LestersLegends.com

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Washington Nationals first baseman Adam LaRoche is tearing the cover off the ball to start the year. He is hitting for average and for power, and he’s been highly productive driving his teammates in.
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Despite his hot start, LaRoche is owned in less than half of fantasy leagues. The question is whether you should add him to your team and raise that percentage. The way the lefty is swinging the bat, I don’t see why not.
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He is locked and loaded and the 32-year old has a solid enough track record to make his 2011 debacle a distant memory. He hit .172 in 43 games for the Nats. His .546 OPS was just brutal. It’s a new year though and he has turned it around in the early going.
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LaRoche is a guy that had hit 20 or more homers the previous six years, averaging 24.7 HRs per season during the stretch. He also averaged 87.3 RBI. Is he guaranteed to keep this form and return to that hitter? Of course not, but it does seem likely that last year is a fluke and he is the hitter that we have come to love and sometimes love.
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I say sometimes because LaRoche is the type of hitter that has a track record of being much better in the second half of the year. The fact that he’s getting it done early is encouraging.
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Adam hits nearly 50 points higher (.295) and sports over 100 points higher of an OPS (.889) after the All-Star Break. He has more HRs despite nearly 500 fewer at bats.
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If you have a roster spot available, give him a shot. You could get some nice power and RBI production. If he tails off, you can decide if he’s worth waiting for that second half splurge.
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Click here for Brandon Berg’s take on Adam LaRoche.
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Also check out:

• Fantasy Baseball Sleeper Picks
• Overrated Fantasy Baseball Players
• Closer Talk
• Can Jason Vargas Continue to Roll?
• Fantasy Baseball 2012: Early Trade Targets

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By Brandon Berg
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It is no secret that Adam LaRoche was abysmal in his first year with the Nationals.
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He hit a whopping .172 with 3 HR and 15 RBI. Nobody should’ve read into it. He battled injury all year until he was shut down when he underwent surgery for a torn labrum in his left shoulder. As bad as it looks, had that just been a slow start, he might have been alright last year.
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His BABIP was a porous .205 and he was walking a ton to produce a .288 OBP. Still nothing great, but considering how poor he was hitting, he was getting on base by walking 14 % of the time.
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From 2008-2010, LaRoche hit 25 HR in each year, to go along with a batting average hovering around .270. That’s what the Nationals were paying to get. They certainly didn’t get that type of production last year, but it is starting now.
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LaRoche is on a tear so far this year, hitting .341 with 2 HR and 12 RBI in just 10 games. LaRoche is a career .268 hitter, so the batting average should cool off into that range, but we can expect 20 plus homers with around 100 RBI.
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I don’t see him having any trouble driving in runs in the middle of a lineup that features Jayson Werth (also having a bounce-back season) and Ryan Zimmerman. The only red flag for LaRoche is that his contact rate is down a little, leading him to strike out too much, but it is still plenty early.
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He still is only owned in 57.0 % of ESPN leagues, so if he is still available in your league, snatch him up.
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I host the Fantasy Feast every Monday Night at 11:30 Eastern. Here is tonight’s show link.

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Normally that’s a pretty easy question when you are talking about a guy with a mere 68 strikeouts in 120-2/3 innings this year and 355 in 687 innings for his career. Especially one that entered the season with a 28-38 lifetime record that was coming off a 4.65 ERA and 1.56 WHIP season.
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That would probably be downplaying Lannan a little bit. Now I’m not saying that he should be owned in most fantasy leagues. I’m not saying  you should blindly start him when his turn in the Nationals’ rotation comes up, but he can be used at times.
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For instance, since May 27th Lannan is  5-1 with a 2.28 ERA in eleven starts. While he doesn’t have a name that grabs your attention, it’s hard to overlook that kind of production.
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Lannan has also been very effective at home. While his 4-3 record with a 4.60 ERA on the road doesn’t make you run for the hills, his 3-3 mark and 2.40 ERA at Nationals Park is much easier on the fantasy baseball totals.
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Some of Lannan’s success can be attributed to his improved luck and BABIP. Last year the mark was .319. This year it is at .281, which is more in line with what he did in 2008 (.266) and 2009 (.272) when he was more effective despite his combined 18-28 record. His BABIP has really improved in June (.254) and July (.246). Those numbers could go back to the norm, but it’s fairly clear that his home vs. away BABIP (.246 vs. .313) supports the theory that he’s a better pitcher at home.
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Don’t blindly use him because he’s starting at home. If you can pick your spots with Lannan, you’ll be in pretty good shape if you want to give Lannan a shot as a streamer.
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Also check out:

• Fantasy Baseball Free Agent Pool – 2011 Strikeout Kings Vol. 7
• Can You Trust Jhoulys Chacin?
• Is Cameron Maybin Getting It?
• Can Mat Latos Dominate Again This Year?
• Fantasy Baseball Free Agent Pool – 2011 Run Scorers Vol. 7

Ronald C. Modra/Sports Imagery/Getty Images
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The Washington Nationals have had enough of Nyjer Morgan and sent it packing. Morgan, who had 34 stolen bases in a tumultuous year with the Nats, gets new life with the Milwaukee Brewers. Morgan has 76 stolen bases in the past two years and is a career .283  hitter. He will likely take over in center field for Carlos Gomez, who also  has great speed, but is a career .246 hitter. Gomez has more trouble making contact, striking out every 4.2 at bats.  Morgan strikes out every 5.8 at bats.Rick Ankiel, who will play center field for the Nationals gets a small bump, but he’s likely on useful in N.L. Only leagues. If you’re looking for cheap steals, Nyjer Morgan could be your guy.

Click here to enter the 2011 Fantasy Baseball Team Name Contest


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In Spanish, the word Espinosa means thorny. A rose is thorny. Danny Espinosa is much like a rose. He can be a thing or beauty for his fantasy owners, or he can be downright painful.
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Espinosa hit .214 in his brief taste with the Nationals last year, picking up 22 hits in 103 at bats. Of those 22 hits, half of them went for extra bases (four doubles, a triple, six home runs) to give him a solid .723 OPS. He also struck out thirty times. That’s a strikeout every 3.4 at bats. He also was caught stealing in both of his attempts. It seems his cup of coffee was more about the thorn than the rose.
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He has potential though. The California native hit .303 in his three years at Long Beach State and was selected in the third round with the 87th overall pick by the Nationals. He displayed a nice power/speed combo for Single-A+ Potomoc with 18 HRs and 29 SBs in 2009. His jump to Double-A Harrisburg was smooth as he hit 18 HRs again with 20 SBs. Espinosa then had 28 hits in 95 at bats for Triple-A Syracuse, before getting the call to the bigs.
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Espinosa should have no trouble beginning the season as the Nationals’ starting second basemen. He should form a double-play combo with Ian Desmond for many years to come. He’s not a player to consider as a starting fantasy second baseman, but he could provide bench depth or be used in the middle infielder slot in deeper leagues. His average draft position, according to Mock Draft Central, is 331. Odds are he’ll go undrafted in your league. That’s fine. Just keep an eye on him. If he starts off hot, he could be a sneaky power source.
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Also check out:

• 2011 Fantasy Baseball Profiles
• 2011 Fantasy First Basemen Rankings
• 2011 Fantasy A.L. Only First Basemen Rankings
• 2011 Fantasy N.L. Only First Basemen Rankings
• 2011 Fantasy Second Basemen Rankings
• 2011 Fantasy A.L. Only Second Basemen Rankings
• 2011 Fantasy N.L. Only Second Basemen Rankings
• 2011 Fantasy Third Basemen Rankings
• 2011 Fantasy A.L. Only Third Basemen Rankings
• 2011 Fantasy N.L. Only Third Basemen Rankings
• 2011 Fantasy Shortstop Rankings
• 2011 Fantasy A.L. Only Shortstop Rankings
• 2011 Fantasy N.L. Only Shortstop Rankings
• 2011 Fantasy Catcher Rankings
• 2011 Fantasy A.L. Only Catcher Rankings
• 2011 Fantasy N.L. Only Catcher Rankings
• 2011 Fantasy Outfielder Rankings
• 2011 Fantasy Starting Pitcher Rankings
• 2011 Fantasy Closer Rankings

(Photo: Greg Fiume/Getty Images)

Stephen Strasburg was surrounded by more hype than any player in baseball history. To say he lived up to the hype would be a lie. He actually looked underrated today toying with the Pirates. Granted it wasn’t the Phillies or Yankees, but he struck out 14 of the 24 batters he faced.

Strasburg gave up 2 runs on 4 hits in 7 innings to win his major league debut. His only mistake was a two-run homer run yielded to Delwyn Young. Strasmus is a holiday that will be celebrated for years to come in DC.

Images courtesy of Icon SMI