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0See if you can guess who this is: After a move to a tougher league, he lowered his ERA by almost two full runs. His FIP was more than a half run lower than his overall ERA. His name is in the title of the post. If you guessed Edwin Jackson, you’re a quick-witted rapscallion. On the Diamondbacks, Jackson’s K/9 was 6.98. On the White Sox, his K/9 was 9.24. In 2009, he was solid on the Tigers. Coming up in the Dodgers’ system (read: NL West), he couldn’t get his act together. What’s up with the contrarian attitude towards pitching in the NL? I don’t have a clue, Professor Plum. If it’s any consolation, he wasn’t so great on the Rays either. Okay, enough of the history lesson, you’re the man now, dog. So what can we expect of Edwin Jackson in 2011 fantasy baseball and what makes him a sleeper?
In 704 minor league innings, his K/9 was 8.12. So far it’s only 6.69, but it’s gone up 1 strikeout per inning three years in a row. That’s a nice pattern. He’s only going to be 27 years old in 2011 and should take the final step in his development. Reaching an 8 K/9 in the majors would be that final step. Where his control was a mess in the minors and his early career in the majors, it’s starting to level off around three walks per nine innings. Assuming his luck reverts to the norm, a sub-4 ERA should be attainable. Think a line of 13-10/3.80/1.30/190. That adds up to a solid number three fantasy starter with number two upside who is being drafted like a number four.
****Razzmock set for Thursday Fed.3rd at 7pm EST****
it’s a 14 team league. And I can’t seem to remember the password. So for those that joined already, help me out here.
@Eddy:
Eureka!
It’s “balboni”.
Hmm, that was anti-climatic.
Do RCL leagues have an IP cap?
@Grey: YUUUUUPPPPPPPPPPP!
Thanks for the posts, and thanks for putting up with my shizz all the time. I just made my 4th pick of the draft (after 5 keepers) in my 16 Team H2H league. So far, this is my squad:
Napoli, Dunn, Hill, Wright, Andrus, Hamilton, Heyward, Lester, Marcum
Overall, I’m happy with my team as of now. What’s your take? Do you think I should go after an SP3 next?
It’s 10 picks until me again, and as of now, there are solid options still on the board. A few of your top 40, and tons of your top 60 SPs.
If anyone else wants to provide me with some advice/comments, feel free. Thanks.
I’ve got a wish list item to propose, Grey — how about a list of players with more than their fair share of risk associated with them? Sort of like a “do not draft more than 3 of these guys” kind of thing? Last year I ran into trouble because I gambled too much with rebound/upside/potentially undervalued picks like Wright, Sizemore, Reyes, Granderson, Vazquez, Quentin, Oswalt, Vlad, and Ian Stewart. Some of them worked out great, but others didn’t, and overall I had taken on way too much risk. I think it’s easy to get too caught up in projections and lose track of the fact that some players are (supposedly) more boring & reliable than others. Would others benefit from having that kind of information summarized?
@Grey
I made a typo on my last post. I thought I could keep Holliday in the 3rd. But he goes in the 2nd. So if I want to keep him I have to surrender my 4th round.
Who would you keep as your 4th?
Matt Holliday-2nd
Jose Reyes-4th
Jennings-23rd
Jared Weaver-10th
Jon Lester-5th
Jeremy Hellickson-23rd
Daniel Hudson-23rd
No thinking. That comes later. You must first draft with your heart. And Razzball rankings.
“I am your singing telegram…BLAM!”
I’m in mid-draft and have a rather upsidy pitching staff. Which of the following would be the “safest”: E-Jack, Volquez, Cueto, de la Rosa, or someone like Shields?
So, just a suggestion. I realize you have all your pitchers in tiers, but it might also be cool to break them into tiers for #1 fantasy starters, #2 fantasy starters, #3 fantasy starters, etc. Have those five tiers as well. Might be pointless, but it might also help create a better outline for drafts.
@Cole: 180 starts…
@Swagger Jackers: YUUUUP!
@Wilsonian: OF, SP or RP…
@Dingo: I think I did something like that last year. probably will do it again.
@Eddy: Weaver looks like good value.
@Chunk: Hehe
@polczek5: Those aren’t safe names… Cueto…
@mapwheel: One’s are the top 20, 2′s and 3′s are the next 40 as it moves into the next 20, so on…
Grey, do all these super-specific team questions annoy you? I can understand a typical ‘player A & B for C & D’ but some of these scenarios are ridiculous:
Hey I’m in a 14 team 7×7 league where we keep 5 guys, at a cost of $25>pie X hr’s/sb’s. My keepers are miggy, longoria, cano, Hanley, and halladay
Contin’d
So, who should I keep, longoria or Ian Stewart? Longoria will cost me 35 of my unmentioned cap, plus $35x(year-age) every year after 2012. Here are the 157 players available:
I won’t actually list 157 guys in my hypothetical. You get the point.
@Grey:
Thanks. Weaver it is.
@Grey: thank you, sir. I’ll have to see what’s available when it comes my time again, and see what you think.
I do have a question, however. As of now it looks like there are roughly 15-20 RP/Closers available that are worth a damn. What’s your take on stocking up on SPs and bats and looking for high K/9 guys and handcuffs instead of going after the closers? Pretty much best available closers right now are slim pickins (Street, Bailey, Broxton, Axford, Aardsma, and the like).
@Grey: Great! I’ll just have to make sure I read it this year.
@Rick: He has said many times before they he enjoys helping people with fantasy baseball questions. The more info provided, the better the advice can be. The dude runs a fantasy baseball blog because he likes this stuff.
Is that Grey that just bid on Chacin?
YUUUUPPPPPPPPPPPPP!
Man, Razzball has been invaded by so many users that bash on others.
It’s so pointless.
Go back to ESPN ya’ hooligans!
@Eddy: haha, my thoughts exactly. After last week’s shenanigans with one HUGE DOUCHE on here, I just ignore them.
They’re useless, and unlike that burning sensation when you pee, they go away if you ignore them.
@Grey: Is Felipe Paulino in the top 80? And in a good way?
@ wilsonian: not away, just laughing at you from afar! glad we have you working for our Government. it puts our minds at ease. sheesh.
@the grey hey kid: wow, nevermind…looks like I spoke too soon. And you’re very welcome, but I highly doubt I work for your government.
@Rick: They don’t bother me.
@Wilsonian: Those aren’t slim pickins for RPs. I wouldn’t punt RPs.
@Swagger Jackers: Ha
@Steve: Barely, in both ways.
@Grey:
well, they aren’t slim pickins’ per se, but most of those guys would likely be gone by my next pick. There have been a few closers taken lately, and that generally means that people will follow suit. I just don’t want to over pay with my 5th or 6th rounder on a guy that may be closing, and could possibly lose his job early, or really only provides me with one category. I would still take a closer and/or RPs later in the draft.
I guess basically my thinking would be: take a solid bat or a second SP3 in these earlier rounds instead of only having one average/decent closer on my team that I overpaid for, and shoot for good K/9 guys (a stat we use), a possible closer, or handcuffs later in the draft.
That’s what I’m going for, whattya think?
@Grey: Narveson?
Back to 3Bs for a minute please. For those of us planning to wait on a cheap high upside cornerman. Pedro Alvarez reportedly has gained at least 15 pounds this off season and is tipping the scales at 240 pounds. Blaming his poundage on an addiction to Latin food. Not even the great Pedro Morales ever weighed that much. Cust kayin’.
@zombie: That just means more power, cuz Fatty Pedro is a stud who hits bombs.
Just so long as the arm fat isn’t jiggling too much on his follow through…
holy crap you weren’t lying about the food addiction: http://www.rotoworld.com/content/playerpages/playerbreakingnews.asp?sport=MLB&id=4957&line=311794&spln=1
they should trade some prospects for Sandoval sto keep him company.
@Wilsonian: Sure, that could work. Assuming you get two closers.
@Steve: Better
@zombie: Latin food is really good.
If this went to a pay site, I would pay. In the mean time I will continue to send you daiquiris. Thanks Grey.
Hey Grey- a while back you suggested a sushi place in Little Tokyo- was it Sushi-Gen? I’m in LA for work and trying to find a place to eat tonight. I’m gonna need something on the lighter side after having tried Umami yesterday.
@Giant JJ: Thanks, Giant JJ.
@royce!: It was Sushi-Gen. There’s also Noshi Sushi on Beverly. Real low key, absolutely nothing fancy. What did you think of Umami?
@Grey: I usually avoid dairy, so I pulled 1/2 of the parm crisp off my Umami burger and I wasn’t able to partake in the cheese-filled tater tots. A friend I went with works there and she advised against the Umami burger and told me to get some other ones, but they were all burgers that I felt would have suffered from excluding the cheese (like the Hatch burger, which having lived in Santa Fe for a while and therefore constantly craving green chile, I almost got, gut be damned!).
Okay, too much prefacing… It was really good. My burger was cooked well (very red) and I dug the flavor and texture combo. The five other people I was with were happy, too, except I assume the one vegetarian among us. If I could eat cheese, lived in LA, and was the sort of person who made lists, it’d be up near the top of my “fancy burger” list.
@Dingo: take no offense to this but if you drafted that crew you were asking for trouble? I mean common sense says ALL THESE GUYS HAVE ISSUES….
@Eddy: shhhh dont tell them they’re dumb, let them go away….
@Tony: are you drinking again?
TONY- Yes i am
@Tony oh is that why you’re kinda being a sarcastic A-Hole again?
TONY: yes that is why…. long live razzball
I cant get over the impression I had of Jackson from his year with my hometown Tigers .He was so up and down and drove me (earl) battey .How can you be great one game and then the next game so terrible.Same with the Sox last year.I just cant get over that bias.I’ll be watching though when someone else takes him.And who can tell me whom Earl Battey was without googling him you win a martini.
@royce!: Yeah, it’s one of my favorite fancy burger places. It’s just hard for me to justify a $15 burger meal when In N Out is right here too. It’ll probably be in San Diego soon. They’re expanding all over the country.
@Tony: Ha
@steve b: I think Earl Battey is a commenter on Razzball.
Grey will there ever be a C.) for any of these post? im on the edge of my seat.. and i finally got paid for my fantasy baseball league last year and figure its about time to give you the daiquiri you earned but i can’t find the link to it anywhere?
@John: I’m sure there’s been a C, but there may not been a D or E. Go to razzball.com and look under the first post where it says buy Grey a daiquiri. Thanks!
if you care he was a great defensive catcher for the Twins in the 1960′s.Threw out like 45 % of basestealers.Look him up in wikipedia.Awesome.Sorry, I am afflicted with baseball nerdism and read a lot about it.
@steve b: No reason to apologize, I did look him up. Did he throw them out Benito Santiago from-his-knee style though?
Random Question: Who would you rather have?
A SP with 15 wins, a 3.10 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, and 200Ks
or
A SS with a .300 ave, 10-12 HR, 10-12 SB, 105 runs, and 70 RBI?
not sure Grey but he picked 15 runners off base one year too
@Grey: I’m sick of protecting my generic brand name, especially because I don’t post that often. Henceforth, the dude formerly known as “Bob” will now be known as “Schmohawk Bob.”
@bob: It’s not that simple, everyone comes with baggage and it depends on how your team is built at that point, but A.
@steve b: Now you Googled that.
12 team mixed, 5×5, $260. 5 keepers max each year. Keepers go up by $4 every year.
c,1b,2b,3b,ss,mi,ci,of,of,of,of,of,util sp,sp,sp,rp,rp,rp,p,p,p bench,bench,bench
Pedro Alvarez $10
Drew Stubbs $10
Delmon Young $10
Jose Bautista $10
Jon Lester $17
Jayson Werth $13
Which 5 should i Keep? Thanks!
Schmohawk Bob — I changed my name for you, too. It’s the 80′s song (8675309). Tommy Tutone. No offense.
Man, if Edwin Jackson didn’t pitch in U.S. Cellular Field, I would feel a lot better about him.
Count me in on the Daniel Hudson bandwagon though!
@brandon: Forget Stubbs… Tough choice though.
@Grey:
Damn… to throw a wrench (small; not large) into it I also have
Tabata $10
Neil Walker $10
Huhges $8
Cueto $6
I changed my team name to “The Wire” because I had to comb that thing thanks to Grady Sizemore, Elsburry, Pedria…
You think I should keep Delmon Young over stubbs?
@Grey:
I have a line on two possible trades.
Stubbs/Cueto for Mark Reynolds ($14 keeper)
or
Stubbs/Cueto for Dan Uggla ($18 keeper)
Thanks! BTW, love the site. Daily follower…
@brandon: Young over Stubbs for safety reasons. Stubbs has better upside, but he could flat out bust. I’d take Uggla there. Thanks for the kind words!
@Grey:
I hate to stroke anything I don’t personally own, or have a hand in (on), but, you are right. With Buatista/alvarez already draining my .avg Stubbs is a concern.
Do I keep Uggla ($18) over Young ($10) if I can get that trade done? I have a feeling I may be able to procure Tabata at a reasonable price once the auction begins.
@brandon: Yup…
brandon – a guy here or there draining your average won’t kill you… but I haven’t seen too many teams win titles when they tank an entire category (BA) and if you’re getting that many average killers… well, that’s not a good sign.
@steve b:
I thought my ears were burning last night.
I’m really happy I’m remembered primarily for my defensive prowess. I should be. . . Luis Aparicio once said I was the best guy in the league at throwing out base stealers. I should probably add that back in the day I was also notable for my Molinaesque speed, as I was on the wrong end of some 9-3 putouts. For those of you not scoring at home, that means a ground ball to the right fielder didn’t necessarily mean I had singled to right.
Anyhoo, thanks for reminding people that before I became a Razzball commenter, I was a pretty good backstop.
@bob@867-5309: Nice username. Very specific.
@Earl Battey: I knew you were a commenter!
*********THERE’S A NEW POST FOR FOLLOWUPS.********
I saw your obit once Earl but you must have got better
You may have seen my obit, but apparently I’m not dead.