Joe Mauer back in Twins' lineup on Saturday - Joe Mauer | MIN

Source: Rotoworld Baseball

Joe Mauer (back) returned to the Twins' lineup Saturday.

Joe Mauer back in Twins' lineup Saturday - Joe Mauer | MIN

Source: Rotoworld Baseball

Joe Mauer returned to the Twins' lineup Saturday.

Joe Mauer out Friday with back stiffness - Joe Mauer | MIN

Source: Rotoworld Baseball

Joe Mauer is out of Friday's lineup due to back stiffness.

Joe Mauer: Out Friday with Back Stiffness

Source: RotoWire.com MLB

Joe Mauer: Mauer was held out of Friday's lineup against the Red Sox due to back stiffness, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports. Visit RotoWire.com for more analysis on this update.

Mostly MLB Notes: Albert Pujols’ decline, Carlos Santana’s emergence and examining David Price

Source: Roto Arcade by Dalton Del Don

We held a mid-season draft Monday, and I ended up taking Albert Pujols with the 19th pick. Judging by Yahoo’s updated rest of season rankings, I guess this could be considered something of a reach. I’m not necessarily going to argue against that, but it’s remarkable someone who was a unanimous top-three pick last year and was generally considered a top-10 pick this year is now a

Draft Day Challenge, May 14

Source: Baseball Guys by Ray Flowers

 

BaseballGuys.com has partnered with DraftDay.com to give all my wonderful followers the chance to play the game on a daily basis. On Tuesday and Thursday’s here at the site, every week, I’ll be giving you some insight into the mind of The Oracle as I will give you

Fantasy do-over: Auditing results from an in-season experts draft

Source: Roto Arcade by Andy Behrens

At the risk of tearing down the entire "fantasy expert" scam, we begin today with an admission: Occasionally, fantasy gurus get stuff wrong.

It's rare, but it happens. Back in March, it's possible that some of us led you to believe Roy Halladay was salvageable and that Adam Dunn was not terrible at baseball. We apologize for these misunderstandings.

With six weeks of MLB data in the books, it's time to reassess the player pool. We've assembled a group of 10 experts for an in-season baseball draft. The league settings are fairly standard: 5x5, mixed player pool, CI & MI, head-to-head, weekly lineups. Nothing too exotic.

[You can still own Paul Goldschmidt! It's not too late! Sign-up today for

Closing Time: Meeting Oswaldo Arcia, accepting Heath Bell

Source: Roto Arcade by Scott Pianowski

The Twins weren't expected to be a decent ballclub in 2013. Vegas projected them for 68.5 wins, the basement of the AL Central. Target Field remains a draw and Joe Mauer still has that winning smile, but there wasn't much else going on here, at least on paper.

Oswaldo Arcia wasn't supposed to be in the 2013 mix, either. Although the young outfielder was highly regarded on prospect boards, most considered his ETA to be 2014. Arcia had just 69 games of Double-A experience on his resume prior to the new

Closing Time: Meet Oswaldo Arcia

Source: Roto Arcade by Scott Pianowski

The Twins weren't expected to be a decent ballclub in 2013. Vegas projected them for 68.5 wins, the basement of the AL Central. Target Field remains a draw and Joe Mauer still has that winning smile, but there wasn't much else going on here, at least on paper.

Oswaldo Arcia wasn't supposed to be in the 2013 mix, either. Although the young outfielder was highly regarded on prospect boards, most considered his ETA to be 2014. Arcia had just 69 games of Double-A experience on his resume prior to the new season.

As we meander towards the Ides of May, Arcia and the Twins have a good thing

Draft Day Challenge, May 9

Source: Baseball Guys by Ray Flowers

Joe Mauer' or find free 'joe mauer' pictures via Wylio" href="http://www.wylio.com/credits/flickr/8622546947">

I’ve partnered with DraftDay.com to give all my wonderful followers, that’s you, the chance to play the game on a daily basis. I’ll be giving you some insight into the mind of The Oracle as I will give you some of my best plays for the day – even if I’m willing to admit that daily games are a

Closing Time: Kevin Gregg, back from the dead

Source: Roto Arcade by Scott Pianowski

The Marlins grabbed a win on Tuesday, part of a doubleheader split in Minnesota. The Astros won, too. Kevin Gregg locked down a save. Jose Valverde was promoted and appointed.

Some nights, you simply can't predict ball.

We'll start in the Cubs bullpen, destined to be one of the Waterloos of the season. Chicago trimmed the Reds on Tuesday, 4-2, despite mediocre work from the two relievers who followed a terrific Carlos Villanueva (8.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 6 K). Carlos Marmol pitched like his hair was on fire in the ninth, as usual, allowing a sharp single and two walks before the inning was complete. Another blown save for the ledger. But the Cubs scored two runs in the top

Mostly MLB Notes: Max Scherzer and Bryce Harper making the leap

Source: Roto Arcade by Dalton Del Don

Max Scherzer has a ridiculous 30 Ks over 19.0 innings this season, as he’s become baseball’s premier strikeout pitcher. He finished second to Justin Verlander in the category last year, recording only eight fewer strikeouts in 50.2 fewer innings thanks to a major league leading 11.08 K/9 rate. Scherzer dealt with some shoulder issues late last season, and while cleaned up, his delivery remains somewhat violent, but he sure appears healthy now. Scherzer has allowed a 20.5 LD%, but with so few groundballs (35.9 GB%), his .385 BABIP looks especially unlucky. In fact, among the 15 starters with the lowest groundball rates this season (Scherzer’s is the 11th lowest), only two others have a

Updated: Greg Holland extends the leash – by not pitching (and then, finally, by pitching)

Source: Roto Arcade by Scott Pianowski

The torrid Atlanta Braves lineup, and its proclivity for home runs, is making a mess of bullpens all around baseball. The Upton brothers basically removed Carlos Marmol from our closing thoughts last week, and in Tuesday's action, the Braves took dead aim at well-regarded Royals reliever Kelvin Herrera in the eighth inning. (Roll the tape here: skip to the 1:11 mark for the key video).

Jason Heyward started the binge, then Justin Upton followed (let me know when it lands), and then Dan Uggla did

Greg Holland extends the leash – simply by not pitching

Source: Roto Arcade by Scott Pianowski

The torrid Atlanta Braves lineup, and it's proclivity for home runs, is making a mess of bullpens all around baseball. The Upton brothers basically removed Carlos Marmol from our closing thoughts last week, and in Tuesday's action, the Braves took dead aim at well-regarded Royals reliever Kelvin Herrera in the eighth inning. (Roll the tape here: skip to the 1:11 mark for the key video).

Jason Heyward started the binge, then Justin Upton followed (let me know when it lands), and then Dan Uggla

Mauer nets four hits again, Twins beat Halos - Joe Mauer | MIN

Source: Rotoworld Baseball

Joe Mauer went 4-for-5 with three RBI in the Twins' 8-6 victory against the Angels on Tuesday.

Shuffle Up: John Buck, flushing hero

Source: Roto Arcade by Scott Pianowski

You probably know the Shuffle Up rules by now, but we'll go through a refresher course just in case.

The prices below are my catcher rankings for the rest of the season. Don't obsess over the prices in a vacuum; what matters is how the players relate to one another. Commodities at the same dollar figure are considered even.

Assumptions: 5x5 scoring, mixed-league format. Players who are currently disabled or in the minors are not eligible for ranks. The value on that type of player is largely context-driven, anyway; Yasmani Grandal could be a valuable stash in some pools and next-to-worthless in some other groups.

I'll add comments as the day goes along and I reserve the right to tweak this list during the

Closing Time: Matt Carpenter, still raking; Kelvin Herrera, still saving

Source: Roto Arcade by Andy Behrens

Matt Carpenter started at second base for the Cardinals on Wednesday afternoon, his second appearance at the position this season. With another three starts at second (coming soon), Carpenter will be eligible at every non-pitching roster spot except short and catcher in Yahoo! leagues.

This fact, almost by itself, makes him an interesting name in fantasy circles, particularly if you’re involved in a league with limited bench spots.

But when you toss in the fact that Carpenter is lining missiles all over the yard, game after game after game, then we clearly have an actionable fantasy story.

Carpenter went 4-for-5 against the Reds on Wednesday with a homer, a double, two runs scored — his 10th and

The Sky is Falling

Source: Baseball Guys by Ray Flowers

A hypochondriac is someone who is obsessed by the idea that they have an illness of some kind when, most of the time, there is no actual condition to be concerned with. I bring that up because in the world of fantasy baseball it seems like there is an epidemic of hypochondria akin to the zombie apocalypse that is portrayed in the television show The Walking Dead. People are freaking out. I’m talking, losing their minds type of situations.

The world is ending.
Life is

Closing Time: Evan Gattis reaches the seats; Greg Holland works out of trouble; ominous news for Jason Motte

Source: Roto Arcade by Scott Pianowski

With a 7-1 record and five straight wins, nothing seems to bother the Atlanta Braves right now. And they're off to this terrific start despite some notable injuries: Freddie Freeman, Brian McCann and Brandon Beachy are currently on the disabled list.

Rookie catcher Evan Gattis can't do anything about the Beachy absence, but he's filling in nicely while Freeman and McCann heal up. It's time to pay attention in medium and deeper leagues.

Gattis is getting regular run as Atlanta's cleanup hitter and starting catcher of late, spelling Freeman and McCann, respectively. He's off to a tidy 9-for-17 run at the plate, with a couple of homers. His

Mostly MLB Notes: Examining hot starts by Justin Upton, Chris Davis and Jeff Samardzija

Source: Roto Arcade by Dalton Del Don

Justin Upton posted an .899 OPS as a 21-year-old, got away from a franchise that he clearly didn’t see eye-to-eye with, and there’s a real chance last year’s disappointing season was a direct result of a since healed thumb injury. On the other hand, Upton had actually disappointed two of the past three seasons, finishing as the 122nd ranked fantasy player in 2010 and 47th last year. Upton also left one of the best hitter’s parks for a generally neutral one that happens to depress power for right-handers (Turner Field’s HR Park Index for RHB is 88 over the past three years). Despite the latter, fantasy owners thought more highly of the former and drafted him aggressively, as he was likely gone within

Closing Time: Roy Halladay has a short, strange night, John Axford implodes, and Leyland is burned by committee

Source: Roto Arcade by Andy Behrens

If all you knew about Roy Halladay’s night was that he struck out nine batters while reaching 92 mph on the radar gun, then you’d probably say he pitched well. Maybe you’d regret not drafting him in any leagues.

But even with the nine Ks, Halladay’s evening was complicated and often painful. He recorded only 10 outs against the Braves, failing to escape the fourth inning. He allowed three walks, six hits, two bombs and five earned runs. Justin Upton destroyed a poorly placed fastball in the

Closing Time: Roy Halladay has a short, strange night, John Axford implodes, and Leyland burned by committee

Source: Roto Arcade by Andy Behrens

If all you knew about Roy Halladay’s night was that he struck out nine batters while reaching 92 mph on the radar gun, then you’d probably say he pitched well. Maybe you’d regret not drafting him in any leagues.

But even with the nine Ks, Halladay’s evening was complicated and often painful. He recorded only 10 outs against the Braves, failing to escape the fourth inning. He allowed three walks, six hits, two bombs and five earned runs. Justin Upton destroyed a poorly placed fastball in the first, accounting for two of the early runs. Four batters later, Juan Francisco

Mostly MLB Notes: A 2013 Season Preview

Source: Roto Arcade by Dalton Del Don

Editor’s note: I wanted to get this posted much earlier, but I had my first kid recently (well, technically my wife had her), so that’s my excuse for the delay.

National League East

1. Washington Nationals
2. Atlanta Braves (WILD CARD)
3. Philadelphia Phillies
4. New York Mets
5. Miami Marlins

Comments/Fantasy Predictions: Both Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper are top-15 fantasy players, while Dan Haren is a top-25 starting pitcher. Ryan Zimmerman proves to be a better pick than Evan Longoria, while Drew

Anth's Catcher Rankings

Source: Fake Teams by AnthonyCalanni

1. Buster Posey
2. Carlos Santana
3. Matt Wieters
4. Joe Mauer
5. Yadier Molina
6. Miguel Montero
7. Mike Napoli
8. Brian McCann
9. Wilin Rosario
10. Jesus Montero
11. Jonathon Lucroy
12. Salvador Perez
13. J.P. Arencibia
14. A.J. Pierzynski
15. Ryan Doumit
16. Jarrod Saltalamacchia
17. Carlos Ruiz
18. Alex Avila
19. Russell Martin
20. A.J. Ellis

Rookies & Prospects – Are They Worth It?

Source: Baseball Guys by Ray Flowers

So you want to be one of those “smart” people in fantasy baseball that takes the hot shot rookie for the “upside” play early in the draft OK, maybe you aren’t that person, but let’s say you are more than willing to scoop up that prospect in the 15th round because of the “boring” options that are available. As I point out all the time, give me a team of

Fantasy Baseball 2013: Catcher Primer

Source: Roto Arcade by Andy Behrens

There are basically only two ways that a fantasy owner can avoid injuries at this position: Either you can draft a catcher-eligible player who spends most of his time at another spot — perhaps someone like Mike Napoli or Victor Martinez (both of whom have injury histories) — or you can simply get lucky.

And that's pretty much it. There's a strong chance that your fantasy catcher — whoever he is, wherever you draft him — is going to get hurt. This roster spot presents greater injury risk than any other everyday position. The physical demands at backstop are unlike those we find anywhere else on the defensive spectrum. Only six major league catchers managed to reach 500 at-bats last season, and only five appeared in

Spin Doctors: Joe Mauer vs. Carlos Santana

Source: Roto Arcade by Scott Pianowski

You're going to draft a catcher or two this year, it's unavoidable. No one wants a summer littered with passed balls. There are pros and cons to the name-brand catchers, but if you don't mind paying a big ticket for your backstop, Joe Mauer and Carlos Santana are names to strongly consider. Who's the top pick in the American League? Andy Behrens and Scott Pianowski have a difference of opinion; let the sparring begin.

Behrens to Open: The great thing about having the Mauer side in this debate is that I can base my argument on things that have actually happened in the very recent past. I don't need to convince anyone that Joe Mauer is going to make a leap in

2013 Rankings: First Basemen

Source: Fantasy Baseball 365

Next up in the positional rankings is first base. The position offers a lot of offensive talent, young and old. Players will be drafted out of this player pool to fill more than first base, they'll also fill corner infield spots and utility positions as well. 

Rank First Name Last Name Organization 1 Albert Pujols Angels 2 Joey Votto Reds 3 Prince Fielder Tigers 4 Edwin Encarnacion Blue

2013 Rankings: Catchers

Source: Fantasy Baseball 365

Fantasy draft time is just around the corner for many folks. That means it is time to start rolling out the position rankngs for draft prep. I'll be posting the rankings without commentary. Feel free to discuss the rankings in the comments below.

Ranking First Name Last

Pressing Questions: Atlanta Braves

Source: Roto Arcade by Brandon Funston

This week, we continue our series of MLB fantasy previews, wherein we consider 5-6 key questions surrounding each team. Baseball is coming, gamers. Pitchers and catchers report soon. Fantasy owners report immediately...

Last week, Atlanta landed, arguably, the top fantasy commodity among all the offseason trades, sending Martin Prado, Randall Delgado and prospects to Arizona for Justin Upton, filling a left field role for the Braves next to his brother B.J. Upton, who Atlanta signed to the largest free agent contract in team history back in late

2013 FSTA LEAGUE

Source: Baseball Guys by Ray Flowers

In 2011 I was the FSTA Champion even though I selected Carl Crawford in the first round (he appeared in just 130 games hitting .255 with 65 runs and 18 steals in his worst season of more than 100 games played.). In 2012 I had another first round selection fail to live up to expectations as

Pressing Questions: The Minnesota Twins

Source: Roto Arcade by Scott Pianowski

The first nine years of the Ron Gardenhire Managing Era were happy ones in Minnesota. The Twins won six AL Central division titles between 2002-2010, with only one losing record (a reasonable 79-83) thrown into the mix. Playoff success was fleeting for Gardenhire's Gang - the Twins collected just one playoff series victory in the 2000s - but it's hard to quibble with a team cranking out October appearances on a modest budget. Throw in a snappy new ballpark and the Twins were one of baseball's small-market success stories.

And then, without any warning, the wave broke. And now the Twins are just another team stuck in the doldrums, trying to figure out how to fix things and return to contention.

Minnesota has owned

Player Profile: Chase Headley

Source: Baseball Guys by Ray Flowers

Since we all know I’m full of myself, let me do what just such a person is want to do and quote myself (from the article Fanball & Sirius Show League). “My boy Chase Headley, taken in the 20th round, was

Joe Mauer (C/1B/DH-MIN)

Source: TG Fantasy Baseball

No. 26 Twins: Minnesota's future depends on owner's willingness to spend cash (Yahoo! Sports). The Twins can only do so much with Joe Mauer's contract eating at their budget. Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com

Justin Morneau (1B/DH-MIN)

Source: TG Fantasy Baseball

Twins | Justin Morneau, Joe Mauer playing in WBC. Minnesota Twins 1B Justin Morneau will play for Team Canada during the 2013 World Baseball ... Source: http://www.kffl.com

Mauer and Wright to play for Team USA in WBC - Joe Mauer | MIN

Source: Rotoworld Baseball

Joe Mauer and David Wright are the two first two player to commit to playing for team USA in the World Baseball Classic.

Player Profile: Freddie Freeman

Source: Baseball Guys by Ray Flowers

Freddie Freeman, the Braves’ first baseman, had a solid second season. In fact, “solid” may not quite be the correct adjective to use when describing his 2012 efforts. Some will see the drop in batting average and the nearly identical OPS and worry that he didn’t take a step forward in Year II. Some will remember the constant physical issues that hindered him included a couple of week span where his vision became an issue. I on the other hand think the seeds are

A.J. Pierzynski (C-FA)

Source: TG Fantasy Baseball

Photo: David Price gets his face on MandM’s (Big League Stew) - To say David Price has had an interesting and successful November would be an understatement. In fact, it was just last weekend that Price won a PGA Tour Pro-Am event at Walt Disney World's Magnolia Golf Course, beating an impressive cast that included past and present major leagues such as A.J. Pierzynski, Joe Mauer, Carlos Pena, James Shields, Frank Viola and Fred McGriff. On Wednesday, the 27-year-old left-hander was named the American League Cy Young , edging out 2011 winner Justin Verlander to become the first pitcher in Tampa Bay Rays history to win the award. But perhaps Price's biggest honor came on Friday. That's when his self-described biggest fan, Parker

OPS Fantasy Leagues: 2012 Catcher Review

Source: Razzball by grey@razzball.com (Grey Albright)

Here is a look at the value of catchers over the past season in OPS fantasy leagues. This is not meant to be a ranking so much as adding a lens to illustrate their relative value with OPS as a component. They are listed from highest to lowest OPS. Note that I only included players with at least 300 plate appearances in 2012.

Top 15

Buster Posey – He was already the top catcher in fantasy baseball and is even better when considering his fantastic .336/.408/.549 line. His .957 OPS was not only top among catchers, but was one of the best in the league. This year he improved his walk rate, line drive rate, and contact rate, while posting a career-high slugging. Even if he regresses next

2012 Positional Review – Catchers

Source: Baseball Guys by Ray Flowers

Now that the 2012 season is over, it’s time to review how my predictions went for each position in fantasy baseball. To that end, I will review my top-10 at each position and give a brief rundown on how each of the ten performed. I’ll also list which player was a “Hit” (someone who lived up to expectations) as well as a “Miss” (the player who simply failed to impress).

Note: All of these rankings are taken from the

Top 20 1st Basemen, 2012 Fantasy Baseball

Source: Razzball by grey@razzball.com (Grey Albright)

After drudging through an Andy Dufresne-type tunnel for the top 20 catchers for 2012 fantasy baseball, I find myself with a group that actually really hurt or helped your team depending on how you drafted. If you went wrong with your 1st baseman, it could kill your season.  Hey, Eric Hosmer, no hard feelings from me.  We are totally fine.  Please enjoy these cyanide pills I made special for you.  If you went right, you might’ve won your league.  To recap, this final ranking is from our Fantasy Baseball Player Rater with my comments.  Anyway, here’s the top 20 1st basemen for

Top 20 Catchers, 2012 Fantasy Baseball

Source: Razzball by grey@razzball.com (Grey Albright)

It feels like yesterday the baseball regular season started.  You wrote “I heart baseball” in permanent marker on your arm, then you met a girl who wrote “I heart guys who heart baseball” on her arm, then, during sex in September, you screamed out “I love you, Chris Davis!” and now you don’t have baseball or a girlfriend, unless your girlfriend was Bill James.  C’mon, calendar, make like a soldier and turn to March.  The only cure for the post-baseball season blues — recapping the preseason top twenty lists and being hand-fed Doritos.  First up, Cool Ranch and our preseason 

Twins remove interim tag from GM Terry Ryan - Joe Mauer | MIN

Source: Rotoworld Baseball

The Twins have removed the interim label from general manager Terry Ryan.

Santiago Leaves Indians Bats Chilly

Source: Razzball by grey@razzball.com (Grey Albright)

Yesterday, Hector Santiago went 7 IP, 0 ER, 1 hit, 1 walk, 10 Ks.  Hey, it’s the White Sox closer from 6 months ago, with that gig lasting for a minute.  Not an Urbandictionary minute, which is a long time.  An actual minute.  (Member the Closepocalypse?  What a exciting time to be alive.)  By making Santiago the closer, Robin Ventura was taking precedent from Ozzie and throwing chaos on a fire, but when he called Stephen Harper a great man and was met with indifference, Ventura realized he didn’t have what it took to be crazy.  Stupid?  Sure, he did charge Nolan Ryan, but crazy he couldn’t pull off.  After the closer experiment, Santiago went back to middle relief and eventually landed in the rotation.

Royals Aim To Odorizzi Their Stinky Season

Source: Razzball by grey@razzball.com (Grey Albright)

The Royals called up Jake Odorizzi, which means nothing really for this year.  He will start next weekend vs. the Indians, and that could be a spot start in some fantasy leagues, but this is more for 2013.  Or, since it’s the Royals, this is Moore for 2013.  In order to be protected from a Rule 5 draft, the Royals had to call him up.  I don’t think this means we see Odorizzi in the rotation to start next year, but he’ll be in the mix for the last spot.  Knowing the Royals, they’ll find someone like Randy Wolf or Carl Pavano for that last spot.  Jeremy Guthrie’s run with the Royals this year is the worst thing that could’ve happened for Royals fans.  Now ownership can get another half-dead veteran

Joe Mauer back in Twins' lineup Sunday - Joe Mauer | MIN

Source: Rotoworld Baseball

Joe Mauer is back in the Twins' lineup Sunday.

Mauer (back) expected to return by Tuesday - Joe Mauer | MIN

Source: Rotoworld Baseball

Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said Joe Mauer (back) could be available Sunday and will return to the lineup "definitely by Tuesday."

Joe Mauer (back) out of lineup again Friday - Joe Mauer | MIN

Source: Rotoworld Baseball

Joe Mauer (back) is out of the Twins' lineup for the fourth straight game Friday.

Joe Mauer (back) could return this weekend - Joe Mauer | MIN

Source: Rotoworld Baseball

Joe Mauer (back) could return to the lineup this weekend.

Joe Mauer (back) out again Thursday - Joe Mauer | MIN

Source: Rotoworld Baseball

Joe Mauer (back) is out of the Twins' lineup for the third straight game Thursday.