Fantasy Baseball Diamond Market - AL

April 12, 2010 @ 14:00:00

By Bryce McRae
Edited by Tim Heaney

Fantasy Baseball Diamond Market - NL

Fantasy baseball waivers and the acquisition of fantasy baseball free agents can make or break your season. Your fantasy baseball cheat sheets won't help you after spring training. If your team remains the same after opening day, you will have trouble competing in your rotisserie baseball league.

Do you need to replace your fantasy baseball busts? Which fantasy baseball players can you ignore? KFFL.com's Fantasy Baseball Diamond Market gives you fantasy baseball tips and insight to sort through the masses quickly.

Key

 

Middle infielders

Julio Lugo, IF, Baltimore Orioles

Brian Roberts (abdominal) hit the DL, retroactive to Saturday. Lugo, acquired in a trade just prior to the start of the season, should receive most of the work until Roberts returns. Ty Wigginton and potentially Justin Turner could also be given some reps.

Check your wire one more time

Lugo's value will come from regular at-bats; he shouldn't hurt in average (career .271 hitter) and can contribute a bit in the SB department.

Shallow mixed: Pass

Deep mixed: Pass

AL-only: Acquire

John McDonald, IF, Toronto Blue Jays

Toronto placed second baseman Aaron Hill (hamstring) on the 15-day DL today. McDonald will share the 2B duties with Mike McCoy; he has started two of the last three and is scheduled to go today. Johnny Mac should receive a bit more PT, largely because of his glove, but his meager bat (.239 career average, minimal power and speed) is of little use for fantasy owners.

Shallow mixed: Pass

Deep mixed: Pass

AL-only: Watch

Pitchers

Neftali Feliz, RP, Texas Rangers

Feliz takes over for closer Frank Francisco, who will pitch earlier in games for now after struggling with decreased velocity and poor location.

The new closer was already a solid ratio booster - career 11.88 K/9, 1.89 ERA - and only has added value with SVOs. His stuff is good enough that a permanent switch to the job isn't out of the question should Francisco fail to right himself.

Shallow mixed: Acquire

Deep mixed: Acquire

AL-only: Acquire

Jim Johnson, RP, Baltimore Orioles

Mike Gonzalez was told he wouldn't work the ninth inning Saturday so that he could work on some flaws in his mechanics. Following that, he left the team to be with his wife for the birth of their first child and should return Tuesday. Johnson should receive most of the save opportunities with Gonzalez out.

We can't recommend Johnson as someone that has the stuff to take over closing long term, but he handled the duties with mixed results last year and could probably do it again if needed. Gonzalez will return to the role eventually, but Johnson should vulture the occasional save throughout the season.

Shallow mixed: Acquire

Deep mixed: Acquire

AL-only: Acquire

Fantasy Baseball Diamond Market - NL

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Bryce McRae
Bryce McRae is a Managing Editor with KFFL and has been involved in fantasy sports since 1999. He joined KFFL as a volunteer writer in March 2005 before becoming a Hot off the Wire Analyst in March 2006. He began working in his current capacity in September 2008. His work has appeared on fantasy sports sites such as Yahoo! and CBS Sportsline as well as in print. He graduated from the University of British Columbia in 2008 with a B.A. in History and U.S. Studies.

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