T.I.P.S. for Thome, Barnes, Alvarez, and more…

Past Week’s top 20 (Yahoo! standard 5 x5 leagues)

1. Albert Pujols(notes)
2. Rafael Furcal(notes)
3. Adam Wainwright(notes)
4. Jim Thome
5. Carlos Gonzalez(notes)
6. Octavio Dotel(notes)
7. Clint Barmes

8. Joey Votto(notes)
9. Vladimir Guerrero(notes)
10. Ricky Nolasco(notes)
11. Torii Hunter(notes)
12. Felix Hernandez(notes)
13. Hanley Ramirez(notes)
14. Michael Bourn(notes)
15. David Wright(notes)
16. Andres Torres(notes)
17. Carl Crawford(notes)
18. Matt Kemp(notes)
19. Dexter Fowler(notes)
20. Sean Rodriguez(notes)

*All stats were up-to-date as of 7/5.

I wanted to highlight two Trends this week, making the 4-spot on the top 20 Jim Thome and the Minnesota Twins and in the 7^th spot Colorado Rockies Clint Barnes.

Jim Thome should be available in most yahoo leagues and could be a nice addition to your lineup as a  backup utility player.

Brad Rysz, RotoExperts.com said this week,

Let Thome be your Homie …
With two homers Saturday, Jim Thome(notes) passed Harmon Killebrew for 10th all time on the home run list. The slugger has gotten some extra playing time recently and has earned a regular slot in the lineup now that Michael Cuddyer(notes) has moved to third and Nick Punto(notes) is manning short. Even when J.J. Hardy(notes) returns, it seems that Punto will be the odd man out, not Thome.

And about Clint Barmes(notes),

(He) has done his part in minimizing the damage. Barmes was the seventh-ranked player last week, hitting .400 with two homers, seven RBIs, and eight runs. Barmes, who is shortstop and second-base eligible, now has seven homers and 41 RBIs on the season.”

I have mentioned in many blogs the name, Pedro Alvarez. A young third basemen for the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Pirates have quietly developed a team full of young superstars including fellow teammates: outfielder Andrew McCutchen and catcher Carlos Santana.

In this weeks T.I.P.S., Pedro Alvarez is listed as one of two Suggestions:

Add Pedro Alvarez(notes) …

When Alvarez was called up in mid-June, his ownership skyrocketed as one of baseball’s best prospects and was expected to hit immediately upon arrival. Instead, Alvarez struggled and fantasy teams bailed on him as quickly as they scooped him up…READ MORE

Who moves first – Cliff Lee or Roy Oswalt?

So what does Seattle Mariners ace Cliff Lee think about the possibility of becoming a Minnesota Twin?

Nothing yet, but you can read the latest news on Cliff Lee and the Twins in,

Report: Twins offer top prospects Ramos and Hicks for Cliff Lee

by David Brown  posted for Big League Stew a Y!Sports Blog.

No matter how excited me may get for a Cliff Lee trade as teams gear up for the 2^nd half of the season and their playoff runs we cannot forget what is stated properly in this Big League Stew blog,

“Lee might be the best pitcher in the majors, but even the best can't guarantee a World Series championship. He was great for the Phillies last season and they still finished second to the Yankees.”

However, strengthening their bullpen with another closer and a new ace in their starting rotation could make them the favorites in the AL Central ahead of the Chicago White Sox and Detroit Tigers.

Mariners would be offering up Cliff Lee and who?

David Aardsma – Twins possibly may also want closer David Aardsma.

For Ramos and Hicks –who are they and what do they offer?

Wilson Ramos – is just 22, and has already has sipped coffee in the majors (earlier this season, when Joe Mauer(notes)was sidelined) and projects to be the best power hitter in the system. With catcher Joe Mauer being a perennial all-star and beloved by Minnesota it is unlikely that Ramos will be able to amount to more than an expendable asset in Minnesota, which works out well for a Cliff Lee trade.

Aaron Hicks – an outfielder is even younger, 20. This young prospect has struggled in Class A Beloit the Past 1 ½ seasons but did have a .900 OPS in rookie ball. “Baseball America says Hicks has the best strike-zone judgment and is the best athlete in the system, and projects him as a big-league right-fielder by 2013.”

*** The real question is how many additional wins can trading for Cliff Lee bring the Minnesota Twins this postseason and World Series.***

Joe Mauer and the Fifth Annual All-Wiener Team

 I found the July 1^st Yahoo! ROTO ARCADE post by Brand Evans titled Lames: Magic-less Wandy leads 2010 All-Wiener team to be quiet interesting. Mainly because one of the players lucky enough to make the 5^th annual All-Weiner Team was Minnesota Twins catcher Joe Mauer. Ironically, Mauer leads all players in the All-Star voting.

C: Joe Mauer(notes), Min

Overall Rank (Preseason, Current): 13, 170 
"Mauer's lack of muscle, discussed in length two weeks ago, is shocking only to those who stupidly invested a first-round pick in his services. Though the AL's leading All-Star vote getter may disagree, the power redux is very real. His 1.67 GB/FB, decreased success on fastballs and spacious Target Field surroundings will continue to keep his Killebrewian side hidden – and his value behind Miguel Olivo (notes). He's still a keen-eyed hitter who's invaluable in OBP formats, but in conventional circles, he'll be an above average producer, relative to position, in BA, runs and RBI." 

Fearless Forecast (rest of season): 296 at-bats, .316 BA, 6 HR, 36 RBI, 39 R, 1 SB

Earlier in the fantasy season I was offered a trade – Miguel Cabrera and Zach Grienke for Joe Mauer and Stephen Strasburg. I turned the offer away immediately, why? Two Reasons.

The first is really simple, Miguel Cabrera! Right now, no one in Major League Baseball swings a better bat than Miguel Cabrera.  


During the offseason he has made tremendous strides towards bettering himself and has straightened out all issues in his personal life that may have bothered him in the past. Simply put, he is a man on a mission, an inspired player with scary talent = clutch production and his 2010 stats don’t lie. 


Cabrera also has a total of 61 RUNS compared to Mauer’s 44 RUNS.

I have Morneau batting in a utility slot for me and the idea of that Twin Tandem sounded too good to be true.  If at any point I would have seen a drop in Morneau’s production which could be attributed to an increase in Mauer’s production who bats in front of Morneau, I would have considered it. Morneau’s numbers are outstanding and show no signs of slowing down. 


Mauer never seemed to get started this season. 

The dynamics of the Twins batting lineup and the types of hits Mauer’s getting are simply moving the runners and not scoring them.  Justin Morneau fills a utility slot on my team and though he drives in a lot of base runners, he wasn’t driving in and couldn’t drive Mauer in enough for me to consider breaking up my Brennan Boesch-Miguel Cabrera Tiger Tandem. 

Today's Starters to Watch

Fix your Bullpen for the 2^nd Half of Fantasy Baseball!

The All-Star Break is nearing and your bullpen is looking weak going into the second half of the fantasy season.  


Two Free Agent Pickups could change your season and Thursday offers the chance to watch to starting pitchers who won’t be free agents much longer:
SP Trevor Cahill– Oak Athletics (owned in 49% yahoo fantasy leagues)

SP Carl Pavano – Minnesota Twins (owned in 57% of yahoo fantasy leagues)

Trevor Cahill is the young right hander you may not have heard about yet, if not, he’s the one who’s been picking up the slack for the disappointing Ben Sheets. In the past month, he’s averaged nearly a 1K/per inning and has held a 2.50 ERA. Cahill holds a record of  7-2 on the season with an ERA of 2.88 in only 12 Starts.


GAME PREVIEW:Facing Baltimore Orioles 

Game info: 7:05 pm EDT Thu Jul 1, 2010 vs. Orioles J. Arrieta (2-1, 6.20 ERA) 

TV: CSCA, MASN2

Carl Pavano - Don’t forget Pavano was an all-star in 2006, and was a big and expensive acquisition by the Yankees only a few years ago. Pavano  was the hampered by injuries but didn’t take his upwards of $40 million from the Yankees and retire. Pavano has battled back and fought hard to regain his fastball and a changeup that looks better than ever. Pavano recently mentioned how being injuried had set the team back while his contract had locked the team up financially. He felt bad for the position it had put his team in but they stuck with him through it all and he is making it worth wait for the Minnesota Twins.

GAME PREVIEW: Facing the Tampa Bay 

Game info: 8:10 pm EDT Thu Jul 1, 2010 vs. Tampa Bay Rays J. Niemann (6-2, 2.72 ERA) 

·     TV: SUN, FSNO

Carl Pavano – Behind the Mustache! Back to Back Complete-Games - Beat Santana, Beat Halladay

Behind the Mustache! Back to Back Complete-Games - Beat Santana, Beat Halladay

June 26^th at Citi Field the Minninesota Twins beat the New York Mets 6-0 in a 3-hit complete-game shutout thrown by Carl Pavano. Facing Pavano for the Mets was veteran lefty Johan Santana. 

"I knew I was going against a pitcher who just had a great outing. There's not much room for mistakes," Santana said. "It's just they were better in the first inning and took advantage right away and I think that's the difference."

Pavano (9-6) gave up three hits in his second consecutive complete game, both of which have come against an NL East ace. The well-traveled right-hander tossed a four-hitter Sunday to beat Roy Halladay and the NL champion Phillies 4-1. 

He only walked one Saturday while striking out four and never allowed a runner to reach third base. Of his last 12 starts, Pavano has pitched into at least the seventh inning in 11 of those contests.


 In his last two games he has give up only one run, and now has his sixth career shutout.  Pavano had two hits and a sacrifice at the plate for Minnesota, which ended a four-game skid.  The Twins began the day a half-game up on Detroit in the AL Central.

Game Recap: Twins vs Mets

Read more on the June 26th Mets shutout: Pavano out-pitches Johan Santana 

Game Recap: Twins vs. Phillies 
Read more on Pavano’s complete-game win against the Phillies on June 20^th