Contender? Turning Over the Inoculator Roster in 24 Hours

Trade now or forever hold your piece. This seems to be the motto for the “pretty much out of it, but still very much in it” Inoculators. Over the last 24 hours, the Inoculators roster has been almost entirely over-hauled. Here are his moves and analysis of them.

At 6-8, the Inoculators are walking a fine line between trying to get into the playoffs and accumulating keeper prospects. Whether or not he did that is yet to be seen, but early analysis says he did.

Grady Sizemore for Tim Hudson, Nick Blackburn and Dustin Pedroia

Grady Sizemore is the ninth highest scoring fantasy player in the league going to a team who needs some consistency. Sizemore is a career .282 hitter in the first half of the season and a .280 hitter in the second half. His power numbers are similar too, but it is unknown if he can keep up his AL leading home run pace. Sizemore will score runs and steal bases too. This is a good pick up for the Cockies.

The Inoculators probably could have (and should have) gotten more for Sizemore. Putting this trade in the context of all of the Inoculators moves makes the trade look better than what it really is. Tim Hudson is a very good fantasy pitcher, but not a great one. Then again, Hudson could end up being a huge addition for an Inoculators club desperate for big time pitchers. Hudson was 1-3 with a 7.17 ERA in inter-league play this year, masking the success he’s had in the National League this season. So far this season, Tim has posted an 8-3 record with a 1.98 ERA and 1.09 WHIP. Given that interleague is finished, that is good news for the Inoculators.

Dustin Pedroia is a border line keeper pick. He can provide top three second baseman production and wasn’t drafted until the twelfth round. Pedroia’s strength is scoring runs and hitting for extra bases. Because the Red Sox lineup is so deep, Pedroia will also drive in plenty of runs.

Nick Blackburn is a guy who doesn’t walk people and puts up decent strikeout numbers. He’s a spot start guy, though.

Josh Hamilton and Brandon Webb for Jermaine Dye, James Loney, Mark Buehrle and Matt Cain

Losing the third rated centerfielder meant there was a huge gap to fill for the Inoculators. So the Inoculators traded for the top centerfielder in fantasy. Additionally, Hamilton is a great keeper prospect after being drafted in the seventeenth round.

The Inoculators then went out and picked up one of the top rated fantasy pitchers in Brandon Webb.

KC ended up getting two keeper prospects out of this in James Loney and Matt Cain. Loney is a young first baseman who is hitting .300 with 41 runs scored and 47 RBI on a team that can’t score runs. If the Dodgers can add some help around him next season, he’ll be a top five first baseman.

Matt Cain is a strikeout machine who gets zero run support. Cain has 112 strikeouts this season in 119 innings.

Mark Buehrle may also be an interesting keeper prospect despite his poor season.

Added J.J. Hardy, Ian Snell and David Price

J.J. Hardy is on fire and a possible keeper prospect. Hardy has 101 points in his last 15 games played. If the Inoculators are out if it officially at the end of the month, then Hanley Ramirez could be traded to add prospects allowing Hardy to fill in.

Ian Snell just returned from the DL and scouts are saying he is back to his old form (so does Snell). The Inoculators will find out quick as he starts tonight. Snell could provide a boost in the strikeout department and maybe steal a few wins.

David Price is the 10th rated prospect by Baseball America and is expected to be called up later this month or in early July. Many have said Price is the reason why the Rays did not trade for C.C. Sabathia. Price is 7-0 with a 1.68 ERA and 55 strikeouts in 53.2 innings this season in high-A and AA ball. Price was selected in the 25th round making him an excellent keeper prospect.

Activated Clay Buchholtz from DL

Clay Buchholtz will make his highly anticipated return to the big leagues Friday against the Baltimore Orioles. A big second half from him would be huge for the Inoculators.