RotoScoop.com – The Scoop on Fantasy Sports

By Dalton Del Don Over his last three starts, Melky Cabrera has four homers. With Hideki Matsui’s knees still a major issue and Brett Gardner off to a horrendous start (.240/.283/.300), Cabrera should be looking at increased playing time. Last season was a humbling experience for Cabrera, who doesn’t figure to take anything for granted…

By Dalton Del Don After Carlos Quentin hit just two homers over 79 at-bats this spring, it was safe to question whether his wrist injury would cost him some power in 2009. After all, he may have played a bit over his head last season even discounting the injury. However, with seven long balls over…

By Dalton Del Don I don’t care if it came against the Giants, Clayton Kershaw’s performance last week was special. A one-hitter with a 13:1 K:BB ratio over seven innings? He just turned 21 less than a month ago! He’s had about as easy of a schedule as possible through two starts, but this is…

By Dalton Del Don I write this coming down from a 103-plus degree fever, so if anything comes across as even more off the wall than usual, blame the meds. Edwin Encarnacion currently has a .167 batting average, but his 4:8 K:BB ratio is highly encouraging. He makes for a decent buy-low if the opportunity…

By Dalton Del Don The first week of the season might be the toughest time to write about baseball. There’s no more looking forward before fantasy drafts, yet the sample size is so small there’s also little information to form an opinion about what’s happened. As Joe Sheehan might say, no one would notice a…

By Dalton Del Don One of the bigger surprises so far might be the Giants’ offense exploding for 10 runs during their opener, including three homers. For comparison‘s sake, the team didn’t hit their third home run until the eighth game of the season last year. As for Tim Lincecum’s poor outing, I wouldn’t worry…

By Dalton Del Don First, a recap of my division previews: NL West 1. L.A. Dodgers 2. Arizona Diamondbacks 3. S.F. Giants 4. Colorado Rockies 5. S.D. Padres NL Central 1. St. Louis Cardinals 2. Chicago Cubs 3. Cincinatti Reds 4. Milwaukee Brewers 5. Houston Astros 6. Pittsburgh Pirates NL East 1. Atlanta Braves 2.…

By Dalton Del Don 1. Minnesota Twins Hitting: In one of the toughest divisions to predict, the Twins enter 2009 with a bunch of health questions. Joe Mauer is the team’s most important player, and his ability to recover will be paramount.  Justin Morneau isn’t as good as MVP voters suggest, but he’s capable of…

By Dalton Del Don 1. Boston Red Sox Hitting: With no Manny Ramirez and a declining David Ortiz, the lineup certainly isn’t as formidable as it was 2-3 years ago. Still, Kevin Youkilis and Dustin Pedroia have developed into stars, and Jason Bay is a pretty good No. 6 hitter. Boston shouldn’t expect much from…

By Dalton Del Don 1. Los Angeles Angels Hitting: What a terrible division. Still, the Angels remain the class of the West, although injuries have certainly made it closer. Kendry Morales should be a fine option at first, and Bobby Abreu was a great bargain signing. Vladimir Guerrero is in decline, but Mike Napoli will…

By Dalton Del Don 1. St. Louis Cardinals Hitting: The Cardinals don’t jump out at you on paper, but there are no real weaknesses in the lineup, especially if Skip Schumaker can remain at second base. Having the game’s best hitter has a big ripple effect on the rest of the lineup, and although losing…

By Dalton Del Don 1. Atlanta Braves Hitting: The Braves hardly have the best offense in their division, but they do have two superstars in their lineup, and Kelly Johnson, Yunel Escobar and Casey Kotchman could all take the next step this year. However, the outfield is probably below average, and Jeff Francoeur’s development (or…

By Dalton Del Don One of my biggest regrets during draft season is not having Kevin Slowey on a single team of mine. He’s never going to win any ERA titles with his susceptibility to the long ball, but his pinpoint control makes Slowey one of the bigger helps in WHIP.  He’s also showing signs…

By Dalton Del Don 1. Los Angeles Dodgers Hitting: Orlando Hudson should be an asset when not hurt, but Casey Blake is consistently overrated by media types who care about things like being a “clubhouse leader.” Still, James Loney should improve, and a healthy Rafael Furcal would really help. I do worry about Russell Martin…

By Dalton Del Don Call me crazy, but I currently view Jason Motte as a top-10 closer. Sure, there are safer options, but then again, there’s also quite a bit of uncertainty in the closer’s market right now (B.J. Ryan, Brian Fuentes, Francisco Cordero, etc.). There’s always the chance Tony La Russa goes all Ryan…

By Dalton Del Don If anyone is interested in joining the RotoScoop Invitational fantasy baseball league, there might be an opening or two due to time conflicts. Comment here or email me at seven3d@aol.com. The draft is tomorrow (Thursday) at 6 PST. Ryan Braun’s intercostal strain has officially become a major concern. Considering it’s the…

By Dalton Del Don Here is my current top-50 but realize every format is different. For instance, in a two-catcher league, I would have upped their values and included three of them here. 1. Jose Reyes 2. Hanley Ramirez 3. Albert Pujols 4. David Wright 5. Grady Sizemore 6. Miguel Cabrera 7. Ryan Braun 8.…