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May 9, 2008

Weekly fantasy baseball planner: Put in Youk (if you haven't already)

By Rob Steingall

These recommendations are only for the fantasy week May 12-18, unless otherwise suggested.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Put 'em in

Kevin Youkilis, 1B/3B, Red Sox: Not usually known for his power, Youkilis has blasted four homers this week, to go along with his consistently stellar on-base percentage. He should be able to feast on the Twins, Orioles and Brewers pitching staffs this week. Youkilis hit six home runs last May with an average of .406, a sign of future success going forward.

Vicente Padilla, SP, Rangers: Padilla is coming off another brilliant outing against the Mariners, where he pitched seven scoreless innings while striking out eight. He's pitched 13 innings against the Mariners this season, yielding only one earned run while posting a 12/5 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He'll face the Mariners again on Monday, and finish the week with the Astros at home, where he's pitched very well this year (2.40 E.R.A.).

Bench 'em

Nick Swisher, 1B/OF, White Sox: A major breakout candidate entering the season, Swisher has done nothing but disappoint his owners to this point, batting just above .200 going into the weekend with only three home runs. He was recently bumped from the leadoff spot to the sixth spot in the White Sox batting order, with the hope of taking some of the pressure off him. Swisher hit .333 last May, but needs to be benched until he shows that kind of production again.

Jeremy Bonderman, SP, Tigers: Bonderman gets only one start this week, against the Diamondbacks, who currently boast the best record in the National League. He got beat up by the National League last year, giving up 13 earned runs in 17 innings pitched, including four home runs.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Put 'em in

Ryan Church, OF, Mets: Church has started the year on fire, batting well over .300 with some power (six home runs entering the weekend), shifting between the two and five spots in the batting order. He faces the Nationals to start the week, against whom he has a .364 batting average thus far. Later in the week, Church will face the Yankees, who have problems in their rotation.

Randy Wolf, SP, Padres: Wolf gets two starts this week, against the Cubs and the Mariners, both on the road. Wolf went six strong innings last season against the Cubs without yielding a run, striking out five batters in the process. He also gets a Seattle club struggling hit the ball (.247 team batting average).

Bench 'em

Ken Griffey Jr., OF, Reds: Griffey has hit a rough patch recently, failing to drive in a run for two weeks with only two runs over that stretch. Although Reds GM Walt Jocketty has stated he hasn't had talks with other teams, trade rumors have begun to swirl around the future Hall of Famer, which could be adding to his struggles at the plate. He faces the Marlins this week, a team he hit only .217 against in '07, and closes with the Indians over the weekend.

Oliver Perez, SP, Mets: After a bounce-back year in '07, Perez looks to have lost whatever confidence led him to a career-high 15 wins. Control has been a huge issue for the Mets' left hander, who has posted a WHIP of 1.63 in 35 innings of work. He's failed to make it through more than six innings in any of his seven starts and faces the Yankees this week, whom he pitched well against last year. But he figures to be a huge risk based on his body of work thus far in '08.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 3:24 PM to Steingall | Permalink

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