Fantasy Baseball Diamond Market

April 15, 2011 @ 13:36:24

By Nicholas Minnix
Edited by Tim Heaney

Your fantasy baseball cheat sheets are no longer of use. KFFL.com's Fantasy Baseball Diamond Market series gives you tips on fantasy baseball players available as free agents, on waivers or for your FAAB dollars in your rotisserie or head-to-head baseball league. It's time to replace your fantasy baseball busts.

Key

Acquire	Add player (in most circumstances)
Consider	Add for speculation or because of need
Watch	Track player, consider if trend continues
Pass	Do not add player (in most circumstances)

 

Catchers

Drew Butera, Minnesota Twins

Joe Mauer (bilateral leg weakness) is expected to miss more than the minimum for his 15-day DL stay. How much time is just a guess because of the uncertainty about Mauer's case, but GM Bill Smith doesn't think it's a long-term problem.

Franklin not minty

Whatever that means, Butera is known purely for his defensive prowess and ability to call a game, so a .200-type BA (if you're lucky) stands a reasonable chance of doing more harm than good if he plays a lot more often. Steve Holm, with his 107 MLB plate appearances at age 31, offers a little more hope with the bat, although it isn't yet saying much.

Mauer could miss a few weeks, or much longer. This is obviously a playing time buy only, so you may feel more comfortable waiting to see how it shakes out - here or elsewhere.

Shallow mixed: Pass

Deep mixed: Pass

AL-only: Consider

Pitchers

Miguel Batista, St. Louis Cardinals

The fantasy baseball buzzards are circling Ryan Franklin. It's too early to panic, given Tony La Russa's concrete commitment to the right-hander. But he's clearly not ready to trust any of the young arms at his disposal in the closer's role, either. TLR has considered Batista invaluable in late innings early on, and he values the righty's closing experience. If there is a switch sometime soon - and soon is a relative word for La Russa - it'd probably be to Batista.

Batista's 31 saves in 2005 for the Toronto Blue Jays came at the price of a 4.10 ERA and 1.43 WHIP. He is, obviously, nothing special. Batista would likely do nothing but waste roster space in mixed leagues, but in NL leagues, such planning could eventually pay off - sort of.

Shallow mixed: Pass

Deep mixed: Watch

NL-only: Acquire

KFFLians are saying....

Comment

 

---

What do you think? We want to hear from you!

Name: E-mail: Please, enter the number that you see

Comment Guidelines

Nicholas Minnix

KFFL's baseball editor plays in LABR and Tout Wars and won the FSWA Baseball Industry Insiders League in 2010.

The University of Delaware alum is a regular guest on Sirius/XM Fantasy Sports Radio and Baltimore's WNST AM 1570. Follow him on Twitter.

Talk Sports 24/7!
KFFL Sports Forums: Over 24,000 strong and growing!

Fantasy baseball players in the news (05/23)
Fantasy Baseball Player Prospecting: Kole Calhoun, Jean Segura, Andrew Chafin, more (05/22)
Fantasy Baseball Diamond Market: Jeff Keppinger to DL (05/22)