For the better part of fantasy baseball history, April has always been known as a pitcher’s month. But as it currently stands, it has been the bats that have been hot in the first few weeks of the fantasy baseball season.
For those of you who drafted Prince Fielder and/or Shane Victorino, the past few weeks have been rather enjoyable, but is it really going to last?
Well let’s take a look at this week’s roundup to find out more. And when you're finished hop on over to our Week Two Pitching Matchups.
Hot Bats Into 4/11 to 4/17:
1. Willie Bloomquist, 3B, SS,OF, ARI:
Willie freaking Bloomquist? I know, right. This guy!
Bloomquist has been tearing it up over the past two weeks, going 9/23 with seven runs scored, a solo shot, five RBI and 3 SB.
Bloomquist has thus far redefined the perfect fantasy baseball player. He is a multi-position qualifier, has a great stat line to date and plays in a favorable stadium.
All reasons why you should consider this his peak.
Bloomquist is not really known for his fantasy prowess, and over the course of the next seven days he gets to try his hand at dealing with the Cardinals and Giants—vastly different competition from the Reds and Cubs, so take his start with a grain of salt.
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2. Prince Fielder, 1B, MIL:
For those of you who scooped up Prince Fielder in the early goings of your draft, kudos!
Fielder has been nothing short of spectacular hitting 11/25 with four runs scored, two solo shots, and an incredible 11 home runs.
The best part is, the Brewers are on fire right now, and have two upcoming favorable series in Pittsburgh and Washington, so make sure Fielder is there every day.
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3. Shane Victorino, OF, PHI:
April has always been good to the Flyin Hawaiian and this year is no different.
The Phillies center fielder has gone 13/28 with a whopping 8 runs scored, a solo homer and five RBI. In addition to all of that Victorino has also stole two bases and is hitting .464.
The Phillies as a team are just red hot right now, which is very odd considering Cole Hamels, Ryan Howard and Ben Francisco are normally cold at this point, and Chase Utley being out with an injury.
But, c'est la vie.
The Phillies get set to open a series against the Washington Nationals, so keep Victorino in your line up all week and enjoy the ride.
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4. Dustin Pedroia, 2B, BOS:
And here come the Red Sox!
When the Sox get hot, they stay hot. And when Pedroia gets going, he’s a one man wrecking crew which is where we are right now.
Pedroia—sleepless over the Red Sox 0-6 start—came home and hit 9/14 with five RBI against the mighty Yankees, and has gone 11/24 with four runs scored, a single tater, and of course those five ribbies.
Oh, did I mention he’s hitting .458?
Pedroia is one guy who sticks to his trends, especially when he’s hot, so keep him started this week. Also, remember that when Pedroia plays well, the other Red Sox seem to follow suit, making their value this week potentially better.
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5. Alex Avila, C, DET:
In only 25 AB, Avila is starting to show fantasy owners why he should be considered in more than just AL Only leagues.
In his short time at the backstop, Avila has gone 6/18 with 4 runs scored, 3 home runs, and 7 total RBI, alongside a nice .333 AVG.
if his bat stays hot, the Tigers will give him more work, at which point, would be a noteworthy WW grab—currently at 16% ownership.
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A Quick List Of Players Gone Cold:
In the early goings of the season, the cold list is actually a better tool than the hot because it allows a fantasy owner to ignore all the hype surrounding a player in the pre-season dawn (Mike Pelfrey, anyone?).
Cold players are almost always players who quickly come back down to earth at the start of the season, or, are players who are curiously stuck in a rut.
Either way, its information you need to know about, so here we are.
| Mike Pelfrey, SP, Mets: I couldn’t wait for this to happen after getting grilled by folks who swore a lifetime 50/50 pitcher was going to repeat his 2010 performance. Pelfrey is pitching right about where he should be: lousy! He a 6.14 ERA after giving up 11 ER and faces a hard hitting Rockies team tonight, so this time listen to me and leave him alone. |
| Jorge Posada, DH, Yanks: What happened? After a nice little giddy-up, Posada has gone 0 for his last 15 with little relief in sight. If you were like me a couple of days ago, you already dropped him in favor of Detroit Tiger Alex Avila. |
| Matt Wieters, C, Baltimore: Must be a catcher thing. Wieters has gone 0 for 13, with a very ugly 12:2 K:BB ratio. With any young catcher you are going to have growing pains, but if Wieters doesn’t improve soon, you may want to consider dropping him altogether. |
| John Lannan, SP, Nats: Through 12 IP Lannan has given up 12 hits, 4 runs scored, 4 ER with only 7 K’s (4 K/9). Lannan isn’t going to be a very productive fantasy option this year, in case you’re looking at him. He doesn’t provide many strikes and can’t seem to ever reach the sixth inning most of the time. |
| Carlos Gomez, OF, Brewers: In 33 AB Gomez has just seven hits batting .212, and if things continue you can bet Gomez will be pulled. Hurry, go out, right now, and grab his backup (Nyjer Morgan) off of the wire. He’s hitting .474 with 9 hits in only 19 AB, and is a base stealing machine. you’ll thank me later. |
