Stealthy Ninjas use time machines to win
Shhhhhh! Scott Rolen thinks it’s 2004 again, nobody tell him otherwise.
The veteran Blue Jays 3B hit a pair of homers, scored six runs, drove in five and even stole a base this week. He hit .393, too, and over his 12-game hitting streak Rolen’s hit .462.
The last time Scott Rolen was a fantasy factor for an entire season was 2006. Not coincidentally, that was also the last time he played an entire season. He missed about 50 games in each of the previous two seasons. In 2004, another rare full season, Rolen was a monster.
The point is, when healthy he can still produce. Rolen’s got 277 career homers, 1,087 RBIs, 1,051 runs and a career .284 RBI.
You have a better chance of winning the lottery than he has of staying healthy, but there are worse players you could pick up for a couple games.
Rolen’s a Stealthy Ninja on a hot streak and available in 37% of Yahoo leagues. Now let’s take a look at five other hitters and five pitchers who had great weeks and are more than likely available in your league, based on Yahoo ownership statistics.
Your Stealthy Ninja hitters:
Luis Valbuena, 2B/SS, Indians (2%) Key stats: .364 average, 3 HR, 4 R, 7 RBI
- Advice: Valbuena’s stats are good this week, but he’s no Major League starter. When Asdrubal Cabrera returns, Valbuena will return to his utility role.
Skip Schumaker, 2B/OF, Cardinals (17%) Key stats: .423 AVG, 9 R, 2 RBIs, 1 SB
- Advice: A .300 average, 10 homers, 10 steals and 80 runs is the most you could expect out of Schumaker. Well, if he can score 9 runs in a week, maybe he gets 100 runs by the end of the season. But those homer and steal numbers are top-shelf estimates.
Khalil Greene, 3B/SS, Cardinals (22%) Key Stats: .333, 5 R, 3 HR 5 RBI
- Advice: Back-to-back Cardinals! Jzak already discussed Greene’s re-arrival from the Disabled List in a previous post.
Marcus Thames, OF, Tigers (5%) Key Stats: .250, 4 R, 3 HR, 7 RBI
- Advice: Thames is your prototypical feast-or-famine player. He’ll hit you 20-30 homers in very limited at-bats, but because of those limits, he won’t contribute anywhere else.
Andrew McCutchen, OF, Pirates (36%) Key Stats: .310, 4 R, 1 HR, 7 RBI, 1 SB
- Advice: He’s not starting in centerfield for the Pirates, he’s sharing the job with Nyjer Morgan. I would recommend him if he was getting full-time ABs, but Morgan is getting more than him.
STEALTHY PITCHERS
Joel Pineiro, SP, Cardinals (15%) Key stats: 16.0 IP, 1 W, 5 K, 0.56 ERA, 0.50 WHIP.
- Advice: Almost picked up Pineiro for a spot start myself. I said almost. Pineiro’s not going to keep this up. Expect a correction because he’s performing significantly better than his career averages. However, he’s not a bad option for a spot start until he drops off that cliff.
Trevor Cahill, SP, Athletics (13%) Key stats: 12.1 IP, 2 W, 7 K, 0.73 ERA, 1.05 WHIP
- Advice: One of many young pitching prospects for the A’s, expect some ups and downs as he becomes a solid, but not dominant, Major League starter. He’s got some ups right now.
Chad Gaudin, SP, Padres (1%) Key Stats: 13 IP, 1 W, 19K, 3.46 ERA, 1.00 WHIP
- Advice: Matched a career-high with 11 Ks against the Mariners in one game this week and struck out eight more Mariners in another game. He’s got 65 Ks in 62.2 innings. But, he’s going to damage your ERA and WHIP and he’s got half as many wins as he does losses (3-6).
Aaron Cook, SP, Rockies (24%) Key Stats: 14 IP, 2 W, 7 K, 2.57 ERA, 1.00 WHIP
- Advice: Seems like there’s a Rockies pitcher on this list every week. I dont’ always recommend them, but I gotta tell you to pick up Cook. Over his last four starts: 4-0, 1.93 ERA, 28 IP. He has a career 4.32 ERA and was under 4.00 last year. He won’t help you in Ks, but will in very other category.
Tommy Hanson, SP, Braves (50%) Key Stats: 11.1 IP, 2 W, 6 K, 0.00 ERA, 1.41 WHIP
- Advice: His WHIP is troublesome, 1.61 in four starts, but his other numbers are hard to argue against: 3-0, 23 IP, 16 Ks, 3.13 ERA and .250 batting average against. As highly-touted as this prospect was before his call-up, I’m surprised Hanson is available in half of leagues.
What do you think? Is Hanson worth a pickup? What about Gaudin? What players have you targeted? Let us know in the comments, or visit our forums and start a conversation.
I’d give anything for Vernon Wells to think it’s 2004 again …
I think McClutchen gets more and more starting time as he continues to show everyone just how potent he can be. On the flip side, I don’t think I own enough Pepto Bismol to stomach the rollercoaster known as Chad Gaudin. Not that he doesn’t have the potential — just lacks consistency and any semblence of support from that team.
[...] Pineiro returns for a second straight edition, but hasn’t pitched since the last Stealthy Ninjas. I’d tell you to proceed with [...]
Jay-Mo,
Harf, harf. Good one.
jzak,
Guadin is nauseating. I’d like to recommend McCutchen (whose name really cries for an -cheon by the way), but I just don’t think he’s worth it right now unless you’re in an NL only league or a dynasty league.