Fantasy Baseball Thoughts: Takeaways from Week 17

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The non-waiver trade deadline has come and gone and there were some fairly impressive deals that went down. My fellow Crackerjacks have done a wonderful job informing you how those trades affect your fantasy baseball team down the stretch. Let’s take a look at some other fantasy baseball thoughts worthy of your attention.

Batters:

• Paul Goldschmidt owners are feeling violated right now as he could be done for the year.
• The eye for an eye approach had Andrew McCutchen owners holding their breath, as he had to come out the game early yesterday, a day after taking a fastball to his spine.
• Speaking of people getting hurt, Eric Hosmer landed on the DL with a stress fracture in his hand, maybe he was gripping his Hoz a little too tightly.
• Angel Pagan is on track to return this week. Give him a look as he will likely resume his leadoff duties and was batting over .300 with 11 SBs before his disabled list stint.
• Speaking of SBs, Denard Span is hitting just below .300 with 23 SBs. He had five swipes this past week.
• Victor Martinez refuses to slow down, one the best values this year in fantasy.
• One of the best values from last year in fantasy, Chris Davis, is hitting .194 on the season, with six fewer home runs than V-Mart.
• Lucas Duda has more HRs than Davis. Duda now has 20 with a fighting chance to reach 30.
• What the hell kind of vitamins was Brett Gardner taking this week?
• Speaking of vitamins, Josh Harrison hit four HRs this week and now there are rumors suggesting Pedro Alvarez could get moved to 1B.
• Ben Zobrist, did not get traded, but he still could if he clears waivers. Regardless, he needs to be in your lineup right now.

Pitchers:

• David Price and Jon Lester owners should be very happy with the deals that were struck.
• I like John Lackey‘s destination too.  NL, Busch Stadium, Cardinals do well with their pitchers.
• I would say ditto for Justin Masterson, but I just do not think he has learned to be as effective with the significant drop in velocity he has seen this year.
• I like Drew Smyly to the Rays, more so for next year, but that orginization does a fine job with their pitchers as well.
• Matt Cain is done for the year with an elbow (football season talk), capping off a horrible return for his fantasy owners this season.
• Speaking of horrible returns, Cliff Lee did not get traded, but he did get hurt again and is expected to seek an opinion from the good Dr. James Andrews.
• Vance Worley has some fantasy value, here, people and is available it a strong majority of leagues right now. Give him a look.
• Anibal Sanchez showed new David Price what he can do when he is on, striking out 12 yesterday. With the addition of Price, does Justin Verlander make the Tigers playoff rotation?
• Before you answer that question, please note Rick Porcello struck out 10 his last time out and now owns a 3.18 ERA.
• Jesse Chavez owners are feeling a little hurt after the deadline deals pushed him back to the rotation for now. It was fun while it lasted.
• Speaking of Jesse’s, Jesse Hahn is still dealing. His numbers are absolutely filthy, and still available in plenty of leagues.
• Francisco Liriano’s hot streak could not come at a better time for the Pirates.
• Two of your no hitter arms this year, Josh Beckett and Tim Lincecum have both failed to make it out of the 5th inning in each of their two previous starts. Selling high windows are closing.
• Danny Salazar was quality again this week, and with Justin Masterson gone, he should be safe in the rotation for the reminder of the year.