In his start Monday, Ferreras lasted five innings for the first time this season, and while he gave up five hits and three runs, he matched his season-high with six strikeouts while enjoying his first walk-free outing of the season.

After months of speculation, Zunino has arrived in Seattle. In 185 at-bats at Triple-A Tacoma he hit 11 bombs with 43 RBI which, on the surface, looks great but with a BB/K ratio of 14/59, we recommend you be cautious with your expectations. Zunino has the potential to be a very good backstop (and he sure looked good in lining his first big league hit — see below), but he could also struggle offensively early on as we’ve seen with so many young catchers as they try to adjust to the demands of handling a big league staff.

The Mets say that when Wheeler gets here, they’re going to go with the Fantasy value draining six-man staff a couple of times through the rotation. But come on. Let’s get real… that can’t last.

On the plus side, after missing the Podcast last week, we were back this week. On the down side, so were the technical issues, causing about 90 seconds of dead air early on (when it starts, skip forward to the 4:00 minute mark) as we got kicked out the system — apparently as a result of a storm system. At any rate, on this week’s episode of RotoRob’s Fantasy Baseball Weekly Podcast (heard every Thursday at 9 p.m. EST on Blogtalkradio), muddled on and were were able to bring you plenty of Fantasy baseball goodness.

Of course, rain may threaten all the fun, but if you ask Wainwright, he might tell you that missing the Mets wouldn’t be the worst thing that could happen to him. After all, he’s inexplicably struggled in his career against them (1-4, 7.29 ERA in seven games, five of them starts). WTF?

The Giants tried to beef up the offensive side of the organization by taking sticks with three of their first four picks this year, headlined by Florida prep shortstop Arroyo. Picking him surprised some, as Arroyo wasn’t a projected first rounder; in fact, most experts ranked him at the bottom of or even outside any top 100 list. He’s got some power, with potentially more to tap into if he can refine his approach. What cinched it for the Giants was Arroyo’s MVP showing for USA Baseball’s 18-under team.

For Braun owners, the consensus here at RotoRob.com is that we are very sorry. He is not someone that you can just go to waiver wire and replace. There is hope in knowing that this could take a while and that MLB must be sure before these hefty suspensions are handed out. Also there is no need to scour the Brewers farm system because there isn’t really much there that could really translate on a Major League level. 

We’re still a bit skeptical about his long-term ability to hit southpaws but right now he’s seeing the ball and batting with a level of confidence we haven’t seen since his amazing 2009 campaign. It’s time to find a home for Lind in all formats.

That Peterson wound up in Em City was no surprise, but make no mistake – he’s unlikely to stay at third base, so will probably wind up across the diamond at first. Still, winning the Mountain West Triple Crown last year was a pretty damn impressive feat, and his excellent batting eye should take him far in the pros.

The Astros skipped taking the Houston native in last year’s draft, instead letting him slip to Pittsburgh, which couldn’t sign him (despite offering a $3.8 million signing bonus). Appel can bring the heat, regularly throwing in the 93 to 97 mph range, a weapon that allowed him to become the all-time strikeout king for the Cardinal (see video below). He should move through the Astro system quickly.

At least 10 teams have scouted him, with the Yankees, Tampa Bay and Cincy reportedly showing the most interest in this 18-year-old, expected to go within the top 20 rounds. Drouin dominated this year, putting up a 1.20 ERA and mowing down 80 batters in just 47 IP thanks to a fastball that usually resides in the 89-92 mph, but has been clocked even higher of late (check out the video below for an idea of how hard he throws). He’s also been lauded for his command and presence.

He sat Friday and Saturday and that seemed to awaken him somewhat as he singled, walked and scored Sunday and then homered and tripled, driving in two runs on Monday. It was Weeks’ first long ball since May 15 and just his fourth of the season after pounding at least 20 jacks in each of the last three seasons.

Yogi Berra, it is claimed, once said “You can observe a lot just by watching.” You can learn a lot too, and some of those things you learn can take you in unusual directions. The thought behind this post, began … Continue reading →

Myers has been tearing it up down on the farm, smoking five long balls with 19 RBI and a stellar .341 BA over the last 10 games. He’s chomping at the bit to show off his talents in the bigs, but he shouldn’t have to wait much longer.

For starters, the Yanks had lost a season-high five straight games, so desperately needed any win. But to start a series against their arch rivals with a victory to pull within a game of the lead in the AL East is massive.

OMG. After a four-week hiatus because of the NBA and NHL playoffs, RotoRob was back in action Thursday, returning to RotoRob’s Fantasy Baseball Weekly Podcast, heard every Thursday at 9 p.m. EST on Blogtalkradio. Tim and I — who hadn’t done a show together in even longer than that — were reunited to bring you our colourful Fantasy baseball banter.

Of course, that’s more a commentary on the sad state of the shortstop position than it is on Dozier’s emergence as anything more than deep AL-only league fodder.

The Blue Jays are now, after a road trip through Tampa and Boston, sitting at 15-24. They are in dead last in their division. And yet, I am encouraged. Through April, and even through the first few games in May, … Continue reading →

Full Count, a new book by veteran sports journalist Jeff Blair, tells the story of the Blue Jays’ decline in the 20 years after the team’s World Series wins.

If you’re a Toronto sports fan, you have suffered. Neither the Leafs nor the Jays have given you real reason to hope since the Clinton administration. The Raptors took a couple of steps towards respectability before losing franchise players and collapsing into a perennial abyss. Meanwhile, TFC barely scores goals, while the Argos pinball between [...]

The Toronto Blue Jays defeated the Seattle Mariners 10-2 on Sunday afternoon. They were unable to build on the consistent results against Seattle and Boston early in the week, and scored early and often. Manager John Gibbons was victimized by … Continue reading →