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June 18, 2012

Resident Fantasy Genius

Seven Magnificent Player Recommendations

by Derek Carty

• After a couple of rough starts against the Yankees and White Sox, fellow BP Fantasy writer Paul Sporer speculated that Alex Cobb could be in danger of being replaced in Tampa’s rotation by Wade Davis. My man Cobb dominated the Marlins yesterday, however, to the tune of seven innings, no runs, 10 strikeouts, and just one walk. I’ve covered him before, but I see more good things in his future.
• I guested on SiriusXM Fantasy Baseball with Craig Mish on Saturday, and I was asked whether I was buying into Adam Dunn’s resurgence this year. My answer: yes. Dunn is looking very much like the hitter he was prior to his disastrous 2011. While he’s still striking out more than he used to, he is hitting the ball further than he was last year. He may not hit any higher than .220, but his power is back. He seems to be hitting fastballs much better this year (one of his big issues last year) after spending some time in the batting cages working on his swing over the offseason (something he didn’t do the winter before).
• After a rocky start to the season, to say the least (a .121/.275/.242 April), Trevor Plouffe has been the hottest player in baseball over the past few weeks, batting .310 with 13 home runs since May 16 and .388 with nine homers since the start of June. It’s hard to expect that kind of performance to continue, especially from a player with just a modest track record for power in the minor leagues, but Plouffe does come with a good pedigree (he’s a former first-round pick) and has a nice, quick, compact swing. Obviously we’d like to see more before we deem him a true breakout, but there is a lot to like with Plouffe.
• The injuries keep piling up for the Red Sox outfield; this time it’s Ryan Sweeney he

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