Empty the Bench

By Andrew Thell

- After am abysmal start to the season post-hype extraordinaire candidate Jay Bruce has quietly turned his season around in short order. Things bottomed out in late April when Bruce went 0-for-3 on the 24th to bring his line down to .180/.261/.377. Speculation of a demotion to the minors was in the air, but that was the last day Bruce would have an OPS below .700. Bruce busted out with 3 hits (2 doubles) the next day and closed out the last five games of April with 10 hits against just 2 Ks. One of the truly elite hitting prospects of the last five years there’s hope Bruce can continue to build on the turnaround – but he’s going to need to figure out left-handed pitching at some point if he’s ever going to make good on all that promise in the long run.

The splits leave a lot to be desired, with Bruce raking against righties to the tune of .299/.382/.583 but still doing a Nick Punto impersonation against southpaws with a .205/.311/.348 line. While Reds fans desperately hope their promising youngster can close that gap, fantasy owners can work with it. Most leagues have enough bench space to platoon one or two guys, and if you make Jay Bruce one of them you’re getting a star-caliber player two out of every three days.

- Speaking of elite prospects making good, Toronto’s Travis Snider was as hot as nearly any player in baseball prior to spraining his wrist over the weekend. The top power prospect in the minors a year ago, Snider had turned a dismal .155/.277/.338 April into a spectacular .378/.404/.711 May with 3 HRs and 10 RBIs through 12 games. Expectations need to be tempered for the 22-year-old, but make no mistake: Snider can be a fantasy asset this season. The notoriously conservative PECOTA pegged him for 21 HRs, Baseball Forecaster projected 23 HRs and Bill James, showing his characteristic optimism, expected a generous 26 HRs, 82 runs and 90 RBIs. The Toronto offense is better than anybody expected it to be, so if those numbers hold value in your fantasy league Snider is well worth stashing on the DL – the wrist injury doesn’t sound serious at this point.

- The Travis Snider injury stung a bit, but it was nowhere near the swift kick to the sac that was Andre Ethier’s freak broken finger in batting practice on Saturday. It doesn’t sound like anything serious, Ethier might even be able to avoid a DL stint if he can play through the pain, but it could not have come at a worse time. The Dodgers were rocking as a whole, but Ethier in particular had been on the tear of a lifetime. The Los Angeles right fielder‘s May looks like this so far: 12 games, .490 average, .537 OBP, .980 SLG (!), 1.517 OPS (!), 5 HRs, 13 runs and 19 RBIs. Overall, Ethier is leading the league in batting average, slugging, OPS and RBIs. He’s carrying fantasy squads right now, mine included, so let’s hope this dinged finger doesn’t sap any of that power he was flashing.

Checking in with two young stud pitchers, after the jump …

- The National’s called up their top reliever prospect, Drew Storen, their other first-round pick from 2009. The best reliever in college baseball the last two years, Storen earned the call with a stellar start to the 2010 season between Double-A and Triple-A (1.12 ERA, 0.94 WHIP and 15 Ks in 16.0 innings pitched). Storen’s short-term fantasy ceiling is limited with Matt Capps being a more effective closer for the Nats than he has any business being. That said, the 20-18 Nationals don’t figure to remain in the playoff hunt once guys like Christian Guzman, Livan Hernandez and Pudge Rodriguez remember that they’re Christian Guzman, Livan Hernandez and Pudge Rodriguez. Capps looks like excellent trade bait if he continues to flash his 2006-08 form and I don’t expect him to be in the picture come late July. Tyler Clippard also stands in the way, but there should be no confusion on this: Storen is the Nats closer of the future. Those of you in holds leagues or where deep closer prospecting take place will want to monitor Storen very closely.

- Most of the talk surrounding the Braves this season has centered on rookie phenom Jason Heyward, but fellow youngster Tommy Hanson has gone from elite pitching prospect to elite MLB pitcher faster than anybody anticipated. The Braves showed remarkable restraint with Hanson last season, keeping him in the minors until June 7th. I watched Hanson’s first start last season against Milwaukee and was impressed as he struck out the side (including Prince Fielder) in the second inning. Even though he gave up 6 runs in the game he looked like the real deal. Hanson then finished the month of June with four consecutive wins in which he allowed a total of 2 earned runs in 23 innings and kept on rolling the rest of the way with a final line of 127.2 IP, 116 Ks, 46 BBs, .225 BAA, 1.18 WHIP and a 2.89 ERA.

Those were scary numbers from a rookie, especially with one who has this much room to grow. His improving changeup and strike-zone command have been impressive so far this year, and the final results are even stronger thus far with a 2.88 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and 56 Ks in 50 innings pitched. Hanson has had a couple of rough starts in May, but I’ve been watching when he’s on the mound and I assure you there’s no reason for concern – we’re already talking about one of the best pitchers in baseball.

Possibly Related Content:

1. Bruce Bowen Tangles with Computer Nerdz


2. Amare Stoudemire Calls Bruce Bowen Out


3. ETB’s NBA Poetry Corner, Featuring Tim Duncan, Bruce Bowen, and Brent Barry


4. TWIETB Notes: Checking in With Preseason Predictions for Four Forgotten Veterans


5. TWIETB Notes: Prince Fielder Slumping, Kelly Johnson Having a Coming Out Party