Fantasy Baseball Fanatics Salivate As Royals Recall Eric Hosmer

“Eric Hosmer has been summoned from Class AAA, and will join KC on Friday,” chirped Buster Olney from my TweetDeck yesterday.

It was a moment long awaited by the fantasy baseball community, and like every addict I rushed to open my league’s transaction page to scoop up Hosmer. He’s one of a select group of hotly anticipated minor leaguers that fantasy baseball junkies dream of snatching midseason.

The first reason is obvious; Hosmer could have a game-changing impact on fantasy leagues. The second is an underlying truth; fantasy baseball fans love to be the guy that got “the guy” that’s the next big thing in the sport.

Often mid-year call ups of top prospects fizzle out and disappoint, but for a dozen 2009 Matt Wieters there’s occasionally a 2007 Ryan Braun. Called up on May 25th, Braun looked like the winner of multiple MVP awards en route to an enormous rookie season in which he posted a .324 average with 34 homers and 97 RBIs in just 113 games with the Milwaukee Brewers.

Performances like Braun’s are rare, but Hosmer has the potential to have that kind of impact. Or so I’m told, because I’ll readily admit I hadn’t seen a second of video footage of Hosmer until yesterday. My opinion of him is based solely on the opinions of others that have seen him (I think) and know what they’re talking about.

Ninety-five percent of fantasy baseball players are with me, because it’s just not that easy to follow Omaha of the Pacific Coast League with so much else going on in life. But that won’t stop them from heading straight to their league’s site to try to grab Hosmer before it’s too late (and by the time you’re reading this, it probably is in most competitive leagues).

If you missed out on Hosmer, don’t fret. There will be a couple more super rookies getting the call sooner than later. In fact, Sam Fuld has been slumping horribly for the Tampa Bay Rays…Desmond Jennings, you’re on deck.

Fantasy Focus: Sell High On Grady Sizemore

Grady Sizemore owners have to be quite pleased with the early return from the 28-year-old centerfielder of the Cleveland Indians.

Just under a year removed from microfracture surgery on his knee, Sizemore has posted a .406 average with three home runs and seven RBIs in just eight games this season.

No one knew if he’d ever be the same player after undergoing the intense procedure, but Sizemore has quickly begun to erase everyone’s doubts.

That means this is the perfect time to sell high on the Indians’ leadoff man.

It is possible that Sizemore will continue on like nothing ever happened, but it’s pretty unlikely. For a player so reliant on his legs, any kind of serious surgery is a major red flag.

Sizemore hasn’t stolen a base yet this season, and was in fact caught in his lone attempt of the year last night. The Indians have repeatedly stated that they’ll be very careful with Grady, and it stands to reason that means he won’t exactly be given the green light on the basepaths.

At his best, Sizemore was one of the best 30-30 threats in baseball. But if he’s not going to be stealing bases, his fantasy value plummets back down to earth. Sizemore has only actually eclipsed the 30-homer mark once in his career, and his true potential is probably closer to 25 dingers.

His season batting average has never been higher than .290, and he hasn’t hit higher than .277 since 2006. The early .406 mark is impressive for sure, but it is not indicative of his past performances.

And don’t forget that when healthy, Sizemore has been among the major league leaders in strikeouts.

There’s a remote chance that Sizemore’s injury will be a non-factor going forward and that he’s the franchise player the Indians were once building around, but don’t bet on it. Better to see if any of Sizemore’s old owners in your league are thrilled with his start and nostalgic for days gone by. You may be able to squeeze a surprising trade return for him, but you’d better act fast. His terrific start won’t last forever.

Fantasy Focus: Don't Give Up On Adam Lind Yet

17 games into yet another disappointing season, it’s fair to worry whether Adam Lind, 27, will ever develop into a reliable fantasy player.

In 2009, Lind drilled 35 home runs and smacked in 114 RBIs while batting a respectable .305. As a former much ballyhooed prospect, most thought it was a sign of things to come.

But in 2010, Lind dipped across the board, to 23 home runs and 72 RBIs with a paltry .237 average. Many weren’t willing to write Lind off just yet and he was a big sleeper for 2011.

This year though, Lind has tallied only one homer and nine RBIs with a similarly disappointing .232 average.

Now, many owners are skeptical of whether Lind will ever return to form and fulfill his potential.

There aren’t too many signs of hope at the moment, but Lind still has too much talent to give up on completely. Many players have peaked recently far later than anyone expected after significant periods of struggle. Josh Hamilton and Alex Gordon both were top rated prospects and took years to become fantasy relevant.

That’s not to say that Lind will ever reach their level, but you’ll be kicking yourself if he has that kind of future ahead of him.

What’s most puzzling is that Lind went from being totally unable to hit left-handed pitching, to hitting .333 against southpaws this season (albeit in just 18 at bats). He used to handle righties, but in 2011 he’s hitting just .196 against them. That screams small sample size, so if Lind can turn things around against righties he’ll be right back on track.

Lind’s power comes in bursts even when he’s struggling, so you’re smart if you ride him out and take advantage of the occasional extra homer and decent RBI production. He’s shown in the past that he’s capable of hitting for average, so wait him out a bit longer and see if that starts to come around.

Lind was drooled over at one point for a reason, and he’s still the same person. Give him a few more weeks before cutting ties.