Spring numbers are meaningless. Winter speculation is long gone. Now, we have real games to watch and dissect to talk about and over-analyze. Sure, it is a small sample size, but they are real games versus real players.
A moment of pause as to how much of a small sample size we’re talking about — last Tuesday, Ryan Braun hit more homers in one game (3) than the entire Kansas City Royals this season (0).
However, there are tons of tidbits to takeaway from this:
Brian Reddoch is a CraveOnline reporter and rabid fan of all teams Seattle. You can follow him on Twitter @ReddReddoch or “like” CraveOnline Sports on Facebook.
Photo Credit: Getty
Fantasy Baseball Early Love/Hate
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Abraham Almonte OF - Mariners
First off, go read Almonte’s inspirational story here. It is a story of alcoholism, God fixing his arm and redemption.
I love speedy guys who have a little pop. Starling Marte was my pick last year and Almonte is the guy this year. He entered the season completely and totally under everyone’s radar since he wasn’t guaranteed playing time in Seattle. Now that he won the job he is showing everyone how good he can be. I’m projecting .265 with 12 HR and 25 steals, which is pretty good for a backup outfielder on your bench for off-days.
LOVE
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Brandon Belt 1B - Giants
There was talk of Belt finally giving in and letting the coaches change his hands so the knuckles align towards the end of last year. Wrist power came. Homers came. Bandwagon came. After 5 homers in 10 games… it is safe to say he is legit.
LOVE
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Charlie Blackmon OF - Rockies
Okay… I don’t hate “hate” him, I’m just not buying it. Coors Field can make anyone look godly over the course of a weekend. Heck, Marcus “just filling in” Semien went 4-for-5 yesterday to bust his slump/suck. Whoever plays in Denver should be considered in deeper leagues. But… Charlie Blackmon is not the second coming of Dante Bichette. Don’t trade for him. I guess pick him up and ride the hot hand if you can.
HATE
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Emilio Bonifacio OF - Cubs
Do you know how I know fleet-footed Bonifacio’s best games are behind him? Because everyone who owns him is trying to sell him high.
HATE
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Mike Moustakas 3B - Royals
It is way too early to write him off (again). Just like Belt, there was talk of a new batting style and approach. He lit up winter and spring ball to the point even the saber-heads stopped mentioning “spring numbers mean nothing”. Just like Belt, there was hype but…. Moose has dropped a deuce so far. Through 22 at-bats, he his slugging .046. Yup…. Slugging. 1 for 22. 3 walks.
I think there is hope, so I’m not dropping him. He struggles when he pushes too hard and he might be putting pressure on himself to meet expectations.
PUSH
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Nate Eovaldi SP - Marlins
Okay, he’s not Jose Fernandez but he might be the Zach Wheeler to Jose’s Matt Harvey. With two strong performances, Eovaldi rides a high 90’s fastball and already has 14 K’s. A late-inning oops pitch to Alexi “who knew” Amarista bloated his ERA to 3.46 but he’ll improve in those opportunities in the future. He’s still available in about half of the leagues.
LOVE
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Tyler Skaggs SP - Angels
The former prospect struggled mightily last year with decreased velocity. Well, the speed is back up at a 2 MPH increase so far this year. For average speed that is eye popping and the difference between 2013 Skaggs and a 2014 All-Star Skaggs. Buy now, friends.
LOVE
