Thursday, May 8, 2008

Sell high on Votto, Gomez?


Two rookies. Two huge games.

If you happen to own Joey Votto or Carlos Gomez, you couldn't help but smile.

If you own both, you were probably delirious.

Votto, the Cincy lefty with the sweet stroke, hit 3 jacks Wednesday afternoon off the suddenly-lifeless Cubs.

Minnesota CF Gomez (pictured above) became the first Twin to hit for the cycle since Kirby Puckett.

So, now what?

Do you hold onto these guys if you're their owner? Do you put in an offer this morning, if you're looking for an offensive boost?

Yes and no.

Only sell if you can get top value. And be prepared to pay retail (like Nordstrom retail) if you want either one of these in the next day or two.

Votto has 7 HR and 18 RBI and is on the good side of the .300 mark with a 3-for-4, 4-RBI day.

Two things stick out to this Votto owner: 1). His home runs were to all different parts of Great American Ballpark (left, center and right center) and he was going the opposite way in his final at-bat when he grounded out to SS, showing he can hit to all fields. 2). Votto recorded his first stolen base of the year.

Now that he's hitting in the heart of the Reds batting order, you can expect the RBI production to start flowing. But it will be Votto's base swipes that will separate him from other waiver options in shallow mixed leagues. (Votto also stole a base on Tuesday night, but it was ruled fielder's indifference).

Then there's Gomez, whose value is almost exclusively from his wheels, but he quietly is showing double-digit HR potential. Gomez started with a solo shot off Mark Buerhle, then struck out in the 3rd. A triple in the fifth was followed by a double in the sixth, leaving just a single for the cycle.

Gomez managed a single to lead off the 9th and later struck out in the inning, giving him the rare distinction of hitting for the cycle AND striking out twice. I love Gomez's speed an energy and his game-changing ability but he's still very green and has 29 Ks in 28 games.

To all Gomez owners flush with speed: Definitely sell high. His return will be far greater than other speed options like Kaz Matsui or Michael Bourn. But Gomez won't be hitting over .280 much longer. A .250 speed guy is a lot harder to unload than a .280 one and Gomez is more the former than the latter.

DID YOU SEE THIS?

To show all you Cub haters out there that I do not always tout the Men in Blue, check out these two strikes from pitcher-turned-CF Rick Ankiel on Tuesday night in Denver.

The first, he gunned lightning-quick Willy Taveras tagging up from second to third. The second, he gunned down Omar Quintanilla, trying to stretch a double into a triple.

They don't show it, but the Cardinal dugout looked like school kids or Elvis groupies seeing the King for the first time.

"I don’t believe he did it," Tony La Russa said."“I want to see the replays. I can’t remember a dugout getting a bigger kick out of something. Who could believe it?"

1 comments:

Anonymous said...

Those 2 throws by Ankiel were 2 of the best throws I've ever seen. I cant believe they were in the same game.