Punting catcher doesn’t mean you don’t want anything from your catcher spot. I don’t draft A.J. Pierzynski while waving a white flag. I just try and get value later on. Which brings us to Geovany Soto. Last year, Geovany Soto burned a whole lot of people who drafted a catcher early. Soto’s 2009 was off the charts unlucky. His BABIP went from .337 in 2008 to .251 last year. I.e.
Please, blog, may I have some more?2010 Fantasy Baseball Sleeper
Man, a guy turns in a mediocre season when he’s a twenty-two year old rookie and people abandon him in flocks. Let’s recap what I said in the first sentence. In 474 at-bats, Colby Rasmus hit 16 homers and stole 3 bases. At the age of 22. Sure, it would’ve been nice if he burst on the scene like David Naughton in Hot Dog… The Movie, but where’s David Naughton now? Yeah, I have no idea either. Rookies have ups and downs, that’s what they do. Do you know what Barry Bonds did his rookie year? Me neither, but I vaguely remember it not being very good.
Please, blog, may I have some more?The comments were shut off on the Position Eligibility for 2010 Fantasy Baseball post because that post was just listing players and their eligibility for 2010 fantasy baseball. Now, in this here post, we get down to business. Or bidness, if you mispronounce business. That business is pointing out players that gain some advantage by having more eligibility than they know what to do with. Are you going to finish the rest of that 3rd base eligibility?
Please, blog, may I have some more?The 2010 fantasy baseball rankings are not as far away as you might think. Right now, January Grey is throwing darts at a board to figure out where to place Edwin Jackson. In the meantime, let’s look at the players who have multiple position eligibility for this upcoming 2010 fantasy baseball season. This took me far longer than it probably should’ve. Can’t someone write me a program that sorts all the players by games played at a position? Why do I need to go through every player on every roster? Maybe I’m just a coprocephalic (Nerdy Word of the Day!). I did this list of multi-position eligible players because I figured it would help for your 2010 fantasy baseball drafts. I’m a giver, snitches!
Please, blog, may I have some more?Next up, we have the award for Who’s Most Likely to Be the Mark Reynolds of 2010? The camera finds Chris Davis in the audience, grasping his Mom’s hand. The camera pans to Mat Gamel, who’s fumbling with his drink. Finally, the camera lands on Ian Stewart seated next to a mini donkey. And the winner is… Well, dur. You see the title of the post. First, let’s see the “con” coincidences, going into 2009. Mark Reynolds was battling Chad Tracy for an every day spot. Check! Ian Stewart’s not guaranteed time. Mark Reynolds hasn’t seen many pitches he doesn’t like. Check! Ian Stewart’s strikeout rate last year was 32.5%. (Mark Reynolds was at 38.6%.) Mark Reynolds and Ian Stewart both had a walk rate of 11.6% in 2009. But enough of the negatives, we’re familiar with those. Let’s look at the positives on why Ian Stewart is a 2010 fantasy baseball sleeper.
Please, blog, may I have some more?Sometimes guys are so obviously sleepers that it makes them overrated and consequently sleeper sells. This happened in last year’s preseason to Chris Davis. By the time we’re all drafting in 2010, Jay Bruce may fall into that category. I tend to think he won’t because he was clearly terrible last year when you look at his surface numbers. That’s good. Don’t overrate the previous year. Ever. Baseball is a game of skills, not what someone did for a month or two in 2009. Or three or four months. One season does not make a career. Anyone who’s familiar with my MO knows that I love me some players coming off a bad season who are capable of better. When the player coming off the bad season is only 22, all the better. Sucks for those that owned Jay Bruce last year. He wasn’t good. Then he was hurt diving for a ball in the outfield. If you owned Bruce last year, push that bitterness you feel towards him deep into your cankles so you don’t remember it without 5 years of psychoanalysis. Next year, Jay Bruce can be a nice fantasy baseball sleeper.
Please, blog, may I have some more?It was the winter of 2002. The Anaheim Angels just won the franchise’s first World Series. Vlad Guerrero still had three working legs. And a speedster with the most improbable spelling of Shawn was the team’s tenth man. Seven years later, the Angels metaphorically moved the team to Los Angeles. Vlad runs like he’s auditioning for Murderball. And the world still tries to figure out why Chone doesn’t rhyme with phone. Luckily, the Angels unloaded Rex Hudler before Chone Figgins went to the Mariners. Otherwise, there would’ve been some real man-tears. (Jose Mota can keep his emotions in check.) So Figgins gets to take his 5 homer, 40 steal self up to the Pacific Northwest. Nothing really changes for him in fantasy. Maybe a few less runs being in a slightly weaker lineup. Figgy do what he do. What I really want to talk about is Brandon Wood for 2010 fantasy baseball.
Please, blog, may I have some more?Usually on Fridays the royal we brings you fantasy baseball keepers, but we interrupt your regularly scheduled programming for Jake Fox, the man who made the phrase “Unathletic like a fox” almost make sense. Looks like the Cubs decided to unload their DH since they play in the National League, sending Jake Fox and Aaron Miles for Jeff Gray. ($5 says the Cubs had Milton Bradley change his name to Aaron Miles to get rid of him.) Now the A’s reporters can find and replace Cust’s name for Fox’s and just recycle old articles. “Jack Cust Jake Fox homered and struckout in the A’s four-run seventh inning.” Since Jake Fox has 3rd base eligibility in fantasy, it doesn’t really matter where the A’s play him. DH him all you want. Like a Newport cigarette, Jake Fox is now alive with pleasure. Should now get 500 ABs. This will either be terrific or all the people who were screaming to let The Fox out of his cage will suddenly realize The Fox needs to go back in the cage for batting practice. I’m on the fence for how it’ll all work out once he’s exposed. He’s not going to win a batting title, but he could be a cheap Branyan. If that sounds boring, then you’re not in a 12 team league or deeper. For 2010, I see a line of 75/24/85/.250 with the possibility of more on the power side. Definitely worth a flier. Let’s look at some other minor trades and how they’re going to affect 2010 fantasy baseball:
Billy Wagner – Stop three on the NL East Tour pulls into Atlanta. Right on his heels, Takashi Saito was signed by the Braves, too. Wagner will be the closer with Saito being the first pickup all Wagner’s owners make in April. Wagner will be in the bottom of the donkey-corns to start the season and should be underrated on draft day. He’s no guarantee to stay healthy but saves are saves are saves.
Please, blog, may I have some more?This post was almost titled, “Alcides Escobar, 2010 Fantasy Sleeper As Long As The Brewers Don’t Make A Boneheaded Decision To Start Hardy At Shortstop.” Lo and behold, the Brewers fermented their yeast and unloaded Hardy — Hardy knew you!
Please, blog, may I have some more?As legend goes, on May 30th, 1982, Orioles utility infielder, Lenn Sakata was so inspired by the hit film of the day, Conan the Barbarian, that he dressed in animal skin Jockey underwear “borrowed” from Jim Palmer and carried a cardboard sword into the locker room. Now whether Cal Ripken (then Cal Ripken Jr.) knew the power in that cardboard sword or if he was just patronizing Sakata no one knows, but Ripken knelt on the floor in front of Sakata and asked him to touch his shoulder with the cardboard sword. With a grand gesture, that was probably unnecessary, Sakata obliged. As we all know, May 30th, 1982 began The Streak. On the record, Ripken thanked his family and teammates for their support for making The Streak possible. Off the record, of course, Ripken knew it was Lenn Sakata that forever changed history. This year, Lenn Sakata returned to the Orioles locker room, dressed in only faux leather boots and a loincloth. Most of the Orioles thought Sakata was a homeless person that snuck past security… Some thought he was the Asian guy from The Hangover… But Matt Wieters knew different. Before security could escort Sakata out, Wieters knelt in front of him and asked Lenn to touch him with the cardboard sword. The same cardboard sword that once touched Ripken’s shoulder. (It also touched a young Jeffrey Hammonds’s shoulder. Nevertheless…) For the superstitious, this is enough for Matt Wieters to be a 2010 fantasy baseball keeper, but for the non-believers, let’s look at some other reasons.
Please, blog, may I have some more?