Sunday, June 27, 2010

LaPorta resurfaces

Matt LaPorta will return to the majors as a full-time player now that the Indians have traded Russell Branyan to Seattle. LaPorta struggled to find consistency at the plate in his first stint with the big league club this season. Since getting demoted in early June, however, he's hit .353 with a .632 SLG in Triple-A.

Fantasy Impact: LaPorta's career minor league numbers (.296 AVG, .388 OBP, .563 SLG) point to an ability to impact the game at a high level. Through 87 MLB games the production hasn't been there. What to do with LaPorta? It's a more clear-cut situation now in Cleveland with Branyan out of the way at first base. LaPorta owns a singular starting position at first base, and he'll be given every opportunity to play regularly for a poor Indians team. That can mean significant payoff in fantasy ball. LaPorta is an intelligent addition for teams looking for an impact bat in the second half. He may run through streaks of both good and bad, but his minor league numbers represent a positive background for a relatively green major leaguer. Add LaPorta, stash him on your bench and hope the breakthrough is coming shortly.

Saturday, June 26, 2010

Bumgarner loses first start

Giants youngster Madison Bumgarner made his much-anticipated first start of 2010 and fared well enough to hang around in the big leagues. After some early hiccups, including two home runs and four earned runs in the first two innings, Bumgarner settled down and pitched seven innings, throwing 66 of his 96 pitches for strikes.

Fantasy Impact: Most teams would take those kinds of numbers from their fifth starter, which is exactly Bumgarner's slot for now. He is, however, much more talented than a back-end pitcher in San Francisco's rotation. Bumgarner is a potential future star with high-end upside. He deserves to be active in all formats.

Heyward thumbs down

Braves outfielder Jason Heyward has revealed that an injured left thumb is hampering his approach at the plate. His average had plummeted 50 points since May 30 with many analysts, writers and bloggers believing he was mired in a typical rookie slump. He's expected to miss at least a couple of games and will visit a hand specialist while he's out.

Fantasy Impact: The good news? This isn't your typical skid for a young player, which means Heyward may still be the fantasy baseball freak everyone was hoping to be landing. He has homered just once in his last 24 games, but the power outage may be due to that thumb issue. Then again, we don't know when the problem perked up. We also don't know how long he'll be out. Any time a player visits a specialist it's a situation beyond your typical aches and pains. Heyward may be out or affected by the injury for much more than a span of two missed games. He's a major keeper candidate, but his stock for 2010 may be slipping.