Jason Grey

  (3:00 PM)

Hey everyone - lots of questions in the queue -will get to as many as I can...

Greg, SoCal

What's to be done with Nolasco? I keep hearing that he should bounce back, and he keeps absolutely killing me. Drop him? Stash him on my bench until he gets a good start or two under his belt? He's driving me crazy. He's been shelled in every one of his starts this season.

Jason Grey

  (3:03 PM)

If someone has dropped Nolasco in your league, pick him up. If you have him, hang on. In the absence of any new information, there is nothing wrong with him. His velocity is right where it should be. It's just horrible luck - with a .387 BABIP and only 50% of his runners left on base. He's pitched like a hurler with an ERA in the low fours at worsy, but the luck has ballooned his numbers. Patience. His ERA at end of April last year was 5.79, so he's no stranger to hot streaks.

Rich Bills

I've been offered Duke for Nolasco...take it and don't look back?

Jason Grey

  (3:04 PM)

See this is what I mean....Tell him tto take the offer...and well, you know what. Savvy move by that owner - don't fall for it. Duke's had the luck running his way.

Joe (NY)

Crappy 2B question! In a 6x6 league (with OPS), how would you rank these guys: Polanco, Sanchez, Kendrick, Callaspo? Thanks!

Jason Grey

  (3:05 PM)

Kendrick is still the one I want, the average will come around.

Aaron (WI)

Escobar or S Drew?

Jason Grey

  (3:05 PM)

Drew, now that he's healthy

Chris (LA,CA)

J. Damon > B.J. Upton?

Jason Grey

  (3:06 PM)

Over the balance of the rest of the season, which is really all that matters, I think Upton is the more valuable player

Brian (Chicago)

Drop Cershaw and stash Price? Wolf is also available. Thanks

Jason Grey

  (3:07 PM)

No, hang on to Kershaw. ERA is a bit inflated at the moment, but the WHIP is OK and he's bringing the strikeouts.

Nolan Reimhold (Norfolk)

Any word on Luke Scott's MRI? Need to know if I need to make travel plans.

Jason Grey

  (3:08 PM)

You're already up - although the tam expects Scott to be able to play by the weekend, so your AB's are a little uncertain in the short term. Jones and Scott both having slight injuries helps.

Jason Grey

  (3:10 PM)

BTW, the MRI for Scott revealed no structural tears, but he still can't swing a bat yet. Lou Montanez is still around looking for ABs too.

Dan (NYC)

What the heck was that start from Josh Johnson today?

Jason Grey

  (3:11 PM)

Even the best have a rough day now and then...what did that bring his ERA to? 2.50? Just shows you how well he has been pitching.

Cool Ethan (Pittsburgh)

Mat Gamel. Talk about him.

Jason Grey

  (3:12 PM)

Been mentioning him every week in my Minor Achievements piece. The word is he's only up to pinch-hit and act as a DH in interleague, and many only get a start or two at third, so we can't count on the ABs just yet. Defense is still rough at third as well.

Drew, Los Angeles

Two question, Verlander looks great but he sure has been throwing a lot of pitches lately, should I worry? Also should I be dropping chris young (pitcher) in a shallow 10 team league? My staff is currently meche, verlander, kazmir, webb, peavy, and liriano

Jason Grey

  (3:13 PM)

I wouldn't worry about Verlander, but as I mentioned last week in chat, I am getting worried about Kazmir. If your league allows trading, I might explore that first. If not, then I don;t have a problem dropping Young in a 10-team format.

HB (Philly)

Rhyno 39th? R u kidding?? His BA is up and the power will come. Explain!

Jason Grey

  (3:16 PM)

Howard, while still quite valuable, has not actually been as valuable statistically as many thing in the last couple of seasons. Saying he's 15 spots lower than the average of everyone else over the balance of the season really isn't that significant in my opinion. He's still in my top 40, which is pretty darn good.

Vladimir (LA)

Porcello, Cahill, J. Zimmerman. Who do I want for this year? Who do I want for keeps?

Jason Grey

  (3:17 PM)

Good question, Porcello is probably the answer to both, but I'm a big fan of Cahill's toxic sink in the future. Still, Porcello.

DB (Oakland)

Last spot in my lineup (Util): Dukes, Burrell, Napoli, Branyan?

Jason Grey

  (3:18 PM)

If Dukes is going to go 2-for-8 on the basepaths, that might tip me to Napoli's power.

DB (Oakland)

Matt Cain - buying or selling?

Jason Grey

  (3:22 PM)

Buying - realize that's against the grain, as some of the same statisical indicators I use to talk about pitchers that can turn it around (Nolasco) are not in Cain's favor in order to keep up the performance. This one's just a gut call, nothing more.

Kenny (NY)

Laporta, reimold, gamel? -- for one roster spot.

Jason Grey

  (3:22 PM)

LaPorta's playing time is the most certain at the moment, so he's the logical choice.

Matt, Denver

My league has both saves & blown saves as categories, so I dropped all relievers and carry 10 starts...good strategy?

Jason Grey

  (3:24 PM)

Nothing wrong with it - leverages the rules to your advantage. I won a LABR title punting saves, although I don't usually recommend punting categories. Leading the blown saves category and finishing last in saves is basically like being in the middle of the pack in each. If your team is strong enough elsewhere, no reason it can't work.

CJ

SAME OLD NAMES! GAMEL, HANSON, NOLASCO, REIMOLD, PRICE, WEITERS, LAPORTA.... PLEASE STOP ANSWERING THESE QUESTIONS!

Jason Grey

  (3:25 PM)

I will when people stop flooding the chat queue with them. Isn't staying ahead of the curve one of the keys to winning? I just answer what I'm asked.

Billy (Houston, Tx)

What's up with masterson. i have only a limited number of spots and if he is going to the pen next week when Dice-K comes back then I cannot afford to hold him if he is not starting or closing. What should I do? I can find someone else on the FA list but ????? Thansk

Jason Grey

  (3:27 PM)

All indications are that Masterson will be headed back to help stabilize the bullpen as a multi-inning middle reliever.

Ted (the cubicle)

Jason -- Can MICHAEL BOURN keep up his .297 avg / .366 OBP? I love the idea that he's be good for 3 categories (SB, R, AVG) & not just steals

Jason Grey

  (3:28 PM)

I was still a believer in Bourn even after last season, so this isn't necessarily surprising. While he won't keep up that level, he'll do well enough to not be just that one-category player he was last year.

Roger Clemens (Cocoon)

How serious is Francisco's injury? Is CJ Wilson worth a pick-up?

Jason Grey

  (3:29 PM)

Word is he could be back this weekend, as he felt good after his last bullpen session. His owners may have dodged a bullet.

Scott Baker

I was cruising and then I got shelled. Again. Should my pitch count be adjusted to 80 or am I just cooked?

Jason Grey

  (3:30 PM)

I think we're still looking at a small sample size, and a couple of those starts I'll be the shoulder stiffness was still a mild issue. The fact that he's been able to cruise for stretches thus far is encouraging, even if there's a big inning there once in a while. I'm a buyer.

Ad Gonzalez (San Diego)

Why do teams pitch to me?

Jason Grey

  (3:32 PM)

Miguel Cabrera was still able to put up monster stats on some bad Marlins offensive squads. Kind of puts the concept of "lineup protection" in persepctive, doesn't it?

Will (STL)

Good time to sell high on Napoli (with Vlad coming back) and Bruce (after the recent power surge)? If I packaged them together do you think I could net a top 25 player in return?

Jason Grey

  (3:33 PM)

I always try to make the quantity for quality deals when I can, but if it doesn't work out, I'm happy to keep having those guys on my roster over the balance of the season. Napoli's pop will still be there.

Kelly (Buffalo, NY)

Is Max Schrezer still an elite prospect?

Jason Grey

  (3:34 PM)

Well, not by rookie-eligible standards anymore :-) But if you're asking about the hype and living up to it, the raw ability is clearly there, but he still has to show he can be more than a five-inning pitcher have a bit more control and keep the pitch counts down early. The stuff hasn't changed, so yeah the potential to be a top starter is still there.

Tim (MD)

Adam Jones. Should owners expect a regression, or is he a top 20 OF this year?

Jason Grey

  (3:36 PM)

The average is clearly going to regress, perhaps quite a bit, but the power and speed are legit. He has the wheels to steal more bags if he's so inclined. Regardless, it's shaping up to be the breakout season many (including your humble chatter) predicted.

Tony (Evansville, IN)

HELP! What is wrong with Scott Kazmir? Nobody seems to be talking about him much.

Jason Grey

  (3:39 PM)

I mentioned it in chat last week. The fact his velocity is down across the board, which doesn't work when you're already struggling with control as per usual. The velocity drop is a definite concern for me and I'd be looking to see if someone is going to pay the "name" value for him.

joe pgh

since zimmerman wasnt able to get his hit streak to 31 its safe to drop him right?

Jason Grey

  (3:39 PM)

Serious questions only, please.

Fred (Portland)

I have Doumit resting in my DL spot - should I replace him with Duchsherer?

Jason Grey

  (3:40 PM)

Depends on who your catcher is and the strength of your starting staff. I have Doumit ranked higher than the Duke for the balance of the season. even though Doumit is still out another 6 weeks.

Styles (wolfpack)

Randy Wolf is piling up the Ks on a first place team and he's absent on all rankings list. And now not even a small write up in OOTB for shutting down a top offense team in their bandbox ballpark. Where's the love???

Jason Grey

  (3:42 PM)

He just missed my list but I don't have a problem excluding him. The rankings are for the balance of the season, which means the numbers aren't that good when he regresses to being well...Randy Wolf. We've seen this act before from him. Can't speak for anyone else's reasons.

Jem (Westchester)

Are you a fan of the "Willie and Hairy" show atop the first-place Reds lineup? Is ?Hairy? now the every day shortstop and do you like him better than Zobrist who's also carved out a nice, little niche for himself?

Jason Grey

  (3:44 PM)

Not really, both should be near the bottom of the order. Gonzalez is still out with an injury so we can't name Hairston the starter until we see how things shake out when Gonzalez is ready to play. I will say this...Hairston did make some impressive plays at short in the three-game series I just saw of theirs. I'll still take Zobrist, though.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Brett Cecil or Trevor Cahill? Hmmmmm.

Jason Grey

  (3:46 PM)

I must admit Cecil has been far more impressive than I expected thus far. However, we'll see if big league hitters keep chasing his slider in the dirt. I'm giving Cahill the edge for the moment, barely. Ask me tomorrow and I may say differently. Or I could just do like I did in an AL league and draft them both back in March and not have to make that decision :-)

Dan (Chicago)

Do you think Sheets will pitch this year? Last news reported that his goal was to be back by the ASB (if all goes well), and I've just picked him up, gambling that he signs with someone right after the draft, as there would be no compensation attached to the signing... also, for overall value this year, do you think Brandon Wood is another good speculative pickup, over someone such as, say, Emmanuel Burriss (I do realize that he has the top spot right now and does well in SB)?

Jason Grey

  (3:49 PM)

Let's say the Rangers sign Sheets in July, he starts a handful of games in the minors, and then gets a late-August callup. That gives him what 5-6 starts maybe at best? You have to decide if the roster spot is worth that. If you don't need to start one at the moment, I might take the chance on Wood, if we're talking about someone to just stash away for potential use later.

Bertrand Russell

What's with Votto's dizzy spells?

Jason Grey

  (3:50 PM)

I actually talked to him in the Reds clubhouse yesterday. He think it's totally related to his recent flu bug, and that he hopes to be good to go after the off-day today.

Jason Grey

  (3:50 PM)

They did run a battery of tests on him at the park, which didn't show anything unusual.

Chris Capuano (MIL)

Will I ever be a top of the rotation guy again? Or am I done?

Jason Grey

  (3:52 PM)

I would argue you never were. He has a setback in his recovery from a second Tommy John, and may not pitch until late June now. I don't see any value here.

wes (LA)

Whats the ETA on Webb? I really need him to fix his 13+ ERA

Jason Grey

  (3:53 PM)

He's going to start playing catch within the next 10 days. I think they're hopeful if all goes well then he'll be back in mid to late June.

CJ Wilson

Any Chance I get some save opportunities with frankie out?

Jason Grey

  (3:55 PM)

You're the guy until Frankie gets back, but he'll be examined on Friday and could conceivably pitch this weekend if all goes well.

Mike (Minneapolis, MN)

I was shocked to continue to see Magglio Ordonez ranked in the top 80 players...

Jason Grey

  (3:57 PM)

I barely squeezed him into the top 100. He's still making contact, and I don't think he's quite done yet. There's still some power left in that bat. Again, it's not what they've done already, but what they'll do over the balance of the year.

steve (queens)

Is Daniel Bard worth rostering in 12 team mixed leagues?

Jason Grey

  (3:58 PM)

Hard for a middle reliever to have a ton of value in that format, although not unheard of. I just think you generally need starters or closers in 12-team mixed, so I lean towards no.

Jason Bartlett (TB)

This is my year!!!!

Jason Grey

  (4:00 PM)

Which reminds me, I have a prop bet on Bartlett vs. M. Ordonez for number of homers this year with a guy that thinks Bartlett will keep hitting homers. I don't think he will.

Jason Grey

  (4:01 PM)

That's it for me today as I head out on a scouting trip this weekend. Thanks to everyone for all the questions, and I'll catch you next week. Sorry I couldn't get to more.