Fantasy Baseball Diamond Market: Chris Carter, Chase d'Arnaud, Alex Presley

June 23, 2011 @ 14:01:01

By Keith Hernandez
Edited by Nicholas Minnix

Your fantasy baseball cheat sheets are no longer of use. KFFL.com's Fantasy Baseball Diamond Market series gives you candid ratings of fantasy baseball players making MLB news in your rotisserie or head-to-head baseball league. If they're available in any of your fantasy baseball games as free agents, on waivers or for your FAAB dollars, you'll know whether they make the cut.

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)

 

Middle infielders

Chase d'Arnaud, Pittsburgh Pirates

The Pirates optioned Josh Harrison to Triple-A Indianapolis to go with more offensive upside in d'Arnaud, who is expected to be recalled Friday. Harrison was hitting .283 in 16 games, but 15 of his 17 knocks were singles (the other two were doubles). The team is slowly bringing Pedro Alvarez (quadriceps) along in his rehab, and Pedro Ciriaco is expected to be sent down next week. This means d'Arnaud, who's likelier to be eligible at short in your league, has a good shot to man the hot corner, at least until Alvarez returns from the DL, whenever that is.

Carter brings thump to Oaktown

d'Arnaud, 24, has mostly been used as a shortstop in the minors, but he has also seen time at second base (20 games) and third (three games) this year at Indianapolis. He was batting .280 with four homers, 33 RBIs and 17 stolen bases. His speed is his biggest asset, especially for someone who might be gaining third base eligibility.

Shallow mixed: Pass

Deep mixed: Watch

NL-only: Acquire

Outfielders

Chris Carter, Oakland Athletics

Carter is back up in Oakland after Josh Willingham (Achilles') landed on the disabled list with a strained Achilles' tendon. Carter could see time in both left field and at first base. The San Jose Mercury News' Joe Stiglich speculates that Carter will see more time at first than in the outfield, with Conor Jackson and Ryan Sweeney splitting reps in left when Hideki Matsui isn't there in National League parks.

With Willingham, who leads the club in homers (10) and RBIs (42), on the shelf, the A's could definitely use Carter's pop in the lineup. His line at Triple-A Sacramento was .235-5-21, but this is a kid who put up 31 home runs with the River Cats last year and 28 in '09 at two stops. He struggled during a late-season call-up last year, hitting .186 with three homers, seven walks and 21 strikeouts in 70 at-bats, although he did hit .342 in his final 13 games after starting 0-for-33.

Shallow mixed: Pass

Deep mixed: Consider

AL-only: Acquire

Alex Presley, Pittsburgh Pirates

The Bucs are expected to recall Presley from their top farm club next Tuesday, just in time for an interleague series versus the Toronto Blue Jays. Pittsburgh already has a glut of capable outfielders on roster, so this could very well be a cup of coffee for Presley during interleague action.

You can't argue that the left-handed hitting outfielder doesn't deserve a call-up, though; he's hitting .330 with eight homers, 34 RBIs and 17 stolen bases with Class AAA Indy in 279 ABs. While the Louisiana native can do a little of everything on offense, three potential games at designated hitter won't do much for his fantasy value. He's worth only the smallest of investments.

Shallow mixed: Pass

Deep mixed: Pass

NL-only: Consider

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Keith Hernandez

Keith, an editor with KFFL, joined the team as a Hot off the Wire analyst in 2008 and has been playing fantasy sports since 2005. He is involved in MLB, NFL and NASCAR content. He graduated from the University of California-San Diego in 2005 with a B.A. in Communications and was a four-year starter as a member of the baseball program.

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