Projo Fantasy Sports Blog

By David Ferris

Playing hard or hardly playing? Teams and players have different motivations as we hit the final two weeks of the year, something we'll touch upon in this week's edition of the Market Watch.

Batters

BUY

Marco Scutaro, Utility, Blue Jays: The schedule helps here (Toronto has a juicy doubleheader Saturday), and Scutaro can cover four different positions if injuries have you scrambling for bodies. He's quietly been a major part of Toronto's late rally, hitting .313 with 19 runs and three homers over the last month, and he spends most of his time in the fantasy-friendly No. 2 position.

Denard Span, OF, Twins: Plenty of speed, a little power, a discerning eye, a line-drive bat. What took the Twins so long to realize that Span, not Carlos Gomez, was the ideal man to jump start the offense? I'll get on board with Span in 2009, expecting 100 runs, 15 homers and 35 steals. The small-market screen of the Twins will keep the price affordable.

SELL

Milton Bradley, OF, Rangers: There's been nothing wrong with his bat all season, but the injury bug has gone haywire with Bradley in the second half (back, wrist, knee, even a brief stomach virus). When storm clouds bunch overhead, get your umbrella - it's time to find an outfield replacement before the Rangers tell Bradley to pack it in for the year.

HOLD

Grady Sizemore, OF, Indians: He worried fantasy owners when his stolen bases came to a grinding halt at the end of 2007, but that hasn't been the case in this year's stretch run (10 bags over the last month). There's a 40-40 season waiting to happen with Sizemore before he hits the 30-something part of his career; he's probably never going to win a batting title, but he can dominate three categories (runs, homers, steals) and score well in the other two.

Pitchers

BUY

Jesse Litsch, SP, Blue Jays: All of Toronto's top guns are going on three days of rest this weekend in Boston, as the Jays still feel they're in the playoff hunt. Win-chasing fantasy streamers don't mind, though it's hard to predict how a pitcher will react when he's out of his normal comfort zone. Back to Litsch, he's been super in five starts since his brief Triple-A tune-up, allowing just five runs and two homers, and bumping his strikeout rate a tiny bit.

Brandon Morrow, SP, Mariners: He's had two starts in the majors, an electric one and a passable one, and he definitely looked pleasing to the eye, showing a mid-90s heater and two other usable pitches (the Yankees looked dizzy trying to hit his curveball). This could be the next breakout starter in the AL.

SELL

Anthony Reyes, SP, Indians: His sore elbow is going to cost him a second turn, and there's no reason for the Indians to take a chance here on a promising part of their future. He'll probably get shut down for the balance of the season. Make sure Reyes is scribbled high atop your 2009 sleeper list; getting away from the La Russa and Duncan Show in St. Louis has done wonders for his confidence.

HOLD

George Sherrill, RP, Orioles: He came off the disabled list Thursday and the club will press him back into the closer spot starting this weekend. Given that the Orioles have nothing really to play for at this juncture, we'll take the quick return from Sherrill as a sign that his shoulder is 100 percent. Plug and play.

 Tags  AL Stock Watch Anthony Reyes baseball Brandon Morrow David Ferris Denard Span George Sherrill Grady Sizemore Jesse Litsch Marco Scutaro Milton Bradley

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