Oakland Athletics Archive

  • Kimbrel, Johnson Look Dominant
    April 29, 2012

    Here’s a look at the top five fantasy relief pitchers as we’re close to the end of the first month of the regular season.

    1.  Jim Johnson, Orioles:

    Part of Johnson’s success has been that the Orioles are playing much better than anticipated, but kudos for Johnson for converting the opportunities he’s been given.  Though Johnson isn’t much of a strikeout threat, he’s been perfect this season and he should be a high value guy if you were able to get him.  If you get the right price, though, Johnson is the kind of guy you might want to consider selling.

    Read More

  • Beckett and Cahill For Real?
    April 12, 2011

    ESPN fantasy baseball expert Tristan Cockcroft recently took a look at some players off to hot and cold starts and whether or not these small sample sizes are for real or not.  The first guy Cockcroft notes is Boston starter Josh Beckett.  “It’s his offspeed stuff that has made all the difference; per ESPN Stats & Information, Beckett threw 25 curveballs and 17 changeups in his dominant effort versus the New York Yankees this past Sunday, and the Yankees were 0-for-11 with six strikeouts in at-bats that ended with either pitch in that game,” Cockcroft writes.  “In his two starts combined, opponents are 0-for-19 with nine K’s against either offering.  Those are the kinds of stats that remind us of Beckett’s heyday, and it’s the reason he soars 17 spots in the rankings this week.”  However, I wouldn’t expect Beckett to keep this up, as it would be the best season of his career if he did.

    Read More

  • Oakland’s Anderson a Risk/Reward Fantasy Pick
    March 15, 2011

    Oakland Athletics hurler Brett Anderson has a lot of potential, nobody is denying that.  He’s got very good stuff, solid command of his pitches and has pitched well in the majors thus far.  Why is he a fantasy baseball risk, you ask?  Well, Anderson has not been able to stray on the field for very long in his short stint in the big leagues, which makes him a risk/reward kind of guy for 2011.  ” Anderson’s statistics alone underscore the considerable levels of reward present and, truth is, it’s not like much has changed for him in terms of raw talent from a year ago, when he was regarded a potential contender for top-25 starter status,” writes ESPN fantasy expert Tristan Cockcroft.  “This is how Anderson has fared in the 35 starts he has made — effectively one full season’s worth of work — since July 1, 2009: 2.91 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 14 wins, 22 quality starts, 173 K’s.”

    Read More