In the politically correct world we live in the word “stupid” has become frown upon to use when describing ones actions. I can tell you one thing …I am allergic to stupidity … there I said it…While I don’t mean we are all stupid but as human beings we are all guilty of stupidity from time to time. Hell, I for one have no shame in admitting my erroneous ways…Shaming Justin Upton the way I did in the preseason had no merit and for that I apologize…it was stupid..but I am human….Does Jedd Gyroko suck big balls? You damn right he does..only myself would try and sell the public on using Mark Ellis as a stop gap replacement for the struggling San Diego Second Baseman on the “Peruisng the Perimeter” podcast last week….only to have Mark Ellis suffer an injury the next day…for that I am stupid…stupid for owning Jedd Gyroko in the first place and putting myself in the position I am in….In arguably the shallowest position fantasy baseball I have no where to turn and no one but to blame is myself for my own stupidity…What fantasy baseball is all about, let alone all fantasy sports, is eliminating this personal stupidity by learning from our mistakes and knowing when its time to own up for our personal transgressions….With the month of April coming to a close ….Fantasy baseball owners are looking at their teams and giving them a serious look moving forward ….as we enter the next couple of months the men will start to separate from the boys …. don’t be guilty of ignoring personal stupidity…and look to cash in on the stupidity of other owners via the wavier wire and trade..”Perusing the Perimeter” is here to help make those adjustments as we all learn from our mistakes heading into the month of May…(check out “Perusing the Perimeter” podcast Tuesday Night 8PM with Mike Gianella @MikeGianella as we discuss whats ahead for fantasy baseball owners …)

*Russell Martin 15% owned and his “Sex is on Fire” five home runs and .409/.469/.864 line the last 15 days ..a great band-aid for owners of guys like Evan Gattis and John Buck as they are cooling off a bit ….

*James Loney of Tampa Bay is a sexy option at CI but I’d be tempted to play matchups with him and guys like Mike Moustakas and Ike Davis for a few weeks and see where it gets you…Loney hitting .436/.500/.641 only owned in about 3% of leagues…

*Dustin Ackley, last 15 days he has been batting .340 folks who are scraping the barrel for production at this position could do worse than giving Ackley a week or two of your time in your MI spot..

*Pedro Alvarez is as streaky as they come and I was asked a question yesterday on twitter whether or not I would take new call-up Rockies Third Baseman Nolan Arenado over him the Rest of the season…and I told him yes…but in the short term  Pedro Alvarez is warming up a bit and is streaky as they come …so to correct my stupid answer to the question…the real answer is I would pick up Arenado and stash  for a week but give Pedro a week to prove me wrong if the recent solid production doesn’t hold make the switch…

*Jed Lowrie Watch :If you missed my “Perusing the Perimeter” podcast with @SlimCliffy I made a wager I would  rub my nipples in a Google + Hangout if Jed Lowrie reaches 300 At-bats … man of my word (although I am sure no one wants to see that..) He currently sits at 93 at-bats and is already dealing with neck stiffness and is day to day…Don’t let me down Jed…

*Nate McLouth 66.7% owned in ESPN Leagues .400/.510/.575 with 15 runs, six steals, and is hitting atop the Baltimore lineup drink the kool-aid…its delicious for a limited time only….

*Tony Cingrani: As a Cincinnati Reds fan hopefully the stupidity that is Dusty Baker and the Reds Organization will allow for the time being upon Johnny Cueto‘s return to the rotation to give a look at using Cingrani over Mike Leake..Although Leake has been throwing the ball well in two of his last three starts…Cingrani’s 28:4 K:BB ratio and 1.50 in 18 innings of work so far is rather impressive..

*Jose Valverde (DET) and Kevin Gregg(CHI) became closers this past week…a month in and everyone is screaming “Don’t pay for Saves”

FSWA Member and also Writer for www.FP911.com .. Follow me and ask me your questions on Twitter@Whudey or Tell me what you think in the Comments section below. Make sure you tune into a NEW “Peruinsg the Perimeter” Podcast this Thursday on FantasyTrade411 Radio Network.

Fantasy baseball owners are about a month into the season it is time to take a go look at our squads and see where we can make improvements…whether its a via trade or the wire by now the day to day maintenance of our fantasy baseball teams should seem routine. Check your waiver wire daily and send out trade offers because you never know how “crazy” people are until you open up trade conversations with respective partners. Now, let’s not get all Miami Marlins “Fire Sale” on your fantasy baseball team if you are in last place. There is still more than four months of action to improve your team. Please Don’t Panic. Let your competition get all nutty and sale off players like Allen Craig as if they become Gary Bussey. Relax, the fun has just begun as you assess your team let me provide some assistance as we comb through some findings in ESPN Standard leagues going into Monday’s games..

*Over the last 15 days Welington Castillo (.382 /.400/.500) and Jonathan Lucroy (.324/.390/.622) have become very attractive options at Catcher
until Matt Wieters ,Evan Gattis and Miguel Montero heat back up..
And no sure why about 25% of owners are dropping Salvador Perez because he has heated up of late..if he is out on your waiver wire grab him up….and Carlos Ruiz  of the Philadelphia Phillies is to return Sunday or Monday ….

*If I am a Kendry Morales Owner I am going to the wire and copping Matt Adams (Although he was a late scratch prior to the game on Monday)… Adams may finally get to see a healthy share of at-bats (As I have mention him  in last week’s “PTP”..)…. from the 5 spot in the lineup without Carlos Beltran in the lineup…we all know Beltran deals with his share of injuries year in and year out…so just a matter of time before he gets an extended look…at 11% owned this may be the last time you will be able to make a $0 FAAB Bid on him and have him awarded to your team.

*Mark Ellis could really help you Jason Kipnis owners who continue to own him and START him…during his terrible start and …Jedd Gyroko owners like myself…. Jot this down…Now, excuse me while I search the waiver wire for Ellis on my 20 plus fantasy baseball teams…

*Plays Final “Jeopardy” Music*

*Josh Donaldson of Oakland should be a nice pickup for the those hurting at CI in serch of average and power

*Nelson Cruz, Andre Either, Ben Revere, and Gerardo Parra owners ….could do a two week fill in of these guys off a wavier wire near you.

Lorezno Cain of the Kansas City Royals and

Travis Snider of the Pittsburgh Pirates….both guys are hitting the ball really well…maybe you can grab them off the wire and flip them to someone…

* Send out offers for Jay Bruce trying to Buy Low on him…he is known to hit home runs in bunches as one of the game’s more streakier players… hit his first yesterday…

FSWA Member and also Writer for www.FP911.com .. Follow me and ask me your questions on Twitter@Whudey or Tell me what you think in the Comments section below. Make sure you tune into a NEW “Peruinsg the Perimeter” Podcast this Thursday on FantasyTrade411 Radio Network.

Just about two weeks in and folks lets be honest the fantasy baseball scene is looking a lot more like an episode of M.A.S.H. everyday. In the war that is our respective fantasy baseball leagues day in and day out players who are more than 75% owned in ESPN standard roto leagues are landing on the disabled list. Zach Greinke, Jose Reyes, Yoenis Céspedes, Jason Kubel, and Kyuji Fujikawa are just a few names that checked into the infirmary this past week. Looking at all the red DL and DTD on my respective teams really has me needing to just grab a drink with Alan Alda and Mike Farrell … Well, as your “Radar”, I am here to help assist you the best way that I can as we sit and wait for our wounded warriors to return.

*The John Buck train has come and gone as he nears 100% owned . Evan Gattis is eligible at OF and C with Brian McCann still a ways away from playing Gattis has taken the lion share of catching duties. Four home runs and a .333/.412/.767 line to start the year going into Sunday. After Sunday going 1-4 with 2 RBIs, Gattis has 10 RBIs on the year. Mike Napoli and Buster Posey owners need to take a look at Evan Gattis still about 30% available until they shake out of their funks.

 
* I mentioned him on last weeks “Peruisng the Perimeter” Podcast but if Matt Adams of the St.Louis Cardinals starts gaining playing time could be nice time to grab and stash. Crazy Power…

 
* If you own Danny Espinosa… go get Omar Infante off the wire….that is all.

 
* over 70% of fantasy baseball owners own Kyle Seager…my question is why? Conor Gillaspie’s .435 /.435 /.609 line  isn’t as sexy as it looks but its certainly better than Seager, who needs to be left for AL-only leagues at this point.

*Jhonny Peralta seems like the best available option for you suffering Jose Reyes owners…

 
*Micheal Morse should be out for most of the week so those in weekly leagues will need to sit him..

*Coco Crisp has been dealing with a groin issue although not on the DL ..Chris Young and Seth Smith have been gaining at-bats with the two on the A’s starting outfielders banged up..Smith has been on fire and would be my first option to bandage the wound.

 
* I like Ross Detwiler for the Nationials at Miami on Wednesday.

*Give me some A.J. Griffin action as well on Tuesday not a great looking 1.93 ERA but “that’ll do pig, that’ll do” versus Houston at home…and while we are talking about the Athletics…What in the fudge sticks are they doing letting Bartolo “Yolo” Colon pitch…Free Dan Straily..

Jose Fernandez owners beware of using him at Cincinnati this week….although the way that Reds have looked offensively on the road trip maybe you should disregard my previous statement….but have you seen the Marlins Lineup without Giancarlo Stanton? (*Laughs*)

 
Go grab Andrew Bailey of the Boston Red Sox  as Joel Hanrahan seems to have hurt his vag…I mean hamstring once again…

*Shawn Camp blew the save and Carlos Marmol was in the set-up role on Sunday. With the closer situation being this fluid it would be wise  to just avoid all together until the dust settles in the Chicago Cubs Bullpen

I Salute you brave fantasy baseball owners who fight the good fight for their teams.
Not to mention I salute our United States Armed Forces. Thank you all who serve or have served protecting our country.

FSWA Member and also Writer for www.FP911.com .. Follow me and ask me your questions on Twitter@Whudey or Tell me what you think in the Comments section below. Make sure you tune into a NEW “Peruinsg the Perimeter” Podcast this Thursday on FantasyTrade411 Radio Network.

Spring is finally here. The first week of Major League Baseball has been a every bit of entertaining as anyone could have imagined. Jeff Samardzija is a strike out machine, Chris Davis was the “Human Torch” and Will Middlebrooks hit three home runs in the same game today.Albeit a small sample size, let’s take a look at players in ESPN Fantasy Baseball leagues at each position in the fantasy baseball edition of “Perusing the Perimeter”.

* Micheal Clifford, aka Slim or @SlimCliffy on twitter, is my guest for this week’s “Perusing the Periemeter” Podcast and I am sure his love for J.P. Arencibia will for sure be on display. The Toronto Catcher is batting .368 with three home runs and is only 19.7% owned. Owners of Salvador Perez KC (98.5%) and Jesus Montero Sea C, DH(95.9%)should look to acquire his services in the short term while while he is hot and they are cold..No Katy Perry ;)

* Freddie Freeman hit the DL today..best available Matt Carpenter  of St.Louis Cardinals even though he is at 63% owned hopefully you are in a league where he is 37% available  Not too strong of a start but you could do worse…the 15-day DL for Freeman with an oblique needs to be monitored closely as those are tricky injuries to gauge in terms of post-DL production…

* Omar Infante hitting .429 may be able to help in the short term for those Neil Walker owners out there at 59.3% owned so there is a chance he could be out on your wire.

* Aramis Ramirez owners are hurting after he was off to a hot start only to hit the DL Saturday…Can not believe I am going to say this but in the short term Placido Polanco and Greg Dobbs for the Marlins make for decent fill ins ..also give Chris Johnson of the Atlanta Braves a look as he figures to fill in Freddie Freeman while he is out..and Daniel Descalso of the St.Louis Cardinals three runs, three RBIs, and a steal with a .286 average isn’t sexy but also could help if you are in a pinch at the Third Base.

* Cold start for Asdrubal Cabrera hitting only .100 do yourself a favor and get Jean Segura of Milwaukee until he heats up ..Only 20.5% owned..

If you haven’t grabbed Gerardo Parra do yourself a favor and check out Trader X’s piece on him…

* Mixed leaguers be wise to avoid Justin Maxwell. Maxwell is a AL-only play and should remain that way as a member of the Strikeout Kings in the Houston Astros… he will hurt your average mightily and has only averaged 8 steals the last three years in the majors and minors. I’d pump the brakes on the 20/20 ….20/10 if he is lucky..

*Already fantasy “experts” everywhere are talking about streaming pitchers against the Houston Astros . So far Houston as a team has .202 batting average. The 60 strikeouts are 10 more than the next MLB team going into Sunday not to mention no stolen bases as a team. This Houston team is terrible. So here is the upcoming schedule for the Astros file it away in your memory banks for safe keeping because this team may not win 55 game even with the law of averages on their side. When thinking about streaming a starting pitcher start here: HOU: Sea(3) LAA(3) Oak(3) Cle(3) Sea (3) Bos(4) NYY (3).

*Detroit Tigers closing situation is a mess…Avoid… Avoid…. Avoid…

FSWA Member Host of “Perusing the Periemeter” Podcast on FantasyTrade411 Radio Network, Writer for www.FP911.com .. Follow me and ask me your questions on Twitter @Whudey or Tell me what you think in the Comments section below or email me Fantasyworldorder1@gmail.com 

Spring, although you wouldn’t know it living in the east coast, is here. Time for Easter Egg hunting, The Kentucky Derby, and of course America’s Past-time ..Baseball. From T-Ball to the Major Leagues the excitement of rounding the bases and competing for a title within the diamond with the arrival of spring has hit it’s fever pitch. With the MLB season set to get started on Sunday Night I wanted to give a bold prediction or two about each team heading into the 2013 campaign. Because well…bold is what I do..Also, please check out “Perusing the Perimeter” Podcast where I will discuss some of these more in depth, my guests and I will hand out awards, and crown a Pre-season World Series champion..and now I present to you my list:

NL WEST

Tyler Colvin

Arizona Diamondbacks: Paul Goldschimdt has a 40/20 season. Man is a beast!!

San Diego Padres: Luke Gregerson leads the team in saves with 32. ( My @FSWA Team sure hopes this one is right. )

San Franciso Giants: Tim Lincecum has a Sub 3.40 ERA. And Y’all stop hating on his hair… Timmy Slim Jim is bringing sexy back in 2013.

Colorado Rockies: Tyler Colvin Hits 30 Home Runs. I love me some Tyler Colvin…Don’t nobody be talking bad about Lou Pinella’s Boy!!!

Los Angeles Dodgers: Zack Grienke wins less games and has a higher ERA than Ted Lilly. I wouldn’t touch Greinke even if he was covered in bacon.

NL EAST

Dominic Brown

New York Mets: Johnathan Niese finishes the year with a better ERA than Matt Harvey….And it won’t be close.

Philadelphia Phillies: Dominic Brown finally stays with the club all year clubbing 20 plus home runs.

Atlanta Braves: Justin Upton has almost an identical year as the one he experienced in 2012. I am not sold on teh change of scenery and brotherly love improving his now Sub-B.J. Upton type game.

Miami Marlins: @LoMoMarlins will be no more on Twitter, once he is traded at some point this year.

Washington Nationals:  Jayson Werth makes the All-Star team having a monster first half with 15-20 Home Runs.

NL CENTRAL

Zack Cozart

Chicago Cubs: Carlos Marmol has more saves than Kyuji Fujikawa in a Cubs uniform.

St. Louis Cardinals: Jamie Garcia has a 3.50 ERA or lower. (Biased because we share the same birthday.)

Cincinnati Reds: Zack Cozart hits 20 + Home Runs.

Miwaukee Brewers: Kyle Loshe will struggle to make 10 starts. Scott Boras strikes agian.

Pittsburgh Pirates: Wandy Rodriguez has 140+ Strikeouts season.

AL CENTRAL

Jeff Keppinger

Chicago White Sox: Jeff Keppinger hits 15 Home Runs and will have more RBIs than Dayan Viciedo.

Cleveland Indians: Drew Stubbs goes 20/30 (albeit with a .240 Average)

Kansas City Royals: Mike Moustakas hits 35 Home Runs and James Shields wins 20 + games.

Detroit Tigers: Rick Porcello has a 3.50 ERA or lower. (I am a believer of his spring.)

Minnesota Twins: Trevor Plouffe will smack less than 15 Home Runs.

AL EAST

Curtis Granderson

 New York Yankees: Curtis Granderson has more Home Runs and RBIs than Robinson Cano 

Boston Red Sox: David Oritz and Jacoby Ellsbury play a total of less than 10 games together.

Tampa Bay Rays:  Hellickson leads the team with a Sub-3.20 ERA

Baltimore Orioles  Adam Jones wins the Triple Crown

Toronto Blue Jays: Colby Ramus has a higher batting average than Melky Cabrera

AL WEST

Mike Trout

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim:  Mike Trout never goes through “regression” and has a better sophomore season from his rookie campaign.

Oakland As: Last year wasn’t all just “Moneyball” Magic. The Oakland As will make a return to the postseason…somehow …someway.

Seattle Mariners:Mike Morse goes back to the Morse that was in Seattle the first time around.

Texas Rangers:Ron Washington fired before the year is over and the team has a winning record.

Houston Astros: On the doorstep of a projected worst season ever in Major League Baseball …I’ll leave this team alone…

For My Final Personal Fantasy Baseball Rankings  and the FT411 Team before the 2013 MLB season gets underway next week click here.

@FSWA Member Host of “Perusing the Periemeter” Podcast on FantasyTrade411 Radio Network, Writer for www.FP911.com.. Follow me and ask me your questions on Twitter @Whudey or Tell me what you think in the Comments section below or email me Fantasyworldorder1@gmail.com 

Aaron Hicks CF Twins

This is the best time of the year for Fantasy Baseball. Draft season is upon us and everyday values change for certain players. Which by the way have you bought your FantasyTrade411 Draft Guide? If not please do yourself a favor and get it to dominate your drafts this spring. Anyway, with Spring Training in full swing as teams prepare to cut their rosters to 25 players remember to keep your eyes and ears open for any and all information. Digest it carefully because having a great spring or terrible spring hardly equates to major league playing time or success but some rookies have made too much noise to be ignored. For veterans, Spring Training stats don’t usually matter but for some the numbers are alarming and to turn a deaf ear to the information will do your fantasy baseball team a great disservice come Draft Day (Looking at you, Doc Halladay and Zach Grienke!) In this edition of “Perusing the Perimeter” we will dive into some Spring Training stats,news, and notes to unearth whose stock is rising and falling for 2013 season ahead. Also, please check out Episode one of The “Perusing the Periemter” Fantasy Baseball Podcast on Fantasy Trade411 Radio Network  ——————————————————————————————————

STOCK UP: Aaron Hicks is hitting  .371 this Spring. Hicks’ 4 home runs and 13 RBIs has given him firm ground to earn the starting Centerfield job. Troubling is his 7:1 strikeout to walk ratio so far this spring having not played above Double -A he figures to adjusting all season. But, Hicks has Jacoby Ellsbury upside having stole 32 bags in 2012 for New Britain. Moving him up from AL-only Late round filer status to being on mixed leagues owners radar.

STOCK DOWN: Darin Mastroianni was suppose to be the man in Center Filed for the Twins’ in 2013. Having only played in 8 games and suffering an injury paved the way for Hicks to take over. Mastroianni could still figure into the Outfield plans for the Minnesota Twins but until he is 100% healthy and Hicks struggles the favorite to win the position this spring may now start the year at Triple-A.

STOCK UP: Adam Eaton already has playing time on lock coming into the 2013 season for the Diamondbacks after they shipped Justin Upton to Atlanta and Chris Young to Oakland. You wouldn’t be able to tell by his ADP ,which should be higher, that this guy is a future star of this league. Eaton profiles as a lead off hitter having stole 38 bases while at Triple -A Reno in 2012. Eaton by mid season will hold substantial mixed league value hitting near .300 with 100+ Runs and 30+ Stolen Bases in 2013.

STOCK UP: Rick Porcello is only 24-Years-Old but is already the forgotten man in Detroit when it comes the rotation. This Spring has seen a “New and Improved” Porcello with 14 strikeouts and 0 Walks with a 2.08 ERA over 13 innings. Small sample size but I am buying into him as a mixed league end game option. Porcello suffered a .345 BABIP last season killing his ERA and WHIP but his groundball rate improved a great deal. He looks dialed in this spring and eager to earn a spot in the rotation onto a sub-3.75 ERA and 130 strikeouts in 2013.

STOCK DOWN: The 37-Year-Old Veteran Tim Hudson has 6.43 ERA in 14 innings this Spring. If you are currently selecting him as a back of the rotation option in mixed leagues. Please stop. Yes, He won 16 games a year ago after recovering from back surgery to start the year. I get it, but the increase in ERA and decrease in velocity last year is the writing on the wall for you to avoid him in 2013. Hudson currently barely holds NL-only value.

 @FSWA Member Host of “Perusing the Periemeter” Podcast on FantasyTrade411 Radio Network, Writer for www.FP911.com.. Follow me and ask me your questions on Twitter @Whudey or Tell me what you think in the Comments section below or email me Fantasyworldorder1@gmail.com 

On Monday Feb.18th, 2013,  I participated in a mock draft on MockDraftCentral.com hosted by Radio Host for ESPN Radio Detroit 1090 and Podcaster for FP911.com Dennis Farrell . You can listen to the podcast covering this mock here. It was rather spur of the moment but welcomed and appreciated the invite. The Mock draft pitted me up against Trader X and some brillant fantasy baseball minds so I knew I had to do a little homework. Good thing for me I had the FT411 Draft Guide handy. Here are the first 11 rounds of the Mock draft with my thoughts on my selections and others that may have stood out for good or bad reasons. Below is Rounds 12-23 to complete the draft.

My Selection: The Johan. I regret this pick oh so much..Thinking maybe he could stay healthy and nope that is already not the case as he is to start the year on the DL.

The rest of the round: I have reservations about every player selected here but one intrigues me… that guy…..Brandon McCarthy…just hope he can stay healthy enough to contribute to a fantasy roster.

Final Roster

I like the overall balance the team presents…. having a Top three pick helps …But “We talking about practice…PRACTICE!! ….not a game…PRACTICE!”..Remember to keep mocking out there folks values change daily and keep your eyes and ears open for any and all interesting Spring Training news.

Tell me what you think in the Comments section below or email me Fantasyworldorder1@gmail.com

@FSWA Member Host of “Perusing the Periemeter” Podcast on FantasyTrade411 Radio Network, Writer for www.FP911.com.. Or Follow me and ask me your questions on Twitter @Whudey

On Monday Feb.18th, 2013,  I participated in a mock draft on MockDraftCentral.com hosted by Radio Host for ESPN Radio Detroit 1090 and Podcaster for FP911.com Dennis Farrell . You can listen to the podcast covering this mock here. It was rather spur of the moment but welcomed and appreciated the invite. The Mock draft pitted me up against Trader X and some brillant fantasy baseball minds so I knew I had to do a little homework. Good thing for me I had the FT411 Draft Guide handy. Below are the first 11 rounds of the Mock draft with my thoughts on my selections and others that may have stood out for good or bad reasons. 

 (To Be Continue…)

@FSWA Member Host of “Perusing the Periemeter” Podcast on FantasyTrade411 Radio Network, Writer for www.FP911.com.. Follow me on Twitter @Whudey