Fantasy Baseball: Tuesday’s Spring Training Roundup

Here are a few thoughts after looking over Tuesday’s spring training boxscores:

Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum gave up 4 runs on 4 hits, 4 walks and 4 strikeouts in 4 innings of work on Tuesday. Lincecum is apparently working on his slider grip, or so he says. Is this the year Lincecum blows up? I need to know because I kept him at $23 in one of my keeper leagues.

Phillies outfield prospect Domonic Brown went 3-3 with 2 HRs and 4 RBI. One of his HRs was hit off of Tigers ace Justin Verlander. The other was hit off of a lefty. Keeper league and dynasty league owners shouldn’t forget Brown’s name come draft day.

Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels is also in mid-season form after going 5 innings, giving up 1 unearned run on 2 hits, while striking out 4. He lowered his ERA to 1.69. It appears he will bounce back after a mediocre 2009 season. Draft accordingly.

Tigers outfield prospect Austin Jackson had one of the three Tigers hits and also stole his 2nd base of spring training. The Tigers have found themselves a leadoff hitter.

The Padres ran wild again on Tuesday stealing 6 bases vs the Angels. A couple sleeper for NL-only league owners are Luis Durango and Aaron Cunningham, as both had 2 SBs on Tuesday. Bud Black apparently doesn’t have a stop sign with runners on base. Everth Cabrera can safely be drafted a few round earlier if this keeps up.

Angels third baseman Brandon Wood went 2-2 and is now hitting .300 thus far. The question remains whether he will hit at the major league level.

Diamondbacks pitcher Edwin Jackson ran into the hot hitting Reds and gave up 7 runs on 6 hits, 2 walks and no strikeouts in 2.1 innings on Tuesday. This Dodgers fan hopes the former Dodger continues to get hit around like that.

Who hits leadoff for the Diamondbacks in 2010? If Kelly Johnson continues to hit like this, he may be the guy. KJ is had 2 hits on Tuesday and is hitting .350 in spring training. He has the power to hit double digit HRs, but is prone to long slumps.

White Sox leadoff hitter Juan Pierre had 3 hits, a run scored and an RBI on Tuesday. Pierre should be good for 50+ SBs in 2010 if he plays everyday.

Phil Hughes may have just won the 5th starter spot in the Yankees rotation after throwing 4 shutout innings vs the Astros, giving up 3 hits, a walk and 2 strikeouts. He lowered his spring ERA to 2.08.

Astros catching prospect Jason Castro had a hit and a walk and is hitting .467 this spring. Is he the Astros starting catcher in April?