Cliff Lee trade impact

Cliff Lee's a Ranger.

Not a Yankee. Not a Mariner. Not a Phillie or Indian, either.

In yet another midseason deal, Lee has again changed teams with the hopes of changing the MLB playoff picture.

Texas acquired Lee from Seattle last week for a package of prospects. What's it mean for fantasy players? Not a whole lot, to be honest. Lee's Cy Young-caliber numbers (8-4, 2.64 ERA, 0.95 WHIP) shouldn't take much of a dip.

Granted, he's moving from an extreme pitcher's park to one of the most hitting-friendly stadiums in the league in Rangers Ballpark, and he doesn't have particularly good career numbers in Arlington (7.33 ERA, 1.45 WHIP in 8 starts). But Lee's been arguably the most dominant pitcher this season - he's got 91 strikeouts and just six walks this year, for gosh sakes - and I expect that to continue. So what if his Texas debut didn't go as planned last Saturday (9 hits, 6 earned runs, 2 strikeouts)? Lee still pitched a complete game, his eighth of the season. He'll have a just as good a defense behind him in Texas as he enjoyed in Seattle, plus the added benefit of a much better bullpen, anchored by All-Star closer Neftali Feliz, whenever he's not able to go nine innings. He'll also have much better run support as he leaves behind the hitting-challenged M's.

Lee's ratios may inch up a bit along with the summer temperatures in Texas, but I still expect him to contend for the AL Cy Young and pile up the W's when all is said and done.

As for the other players involved in the deal, the most fantasy relevant is 1B Justin Smoak, who's still a good long-term prospect but probably won't be able to improve on his .206 average much in Seattle this year and probably belongs on your bench for the forseeable future.

And back in Texas, the trade opens up a spot at first for Chris Davis, who hit 17 homers in 295 at-bats as a rookie in 2008 but had been since sent back-and-forth to the minors while struggling at the plate. Davis had been tearing up Triple-A pitching to the tune of a .327 average, .418 on-base percentage and .521 slugging and might be able to provide some power with regular playing time in the big leagues. He's worth a look in deep leagues.


Photo by The Associated Press

Bad news for Josh Hamilton

I had Josh Hamilton ranked in my top 10 entering this season, but he hasn't belonged there. He was hitting only .240 with six home runs before the news that he'll be out 4-6 weeks following surgery for a torn abdominal muscle.

It's a shame, not just that he suffered an ufortunate injury when crashing into a wall a few weeks ago, but that he wasn't lighting the world on fire at the plate the way he did last year. It's surprising really, given that the Texas Rangers are in first place and their lineup is chock full of developing young hitters like Nelson Cruz, Ian Kinsler and Chris Davis. Imagine how scary the Rangers would be if Hamilton had been hitting at last year's level (.304, 32 HRs, 130 RBIs).

At this point, the best we can hope for as Hamilton owners - or owners of any Rangers hitter - is that he returns from surgery right on schedule (mid-July) and can revert to his 2008 form. Otherwise, we'll have to label him one of '09's biggest busts.

Names you don't know - but should

OF Shin-Soo Choo, Cleveland Indians: Choo, the only major leaguer on South Korea's WBC runner-up team, was one of the hottest hitters in the majors in the final weeks of last season, hitting 10 homers after mid-August and finishing the year with a .309 average and a .946 OPS. He’s got a prime spot hitting third in a pretty good Cleveland batting order, and though he hasn’t shown it in the majors yet he’s also got some speed – he once stole 40 bases in a season in the minors.

1B/3B Chris Davis, Texas Rangers: He clocked 17 home runs in just 80 big-league games as a rookie, a feat that went largely unnoticed outside Arlington last summer. While his strikeout-to-walk ratio of more than 4-to-1 (88 Ks, 20 BBs) doesn’t bode well for consistent success, there’s no reason Davis can’t put up at least 30 homers and 100 RBIs this year with a decent enough batting average, which makes him a poor man’s Evan Longoria. He’ll play first for Texas but maintains third base eligibility in most leagues.

SP Ricky Nolasco, Florida Marlins: A 2008 breakout season (15-8, 3.52 ERA, 186 Ks and 42 walks in 212 innings) could be a harbinger of good things to come for the 26-year-old righty. He’s got the potential to be a fantasy No. 2 but isn’t getting treated that way on draft day, lasting well after the 10th round in many leagues.

C Matt Wieters, Baltimore Orioles: The O’s 2007 first-round draft pick is probably major league-ready, although he’ll begin the year in Triple-A. That doesn’t mean he won’t finish the year as a top-10 catcher – the scouts agree he’s a complete player and future fantasy fixture.

RP Matt Lindstrom, Florida Marlins: From the position that made fantasy studs out of Joe Borowski and Kevin Gregg, we bring you 2009 Marlins closer Lindstrom, who comes with as many negatives (recent inflammation in shoulder, not enough strikeouts) as positives (fastball that reaches 100 mph, success as a closer at the end of last year). But somebody’s got to collect the saves for Florida, and a healthy Lindstrom would be the prime candidate.

RP Jose Arredondo, Los Angeles Angels: The young right-hander has the makeup of a major league closer and enjoyed a great season last year as the Halos’ set-up man (10-2, 1.62 ERA, 55 Ks in 61 innings). The Francisco Rodriguez clone should have value as the bridge to new Angels closer Brian Fuentes, but that value will triple if Fuentes should falter.

3B Pablo Sandoval, San Francisco Giants: Maybe his .345 batting average in 41 games as a rookie catcher/first baseman/third baseman last season was a bit of a fluke. But the kid’s hitting better than .400 and is among the league leaders in hits this spring. He hasn’t displayed a ton of power, but he also rarely strikes out. He’s a worthy late-round pick as a corner infielder and even more so if he’s eligible at catcher in your league.

Photo by The Associated Press