Updated weekly, the market watch will keep an eye on the 'stock' of MLB players based on their recent performance. Check back each weekend to find the latest bargains or duds.
(Updated 5/28/07)
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Ryan Howard made his presence known in only his 2nd game back from the DL, with 2 home runs and 4 RBI. If you haven't activated from the DL yet, do so ASAP.
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Ichiro Suzuki has been on a tear during his 20 game hitting steak with a .432 batting average. He now has a .339 average with 11 steals on the season and is looking the player we expected coming into the season.
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Casey Kotchman has also been on a recent tear, hitting .444 over his last 15 games but with only 6 extra base hits. He has an outstanding 15/12 bb/k ratio, but his home run potential is limited at this point in his career.
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Mike Napoli had a 3 game homer streak snapped this weekend, but extended his hitting streak to 13 games. During that time, he has hit 4 of his 5 home runs on the season and has shown flashes of the player that tore up the AL upon his promotion back in 2006. His bb/k ratio isn't impressive, but in the last week he has 4 walks and only 4 strikeouts.
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David Wright has started living up to the first round hype that was being generated coming into the season by hitting 4 home runs over a 4 game span which ended earlier this week. He now has 8 home runs and 10 steals on the season. His value is slightly lower than normal due to his .270 average, which should increase as he cuts down on his strikeouts, which currently stands at 23.7%. Over the course of his 3 year career, he was never over 20% so expect this to drop.
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Hunter Pence continues to make his run at the NL Rookie of the Year award by combining good speed with solid power and limiting his strikeouts. He enters Memorial Day, hitting .365 with only 13 strikeouts in 104 at bats and 13 extra base hits. Accounting for his 3 steals, only increases his value.
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Angel Guzman is being groomed for the closer's job in Chicago and could take over at any time. Control is the issue with Guzman, but in the past week since this announcement came out, he has thrown 4.2 innings, allowed one hit and struck out 3. During this time, he has also walked 3 batters, but he has the potential to be a dominant 9th inning guy.
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Travis Buck is an underrated commodity right now due to his low batting average and unimpressive home run totals. A closer look, however, reveals a possible hidden gem. Included in his 112 plate appearances is 20 walks and 16 extra base hits. Expect his average to increase over the course of the season and for his home run totals to increase as some of these doubles begin to clear the fence.
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Ryan Shealy made a nice return from the DL recently by hitting over .350 in the past 2 weeks. During this time he has raised his average to .221 on the year. He is a big home run prospect and is a relative bargain after his horrific start.
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Edwin Encarnacion was recalled from AAA this week and has started coming on with the bat, going 10-28 since his return with 2 home runs and a 3/1 bb/k ratio.
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Hanley Ramirez has been moved back to the 3rd spot in the lineup and should be able to increase his RBI numbers in that spot in the lineup. Ramirez is making his case for 1st round status in the 2008 draft, by hitting .320/.395/.518 this year with 7 home runs and 15 steals.
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Jason Bay has been quiet so far in 2007, especially for a 2nd/3rd round talent, but he has shown signs recently of heating up. He is 9 for his last 16 with 2 home runs, 2 doubles and a triple. His numbers now stand at .302/.380/.495 and should only get better. His career slugging percentage is .540 and he has never slugged under .500 during a single season so expect this hot streak to continue.
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Brandon Webb now has 67 k's in 77 IP, which translates to a k/9 of 7.8 for the season. If he can keep up this pace, this would represent his best ratio since his rookie season. During his rookie year, he did strikeout 172 in 180.2 IP, so the talent is there. Yes, he won the CY Young last year, but if he can increase his strikeout numbers he becomes that much more valuable.
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Kevin Youklis' hitting streak now stands at 20 games and his batting average is .354. While his previous career high in average was .279, Youklis seems to have improved his average simply by cutting down his strikeouts. In 2006 he struck out 120 times (21.1%) while in 2007 he has struck out only 24 times so far (12.7%). While, he won't hit .350, he could hit .315 - .320 if he is able to continue this pace.
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Alex Gordon has made improvements over the past week, with 3 consecutive 2-hit games. He is having a smaller fantasy impact than anyone expected, but it looks like the worst is behind him.
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B.J. Upton has brought his average back up over .320 and has actually not struck out in his past 4 games, his longest stretch of the season. If this is a sign of things to come, you may be able to acquire him relatively cheaply due to the amount of focus on his 56 k's for the season.
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Al Reyes has seen his ERA double in the past 2 weeks, and you have to wonder how long he can maintain the level of success he has shown so far in 2007. The 37 year old has a k/bb ratio of 4.5 vs. a career mark slightly over 2.0. Expect his recent struggles to continue and you may only have a short period in which to sell high.
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Alex Gonzalez's career high in home runs coming into 2007 was 23, which he set back in 2004. While his ownership rate of less than 10% in both ESPN and CBS reflect that their isn't much of an opportunity to sell high, he won't keep up this pace.
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Mike Mussina had his best outing of the season this past weekend, but for someone who has traditionally held a lot of his value in his W/L record, this may be a good time to sell high. The Yankees don't look like they are going to be the offensive jugernaut that they have been in past seasons, and a 38 year old with a ceiling of 10/12 wins and an ERA of 4.50 isn't someone you want to rely on.
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John Maine has faltered recently while walking 16 batters in his last 22 innnings. His overall numbers, 6-2, 2.79 with 57 k's in 61 IP look awfully good, but unless he can harness his control - trade him while he still has a high value.
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Johnny Damon is battling a few lingering injuries and it looks like his 2007 season is going to be a disappointment for fantasy owners that were expecting a repeat of his 2006 production. His numbers aren't terrible, but in a lineup that isn't producing and with the limited power he's displayed this year, he is looking more like Juan Pierre than Carl Crawford.
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Ryan Dempster will be removed from the closing role in Chicago at some point this year. Who knows when it will happen, but with Guzman pitching well so far out of the bullpen, it could be within the next month.
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Roger Clemens' is going to be pitching in the AL East instead of the NL Central and expect that to have a huge impact on his fantasy numbers.
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Miguel Tejada has turned into a light-hitting shortstop almost overnight. Even with his recent home run surge, 3 in his last 5 games, he still has only 11 extra base hits in 200 at bats this season. If you can find an owner that thinks his recent success is a sign of things to come, sell as high as possible.
Prior Market Watches
May 16th 2007