Moving Up: Luke Hochevar and Juan Cruz

UPDATE: Kansas City Royals general manager Dayton Moore announced on Tuesday that Joakim Soria has NO structural damage in his shoulder. This is great news. A couple of weeks rest and some ibuprofen should do wonders. ALSO: I'm in the same boat as everyone else who picked up Luke Hochevar and suffered a terrible blow to their ratios. Hopefully start two goes much better.

When the Royals placed Joakim Soria on the disabled list and moved Sidney Ponson (their only struggling starter) to the bullpen it created an opportunity for two players. Juan Cruz will be the interim closer for the Royals. Oh, they say it will be a committee but Cruz should see the majority of save chances. And Luke Hochevar, who was making the PCL look like Little League, joins the major league rotation.

Joakim Soria to the Disabled List

It has been obvious that there was something up with Soria, almost since the start of the season. He has pitched just about the bare minimum for a closer. The shoulder soreness has not seemed to affect his pitching when he has taken the mound which is hopefully an indication that the injury is not that debilitating. The Royals seem to think that a couple of weeks rest should do the trick but they are not saying much about it. We can only hope that they have taken all the appropriate steps to protect one of their best pitching assets. Soria should be held in every type of league. The temptation to make a panic move this time of year is huge but I encourage all owners to relax and find the best replacement possible.

Juan Cruz should lead the Royals new Closer Committee

If you are a Soria owner hopefully you might be lucky enough to pick up Juan Cruz. Cruz is an excellent pitcher who has been considered a great potential closer for years but has seen few opportunities. Cruz has not been at his best this season. His walk rate (always a little bit high) has elevated to 5.65 thus far this season. His strikeout rate is also a bit lower than usual at 6.91 compared to his 9.28 career average. Cruz is also a flyball pitcher who is inducing even fewer groundballs than usual. Fortunately, none of his weaknesses are showing in the results so far which means even though he is off to a shaky start his luck has improved. His FIP of 4.43 (1.88 earned run average) shows you the level he has pitched this season. Although you might normally scoff at picking up a reliever with so many bad indicators it should only be for a few weeks (we hope) and he'll collect valuable saves in that time.

The Hot Young Starter Everyone Wants: Luke Hochevar

The pitcher that every fantasy owner on the planet either tried to pick up or wished they could have over the last few days is Luke Hochevar. Hochevar flashed his ability in an otherwise mediocre debut season in 2008. The Royals banished him to triple-A this season to experiment with Sidney Ponson (lunacy I know). While Sidney Ponson was accumulating his typical numbers (on the bad side of mediocre) Hochevar was proving that he did in fact learn a few things in his 22 major league starts. In his six minor league starts this season pitched to a 0.90 ERA (3.10 FIP) by showing improved control and a little luck.

Hochevar is a extreme groundball pitcher with a good strikeout rate (expect something between 6.00 and 7.00) and very good control. The PCL is a hitters league and Hochevar's dominance in triple-A has mirrored Zack Grienke's in the majors. That is not to say I believe Hochevar will continue to be this good in the majors. I do believe that he will be a very good major league pitcher this season. He may have the typical ups and downs that young pitchers experience but all in all he should be worth picking up in leagues of all sizes and types.

Hochevar's Numbers:

Season	Team	K/9	BB/9	K/BB	HR/9	WHIP	BABIP	LOB%	FIP
2006	Royals (A)	9.39	1.17	8.00	1.17	0.65	0.181	97.60%	3.40
2007	Royals (AA)	9.00	2.49	3.62	1.24	1.45	0.362	64.60%	4.02
2007	Royals (AAA)	6.83	3.26	2.10	1.71	1.28	0.260	69.80%	5.39
2007	Royals	3.55	2.84	1.25	0.71	1.18	0.246	84.30%	5.13
2007	Average	6.67	3.33	2.00	1.03	1.41	0.307	70.70%	4.47
2008	Royals (AAA)	6.23	3.12	2.00	1.04	0.98	0.196	70.40%	4.35
2008	Royals	5.02	3.28	1.53	0.84	1.47	0.310	62.30%	4.43
2009	Royals (AAA)	6.75	2.25	3.00	0.45	0.95	0.239	90.90%	3.10

The Royals' pitching just got even better

All-Star closer continues to battle shoulder soreness

Get to Know: Royals' two-start SP Hochevar

Poll: Do you prefer to be in leagues with friends or strangers?

Please excuse my experiments with different poll software. I think this one will work much better.

Moving Up: Chris Coghlan

The Marlins have called up second base prospect Chris Coghlan and it appears that he will soon replace week one hero Emilio Bonifacio in the starting lineup. The early plan is to have Coghlan play multiple positions but as essentially a regular in the lineup. He made his first start at his natural second base position and the next in the outfield. If Coghlan is productive and Bonifacio continues to slump a change could be made very quickly.

Coghlan is a disciplined hitter with strong contact skills. He has some pop and could hit around ten homers in a full season. He has just slightly above average speed but is a very good base stealer. He should accumulate 20-plus in a full season of at-bats. He is the player the Marlins project to eventually replace Dan Uggla at second base. Coghlan is a real prospect (Marlins #9 according to Baseball America) in a way that the well-traveled Bonifacio could never be. He will receive opportunities despite his production when Bonifacio could be replaced under similar circumstances.

Season	Team	G	AB	H	2B	3B	HR	R	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	AVG
2006	Marlins (R)	2	7	2	0	0	0	2	3	0	1	0	0	0.286
2006	Marlins (A-)	28	94	28	5	1	0	14	12	13	9	5	2	0.298
2007	Marlins (A)	81	305	99	26	4	10	60	64	47	43	19	4	0.325
2007	Marlins (A+)	34	130	26	5	3	2	17	18	15	19	5	1	0.200
2008	Marlins (AA)	132	483	144	32	5	7	83	74	67	65	34	10	0.298
2009	Marlins (AAA)	25	96	33	9	1	3	21	22	12	10	9	1	0.344

Lance Berkman (and his Owners) Still Suffering

As if the slump wasn't problem enough, Lance Berkman is now complaining of a sore wrist. The wrist is so sore that he was only able to take five swings in batting practice before Friday's game. He says he hurt the wrist on Thursday night during a check swing. I am certain we will hear about an MRI exam soon. A wrist injury can seriously impact a hitter. I would bench Berkman wherever possible (I'm sure he is already benched in many leagues) and start searching for a long term replacement. While I hope this is just a short term injury, my gut is telling me it will not be.

In addition to the wrist injury Berkman seems to have lost considerable faith in himself. He compared himself to Andruw Jones and other players who have mysteriously lost their ability to hit productively. He was also scheduled to move down to fifth in the order (shocking that this had not already happened) and that has to contribute to his depression.

“I can’t believe it took this long to be moved out of the three hole,” said Berkman. “I’ve been awful. It’s really the only logical thing. I’m sorry that I’ve forced Coop’s hand to this point."

"Hopefully this will work a little bit better for the team. I don’t know, but I’d like to think that,” he said. “But you know it’s certainly a scary place to be when you don’t have any answers and you don’t see really any improvement in your performance."

"The only thing (is that) in 2007 it was similar because I felt pretty terrible all the way through May. That was the first. I could be the next Andruw Jones,” he said. “I mean, it’s possible and it’s unexplainable.”

Question of the Week: Which Slow Start Are You Most Worried About?

A new regular feature of Advanced Fantasy Baseball will be the Friday Question of the Week. I would love to get reader suggestions every week. You can e-mail them to Jon@AdvancedFantasyBaseball.com or just comment or twitter then to me at @bigjonwilliams.

pollcode.com free polls

Which Slow-Starting Star Are You Most Worried About?

Jimmy Rollins SS Philadelphia Phillies Lance Berkman 1B Houston Astros Josh Hamilton OF Texas Rangers Magglio Ordonez OF Detroit Tigers Matt Holliday OF Oakland Athletics BJ Upton OF Tampa Bay Rays David Ortiz DH Boston Red Sox Derrek Lee 1B Chicago Cubs Milton Bradley OF Chicago Cubs Garrett Atkins 3B Colorado Rockies

Manny Ramirez Suspended for 50 Games

From the LA Times:

Manny Ramirez has tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs and will be suspended 50 games starting today, The Times has learned.

The test result and suspension is expected to be announced later today. The Dodgers informed triple-A outfielder Xavier Paul this morning that he was being promoted to Los Angeles.

This is going to be a huge blow to those teams counting on Ramirez, especially in NL-only leagues. The Dodgers are likely to use Juan Pierre as a starter now. Pierre is not the player he once was but he should still provide a safe batting average and a few dozen steals playing regularly.

Xavier Paul is an interesting prospect. He has mid-teens power and steals bases at a nice clip. He's probably good enough to start for the Pirates or another team with a weak outfield. I feel I know Joe Torre well enough to predict that Pierre will get the bulk of the available playing time over an inexperienced kid.

To Read: Chipper Jones Interview

A member of the Fantasy Baseball Roundtable has secured an interview with the Atlanta Braves star third baseman, Chipper Jones. Since we always support our friends I am pointing out the interview so that you all (or y'all if you prefer) may enjoy it.The interview appears a few inches under the banner and breaking news at the top of the page.

The Chipper Jones Interview