RADIO
“This ain’t a football game, we do this every day,” said Hall of Fame manager Earl Weaver back in 1982. His words still ring true over 30 years later. It’s only one game, but it’s still exciting to have baseball back in our lives and it’s hard not to be excited right now.
It can be very tempting to draw conclusions based off what we saw on Opening Day yesterday, but a critical element of in-season roster management for every fantasy owner is being wary of reading too much into a small sample size early in the year.
This doesn’t mean that we should ignore everything we saw either. It simply means that we should remain cognizant of trends in recent performance, and track them going forward, to see if they continue. Here are a few of the biggest takeaways from Opening Day that fantasy owners should continue to watch as we move forward this season. Later in the week, we will look at who you should be targeting off the waiver wire.
Five Up – Take Notice Of These Stellar Debuts
Dustin Pedroia - 2B, Boston Red Sox
After taking Cole Hamels deep to left field twice, it’s clear that Pedroia is over the wrist injuries, which sapped his power a year ago. He’s hitting the ball with authority, and there is widespread optimism that the “Laser Show” is finally back in Boston.
Hitting behind Mookie Betts (who also homered in his 2015 debut) and in front of a stacked middle of the order, Pedroia is in line for a stellar campaign if he can avoid the injuries, which have plagued him in recent years. It’s looking like the real x-factor for the Red Sox this season is going to be Hanley Ramirez, who hit a pair of home runs and drove in five in his debut. If he plays at an MVP-caliber level this season, this could be the best offense in baseball.
Jimmy Rollins - SS, Los Angeles Dodgers
The veteran appeared to be on the precipice of a monster campaign in Los Angeles based on his performance this spring when he batted .313 with 10 extra-base hits. He made an immediate impact on Opening Day, going 2-for-4 with a go-ahead three-run homer in the eighth innings.
Leading off for one of the National League’s most potent offenses, Rollins is underrated by most fantasy owners because he’s old. Age is only a number, especially with a guy like Rollins, who looks locked in at the plate and motivated to be playing for a contender.
Clay Buchholz - SP, Boston Red Sox
The Red Sox offense went all Globo Gym on the Phillies Average Joes while the first of their “five aces” tossed seven scoreless frames, allowing just four base runners (three hits and one walk) with nine strikeouts in an 8-0 victory.
It’s hard not to get excited about a stellar outing from Buchholz, but keep in mind (especially if you play daily fantasy baseball for jellybeans) that the Phillies might have the worst lineup in baseball. It was an encouraging start, but not a harbinger of things to come. We should learn a lot more from his next outing against the New York Yankees this weekend.
Kyle Kendrick - SP, Colorado Rockies
This is a cop out. I couldn’t single out just one Rockies hitter to highlight, so I decided to talk about Kendrick’s dominant debut, which then allows me to talk about the entire offense. Admit it. You laughed when the Rockies named the long-time Philly their Opening Day starter. If you won’t admit it, I will. Sure, it’s easy to pitch with a lead, but seven shutout frames with six strikeouts against a solid Milwaukee lineup is nothing to sneeze at.
More importantly, we got a glimpse at how special the Rockies offense can be if they can somehow keep the core of their lineup healthy. Maybe GM Jeff Bridich can make a deal with the devil this summer (would you blame him) because watching Carlos Gonzalez and Troy Tulowitzki mash along with their young core of Charlie Blackmon, Nolan Arenado and Corey Dickerson is unbelievable. Health will be the biggest obstacle for Colorado this season, aside from that whole pitching in Coors Field thing.
Two Down – Shaky Outings Cause For Concern?
Masahiro Tanaka - SP, New York Yankees
The velocity isn’t my biggest concern right now. It’s the control. Tanaka threw 82 pitches, but only 50 for strikes, giving up five runs (four earned) on five hits, a pair of walks and six strikeouts in just four innings of work against Toronto. As expected, he leaned heavily on his splitter, sinker and slider, throwing just six four-seam fastballs and a pair of curveballs.
If he’s going to rely on the off-speed mix to get the job done, there are plenty of pitchers who have been effective with that strategy (Hisashi Iwakuma most notably). If he’s struggling to throw strikes and leaving pitches over the plate like he did on Edwin Encarnacion’s towering home run, he’s going to run into trouble. It’s not time to panic yet, but if the control doesn’t improve in his next few outings, I’ll be rowing away from “Tanaka Island” as quickly as possible.
Jon Lester - SP, Chicago Cubs
A single play, says more than a thousand words. Matt Holliday hit a chopper back to the mound in the third inning on Sunday night, which Lester stabbed with ease. It immediately became clear that he had Jason Heyward dead to rights trying to advance to third base, but instead of firing it over to Mike Olt, he jogged over to first base and under-handed it for the easy out. For most pitchers, this play means virtually nothing significant, but in the case of Lester, it is emblematic of a problem that has plagued him for over a year now, and could threaten his ability to pitch effectively in the future.
Lester’s inability to throw to first base (or any base for that matter) is becoming one of the most fascinating storylines in baseball to monitor going forward. The southpaw hasn’t thrown over to first base to attempt a pickoff since he left Boston in 2013. It’s been six months since the Kansas City Royals ran wild on him in the AL Wild Card game, plenty of time to work on it, but it became abundantly clear in his Cubs debut that he still refuses to throw over to first base. The Cardinals attempted four steals off Lester, swiping three bags, and if he can’t at least marginally supervise the running game, he’s in trouble going forward in the National League. It’s not time to push the panic button yet, but Lester didn’t give us a lot of reason for optimism in his debut and how he manages base runners going forward is something to pay close attention to.
