MLB Today: Wilkin Ramirez Can’t Gain Traction
Wilkin Ramirez is seeing more action, but not exactly running with it.
When Wilkin Ramirez last popped up on our Fantasy radar, we were already pegging him as a Quad-A player, and we have not wavered from that conclusion as since then he’s struggled to gain a foothold in the majors.
On Sunday, in his first start in a week, Ramirez went 1-for-4 with a double for just his third extra-base hit in 19 games and 40 at-bats this season. He also continued to flash his horrible strike zone judgment, fanning three times.
He’s been a bit more productive this season (as you can see from the video below), but not so much as to garner Fantasy interest.
So much for that nice April Ramirez put up (.381/.391/.476). The arrival of Oswaldo Arcia has rendered him irrelevant.
Ramirez has flashed intriguing speed and power potential in the minors, but he’s always struggled to make contact and the 27-year-old Dominican has failed to gain any traction as a result. With Aaron Hicks struggling, Ramirez has had a golden opportunity to steal some of his PT, but we’re still waiting to see if he can actually do so.
Until that happens, ignore him, as the best case scenario is that he’s the team’s top pinch-hitter.
Quick Hits
- Since his two-start hiccup at the end of April/beginning of May, Justin Masterson is back to the form he showed through most of April. Sunday, he mowed down a season high 11 batters against Seattle as part of a seven shutout inning gem to win his third straight start. Last year, he started poorly before turning things around in June (and then sucking again for the rest of the year). Nearly a third of the way through this season, however, Masterson has looked dominant at times and is headed for a career year barring a complete collapse. We’re a tad worry about the workload (70 innings already) and how that may affect his second half. Also, Masterson’s strand rate is abnormally high, so we recommend that you think about selling high on the Indians’ ace.
- What should have been a stellar pitching battle turned into a one-sided affair as Masterson cruised but Felix Hernandez endured his worst outing of the season Sunday. The 2010 Cy Young winner had been looking like a prime candidate to bag another one so far this year but Sunday’s effort was one to forget. Maybe he was bothered by a sore back he had dealt with last week, as Hernandez was touched up for eight hits and six runs (five earned) in five innings and his ERA shot up over half a run. His velocity has dropped for the third straight year, but by employing his curve and changeup more often, he’s managed to post his highest K/9 yet, not to mention rack up five wins already, which gives him an outside shot at his first 20-win campaign. Hernandez owners should shrug this off as simply a bad start and continue to ride their horse for the rest of the season.
RotoRob’s Fantasy Baseball Weekly Podcast
Crave more in-depth Fantasy analysis? Then join us every Thursday at 9 p.m. EST for RotoRob’s Fantasy Baseball Weekly Podcast on Blogtalkradio. Tim McLeod and RotoRob will entertain and edify you for a half hour or more each week. RotoRob will be off next week because of Game Four of the Blackhawks-Wings series, but Tim will forge on. Tune in here.
