So the majority of fantasy baseball leagues start their playoffs this week. In this post I’m going to take a look at some things to watch out for during your playoffs, some guys to grab, and some things to be weary about. Lets also make this post a forum on how you did this season. Did you make your playoffs? Did you end up with a bye? What went wrong? What went right? What sort of things would you like to see next year to help you more? Post some comments on this article and I’ll get back to you on them. Also if you have any highly important questions regarding your playoffs post them here. We’ve played all year long just for these next couple of weeks. So its very important we pull off some wins!
Watch out for:
Hanley Ramirez– It looks like he is getting surgery and is out for the year. Its a huge blow to any fantasy owner in the playoffs. Erick Aybar, Dee Gordon, and Cliff Pennington are playing well right now and are good guys to go with while hot. During the playoffs it doesn’t matter how good a guy is. What matters is how they are producing right now.
Mike Stanton– He left Saturday night’s game with a hamstring injury and didn’t play Sunday. Were all hoping that he returns any day now, but you may want to pick up another OF for a few days until he is back. Kyle Blanks, Desmond Jennings, Austin Jackson, and Lucas Duda are good options.
Nelson Cruz, Jimmy Rollins, Carlos Quentin, Tommy Hanson, Brian Wilson– All guys who are out at the worst possible time. None of them will be back this week. So don’t get your hopes up that you’ll get a boost from one of your superstars.
Jordan Zimmermann, Livan Hernandez, Michael Pineda, Alexi Ogando– All guys who are either shut down for the season, will soon be shut down, or are having starts skipped. Zimmermann is done. I doubt anyone has Livan, but he is done. Pineda will not make it all the way through your championship. He will be shut down soon. Ogando’s having his next start skipped so he won’t pitch for you at all during this next week. You might as well cut him and get someone who will start. Read down for some possible replacements.
Huston Street- An elite closer who is no longer the closer. Rafael Betancourt has officially replaced him. Cut Street. Betancourt is an okay pickup himself. So is Bobby Parnell and Sergio Santos.
Now for the good:
Joe Mauer– After missing most of last week with a bunch of whinny injuries, including nose congestion, he is now back. This is a huge addition to any playoff roster. Feel free to plug him back in and cut your backup plan.
Albert Pujols, Robinson Cano, David Wright– First round picks who are heading into this week very hot. Hopefully they stay hot and help carry you into the next round.
Stephen Strasburg- He’s baaaack. Tuesday. Don’t expect for him to go that long though. There is still the chance that he could make it 5 innings to get you a win though. It’s very risky. I said in weeks past that it probably wasn’t worth grabbing him.
Some 2 starters to grab:
Rich Harden– He’s been good on the road, good against KC in his career, and gets a ton of K’s.
Derek Lowe– I don’t love the matchup against PHI, but he’s been pretty good against them in his career. Over his last 3 starts he has a 1.50 ERA.
Doug Fister– If he’s there get him. He’s been consistent for DET and that team is on fire.
Wade Miley– He’s won 2 of his last 3. He just beat the Rockies and he gets to face them again. Plus he’s playing terrible Esmil Rogers.
Henry Sosa– Been good lately and has won his last 2. Facing PIT isn’t that scary of a matchup either.
Rookie Starts:
Julio Teheran or Randall Delgado– Atlanta has a double header Thursday and its going to be one of these guys. My gut says its Teheran. My gut also says to trust either of these guys and pick them up for this start.
Liam Hendriks– He makes his major league debut Tuesday vs. CWS. It’s hard to trust a rookie in the playoffs so I would avoid him. If your league is extremely deep and most starters are gone then it may be okay to take a chance on him. He has good stuff and is in a favorable matchup at home against a team who recently had their playoff hopes crushed. I’m sure they won’t be playing full speed against him.
Eric Surkamp– He’s pitching at Petco Tuesday so he has the chance to do well. The nervousness should be out of him in his second major league start. Again its tough to trust a rookie though.
Tom Milone– Makes his second start Thursday against Houston. I think the advantage is to Houston. He is really a stretch.
Good luck in your playoffs!!!
Mark…thanks for the advice all year. I’ve finished as the number two seed with a bye this week.
No problem…win it all!
Do you keep records of who shows up in the playoffs or do you just commit these things to your memory ? If it is the first time in the playoffs for a particular player , are there any hints during the regular season that will tell you if this player will show up or not ?
The start of each new week is completely random. What you can do is look at who is hot coming in for a reference. If your trying to decide between someone like Brett Lawrie and Chase Utley and Lawrie is hot right now and Utley has 1 HR in his last 30 games, I’d go with Lawrie. But if a superstar like Utley performs on Monday I’d get him back in there because it’s possible a new streak can start during a new week. The same goes for all players and positions. You can also see star players starting small streaks. Longoria is on a 3 game hit streak right now. That could easily progress into a hot streak. Guys who have hit a nice number of HR’s in a short amount of time like Blanks and Duda are good to pick up because chances are they will get you at least 1 more HR in the next few days.
Excellent info , thank you very much , I don’t play the fantasy games but a few of my friends do and I want to pass this information on to them , they need some help,,,,,,,,,,,,,thanks again ,
spy
This is my second year playing fantasy BB and because I wasn’t working, I had time for copious amounts of research. Therefore, I played the hot hand off the waiver each week, had lots of fun. Finished fourth in my 12-team-league and am now in the playoffs. Thanks for your help this season.
Two quick questions. I stupidly traded away Wieters a couple months ago and have been hurting in the C department ever since. Played Olivo last week, who has been unspectacular. I have my eye on Salvador Perez, who had a good week. Also available: Ruiz, Salty, Hundley and Barajas. What would you do?
Also, Fowler or Jennings for the playoffs, the former is hot, the later is cool. Thanks.
Now is the time to turn that 4 seed into a championship! Congrats for the first playoff appearance. I would say no to Salvador Perez. He he a mediocre week last week but since then he is 2 for his last 14 with 0 RBI’s. Ruiz or Saltalamacchia are the best options. Ruiz is good against ATL hitting .440 against them this year and .293 in his career. He will give you average. Salt will give you the best chance to get a HR or 2. Salt has also been good against TOR this year with a .310 AVG. He is awful vs. TB though. Expect him to hurt your average but you give you a better CHANCE for power.
Fowler is hot at this second so I’d ride him out. Jennings is better over the course of the next few weeks for your playoffs though. But Fowler for right now.
Awfully illuminating thank you, I’m sure your current readers might just want way more writing along these lines keep up the good hard work.