Atomic RoadRunners

Chase Headley hit his first home run of the spring in San Diego’s 5-4 loss to Colorado on Monday. Headley will be looked upon to hit directly behind Adrian Gonzalez in 2010, and this very well could be a make-or-break season for the 26-year-old. (Rotowire)

Chase Headley is excited about moving back to third base and believes it will help his all-around game this season. Headley has played out of position in left field for the past two years while Kevin Kouzmanoff patrolled third base for the Padres. Kouz moved on this winter, though, opening the door for Headley’s return to the hot corner. “It’s where I feel like I can be the best player,” Headley said Tuesday. “You never want to play a position where you don’t feel like you can do your best. It’s exciting to get a chance to go back.” (Rotoworld)

Today we have the fourth installment in the my series of 2010 Protected List columns – The Fringe. These guys could go either way, with a lot of factors ultimately determining whether they make the cut. Of last year’s Fringe (Blake DeWitt, Jody Gerut, Chris Dickerson), two were protected, while hindsight said that I was 0-for-3 on that score. So, lesson learned, here goes this year’s attempt, in which I try to be more discerning:

John Baker
2 Years – $5
.271 Average, 59 Runs, 9 HR, 50 RBI, and 0 steals
Baker was selected in the 2009 auction, and didn’t seem to have that great a season. In fact, it often seemed that he was slumping and losing playing time to platoon partner Ronny Paulino, but his totals actually made his $5 salary worthwhile. Due to the Roadrunner roster crunch, it’s between Baker and Buster Posey, who is cheaper and has more upside.

Verdict: Release

Matt Diaz
2 Years – $5
.313 Average, 56 Runs, 13 HR, 58 RBI, and 12 steals
Seemingly as usual, Diaz was an early-season pickup and produced some decent numbers in a platoon in the Braves outfield, shared with Garrett Anderson. Normally a .280 hitter, the 2009 average was a surprise, as were the 12 steals. Most projection systems have him earning between $9-14 for 2010, so likely to be protected this year, unless the Braves sign Johnny Damon or Jermaine Dye in the next few days before the deadline.

Verdict: Probable Protection – Game Day Decision

[Update: Protected]

Mat Gamel
2 Years – $5
.242 Average, 11 Runs, 5 HR, 20 RBI, and 1 steal
Gamel was protected as a minor leaguer and was one of Milwaukee’s top prospects coming into 2010. He was called up in May, but languished on the bench, as the hot hand of Casey McGehee manned third base. A defensive liability, he has lost most of his luster as a hitter, his strong 2008 may now be an outlier.

Verdict: Release

Ryan Hanigan
2 Years – $5
.263 Average, 22 Runs, 3 HR, 11 RBI, and 0 steals
Hanigan took over from Ramon Hernandez in July, and at a glance, seemed to do a good job, especially when it came to batting average. However, reviewing his stats, there’s just nothing there. The re-signing of Hernandez by the Reds relegated Hanigan to backup duty again, and most agree that will be his role for the next decade.

Verdict: Release

Chase Headley
1 Year – $5
.262 Average, 62 Runs, 12 HR, 64 RBI, and 10 steals
Headley has been on the RoadRunners since midway through the 2007 season, when he was gunning for the Texas League MVP. Stuck in left field due to the arrival of Kevin Kouzmanoff the past two seasons, Headley should be the starter at the hot corner in 2010 with the Crushin’ Russian’s departure to Oakland. Headley’s numbers should look better at 3B, and those steals are a bit of a surprise.

Verdict: Protect

Angel Pagan
2 Years – $5
.306 Average, 54 Runs, 6 HR, 32 RBI, and 14 steals
Pagan was a great pickup mid-season, as he became a starter due to the injuries to Carlos Beltran and Ryan Church, who was later traded to Atlanta. .300 average and 14 steals should play everyday, but this is the Mets, who brought in Jason Bay this offseason. But then Carlos Beltran underwent knee surgery a few weeks ago, and may miss the first month or two of the season. To counter, the Mets took Lil’ Sarge, Gary Mathews, Jr. off the Angels’ hands, so now Pagan has to compete for the CF job, and eventual 4th OF slot. Too much risk for what would be my 4th OF slot. No thanks.

Verdict: Release

Brendan Ryan
2 Years – $5
.292 Average, 55 Runs, 3 HR, 37 RBI, and 14 steals
Another sneaky fast performer that was picked up mid-season, this time to replace the injured Jose Reyes on the roster. As a starting shortstop, Ryan will have to fend off prospect Travis Greene, as well as middle infield re-tread Julio Lugo, and may find himself batting ninth behind the pitcher due to manager Tony LaRussa’s whims. That said, you pretty much know what you get with him, though the average and steals are probably high-water marks. We’ll look for him as a pick-up or even minor league pick, but the roster spot is too valuable.

Verdict: Release

Edinson Volquez
1 Year – $2
4 Wins, 4.35 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, and 47 K’s (in 49 innings)
Volquez was the injury-challenge player acquired from Get Off Kong! in June (Jose Reyes went the other way, neither played again in 2009 – a wash). After several false-starts in rehab, Volquez underwent Tommy John surgery in August, and will likely miss most of the 2010 season, though he is targeting a mid-season return. The protected list isn’t a good place for rehab.

Verdict: Release

Sean West
2 Years – $5
8 Wins, 4.79 ERA, 1.54 WHIP, and 70 K’s (in 103 MLB innings)
West was called up from AA to fill in for the injured Andrew Miller in May, and he did alright the first time through the league. He had some great outings, and some rather pedestrian ones as well. He could likely use more seasoning, but would be a decent 5th starter type. But not worth a protected slot.

Verdict: Release

Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets that Oakland has agreed to acquire Padre third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff and a prospect in exchange for Scott Hairston and Aaron Cunningham. Kouzmanoff fills Oakland’ hole at thirdbase. Oakland had acquired Hairston from the Padres for Sean Gallagher two minor-leaguers. Cunningham was Oakland’s top outfield prospect prior to their acquisition of Michael Taylor

Kouzmanoff broke in with the Indians in 2006 before being dealt to the Padres. He was expected to anchor the middle of their lineup, but never quite put together the offensive season that San Diego had anticipated. His averaged a batting line of .263/.309/.436 in three seasons in Petco Park. Oakland’s McAfee Coliseum while still favoring pitchers, is not nearly as extreme as Petco.

Hairston enjoys tremendous baseball bloodlines as his brother, father, uncle and grandfather all played in the major leagues. He split last year between San Diego and Oakland, posting a combined line of .265/.307/456. He likely assumes left field replacing Chase Headley who could return to third base to fill the void caused by Kouzmanoff’s departure.

San Diego also picks up Aaron Cunningham who spent last year between Sacramento in the PCL and Oakland. He hit well in the minors, but struggled with a batting line of .151/.211/.245 in just 57 plate appearances. With Taylor likely to assume left field in the not too distant future, Cunningham was expendable. He’ll eventually push Hairston to the fourth outfield spot in San Diego when the Padres feel he is ready to contribute at the big-league level.

Up:

• CM Mat Gamel
• MI Rusty Ryal
• DH Oscar Salazar

Down:

• CM Steve Pearce
• MI Ian Desmond
• DH Josh Thole

Notes:

• This being the final week, only X-Men made any pickups, acquiring OF Tony Gwynn, Jr. to replace Orlando Hudson on the active roster. He also acquired Diamondbacks P Billy Buckner, as a reserve, which won’t really help him in this final week.
• Final tally of players on the 2009 Atomic RoadRunners: 92  Yikes!
• Number of players still on the roster from Draft Day 2009: 7 (Chris Iannetta, John Baker, Mat Gamel, Chase Headley, Josh Johnson, Madison Bumgarner, Mike Gonzalez)

San Diego LF Chase Headley hit his sixth home run of the season on Wednesday in a 4-3 loss to the Mariners. He went 1 for 4 in the game with a strikeout as his batting average remained at .236 on the season. Headley has not been what Fantasy owners were hoping for this season, but he could end up being a decent contributor in deeper mixed leagues in the second half of the season. Hopefully this homer will help turn his fortunes around. (CBS Sports)

Chase Headley went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a double in the Padres’ win over the Dodgers Wednesady. The double was nearly his first in a month, his last coming May 13. He is 13-for-67 in those 22 games with a home run. Not exactly typical No. 6 hitter production. (Rotowire)

Chase Headley hit a two-run homer in the top of the 10th as the Padres came from behind to beat the Diamondbacks 9-7 on Monday. It was a 7-1 game after seven, but the Padres scored five in the eighth, one in the ninth and then the two in the 10th. Headley, who also singled in the game, drove in his first runs since May 10 with the blast off Tony Pena. He had been playing less frequently of late with his average down to .229 and his OPS standing at 660. (Rotoworld)

Chase Headley went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run on Sunday. Headley’s playing well since returning to the Padres’ lineup after a bout with shoulder soreness. Feel free to deploy him as you normally would. (Rotowire)

Chase Headley drew a walk as a pinch-hitter Thursday night. Headley was expected to return to the starting lineup, but his shoulder was still a bit sore. Look for him on Friday. It was the second night in a row that he made a pinch hit appearance. He remains questionable to start in the team’s upcoming series at Houston. Headley is off to a pedestrian start to the season and the sore shoulder may have something to do with it. He has struck out 23 times in 27 games and has only walked nine times, hitting two bombs and driving in 11 so far. He is an NL-only option when healthy, which he will hopefully be by the end of the weekend. (Rotoworld, CBS Sports)

Chase Headley (shoulder) expects to return to the lineup Thursday. Headley didn’t start Tuesday after complaining of soreness in his shoulder and was held out as a precaution Wednesday night. “Chase feels better today than he did yesterday,” Padres manager Bud Black said Wednesday evening. “We want to make sure when he comes back, there’s no doubt in his mind, physically or mentally.” (Rotoworld)

Chase Headley was scratched from Tuesday’s lineup with a sore shoulder. Headley is considered day-to-day. After a terribly slow start, he’s brought his batting average up to .255 and now has two home runs and 11 RBI in 98 at-bats. (Rotoworld)

From the The Sports Xchange: LF Chase Headley tied Tuesday’s game with a two-out single in the eighth inning. He is now 5-for-10 in runner-in-scoring-position situations while hitting behind 1B Adrian Gonzalez, who is 4-for-17 in runner-in-scoring-position situations. Headley has great potential and is a nice starter in NL-only and deeper mixed leagues when he is going well. After a cold spell, he could be ready to go on a tear to make him a viable option for Fantasy Week 5 (May 4-10). (CBS Sports)

Chase Headley went 2-for-5 with a triple and two RBI. Headley also managed to score a run. Headley won’t get to see many RBI opportunities as long as the top of the Padres’ lineup continues to get on base at an anemic rate. Headley was mired in a 5-for-26 (.192) slump over his last seven games, but Coors Field has a way of breaking hitters out of slumps. Headley, a former top prospect, continues to run hot and cold in his sophomore season and is too streaky to use in mixed leagues. He has potential as a future middle-of-the-order hitter, so continue to monitor him. (Rotowire, CBS Sports)

Chase Headley went 4-for-4 and drove in three runs as the Padres beat the Mets 6-5 on Thursday night. Headley was hitting just .171 entering play tonight, so he needed this four-hit game. He hit an two-run single during a five-run Padres third, and later added an RBI double that ended up being the difference. It was a career high for Headley who never scored in the game but drove in three base runners with three singles and his third double of the season. Headley increased his batting average on the season to .256 with the four-hit performance, a good indicator of how he had been struggling up until Thursday’s contest. Headley does have two homers however and is a player worth starting in NL-only leagues. (Rotoworld)