plan on giving Salty and Gerald Laird an even split of time behind the plate. He may get the occasional DH or first base start, but the playing time situation doesn't look great for Salty. He was doing a decent job in the minors, but I have a tough time recommending a pick-up here unless you're in an AL-only league.