Matt Adams

All posts tagged Matt Adams

Fantasy Baseball 2014-Sleepers & Deeper Sleepers to consider: INFIELDERS

Posted by fantasyfurnace on February 16, 2014
Posted in: MLB. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , . 14 Comments

With pitchers and catchers now reporting, it’s safe to say that it’s time to prepare for your upcoming drafts for the 2014 MLB season. Mock drafts are the best way to give yourself some practice and to see who other owners are gravitating towards in these make-believe draft rooms. Meantime we have put together our Sleepers to watch segment; this year by position. We also included Deeper Sleepers for those in leagues of 14 and up. Good luck to you all this season.

Sleeper: 1B Matt Adams-Cardinals- Adams began hitting as soon as he was called up and will play a much more important role with St. Louis this year. Among the 42 first basemen who posted at least 300 plate appearances last season, Adams’ .503 slugging percentage was ranked fifth best. In just 319 at bats last season, Adams belted 17 home runs. If you ever needed to see what the recipe for a sleeper looks like, Adams would be it. With good reason we are expecting the portly Adams to tally around 25 dingers.

#53 Matt Adams

#53 Matt Adams has 25-30 home run potential over a full season which makes him an excellent sleeper candidate. Photo: Jeff Roberson/AP

Deeper Sleeper: 1B Kyle Blanks-Padres- Between lack of playing time and some injuries, Blanks has not had an adequate platform in which to show off his talents. We’ll classify him as a ‘hold and watch’ until and unless we see his at bats increase to our liking. We do know that he has the power potential with 28 homers in just under 800 ABs which equates to around 23 HRs a year. The Pods also have Seth Smith and Yonder Alonso at first base, so the competition is there- Blanks just needs the opportunity.

Sleeper: 2B Anthony Rendon-Nationals- 2013 was Rendon’s first full year in the majors which proved to be more like a ‘tale of two seasons’ in that he had a relevant first half .301/.352/.460, and then with a series of injuries put up a .234/.310/.340 second half ,(217 plate appearances). His excellent hitting is what made Rendon go 6th overall in the 2011 draft. Go by his first half numbers and cash in on this sleeper.

Deeper Sleeper: 2B Jemile Weeks-Orioles- We’re labeling Weeks as a ‘hold and watch’ until he nabs the starting job in Baltimore. Acquired by the Orioles in December, Weeks can fatten up two stats for you; runs scored and stolen bases.

Sleeper: 3B Matt Dominguez-Astros- The Marlins gave up on the 23-year old who still ended up blasting 20 home runs on the year. In a category that’s one of the more barren ones in fantasy, Dominguez needs to improve on his BA (.241 last year) as he already has the power and defense to join some of the better third basemen in the league.

#30 Matt Dominguez uncorks one of his 20 hone runs last year. He's destined to become a top 10 3rd baseman of the future. Photo: Troy Taormina/USA Today

#30 Matt Dominguez uncorks one of his 20 hone runs last year. He is destined to become a top 10 3B of the future. Photo: Troy Taormina/USA Today

Deeper Sleeper: 3B Cody Asche-  Asche is another player you might consider taking a flier on to start the season. The soon to be 24 year old hit 15 homers and had 11 stolen bases in 2/3 of a season in Triple-A last year and if he performs in Philadelphia this season and keeps the gig even when Maikel Franco is ready, then he could become a viable deeper sleeper.

Sleeper: SS Jody Mercer-Pirates- This sophomore hitter is ready to contribute until he is replaced possibly by top prospect Alen Hanson. Mercer can hit for power, has some speed, and in 365 PA’s batted .285. He will certainly make a top N.L. only deep sleeper.

Deeper Sleeper: SS Xander Bogaerts-Red Sox- Probably better to consider the 21 year old Bogaerts as a Hot Prospect as he very well could end up the season as one of Boston’s top three hitters! If you have some bench room in deeper leagues, don’t pass this stud-to-be by. His initiation into the majors came in 18 games last year in the Red Sox post season against some of the top pitchers in baseball to wit Bogaerts had some excellent at bats holding his own against aces like Max Scherzer Michael Wacha, and Adam Wainwright.

#72 Xander Baegarts slides safely into third base after tripling in game three of the 2013 World Series. Photo: AP

#72 Xander Bogaerts slides safely into third base after tripling in Game 3 of the 2013 World Series. Photo: AP

Next up: Catchers and Outfielders

Advertisement

Fantasy Baseball-Week 8 Waiver Wire Pickups:

Posted by fantasyfurnace on May 21, 2012
Posted in: MLB. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

We have come to the first of four milestones in the long fantasy baseball season. Most leagues have around 22 weeks of competing in the regular season and at least 3 weeks of playoffs, making the season about 25% over at this point. Some managers have been a bit frustrated by the under-achieving Red Sox and Yankees while others are reaping the rewards of some over-achieving teams like Cleveland and Baltimore. Meantime for those interested in who’s hot enough to make our Waiver Wire Pickup list this week, here are another five to consider..

Jonathan Lucroy-C-Brewers-When we started putting this list together on Sunday night, Lucroy was owned in 39% of leagues. What a difference a day and seven RBI’s in Sunday’s game makes. He is now owned in 46% of leagues and since he’s not playing on Monday,(manager Ron Roenicke will stick to his plan of using George Kottaras as the catcher when Randy Wolf is on the mound), the adds will slow until Tuesday when he is scheduled to be behind the plate again. How any catcher batting .342 on the season and on pace to knock in 108 runs is still so widely available is astonishing. In addition to his 4 HR’s he has 3 triples and 7 doubles, proving how well he’s been mashing the ball. There isn’t a more productive catcher widely available on waivers so we place Lucroy in our ‘Must Adds’ for the week!

Jonathan Lucroy, after knocking in seven runs on Sunday, has become one of the most added players in leagues. Photo: the associated press

Dayan Viciedo-OF-White Sox- Viciedo, who just turned 23 this past March, has been playing out of his mind in his last seven games. Batting a torrid .444 (12 for 27), he also has belted 4 home runs and has 10 RBI’s and 5 runs scored. Since May 13th he had added almost 50 points to his batting average which admittedly is still low at .245, but if you can afford to grab him, we recommend riding the LF/RF until he shows signs of slowing down. There isn’t enough on his major league resume to go on as he has only had about 200 career AB’s before this season when he’s finally be given the start in LF. He is currently only owned in around 20% of leagues and worth a flier in deeper leagues.

Alfonso Soriano-OF-Cubs- Remember him? Soriano is now entering his 14th year in the bigs and still possesses some punch in his bat. In the last four seasons, Sori has averaged 25 homers. His biggest enemy is the injury bug and that’s why we say that there is some risk involved with Sori on your team. He’s been hot of late hitting safely in seven of his last eight games with three HR’s, 7 RBI’s and 10 runs scored. He has a .360 batting average over the last six games and has raised his average 20 points to .270, very close to his career .274 BA. He has had some knee soreness and said he will play through it while making adjustments. Soriano is available in about 2/3 of leagues.

Wade Miley-SP/RP-Diamondbacks- This 25 year old southpaw just picked up his fifth win on Sunday on a six hit shutout vs the Kansas City Royals. Miley has taken full advantage of the opportunity to join the starting rotation ever since Josh Collmenter was sent to the bullpen. He’s sporting a 2.41 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP. His control has been impeccable as indicated by his 30K’s against 14 BB’s. The reliever turned starter this year will face the Brewers on Friday followed by the Giants in S.F., the team that he earned his first victory from back on April 8th. We like Miley and think he qualifies as one of our sleeper candidates. Among all pitchers in Yahoo! leagues, Miley is ranked 82nd. He’s owned in just 25% of leagues and makes for a nice pickup in 12+ leagues.

#67 Diamondback’s Wade Miley takes his 5-1 record and faces Milwaukee on Friday. He has become one of our sleeper candidates. Photo: Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

Matt Adams-1B-Cardinals- This highly touted prospect made his season debut against the Dodgers on Sunday and went 2-4.  This is not why we think he’s worth a speculative add of course. What we do find intriguing is that in his last 152 games in Double-A and Triple-A in the Cardinals organization, he has 41 homers and a .300+ batting average. With 1B Lance Berkman (torn meniscus) out for up to eight weeks, De Aza has an opportunity to show his talents and make a case for staying in the lineup should Berkman return. (There has been chatter about Berkman not returning this season). He’s barely owned (just 15%) so if you have the room or want a sub for Berkman, or you are in deeper leagues, give Adams a shot.