Tampa Bay Calls Up Evan Longoria
On April 11th Devil Rays called up third baseman Evan Longoria. The 22 year old Longoria is among the top prospects in
baseball and should be a top flight fantasy baseball player for years to come. The only thing standing in his way is the
Devil Ray’s bumbling management. Longoria has been called up to replace Willie Aybar while he’s on the 15 day DL. By
all accounts, Longoria should be starting over Aybar, but the Devil Rays have decided to keep Longoria in the minors for
two months so that he will be eligible for arbitration in 2014 rather than 2013 (I’m glad that the Rays are playing to win this
year). Longoria had a terrific spring training following a season where he had a combined 26 homeruns and 95 runs batted
in. Longoria is expected to develop into a perennial .300 hitter with power. Though, Longoria will have to put up amazing
numbers to shame the Devil Rays management into keeping him in the majors following Aybar’s return from the DL.
However, by mid season Longoria is sure to be recalled and could certainly put up a Ryan Braun sort of performance. Its
doubtful that Longoria is available in your league, but if he is, pick him up immediately. .
Minnesota Calls up Francisco Liriano
On April 11, 2008, the Minnesota Twins called up phenom Francisco Liriano from the minor leagues. For those of you who
have somehow forgotten, Liriano dominated major league hitters for a half a season in 2006. However, Liriano missed the
second half of 2006 and all of 2007 due to Tommy John surgery. Now, approximately a year and a half removed from
surgery, Liriano has made it back to the major leagues. There is no question regarding Liriano’s talent, but his health and
his endurance are going to be major problems. First, the general rule is that pitchers recovering from Tommy John surgery
need at least two years to fully regain their velocity and control. There are few exceptions. Second, Liriano did not pitch at
all last year, so for the time being he will be a five inning pitcher. Needless to say, don’t expect a return to his 2006 season
in which he had a 2.16 ERA, a 1.00 WHIP and 144 strike outs in 121 innings – at least this year. Liriano should be an
average pitcher this year, and at the very least, should yield a good amount of strikeouts. For those of you in keeper
leagues, expect Liriano to be a top ten pitcher next year.
Toronto Activates B. J. Ryan
On April 13th, the Toronto Blue Jays activated closer B.J. Ryan. Ryan missed almost all of 2007 following Tommy John
surgery and is returning about three weeks earlier than expected. Ryan was a dominating closer in 2005 and 2006 (36 and
38 saves respectively), but it is unclear how he will pitch following major arm surgery. In fact, Ryan is returning only 10
months after Tommy John surgery, which as stated above, almost always requires a two year recovery period. So, Ryan
may not be the reliable closer that he was in the past. On the bright side, he is being handed the closer’s role and the Blue
Jays are a team that should be involved in many close games. If healthy, which is a big if, Ryan should be able to save
around 30 games. Though, its doubtful that he will post an ERA under 4.00 considering that his 95 MPH fastball may be a
thing of the past. As for Jeremy Accardo, he should still have a lot of value. Ryan will not be able to pitch more than two
days in a row and is certainly a injury risk. Accardo should be a candidate for about 5-10 saves from the setup role.
|
