Fantasy Pick of the Week

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Who is Chad Gaudin? He began the season with the Cubs but was subsequently released. Prior to that, he spent three years in Oakland, a year in the Blue Jays minor league system and before that two years as a reliever for Tampa Bay.

All that and he's only 25. Now pitching for the Padres, San Diego represents a place of solace and redemption for all pitchers. Gaudin has been on a roll lately, striking out 19 Mariners over two starts and then eight Rangers on Sunday night. CBS reports that Gaudin became the first pitcher ever, since the Ballpark at Arlington opened in 1994, to go eight or more innings and allow only one hit. Furthermore, this Texas lineup is one of the best it's seen.

Chad's K/9 ratio ranks 6th amongst starting pitchers at 9.42. He's behind the likes of Verlander, Lincecum, Vazquez, Lester and Harden. That's good company. Gaudin's inning totals are right up there with most starting pitchers (70IP), despite making only one April start.

Sabermetrics suggest Gaudin has been getting a bit lucky, evidenced by his 3.91 ERC and 3.82 DIPS. Those are both nearly a full run lower than his current 4.97 ERA. A .289 BABIP is just about average.

While home/road splits are not yet defined as obvious for Chad, pitching in Petco Park has to be seen as a great thing.

There is absolutely no reason why he should be on a waiver wire in your league right now.

Fantasy Pick of the Week

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Tony Gwynn, Jr. has been on fire lately, batting .350 over his last 12 games. He's batting .338 on the season and has stolen 20+ bases in the minor leagues throughout his career. With Scott Hairston on the DL, Tony's son has been taking advantage of the playing time he's received.Gwynn has already scored 14 runs hitting atop the Padres lineup and has stolen two bases. He may not project as a long-term solution, but he's a great start next week.

This article also appears on Fantasy Phenoms - I am tired of telling you how good they are, so see for yourself.

Fantasy Pick of the Week

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Scott Podsednik has risen from the dead.. yet again. This time, he's back with the White Sox, with whom he stole 59 abd 40 bases in two consecutive seasons. Since joining the team in May, he's been back to his old tricks.

Podsednik is currently batting .300 with seven stolen bases in only 127 AB. With Carlos Quentin currently on the disabled list, Scott has been playing full time. He's scored 14 times and driven in nine runners.

Because he's walked seven times as well, he's increasing his chances of stealing a base in the process.

Podsednik's tenure on your roster doesn't have to be a long one, but next week he'll get a rare eight-game week. If there's a week to play him, it's next week.

This article also appears at Fantasy Phenoms. If you don't read their site, there is a 85% chance that you fantasy team sucks.

Fantasy Pick of the Week

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Our start of the week is someone who we've avoided since he became a Giant. Barry Zito has been a different pitcher in 2009 though. He's walking fewer batters and his fastball is faster than it's been in previous years. He currently possesses a 3.89 ERA and a respectable 1.30 WHIP.

Facing The Padres in Petco Park and the Mariners in Safeco, offers Zito two extremely favorable matchups next week. While Zito isn't someone you start on a weekly basis, this is the week to give him the nod.

Through 11 innings this year, Zito holds a 3.27 ERA against San Diego. In two starts in Petco last year, Zito maintained a 3.55 ERA over 13 innings pitched.

Seattle, as you should already know, is a very weak offense.

Roll the dice this week and start Barry Zito.

This article also appears on Fantasy Phenoms , who is overlooking the fact that Barry Zito is a complete douche to make your fantasy team unbeatable.

Fantasy Pick of the Week

Powered by Fantasy PhenomsThis week's start of the week is Jose Guillen of the Kansas City Royals. Guillen hit the DL in April and was dropped in many fantasy leagues.

Sly owners added him quickly despite being on the DL. Guillen bats cleanup for the Royals and in each of the last two seasons he has hit 20+ homers and driven in an average of 98 runs. He's certainly become a quiet weekly starter.Since he came off the DL in May, Guillen has hit .333 with a homer, six runs scored and six RBI. Don't sleep on Jose Guillen this week and for the rest of the season.

This article also appears on Fantasy Phenoms - if you aren't reading them yet, you should see a you are probably getting anally impacted every week by someone who is.

Fantasy Pick of the Week

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Pablo Sandoval is batting .500 over the last week. He's certainly nobody's #1 CI, but is likely in the mix for a weekly lineup spot for most teams. His eligibility at 1B, 3B and C in many leagues makes him a valuable commodity. Pablo hasn't been striking out much either, which is excellent for those in leagues that penalize that statistic. In fact, he's only struck out once in his last 25 AB.
Sandoval has eleven hits in his last 22 AB's, which includes two homers, two doubles and a triple. Pablo isn't a speedster, but he did steal a bag last week, which is an added bonus.Make sure you get him in your lineup for next week when he'll have seven games on tap.

This article also appears on Fantasy Phenoms - be sure to take a look as they will help you pummel your opponent into submission week after week.

Fantasy Pick of the Week

It's ok if the name Josh Anderson doesn't ring a bell. There was a slight chance he'd start for Houston a few years ago, but that never happened. Last year, Josh missed out on an opportunity to start for Atlanta. When he lost this job this year to Jordan Schafer, he was traded to the Tigers.

The Tigers decided to hand him the starting LF job and he's taken it and run with it. The latter part can be backed up by six stolen bases in only 30 AB's.

So, is it time to pick up Josh Anderson in a 12-team mixed league? He's sporting a .364 AVG and has stolen six bases on the season. His CR is a solid 91%.

In the minor leagues, Anderson was a speed demon. Over his last three minor league seasons, Anderson has averaged 44 SB's. With six so far, he could certainly reach that amount given 500+ AB's.

In parts of his 2007 and 2008 campaigns with Houston and Atlanta, he kept his strikeouts down and contact high and batted .315 over those 200 AB's. His CR in the minor leagues has been around the 84% to 86% range so it is possible he keeps his AVG close to .300.

Josh Anderson will be 27 this summer and is in his prime. The one thing lacking has always been an opportunity. He now has that and is taking advantage of it in Detroit.

While he won't hit for power, he could provide Willy Taveras-like numbers at an extremely low cost.

If you have the roster space, consider adding him now and getting him in your lineup. You never know.

This article also appears on Fantasy Phenoms - be sure to take a look as they will help you pummel your opponent into submission week after week.

Fantasy Pick of the Week

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The Blue Jays’ second baseman broke out in 2007 at the age of 25, cracking 17 homers and 47 doubles while posting a .792 OPS, not bad for a middle infielder. A nasty concussion took a toll in 2008, but he looks to be back on track this season, banging out 23 hits in only 14 games. Four homers and a .365/.388/.603 line are very nice things to see out of your second baseman.

What do we know about Hill? Well, prior to 2007 he looked like a solid contact hitter but little else. Then he simply started swinging more, and started swinging with more authority. He struck out a good deal more in 2007, but that was more than countered by a big spike in power. That looks to be the approach he is sticking with, as he hasn’t really developed much in the way of patience at the plate, but he has been able to get on base just by hitting the ball well.
But while he can hit, Hill’s power is rather limited. He hasn’t hit one past the 380 mark this season, and only hit a handful over 400 feet in 2007. Not that you have to be able to hit a ball 400 feet, but the only way a right-handed pull hitter with limited power gets 20 homers is if he hits in Fenway, like a certain 2008 MVP winner.

Luckily for Hill owners, he should be quite productive without prodigious power. Jays skipper Cito Gaston likes hitting him in the two-hole, which will lead to a good amount of runs and RBIs. It’s not out of line to expect 90 or more runs scored, and 70-plus RBIs is within reason given the depth of the Toronto lineup.

All that considered, it looks like we will be seeing the Aaron Hill of 2007 again, and hopefully for years to come. Those who drafted him should give themselves a pat on the back. He’ll never be ranked alongside Chase Utley or Ian Kinsler but he is really not far off from Dustin Pedroia minus a few steals. Needless to say he will not keep his current pace up all season, but he is flashing the skills that made him fantasy gold a couple years ago.

This article also appears on Fantasy Phenoms - be sure to take a look as they will help you pummel your opponent into submission week after week.

Fantasy Pick of the Week

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The time is now to pick up Zach Duke. We wrote about him during the offseason, suggesting he could be this year's version of Joe Saunders. Since that January article, Duke has done what we had envisioned: He sported a 3.86 ERA over eight spring starts.

Zach has been quoted this spring having said things like "I feel right now" and "I have more control of my pitches." Manager John Russell said, "Duke has showed a renewed committment." Quotes of this nature are certainly positive ones and Duke is no stranger to success.

It was in 2005 where he took the league by storm. He went 8-2 with a 1.82 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP that year. But, that was then and this is now, right?

Two weeks away from turning 26, Duke could have easily made offseason adjustments. His first start of the season is exactly the type of start you can expect from him: 6-7 innings, four strikeouts, 2-3 earned runs and a possible walk here and there.

Our January comparison of Duke to Joe Saunders certainly limits his fantasy value. Duke isn't a strikeout pitcher, which is never a good thing. He also pitches for the Pirates, which isn't a good thing either. But, like we saw with Lincecum last year, if you can sport a solid ERA and go deep into ball games, you give your team a good chance to win, despite low run support.

The comparison to Saunders is limited, however. Saunders struck out 103 batters in nearly 200 innings. Duke could be more closely alligned to teammate Paul Maholm, who struck out 139 batters. For the first time in three seasons, Duke's K/9 ratio improved in 2008 by 23%. With all of the improving he's done thus far, a slight improvement in his K/9 ratio again isn't out of the question.

Both Saunders and Maholm provided WHIP's that were very helpful at 1.21 and 1.28 respectively. Both held ERA's below 4.00 as well. Saunders, though, won 17 games while Maholm won only 9.

More importantly, neither were drafted in any fantasy league. Zach Duke wasn't drafted in any fantasy league this year either.

Pitching for the Pirates and three awful seasons in a row have put Duke on many fantasy back-burners, but this post-hype sleeper could exceed expectations in 2009.

If you have roster room, you might want to consider adding him. He will make two starts next week at home against the Astros and Braves.

This week, as in every week, there will be a tracker in the left frame tracking the Fantasy Player of the Week.

This article also appears on Fantasy Phenoms - be sure to take a look as they will help you pummel your opponent into submission week after week.