Atomic RoadRunners | Andrew Flynn’s High-Energy Fantasy Baseball

Tim Lincecum was hospitalized Tuesday with flulike symptoms, and it appeared the San Francisco Giants pitcher was likely to miss his first All-Star game. Lincecum was taken from his hotel to a Manhattan hospital after feeling ill early in the day, said Katy Feeney, senior vice president in the commissioner’s office. The right-hander was not at his locker between National League starter Ben Sheets and Edinson Volquez about 2 1/2 hours before the scheduled first pitch. His jersey and a Giants hat hung untouched on a hook on the wall as the NL team headed to the field for batting practice. Giants reliever Brian Wilson said he hadn’t spoken to Lincecum, who missed the All-Star Game Red Carpet Parade on Tuesday. “I think it was just one of those things that just hit him this morning,” said Wilson, who was left to ride alone in the back of a pickup truck up Sixth Avenue in Manhattan.

Lincecum was among several pitchers on the NL roster who threw Sunday, giving manager Clint Hurdle a tired group for the Midsummer Classic. Lincecum struck out nine over eight innings to beat fellow All-Star Ryan Dempster and the Cubs. The 24-year-old Lincecum, 11-2 in his second year with the Giants, leads the major leagues with 135 strikeouts. His 2.57 ERA is fourth best among starters, and he’s lost just once in his last 14 starts. This flu bug should be out of the way in time for his next start, which is tentatively scheduled for Sunday against Milwaukee, so continue to start him in all Fantasy formats. (CBS Sports)

Theo Epstein denied that the Sox and Braves were discussing a Mark Teixeira for Kevin Youkilis and Craig Hansen trade. Epstein denied the rumor to the Boston Globe, who had earlier reported that the Braves made the aforementioned proposal. Teixeira is a free agent at the end of the season, so the Braves may look to deal him if they fade further from the playoff race before the July 31 trade deadline. They might not be discussing it, but Atlanta probably floated the offer as a possibility should David Ortiz not fully recover.

The Boston Globe confirms ESPN’s Peter Gammons’ report that the Braves have had talks with the Red Sox regarding Mark Teixeira. Gammons reported that the Braves had offered Teixeira for Kevin Youkilis and Craig Hansen. The Globe reports that the team wouldn’t make the deal at this time, but told the Braves to “keep us in mind.” The determining factor to a deal like this is David Ortiz’ health. (Rotoworld)

According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, Brett Myers is expected to be called up from the minors to start on July 23 against the Mets. Between then he’ll make one more minor league start Friday. “He’s gaining on it,” pitching coach Rich Dubee said. “His fastball command is getting better. I think Brett needed to get out of the environment.” Myers has been let go by many fantasy owners since his terrible first half and eventual demotion to the minors last month. If he’s available in your league he’s certainly worth picking up and taking a chance on, as he still has the potential to be an ace for one of the top National League teams. (Rotoworld, Rotowire)

Jaime Garcia will make his first major league start next Sunday against the Padres. “Garcia is here, so we should see what he can do,” said pitching coach Dave Duncan. “It’s a good spot to see how he handles himself.” He tossed two scoreless innings in relief on Friday night, but his fastball topped out at 90 mph and he couldn’t seem to locate his curveball. The 22-year-old was 7-6 with a 3.73 ERA between Double-A and Triple-A this season, while fanning 98 batters in 103 2/3 innings. He projects as a solid third starter, but it’d be ill-advised to expect big things this season.

Making his major league debut last week, Jaime Garcia pitched two scoreless innings of relief to help secure a victory over the Pirates. Garcia looked pretty fantastic. He allowed just one hit while striking out two and won a lot of individual battles after falling behind in the count. He’s definitely worth checking out in NL-only leagues if he joins the Cards’ rotation after the All-Star break. For now, he provides the Cardinals with some much-needed left handed relief. (Rotoworld)

Minor League Ball’s John Sickels had a glowing review, but questions the timing of the move for the Cardinals:

Jaime Garcia was drafted by the Cardinals in the 22nd round in 2005. He made his pro debut in the Midwest League in 2006 and was quite effective, entering 2007 as one of the better left-handed prospects in the game. But he was erratic last year for Double-A Springfield. He went 5-9, 3.75 with a 97/45 K/BB in 103 innings, with 93 hits allowed. Not bad at all for the Texas League, but not dominant. Of greater concern was inconsistent velocity: he was his usual 89-93 MPH self at times, but also had several starts where he was working in just the mid-to-upper 80s with less life in the ball. His command was also inconsistent, and the pieces of the mystery came together when he went on the DL last July with a sore elbow.

The pain was traced to a strained ligament, but surgery was avoided. He rehabbed, and looks like he’s come back healthy this spring. His stuff is back to 2006 standards, upper-80s to lower-90s fastball with a very strong curveball. He’s also continued to make progress with his changeup, and right now it looks like he got through the elbow problem without ill effect.

His performance has been solid this year. He began back at Springfield for a tuneup, going 3-2, 2.06 with a 41/16 K/BB in 35 innings. Promoted to Triple-A Memphis, he’s held his own in his first look at the PCL, going 4-4, 4.06 wtih a 56/21 K/BB in 64 innings, 64 hits allowed. He has a 1.98 GO/AO ratio in Triple-A and is keeping the ball in the park with just five gophers given up.

He’s doing well, but I would be leery about promoting him to the majors right now. His control is still a bit shaky at times, and he’s alternated some outstanding outings (June 26th, 10 Ks in 6.2 innings for example) with weaker ones (eight walks in ten innings combined on June 15th and 21st). He is showing a reverse platoon split, with lefty hitters tagging him at .333 but right-handed hitters just .230.

I like Garcia but he needs more consolidation time in Triple-A. If I were the Cardinals, I would consider him a possible September call-up, but would avoid promoting him to the majors in July or August unless it was a huge emergency and no one else was available. He is still refining his command and needs to get further down the road from the elbow trouble. I gave him a Grade B in the book this year, and right now I will keep that rating the same.

No knock against Thomas Hanson. Picked up by the Roadrunners after his no-hitter in AA, I thought that he might be a good minor-league keeper. The problem is, he’s not really that impressive a prospect, and needs some work. For example, in his start after his no-hitter, he couldn’t get out of the third inning. With the addition of Jaime Garcia today, Hanson becomes expendable.

Plus, we’ve had bad luck with Braves pitchers this season. Chuck James was protected and now is shaky at best in AAA Richmond. Peter Moylan was the closer for one day before having to go under the knife with Tommy John surgery. Manny Acosta was erratic and inexperienced. Jorge Campillo pitched well before being excised from the Roadrunners by the WBRL. Don’t forget Charlie Morton is still on our bench as a testament to inexperience. Thus far, only Mike Gonzalez has proved his worth, so we’ll be avoiding Braves pitchers for the rest of the year.