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

Fatty can’t hit. Waste of $23. Two years/$36 Million??? He makes Juan Pierre look good. Just got into double-digits - in RBI’s! Strikes out 37% of the time. Batting .169! TWO homers.

Here’s what Ron Shandler said going into 2008:

“Lots went wrong in 2007, but the focal point was his power. Most of his BPIs rebounded in the 2nd half, EXCEPT his power. Perhaps most remarkable was that he still had nearly 100 RBIs with his .222 BA. Lotsa oddness. Projection: 89 Runs, 28 HR, 99 RBI, 4 SB, .254 average

Here’s what Baseball Prospectus had to say:

“What’s strange about Jones’s 2007 season is that all he lost were the homers. Look at those lines: 2007 is a typical Andruw Jones season, less 15 homers, five singles, and some intentional walks. His fly-ball rate was unchanged, so it wasn’t that. Now the $90 million question: was it a change in his skills, or just one of those fluke seasons? Given his age and the stability of everything else, lean toward the latter. Despite the down season, Jones was still the best of the winter’s free-agent center fielders, and because of it, a bargain for the Dodgers, who signed him to a two-year $36.2 million contract. Projection: 77 Runs, 29 HR, 92 RBI, 7 SB, .256 average”

Here are other projections from the pre-season:

AVG   R   HR   RBI   SB    Source
--------------------------------
.249  89  33    99   8      Lindy's
.249  95  39   117   5      Fantasy Baseball Guide
.254  --  29    98   4      Fantasy Baseball Magazine
.252  97  36   111   5      Rotowire
.241  87  32    97   5      Fanball
.254  90  42   104   6      Fantasy Baseball Index

Yikes. More recently:

Slumping Dodgers center fielder Andruw Jones did not start for the second successive game, even though he was 4-for-9 lifetime against Kevin Correia with three home runs. He hit for reliever Brian Falkenborg with runners at the corners in the sixth and delivered an RBI single against Sergio Romo to cut the Giants’ lead to 7-6. Manager Joe Torre has given Jones every opportunity to make good in the first year of a $36.2 million, two-year contract, but he can’t afford to wait any longer for him to come around. “We talked, and Joe just told me what he’s going to go with. There’s nothing I can do about it except get the job done when I get the opportunity,” Jones said. “The situation came up, and it felt good just to go out there and get a key hit.”

Jones, a five-time All-Star and 10-time Gold Glove winner, is 10-for-56 with six RBI in his past 20 games after missing 38 because of an injured right knee that required arthroscopic surgery. “I think there was a sense of urgency all the time with him, based on his own expectations of himself,” Torre said. “He’s a very proud individual and he certainly knows he’s a whole lot better player than he’s shown us. I know it hurts him, but there’s no easy way around it. We’re at a point in the season now where we’re trying to win a pennant.” Consider Jones a stashee in deeper leagues right now, but clearly not someone to trust in your lineup right now. He is not old, but he sure doesn’t swing that bat like he is young anymore. (CBS Sports)

Goodbye, fatty. Good riddance.

FAAB Acquisition:

• 3B Casey Blake, Dodgers [$35 bid, add to actives]

Up:

• P Josh Johnson
• OF Steve Pearce

Down:

• 3B Chipper Jones
• P Joe Blanton
• OF John Bowker

Cut:

• OF Andruw Jones

Notes:

• This is the first week this season that the Atomic Roadrunners infield has been disrupted, here in Week 18. The core of Prince Fielder, Mark Teixeira, Chipper Jones, Jose Reyes, Brandon Phillips, and Ryan Theriot had not been interrupted this season. The catching situation has been remarkably stable as well, as Chris Iannetta replaced Javier Valentin in Week 4, and Chris Coste replaced Carlos Ruiz in Week 8.
• Former 2008 Roadrunner Matt Herges was released by Stanimals when he picked up John Grabow.
• I also bid $3 on Joel Hanrahan, who had been on my scout team since the pre-season, due to his scoreless innings streak in Spring Training. X-Men acquired him for $41 FAAB, as he is now the presumptive closer for the Nationals with the trade of Jon Rauch.

In an eventual 5-3 loss to Colorado on Wednesday, Andruw Jones struck out with the tying runs on second and third and one out in the eighth inning. It was his 29th strikeout in 51 at-bats this season with runners in scoring position; he has four hits in those at-bats. Jones is batting .166 overall. The Sports Xchange reports that after the game, Jones denied the suggestion he had made a mistake by ending his rehabilitation assignment after just three days at Class AAA Las Vegas. He returned when left fielder Juan Pierre was shelved with a left knee injury. Jones had planned to stay with Las Vegas through the All-Star break, not only to get his surgically repaired right knee healthy but also to work on his hitting. Instead, at his own suggestion to management, Jones was activated on July 4. Since being activated, Jones is batting .167 (8-for-48) in 16 games. That is not going to cut it. Jones is atop the list for biggest free-agent busts. The Dodgers gave him a two-year deal in the offseason hoping he could turnaround his career, but that hasn’t been the case. He came to camp out of shape and it has shown in his performance. Jones is not a recommended Fantasy option at this time. (CBS Sports)

Andruw Jones was held out of the lineup Saturday because of stomach problems. Jones had to leave Friday night’s game in the fifth inning because of the same issue. “I’ve had to go to the bathroom quite a few times,” Jones said. He pinch-hit in the ninth inning, drawing a two-out walk, and should be healthy enough to play on Sunday. (Rotoworld)

Andruw Jones struck out all five times he was at the plate on Saturday night. He hit fifth in the order, whereas Matt Kemp was dropped down below him to seventh. While lineup construction is often less important than it’s made up to be, shouldn’t the Dodgers have him hit lower in the lineup? Since his return from the disabled list July 3rd, Jones is batting 5-for-32 (.156), with 3 BB, 15K’s, and 2 RBI. (Rotowire)

Andruw Jones, who has driven in at least 90 runs in each of the past eight seasons, singled home Angel Berroa with one out in the seventh inning Wednesday night, giving him nine RBI for the year. Jones is now 4-for-19 with two RBI, a walk and five strikeouts in six games since returning from a five-week stint on the disabled list Friday. The one-time superstar who has fallen as rapidly as he rose to stardom. He still has some power potential, but he looks finished as a hitter. He’s probably not worth your time in standard mixed leagues. (CBS Sports)

In a game in which his team scored 10 runs, Andruw Jones went 0-for-5 with four strikeouts Friday in his return from the disabled list. Same old Andruw. He has 49 strikeouts and just seven RBI in 138 at-bats this season. Jones actually made his batting average drop with the performance, which is pretty hard to do when it already sits below .160. He still has some power potential, but he looks finished as a hitter. Jones missed about six weeks of action with a knee injury that required surgery and returns after going 4-for-8 in three minor league rehab games. He’ll resume starting in center field, with Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier flanking him in the corners. (Rotoworld, CBS Sports)

Andruw Jones (knee) is expected to return to the Dodgers prior to Friday’s game. Jones has been out since undergoing surgery at the end of May. With Juan Pierre headed to the disabled list, Jones will return to center field with Matt Kemp going to right and Andre Ethier going over to left. Delwyn Young will be the team’s fourth outfielder. (Rotoworld)

Ike over at Nine Bo Jacksons just ran through the biggest surprises and disappointments at the halfway mark for both hitters and pitchers. The system uses PECOTA and compares pre-season valuations to actual. Values indicate amount that the player is performing over/under projections. Here’s how some of the Atomic Roadrunners fared:

Hitters

Surprises:

• Ryan Theriot - $25.79
• Gregor Blanco - $21.74

Disappointments:

• Andruw Jones - -$31.92
• Prince Fielder - -$16.06

Pitchers

Surprises:

• Todd Wellemeyer - $14.44

Disappointments:

• Brett Myers - -$36.01

(He only ran the top/bottom 25 of each)

Andruw Jones homered and walked as a DH for Triple-A Las Vegas on Monday. Jones (knee) may have been in for a lengthy rehab assignment before Juan Pierre went down, but now the Dodgers have reason to bring him back quickly if he shows anything offensively. So far, so good. Jones had only two home runs in 133 at-bats before the injury. He was also hitting only .165. He looked finished as a major-league hitter after a terrible season last year, but he does have moderate sleeper potential if you can afford to stash him. (Rotoworld, CBS Sports)

Andruw Jones (right knee) will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Las Vegas on Monday. Jones should return to the Dodgers shortly after the All-Star break. “I keep my fingers crossed,” said manager Joe Torre, “but I’m not counting the days.” Jones will be the full-time center fielder upon his return from the DL after the All-Star break, the Dodgers’ official site reports. Apparently $18 million is a more meaningful number to Joe Torre than .165, Jones’ average on the year. Juan Pierre will get most of the at-bats in left field, leaving the team’s two best outfielders sharing right field. Makes sense for a team struggling to score runs. (Rotowire, Rotoworld)

According to the Los Angles Times, Andruw Jones “looked very comfortable” while taking batting practice before Friday’s game. Jones could return to the Dodgers’ lineup by the end of June. The pain in his back is apparently totally healed. (Rotoworld)

Andruw Jones (knee) took batting practice Tuesday. Jones is ahead of schedule in his recovery from knee surgery, but the Los Angeles Times reports that “he’s probably at least two weeks away from returning.” (Rotoworld)

Andruw Jones is ahead of schedule in his recovery from knee surgery and has already begun hitting in batting cages. “I feel like I can run, but they don’t want me to run yet,” Jones said. He remains unlikely to come off the disabled list this month, but could be back before the All-Star break. (Rotoworld)

Andruw Jones hit his second home run of the season Thursday afternoon. Jones is batting just .182 for the season but does have three hits in his last two games with two RBI. We’ll see if this helps the recently benched Jones earn more playing time. Jones, hitting .182, turned on a high fastball for a solo homer to lead off the inning, his second homer and seventh RBI this season. After an out, Ben Sheets hung a breaking ball and Kent made it 2-0. “He made a mistake and I was able to take advantage of it,” Jones said. “In that inning all of sudden, he started throwing balls up and we were able to hit him.” Jones is now 3-for-9 (.333) over his last two games with three RBI in his last four games. (Rotowire, CBS Sports)