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Written by Matt Dewoskin
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Thursday, 11 March 2010 09:07 |
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Player who will make me punch the screen when he gets drafted in front of me: Adam Lind
Adam Lind is the only Blue Jay I want on my roster and gets this spot by default. This Blue Jays team could make a run at 110 losses. Between the pitching staff (pitiful) and division (strong), the Blue Jays are poised to be epically bad. Cito Gaston has already announced his retirement at the end of the year. I'd be impressed if he makes it there. Cito will be begging for retirement after a month with this bunch.
The downside: Did I mention this team is going to blow? Jose Bautista is the projected leadoff hitter. Vernon Wells should hit cleanup and Edwin Encarnacion will be batting fifth. After that, the lineup gets ugly. If Lind can get off to a hot start, he won't see another pitch for the rest of the season. I like Lind, but I don't see where the RBI opportunities are going to come from. I like him for 90 RBIs, but that's me being really, really optimistic.
The bottom line: The Bill James system is the most bullish on Lind. They've got him for 31 homers, 90 runs and 113 RBIs. That's about where I have him for homers and runs, but that RBI total is a little ridiculous. CHONE has him for 24 homers, 69 runs and 90 RBIs. The homers and runs seem awfully low for a guy coming off a 35/93 season who didn't really have any SABR red flags. He's being drafted in the around the fourth or fifth round. I'd like to get him in the late fifth or early sixth, but I don't think he'll be on the board any more. If he were on a better team, I think you'd have to consider him in the third, but he's stuck on this amazingly bad Blue Jays team.
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Written by Bob Taylor
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Tuesday, 09 March 2010 23:21 |
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-- Joe Nathan just became exhibit #724 of why you don't hold your draft as soon as your preferred fantasy service goes live. No one's yet sure if the ligament tear in his elbow is going to cost him a few weeks or the season. If I were a gambling man (which I am), I'd bet on the season. Regardless, if he tries to play through the pain this year, he won't be the same pitcher and might have to shut it down at any point. Long story short: Go ahead and pull Nathan from your pre-rankings and put him on your exclude list. As far as who's going to take his place as Minnesota's closer, pretty much every pitcher in their bullpen is having his name thrown around as a possibility. Jon Rauch and Matt Guerrier are the two names thrown around the most. Guerrier's stats indicate he's the better pitcher, but Rauch has that MLB closer experience which managers just luuurve. So Rauch's probably the guy to own. Our Who's the Closer? page has been updated.
-- Knock on wood, but it sounds like Jose Reyes is going to be okay. He's got an overactive thyroid, which will need to be treated, but he could be back on the field within the week. If you were ready and willing to draft Jose as a bounce-back candidate this year, I'd say go ahead and follow through with your plan. (You might even be able to get him a round later now.) For those who were more dubious (like me), it's just one more reason to avoid Reyes this season.
-- Yes, I sprawled out on my couch and watched Nats wunderkind Stephen Strasburg pitch two scoreless innings today. I didn't mistake him for Jesus Christ returned to Earth to strike out hapless batters, but the kid looked good. I'm still not drafting him this year. Too much uncertainly over when he'll be up and how many innings they'll let him pitch. If I'm drafting a National League rookie this year, it's going to be Jason Heyward. That dude is rakin'. |
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Written by Matt Dewoskin
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Tuesday, 09 March 2010 10:38 |
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Player who will make me punch the screen when he goes in front of me: Evan Longoria
I'm stuck drafting 12th in a league that's been together for a quite a few years and I'm really hoping Longoria falls to me at the 12th spot. My gut tells me that Longoria is going to make it to 11 and then get taken directly in front of me. If that happens, I'll likely miss my first two picks because I'll have tossed my mouse across the room. There is a lot to like with Longoria. Evan has 30+ homer power and my gut tells me that Evan can crack double digit stolen bases. Since Evan started playing professionally in 2006, he has been caught stealing exactly twice. I like Evan better than guys like Ryan Howard and Matt Holliday for one reason -- position scarcity. Third base gets ugly this year. It's the Chipper Jones line this year. If Chipper gets drafted and I don't have a third baseman, I'm in trouble. Adrian Beltre? No thank you. Jhonny Peralta? He can't even spell his own effing name. Things get gross quickly.
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Written by Bob Taylor
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Tuesday, 09 March 2010 06:04 |
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PLAYERS TO TARGET:
These will be popular rounds for snaring a sleeper middle infielder. Asdrubal Cabrera might very well be good for 90 runs, 20 SBs and a .300 average. If you're getting so desperate for steals that 20 ain't gonna cut it, Bill James thinks Elvis Andrus is good for 40+ this year. And don't forget that sophomore slugger Gordon Beckham will be moving to second base this season. A line of 90-20-90-10 seems pretty damn good for that position this late in the draft, huh?
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Written by Kevin Foss
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Monday, 08 March 2010 05:31 |
Which of these numbers is not like the other: 8.7, 10.8, 7.2, 6.5, and 20.4? Those are the HR/FB rates for Joe Mauer over the last five seasons. When looking at stats from the previous year, batted ball data can be extremely helpful. In terms of fantasy value, I tend to look for outliers that will regress to the mean both positively and negatively.
One of the places that I can find useful data is in the HR/FB (homeruns/fly ball) category. In 2008, Joe hit 9 HRs and his HR/FB rate was a pedestrian 6.5%. This rate put him near the likes of Randy Winn, Conor Jackson, and Brian Giles. Last year, something happened and he slugged 28 HRs laregely due to a 20.4% HR/FB rate. This put him in the Mark Reynolds, Adam Dunn, Prince Fielder territory that screams " Wha happened?" to most people who aren't fans of the Twins. All of this data is screaming at me to tell you to let someone else pay the very steep price for Joe Mauer this year.
Is he the best catcher in the game? Without a doubt. Is he going to hit 28 HRs again in that shiny new outdoor ballpark filled with Minnesotans? Debatable. I say no way. Feel free to make your case in the comments. Is the cost of a first-round pick worth paying for last year's numbers? Not if you ask me. C'mon, people, you've been down this road before. Let the guy before you in your draft be the Jim Hendry of your league and pay steeply for Mauer while you take Ryan Howard or Evan Longoria or Prince Fielder ...
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Written by Matt Dewoskin
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Monday, 08 March 2010 00:05 |
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Player who will make me punch the screen when he gets drafted in front of me: Vladimir Guerrero
I almost talked myself into having a Julio Borboner for Julio Borbon, but I think his draft position is about right and there are a TON of guys with his skill set this year. The Impaler will never be the force of nature that he was in his days with the Expos or the above average/often-injured guy he turned into with the Angels. The only reason he isn't going earlier is because he doesn't have a position. If you have him on your roster, I recommend drafting more than a few guys with multi-position eligibility. If you have to mix and match due to injury/suckage, you'll be limited with you utility spot taken up by a full time DH. I like Vladdy in 13th to 14th round, assuming I have an open utility spot.
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Written by Bob Taylor
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Thursday, 04 March 2010 15:55 |
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PLAYERS TO TARGET:
Chone Figgins scored 114 runs and swiped 42 bases last year. But the reason you should be excited about possibly getting him this late in the draft is that he plays third base, which is pretty damn thin this year. If you still don't have a third baseman by the sixth or seventh round and miss out on Chone, you might find yourself starting Chase Headley.
You will be so much better off drafting Nelson Cruz in the seventh than you would be taking Bobby Abreu in the sixth. Trust me.
Denard Span is a 26-year-old runs/steals/average guy who Twins fans are hoping can blossom into a superstar this year. Draft him in the seventh or eighth and hope right along with them.
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Written by Matt Dewoskin
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Thursday, 04 March 2010 08:55 |
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Player who will make me punch the screen when he gets drafted in front of me: Felix Hernandez
Everyone has had their heart broken by King Felix. Every one. He burst on to the scene in 2005 and didn't disappoint. He struggled in '06. Then, he was surprisingly mediocre in '07, resurfaced in '08 and delivered in 2009. I think this is the season that King Felix becomes elite. If he's going to become a legit dominant starter, shouldn't that happen soon? He throws in a pitcher's park with one of the better defensive outfields in baseball. He's a lock for 200 Ks and his K:BB is right where it needs to be (3.06 last year). I could see him making another run at 20 wins with another sub-3.00 ERA next year.
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Written by Erich Smith
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Thursday, 04 March 2010 08:40 |
Going back to a previous post contrasting CHONE and PECOTA, we were able to find some nice value windows when looking at the guys each system projects to hit 30 home runs. A few looked to be safe bets for power production, and a few more were either undervalued or deep sleepers for you to grab later in your draft should you decide to pass up on the guaranteed performers. Since speed is usually the hardest element to find in fantasy, it only makes sense to continue the projection comparison to find the same elements in regard to stolen bases.
Most speed guys come at expense to other categories. The majority of speedsters are slap-hitting, dink-and-dunk guys who derive most of their baseball value from their wheels. So it's important to preface the following list(s) with one note worth remembering. Find the speed guys that won't kill you elsewhere. You want these guys to contribute in more than category, even though you're looking for them to excel in one specifically.
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Written by Bob Taylor
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Wednesday, 03 March 2010 12:39 |
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Just a reminder that preseason baseball started this week, and the MLB Network is carrying games pretty much every day at 1 p.m Eastern. (Flipping through my digital cable guide also shows that they've got some evening game broadcasts scheduled in the near future.) I should have thrown this post up before the Braves/Mets affair yesterday, but thanks to a soggy field, you didn't miss much anyway. David Wright, Jason Bay and Jose Reyes (who tripled in an intra-squad game on Monday) all rode pine. The biggest star on the field was probably Nate McLouth. Or, hell, it might have been Jason Heyward. The 20-year-old super prospect was on base three times and swiped a bag. Please note: Heyward is already included in the Yahoo player database. As is Pedro Alvarez, whose Buccos play the Yankees on MLB Network in today's afternoon game. |
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