Buy Buy Buy - Carlos Rodon, SP/RP, Chicago White Sox
Not to be outdone by their crosstown NL counterparts who called up their own uber-prospect this past weekend (maybe you've heard of him? Kid named Bryant??), the floundering ChiSox are finally promoting Rodon, the third pick in last year's draft and, by all accounts, an absolute force on the bump. While indicative of nothing, Rodon, 22, notched a K/9 of 13.4 in 34 1/3 innings last season, going straight from Single- to Triple-A without missing a beat. He held opponents to a .215 batting average in that same span, which is a lot lower than it may sound (remember, minor leaguers routinely hit over .300). The best news is that you don't need to fret about making space for him in your rotation, because he's slated to start his major league career in the bullpen a la future rotation mate Chris Sale. This way, Rodon won't get too much mileage on his arm before becoming a starter full-time, increasing the likelihood that he and that disgusting slider will last longer through the fatigue of the baseball season. The future looks bright in Chicago, a sentence that hasn't been uttered in decades.
Sell Em If You Got Em - Russell Martin, C, Toronto Blue Jays
It was a nice feel-good moment when Martin, a Montreal native (if only that city had a baseball team...), signed with Canada's only baseball team this offseason, but the jingoism can only go so far. Nobody expected Martin, 32, to replicate the .402 OBP he provided during his final campaign with the Pirates, but he's gotten off to an extremely slow start to begin this season. He's currently sporting a .623 OPS, and I know, small sample sizes, blah blah blah, but the Jays didn't give him $82 million to hit like a Molina (Yadier excluded). Martin's pitch framing abilities are his strongest assets, to be clear, so he isn't expected to be the offensive sparkplug in a lineup that also houses Jose Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion and offseason acquisition Josh Donaldson. Still, a .129 average is ugly no matter how many games have been played to this point. If Martin doesn't get things going soon, you may want to start fielding offers for him on the low end.
Hurlers In The Stream - Anthony DeSclafani, SP, Cincinnati Reds
The linchpin of the Mat Latos trade, DeSclafani was highly touted with both Toronto and Miami before finally making Cincinnati's Opening Day roster this year. He doesn't throw a lot of strikeouts, nor does he prevent baserunners at an impressive rate. What DeSclafani does best, though, is mix his pinpoint command with a fastball that has become his calling card. He issues very few walks, which will be crucial against a Brewers team looking for offense anywhere it can be found. The 25 year old recently added a curveball to his repertoire, and while its efficacy is undetermined as of yet, a solid curve helps cross up a lot of hitters, especially if thrown unexpectedly. The Reds haven't gotten off to the best start, but they could still play saboteur early on and kick the flailing Brewers while they're down. DeSclafani would definitely go a long way to that end.
TBF's Current Standing - After starting the season in 5th place, I beat Zach, the 4th place team, which caused the two of us to flip in the standings. I'm still looking up at three very strong teams, and will be facing the first-place team this week, but I'm confident that my roster will eventually garner me a playoff spot. In our league, 6 teams make the playoffs out of 10, so as long as I can stay above 7th, your favorite writer (I'm assuming) will have another chance to do some real damage come September.
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