Kuzul

As a 7′ outfielder who kills Yankees and Red Sox by the hundreds with fireballs from his eyes and bolts of lightning from his arse, Tampa Bay Rays’ Sam Fuld burst onto the fantasy baseball landscape with a 4-6 performance against the rival Sox, including two doubles and a home run. 

The legend of Sam Fuld spread across the Internet like a sneezing Panda video on YouTube, with fans likening the scrappy Fuld to a mix between Ryan Braun and William Wallace. 

Now that cooler heads have prevailed and fans now realize that Fuld is a tenth round journeyman outfielder who is only starting because Manny Ramirez abruptly quit, I think it is an opportune time to take a closer look at Fuld’s fantasy potential. 

In 163 major league at bats, the Stanford University Product has a .264 batting average with 11 doubles, two home runs and eight stolen bases. Prior to this season in which Joe Maddon has used him as a leadoff hitter, Fuld stole only two bags for the Cubs and was not thought of as a base stealing threat.  

Perhaps a move to the right system is what Fuld needed to become fantasy-relevant, as the once powerful Rays are suddenly impotent with the injury to Evan Longoria and the retirement of the aforementioned Ramirez.  

Will Fuld steal 50 bases and mash 30 home runs? Certainly not, however as an everyday leadoff hitter for the Rays he does have some fantasy value in deeper mixed and AL-only leagues.  It appears that Maddon realizes how poor his offense will be this season and will employ an aggressive base running method to generate runs, leading me to believe that Fuld could possibly steal 30 bases and score around 80 runs.

This article was originally published on www.kramericasports.com, the home of free fantasy baseball news, rankings and advice.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The Seattle Mariners boast one of the best young arms in the American League. A flame-throwing pitcher who possesses a knee-buckling slider, an excellent changeup and a blazing fastball that has been clocked in the triple digits. No, I am not referring to reigning AL CY Young winner Felix Hernandez, but rather rookie sensation Michael Pineda. 

With just two starts under his belt this season, it may be premature to anoint Pineda as the Robin to King Felix’s Batman. After all, the 21-year-old Dominican prospect has just one major league win under his belt and has yet to experience the grind of a full major league season. Only time tell if young Pineda has the focus and moxie required to succeed in the pressure-filled major leagues.

Until that time comes, Pineda is certainly worth a waiver wire pick in all fantasy baseball formats. His 11 strikeouts and 2.70 ERA over his first two big league starts provide a small sample size of evidence that he will be an above average strikeout pitcher, and his spot at the bottom of the Mariner rotation ensures that he will pitch in favorable match ups against opponents’ lower tier starters. 

Pineda is available in 74 percent of Yahoo leagues; a number that will certainly change when owners review his excellent performance on Tuesday against the Blue Jays. I recommend picking him up before he becomes a well-known commodity in fantasy circles.

This article was originally published on www.kramericasports.com, the home of free fantasy baseball news, rankings and advice.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com