Tag: Alexi Casilla

2011 Fantasy Baseball Waiver-Wire Gems: American League

Derrek Lee, 1B Baltimore Orioles (26 percent owned in Yahoo, 28.8 percent in ESPN)

Current Stat Line: .247 AVG/26 R/5 HR/19 RBI/2 SB

Lee has certainly not lived up to expectations so far in 2011, but his bat seems to be coming alive. In the past seven games, Lee has hit .438 with five XBH and six runs.

He has been shuffled between the fourth and sixth spot in the lineup, so if he can stay healthy, he should help your team in AVG and RBI.

Projection (rest of season): .283 AVG/39 R/11 HR/44 RBI/2 SB

 

Alexi Casilla, 2B/SS Minnesota Twins (28 percent owned in Yahoo, 55.6 percent in ESPN)

Current Stat Line: .260 AVG/32 R/2 HR/15 RBI/11 SB

Casilla has been on fire for the past month. Since May 24th he has hit .327 AVG/9 R/2 HR/11 RBI/8 SB. Casilla is currently batting second for the Twins and he should stay there. I don’t expect him to hit .327 for the rest of the year, but he should be a solid contributor in AVG, R, SB. 

Projection (rest of season): .280 AVG/36 R/4 HR/23 RBI/11 SB

 

Jemile Weeks, 2B Oakland Athletics (20 percent owned in Yahoo, 35 percent in ESPN)

Current Stat Line: .305 AVG/11 R/0 HR/6 RBI/6 SB

Weeks started out with a .400 BABIP and one walk in 44 AB. Since then he has shown more patience at the plate with four walks in 19 at bats and he is batting leadoff for the Athletics.

The stolen bases is a huge plus, but it will only be a matter of time before pitchers start adjusting to him. Pick him up while he is hot but don’t expect a long-term fix.

Projection (rest of season): .260 AVG/26 R/2 HR/19 RBI/10 SB

 

Alcides Escobar, SS Kansas City Royals (29 percent owned in Yahoo, 73.5 percent in ESPN)

Current Stat Line: .246 AVG/34 R/1 HR/21 RBI/12 SB

In the minors, Escobar was an annual three category producer in AVG, R and SB. When called up by the Brewers, he was planted in the eight hole where he was unable to showcase his true potential.

Now that he is batting ninth for an AL team, he will have more opportunity to steal bases and score runs. Since June 7th he has hit, .411 AVG/13 R/8 RBI/6 SB. I would rather roster Escobar than Chone Figgins, Gordon Beckham, Darwin Barney and Omar Infante.

Projection (rest of season): .265 AVG/40 R/2 HR/27 RBI/15 SB

Carlos Carrasco, SP Cleveland Indians (39 percent owned in Yahoo, 47.1 percent in ESPN)

Current Stat Line: 7 W/4 L/53 K/3.62 ERA/1.21 WHIP

Carlos Carrasco, a regular on “Spot Starting,” has been untouchable on the mound in his last four starts. During that time he has thrown 29.2 IP/2 ER/21 K/5 BB. His current K/9 sits at 5.48, but last year it was at 7.66 even though his current SwStr% of 8.4 is nearly identical to his 8.7 mark in 2010.

Expect a slight uptick in strikeouts. 

Projection (rest of season): 6 W/4 L/78 K/3.5 ERA/1.20 WHIP

 

For other entries in our waiver-wire gems series, click here!

Brian “Killboy” Kilpatrick is a Senior Writer for 4thandHome.com, where this, and other work, can be found. Additionally, he is co-host of The 4th and Home Show on Blog Talk Radio.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com


Fantasy Baseball: Solving the Need for Speed

A trade in my league prompted me to once again take a look at some relatively available stolen base guys. The trade was Michael Bourn for Carlos Quentin and Andre Ethier. I thought that was way too steep of a price to pay for runs and stolen bases.

I’m not saying the following guys are better than Bourn, but they can be had for a much cheaper bounty. The stats are based on the past 15 days. He has the added benefit of shortstop and second base eligibility. That allows you to use sluggers in your outfield slots.

  • Michael Bourn, Houston Astros:  .308 average, 16 hits, seven runs, three RBI, seven stolen bases
  • Jordan Schafer, Atlanta Braves:  .245 average, 13 hits, 10 runs, one home run, three RBI, six stolen bases
  • Alcides Escobar, Kansas City Royals:  .392, 20 hits, 11 runs, three RBI, six stolen bases
  • Alexi Casilla, Minnesota Twins:  .373, 19 hits, eight runs, six RBI, five stolen bases
  • Charlie Blackmon, Colorado Rockies:  .410, 16 hits, five runs, six RBI, five stolen bases

I realize that Bourn is the superior option of this quintet, but he’s not good enough in my mind to justify trading two sluggers away. Not when stolen bases are available on the waiver wire.

Casilla, for instance, has been hitting .320 with 19 runs, 11 RBI, and eight stolen bases since the beginning of May.

I don’t have an issue with shaking up your lineup to improve a particular category, but you’re basically robbing Peter to pay Paul when you give up that much power to add to your speed categories.

Also check out:

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com


The Minnesota Twins Batting Lineup In 2012

 

  With all the talk about the 2011 Minnesota Twins, I decided to take a very early look at the 2012 Minnesota Twins and what kind of lineup they could have. Joe Mauer signed his 8 year/$184M contract extension last spring because this is his team and he wants to win a World Series in a Twins uniform. What players will be around him in 2012 and do they have enough talent around him and in the farm system to get him a ring? I’ll share my thoughts on what players will make up their 2012 batting lineup.

Begin Slideshow


Minnesota Twins’ Orlando Hudson Files For Free Agency: What’s On Second?

The Minnesota Twins appear to have a revolving door at second base.

When the 2009 season began, the Abbott and Costello routine was, “Who’s on third? I don’t know.”

Now it’s, “What’s the guy’s name on second?”

This past week, eight Twins declared for free agency. Among them was second baseman Orlando Hudson.

For the four-time Gold Glover and two-time All-Star, it begs the question—what is it wrong with Hudson?

If Hudson does not re-sign with the Twins, and the odds of that happening appear unlikely, it will be four teams in four years for the switch-hitting second baseman. 

Between two stints on the disabled list Hudson played 126 games at second this season. That’s the most since Luis Castillo played in 142 games in 2006.

For the Twins, they will be searching for their sixth second baseman in eight years.

The last player to hold the position longer than two consecutive seasons was Luis Rivas, the Twins second baseman from 2001-2004.

Hudson hit .268 with six home runs and 24 doubles. He stole 10 bases in 13 attempts. Next month he will turn 33, and after being paid $5 million this last season, he is expendable.

Manager Ron Gardenhire and general manager Bill Smith are going to give Alexi Casilla another shot to secure the position for 2011.

In 2008 Casilla played 95 games at second. A season in which he hit seven of his eight home runs and batted a career best .281. 

In 2009 Casilla and Nick Punto split duties at second. The Twins did not pick up Punto’s option for 2011, so until they make their next move it looks like second base is Casilla’s to lose.

It’s difficult to fathom what Gardenhire is looking for in a second baseman.

It was no secret that Gardenhire did not appreciate Hudson’s attempt to play through his injuries this past season. It got to the point where Gardenhire did not believe Hudson’s assessment on his readiness, and the fact that he would repeatedly wince and grimace while trying to play hurt. 

Typically not a power position, the Twins have had two multiple gold glove winners making the turn at second. Along with Hudson the Twins had Luis Castillo playing second in 2006 and 2007.

Every regular second baseman since Rivas, Castillo, Punto, Casilla and Hudson, all have been switch-hitting singles hitters with some speed and little power. 

In his one and a half seasons with the Twins, Castillo hit .299, the highest among the group, while Hudson hit .268, the second highest.

The problem is both Castillo and Hudson came with price tags north of $5 million, a price the Twins don’t seem willing to pay long term.

In Casilla the Twins appear to have another Punto clone.

The difference is Punto was going to cost the club $5 million in 2011, while Casilla was only paid $427,000 in 2010.

Here’s how the three compare:

Orlando Hudson: 32 years old, .280 career batting average with 83 home runs, one every 50.2 at bats. Salary in 2010—$5 million .

Nick Punto: 32 years old, .247 career batting average, 13 home runs, one every 189 at bats. Salary in 2010—$4 million.

Alexi Casilla: 25 years old, .249 career batting average, eight home runs, one every 119.8 at bats. Salary in 2010—$437,500.

We’ve seen what Casilla can do, and what this clubs needs is an upgrade. Hudson is the best fielder of the bunch, and at this point I do not see Casilla improving to match Hudson’s abilities.

Like Punto, Casilla’s best role may be as the utility back up for the team. With batting averages in the mid 200’s, and with little to no home run power, neither Punto nor Casilla are good options as everyday players. The only edge Casilla has over Punto is his price tag. 

Perhaps the Twins are making the move to Casilla to save some payroll so Smith can make a run at signing free agent Cliff Lee.

I know, it was a struggle for me to complete that last sentence without laughing, but a person can always hope.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com


Copyright © 1996-2010 Kuzul. All rights reserved.
iDream theme by Templates Next | Powered by WordPress