Roto Chronicles: National League — April 28

Surprising names come up in this week’s edition of Ruts and Royalty.

Last week I took a week off to describe some terms of pitching that are often used and sometimes misunderstood. Hopefully I cleared up some of the confusion. Here are this past week’s Ruts and Royalty.

Ruts:

Ken Griffey, Jr.: He’s batting .244, but some might argue it’s a good .244 average. I say there is no such thing as a good-average average. He started the season strong but has tailed off of late. There’s nothing to worry about as Griffey does find a way to get out of the slumps. It’s early so cut him some slack. He’s still an everyday outfielder and his defense is phenomenal. Leave him in your starting line-up. He is the type of player to blow up any given day.

Eric Gagne: He doesn’t have the stuff he used to when he was with the Dodgers. That’s probably due to the steroids wearing off, but this season alone he has blown 4 saves and has a gaudy 6.17 ERA and a WHIP of 1.46. That’s not something to get excited about when you’re talking about a once elite closer. However, this season he’s shown flashes of brilliance and then flashes of mediocrity. Keep him on the bench until he finds his dominant form once again.

Tom Gorzellany: Gorzellany was roughed up on April 19th against the hot hitting Cubs getting pelted for 7 runs in only 2.2 innings pitched. He pitched slightly better his next outing against the Cardinals but still got the loss as he allowed 7 walks in 5 innings pitched. This season was the season that Gorzellany was supposed to break out, but instead he has pitched his way into the number 5 starter. Will he turn it around? Not anytime soon. This season looks to be an average season for him, but I would start him against lesser hitting ball clubs such as the Reds, or the Astros.

Matt Treanor: Though he is splitting time with Mike Rabelo he isn’t making the most of his opportunities. He is only batting .214 with 1 RBI. His defense is what’s keeping him with the team. If your league has a dual Catcher format, I suggest toughing it out without him for a while until he finds his groove at the plate. Then again, he may not and be average. The risk is high, but if you have a defense-oriented league, keep him. If not, bench him.

Carlos Lee: This is a little unfair to put him here, but he is batting .260 and he was supposedly in contention for NL batting champion coming into the year. His power numbers have slipped from last season to this one, but don’t let that discourage you. His OBP and Slugging Percentage are still tops in the league with a .297 and .490, respectively. He can hit decent pitchers really well, but he’s proven that he can’t hit the dominant pitchers in the league such as Jake Peavy (0-3), Carlos Zambrano (1-3), and Adam Wainwright (0-3). Start him against the 2-5 pitchers if possible. He’ll get you some good averages then, but sit him against dominant aces until he can decide he wants to hit them.

Mark Kotsay: .263 average, only 6 RBIs. Though the average is decent, he’s not going to get you RBIs.
Stephen Drew: .269 average, 3 homeruns, and 8 RBIs. Good, but not great. He is the everyday starter at short, but keep him in. He’s young and has a lot of talent.

Jeff Francis: Colorado’s number 2 pitcher is coming around in his pitching, but he does have some issues with his ERA (5.01). However, his WHIP is excellent with 1.34. He won’t hurt you that badly if you leave him in, but he won’t help you a lot either.

Ryan Howard: He hasn’t found his MVP form yet, but his 11 RBIs and 4 homeruns is somewhat attractive. His average of .174, not so much.

Barry Zito: His numbers speak for himself: 0-6, 7.53 ERA, and a 1.95 WHIP.

Royalty:

Chipper Jones: He’s a beast at the plate. .433 average and 20 RBIs. He has at least a run in each of his last 6 games and his average speaks for himself. This is the healthiest he’s ever been so make sure you keep him as long as possible. He doesn’t look like he’ll be slowing down anytime soon, so ride his hot streak. Did I mention he has a hit in every game but 3 this season?

John Smoltz: Chipper’s teammate, but I have to put him here because of his milestone achievement registering his 3000th strikeout on April 22nd. However, he is experiencing soreness in his right shoulder. This may sideline him for 15 days, but keep an eye on that. If he can fight through it, it’s worth starting him. Currently, he stands at 3-2 and has 36 strikeouts with a WHIP of 1.11. Not bad for something flirting with his age.

Takashi Saito: Though he’s blown 2 saves this season, none of them came this past week. To top that off, Saito is sporting a very cool 2.61 ERA. He is registering a strikeout per inning so if that’s important to your league, by all means keep him in, but he will pitch into jams. However, he’s shown that he can pitch out of them as quickly as he can pitch into them.

Randy Wolf: He doesn’t get much love because he pitches with Jake Peavy, but he can’t be ignored. He already has 28 strikeouts and a WHIP of 1.03. Wolf isn’t a household name, but his curve ball can’t be ignored. Half of Wolf’s strikeouts are made with the batter looking. If he keeps this up, he’ll be in a for a monster year. I suggest not using him as trade bait or dropping because his numbers are mediocre. Quite the opposite. Use him to your advantage.

Jason Kendall: He doesn’t have a homerun to show for his efforts this season, but his .308 average is okay. Why is he in royalty? Kendall’s never thrived on offense. He makes his money on defense, but now you have to respect both. He is the everyday catcher and he’ll raise your numbers ever so slightly, but that’s better than nothing. He draws walks too and is a very tough candidate to strikeout so find your balance with Kendall. His weakness, however, is going against left handed pitchers. He’s batting .302 against them. I know…tragic.

Ryan Freel: He appears to be over his injury that made him miss the first 15 games of the season. He is batting a decent .298. He’s never been a big homerun threat, but he makes the most of his opportunities when he’s at the plate. He only has one steal on this year’s resume, but that may be due to him coming off an injury.

David Wright: Overall, it’s been a quiet season, but he’s already driven in 21 runs. Wright started the season slowly, but has picked it up of late. Watch for him to continue his hot streak.

Tim Redding: There’s not much on the Nationals to cheer about, but Redding has been a constant on the pitching staff. He’s 3-2 with a 3.67 ERA.

Adam Wainwright: He’s coming off a complete game and has a very good 2.79 ERA and 1.01 WHIP. This youngster won’t disappoint. As long as he’s healthy, play him.

Shawn Chacon: He doesn’t have a win yet in his 5 starts with the Astros, but he’ll keep your ERA down. Don’t give up on him. You can’t blame him for an anemic offense.

Up and Coming Players:

Kosuke Fukodome: This Japanese import is doing very well in his rookie season with the Cubs. He is drawing comparisons to Ichiro when he broke into the league years ago. Fukodome is batting .326, and he has an OPS of .444. His plate appearance is stoic, to say the least. He does have trouble hitting left handed pitching, but what left sided batter doesn’t. He was a highly touted player coming out of Japan and he is showing why he’s so prolific. Fukodome has been accepted as the center fielder for the Cubs and he hasn’t disappointed. His strikeout totals are a little high with 17, but 10 of those strikeouts came swinging. This shows his willingness to take chances at the plate. He’s a free swinger, and so far that’s paying off. Keep in mind he is playing in a city where standards are high, and the club hasn’t won the World Series in a hundred years. To bear that pressure and still play well, Fukudome looks to be a staple in the Cubs’ outfield. If possible, snatch him up, or make a trade for him. That could be the wisest thing to do for your fantasy lineup.