In order to be a great fantasy owner you must be able to predict and project how well players will do down the road. Owners have to see production before it is performed by players otherwise you might miss out on that player, it might be too late and another owner in your league snatched him before you. Just like last month I have decided to somewhat predict the future. I have put together a handful of things that I believe will happen in the month of June, a lot of statements in which you may be shaking your head now but when we look back on July 1st I will say “I told you so”.
1) Mark My Words, Los Angeles Angels Outfielder Mike Trout scores more fantasy points than Texas Rangers Outfielder Josh Hamilton in the month of June: Josh Hamilton is having one heck of a season. Hamilton leads almost every statistical category by a large margin. Hamilton also leads the league in fantasy points. This season has been owned by Josh Hamilton, June will be owned by 20 year old youngster Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels. Trout is known as one of the most talented prospects in the league and he has shown off his abilities early on in the big leagues. Trout was the 25th overall pick in the 2009 draft, and ranked the #2 best prospect according to Baseball America. Trout joined the Angels big league club five weeks into the season and has been raking since. He is currently hitting .302 and has 5 homeruns in his short stint with the club. In June 20 year old Mike Trout out performs Josh Hamilton.
2) Mark My Words, Aroldis Chapman still has a 0.00 ERA: Aroldis Chapman is having a dominant season. A season in which he has yet to allow a single run. He also took complete control of the Cincinnati Reds closer role. Earlier this month I wrote about Chapman’s dominance https://boxseatssports.wordpress.com/fantasy-sports-insider/fantasy-baseball/an-eventful-week-dominant-season-aroldis-chapman/. I’m predicting the left hander continues this magical season and doesn’t allow a run in June either.
3) Mark My Words, this one is a carry-over from last month to get the sour taste out of my mouth. Former Yankee A.J. Burnett has a lower ERA than Yankee ace C.C. Sabathia in the month of June: I had this same prediction last month and I fell one outing short of this coming true. In A.J. Burnett’s last five starts he has allowed two runs or fewer. During this five game stretch Burnett has a 1.57 ERA and a 3-0 record. I would’ve hit on this prediction last month if it weren’t for Burnett’s first outing against the St. Louis Cardinals where he allowed 12 runs over 2.2 innings. Burnett has had a lot of success as of late and so has his former Yankee teammate C.C. Sabathia. Sabathia has had no problem going deep into games, going at least seven innings in seven of ten outings, and going at least 6 innings in all of them. The Yankee ace had a 2.75 ERA in the month of May but just a 3-2 record to show for it. This month I get my revenge on this prediction when A.J. Burnett out pitches C.C. Sabathia.
4) Mark My Words, youngster Bryce Harper has more extra base hits than league leader (in that category) Joey Votto: Joey Votto currently leads the league in extra base hits with 30 total. Votto has 8 homeruns and 22 doubles. This season Votto has done more than just get extra base hits for the Cincinnati Reds he has also been getting on base at a great clip. The talented first baseman boasts a .463 on base percentage ranking second in the Major Leagues behind New York Mets 3B David Wright. In June, Bryce Harper will get more extra base hits than Votto however. Harper was called up on April 28thby the Washington Nationals, the 20 year old right fielder has already found himself in the #2 slot in the Nats lineup card. Harper had 13 extra base hits in the month of May (5 doubles, 4 triples, and 4 homeruns).
A statistic that is extremely impressive for a rookie. I first fell in love with Harper a bit later than everybody else. Of course I knew he was an incredible talent and I knew someday he would be a star in this league but I didn’t care too much about him until I saw him playing against the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN. Harper hit a soft blopper to left field and he exploded out of the box thinking double and with his hustle he got there. No other player in the league was stretching that single into a double, most guys would have just jogged down the first baseline. Since then I love the guy, he is always hustling.
5) Mark My Words, Chicago White Sox pitcher Chris Sale has a lower ERA than Seattle Mariners ace Felix Hernandez in the month of June: I am a proud fantasy owner of Chicago White Sox lefty Chris Sale. Chris Sale is one hell of a pitcher and has unbelievable potential. Sale is currently 6-2 and has a 2.34 ERA in his first season moving from the bullpen to the starting rotation. In early May Sale was dealing with elbow soreness and there was discussions of him possibly moving back to the bullpen but an MRI revealed Sale is healthy. Sale has been dominant in his last two outings combining for 14.1 innings 1 run and only allowing 5 hits while also striking out 21. Tampa Bay Rays slugger Ben Zobrist compared Sale to a young Randy Johnson in one of his tweets after facing the Sox left hander. There was no rhyme or reason to why I have put Sale up against King Felix Hernandez in this prediction other than to prove Sale is becoming an elite pitcher in this league and can out play other elite starting pitchers like Felix Hernandez who is proven.
6) Mark My Words, Edwin Jackson records more wins in the month of June than teammate Stephen Strasburg: Stephen Strasburg came out of the gates hot for the Washington Nationals, yet has fizzled in his last few starts allowing 4 runs in two out of his last three appearances. He has also failed to make it into the 6th inning in all three of those outings. Strasburg still posts a 2.64 ERA but recent struggles mean other pitchers in the Nationals rotation need to step up. Edwin Jackson is their man. Jackson is having a solid season himself however struggling to get run support from his club, giving him a poor record. Jackson has a 3.17 ERA but a lousy 1-3 record to show for it. Jackson has pitched well in his last 5 starts not allowing more than 3 runs in any of them however his club has lost all 5 games. I’m predicting Jackson continues his own individual success in the month of June and his teammates chime in with some run support.
7) Mark My Words, Matt Moore has a lower ERA than James Shields in the month of June: Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Matt Moore has been somewhat of a disappointment in the early stages of 2012. Moore is 1-5 with a 4.76 ERA. Moore was a clear rookie of the year candidate coming into 2012 after his postseason appearance against the Texas Rangers where he was successful. Moore has struggled early on, he has struggled getting late into ball games and teams are jumping all over his fast ball. In his last seven starts Moore has gone 6+ innings in only two of them. In his last outing he showed promise, he showed everyone a flash of what we expected all season long. In Moore’s last start he toed the rubber against the Chicago White Sox where he pitched 7 innings allowing only two runs and striking out 10. Moore’s teammate James Shields has been up and down this season. Shields will log innings for you but he does get tattooed sometimes. He currently has a 3.95 ERA but does have a 6-3 record for the Rays. I’m not entirely concerned about Shields giving up a lot of runs as of late however I think things are starting to click for the young lefty Matt Moore and I think we will see what we have all been waiting to see out of Matt Moore.
8) Mark My Words, Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher James McDonald continues his dominant 2012 season and has an ERA under 2.70 in June: James McDonald of the Pittsburgh Pirates is putting together quite the 2012 campaign. The 27 year old right hander has been dominant all season long. He has yet to allow more than three runs in a single outing all season long. He also has no problem striking guys out, on May 17th he proved that against the Washington Nationals when he struck out 11. Prior to that outing he struck out 8, 7, 10 and 8 in the four games before. McDonald has a 2.20 ERA for the Pirates far lower than expectations. In 2011 McDonald had an ERA of 4.21 however recent mechanical changes has proven success for the Pirate. McDonald continues this success in June when he pitches below a 2.70 ERA.
9) Mark My Words, Fernando Rodney leads the league in saves at the end of June: How do the Tampa Bay Rays pump out these dominant closers? In his first season with the Rays Fernando Rodney has been rock solid locking down 16 saves. The Rays have a new closer every single season last year it was Kyle Farnsworth the year before that Rafael Soriano, Percival before that. Rodney is getting a lot of chances right now because the Rays are winning games, by the end of June Rodney will catch saves leader Jim Johnson of the Baltimore Orioles.
10) Mark My Words, the San Antonio Spurs will win the NBA finals and they won’t need a 7th game to do so:Last month I predicted the Miami Heat would still be playing in the playoffs, this month I’m going a little tougher than that by saying the San Antonio Spurs win the NBA title in June and they do it in six games against the Miami Heat. Tony Parker will be your MVP.
Conner “Country Breakfast” Patch @
connerpatch68
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