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Tennessee Mash (RCL 25) is our early leader with 110 points, followed by Playin’ The Field (Beef SAGNOF!) and The Fredsies (ECFBL). The Mash have been led offensively by Josh Hamilton, who has been a steal so far at pick #40. Earlier they had picked Joey Votto, Carlos Gonzalez, and Jay Bruce. Those 4 have hit .320 with 22 home runs and 73 RBI, and added 10 steals. After drafting Chase Utley in round 5, TM selected their first pitcher, David Price. 9th-round pick Gio Gonzalez has been stellar, with an ERA of 1.82 and WHIP under 1. In the last 9 rounds the Mash added Kenley Jansen, Aroldis Chapman, and Jonny Venters, who have contributed 6 wins, 2 saves, and 62 strikeouts, with an ERA of 1.02. Congratulations, Tennessee Mash!
League Toughness: Also, congratulations to RCL 9, the top league with an LCI of 105. League Competitive Index is based on the total stats for the whole league. The index page can be found here. The points formula is: HR + SB + R/3 + RBI/3 + (H-.27*AB) + 2*W + 1.5 * SV + K / 5 + IP – (ER+H+BB/ 2).
Waiver Buzz: The Razzball nation was hopping Friday as everyone rushed to pick up new closer Scott Downs and freshly called up youngsters Mike Trout and Bryce Harper. Downs and Harper are 100% owned now, while Mike Trout is on waivers in 1 league.
Expert League: Mastersball Carey (Ryan Carey) continues to lead, but Rudy shot up to second place with a 19.5-point gain. Craig Kimbrel, Santiago Casilla, Zack Greinke and Brandon Morrow led Rudy to a pitching line of 65 K/6 wins/6 saves/2.08/1.20.
Trades: 9 more trades were processed this week, bringing the total to 51 involving 165 players. A 10-player swap in the ECFBL included Jose Reyes, Jose Bautista, Albert Pujols, Matt Holliday, Yovani Gallardo, and Jon Lester. Pujols was also traded in an 8-player deal in RCL 46. Hanley Ramirez and Clayton Kershaw were included in that transaction. Bryce Harper was used as a trade chip in The Dread Pirate Returns. He was dealt with Justin Morneau for Billy Butler. You can find all the trades in the fantasy baseball forums.
Weekly Leaders
All about The WHIP (RCL 43) hit .285 with 55 runs, 18 home runs, 55 RBI, and 4 steals to take offensive honors this week. PETER GAMMONS (RCL 24) had a great pitching line with 16 decisions (11 wins/5 saves) and ratios of 1.80 and 1.09.
Average: .332 (Broth’s Baseball Stars – Fausto or Roberto?)
Runs: 58 (PublicEnemy #1 – Ones are GOOD right?)
HR: 19 (The Otters – RCL 24)
RBI: 57 (Das Haycist – RCL 20)
SB: 15 (All I Do is Nguyen – RCL 25, Worldwide Suicide – Ones are GOOD right?, Moody Broodies – Sphinctory Staff Inflection )
Carlos Gonzalez and Jay Bruce powered Tennessee Mash to the top of the standings with a total of 8 home runs and 21 RBI this week. They also scored 14 runs and stole 4 bases while hitting .432. Tennessee’s pitching was even better, with David Price (2 wins/12 K/1.17/0.85), Brandon Morrow (2 wins/12 K/0.71/1.03), and Gio Gonzalez (1 win/13 K/1.50/1.00) pacing the staff.
Can I get a “no” with eleven O’s? I personally don’t have the heart right now to type them all. Yesterday, Giancarlo Stanton, the pride and joy of my heart and the name scribbled all over my Trapper Keeper, said that his knee is bothering him and will continue to bother him. He said it’s “something that’s obviously not going to get much better playing every day.” Of course, like the fortune cookie game where you add “in bed” at the end, everything that Giancarlo says also has, “but I will do my best for my novio, Grey Albright.” You are mi novio too, Giancarlo. We are boy dot-dot-dot friends. There’s a dot-dot-dot in there, but sometimes it feels like there’s not. Court papers say that dot-dot-dot needs to be from 250 feet away. I’m pretty bummed out, because I do think he’ll play 135-ish games, but if he’s not at 100% with his knees, it could hurt his swing and the ten or so steals he can contribute. The best case scenario is once the weather heats up, some of the pain is alleviated and, luckily, he plays in a warm weather city. My sad emoticons are weeping. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
Scott Baker – Out for the year with a bad elbow. It’s a painful surgery, but at least it’s roomy in the designated waiting room.
Ryan Braun – Should return on Thursday after he sat out yesterday with minor chest tightness. He must’ve caught the 24-hour shpilkis bug.
George Kottaras – 2-for-3 with his 2nd home run of the year. Him and Wilin should buy Ramon Hernandez and Lucroy some plane tickets to Venezuela. The preceding was not a paid advertisement by the Venezuela Chamber of Commerce.
Justin Verlander – 8 1/3 IP, 4 ER, 6 baserunners, 7 Ks. One of the more dazzling 4 earned run games I’ve seen in a while. No-hitter into the 5th and a one-hitter going through 8 innings only throwing 81 pitches. Desmond Jennings said, “If you get the ball in between the giant white lines, you’ve accomplished something.” He’s either talking about Verlander or hanging out with a hooker who has aspirations to be an air-traffic controller.
Victor Martinez – Tigers said there’s a chance he could return later this season. Read: In time for the playoffs. I’d continue to ignore for our purposes, or porpoises if dolphins are reading.
Justin Masterson – Ticker shock! The Indians gave up double digit runs, but Masterson’s only credited with 3 ER in 5 IP (albeit with 9 baserunners). Unlike his sister Mary Stuart, he can’t always be some kind of wonderful.
Shelley Duncan – 3-for-5 with a home run. No hand injuries reported yet from his high-fives.
Johnny Damon – Signed with the Indians to be a part-time utility man. While combing his hair, Damon said he was impressed with the Indians strict no-scalping policy.
Cory Luebke – 5 1/3 IP, 1 ER, 8 baserunners, 5 Ks. Has had a bit of a bumpy start to his season (and a bumpy start to this game), but if you can find a restless owner, I’d definitely see if you can pry him away cheap.
Jon Lester – 8 IP, 3 ER, 5 baserunners, 6 Ks and 116 pitches. Way to unnecessarily extend your ace in his 2nd start of the year. On the positive side, Valentine could help with the ice wrap on his arm since he’s an expert on wraps.
Brandon Belt – Sitting for two straight days seemingly because of his 1-for-10 start. I hope Gallagher mistakes Bochy’s head for a watermelon.
Buster Posey – Missed Wednesday’s start due to shingles, which you don’t get from raising the roof too much.
Tim Lincecum – 2 1/3 IP, 6 ER, 10 baserunners, 3 Ks. I know one has nothing to do with the other, but why do I suddenly want to bench Bumgarner today?
Nate Schierholtz – 2-for-4 with 2 homers. Don’t even get me started how this guy should’ve been playing every day for the last three years. You killed his spirit, Bochy!
Sergio Santos – Got the save yesterday, but will be away from the club from Thursday until Saturday for the birth of his child. I jumped the gun on the news for Wednesday. You can call me Preemie Grey.
Ricky Romero – 8 1/3 IP, 1 ER, 5 baserunners, 5 Ks. I was pretty conflicted with whether or not I wanted Romero this year because of his 7-ish K-rate — SPOILER ALERT — Romero’s K-rate is in the box at the end of Seven — and his FIP. I’m glad Rudy pressured me to draft him in one of our leagues.
Stephen Strasburg – 6 IP, 0 ER, 5 baserunners, 9 Ks. He got the W with the inverted W motion. He made it through 100 pitches for the first time in his career. God Bless, St. Rasburg.
Drew Storen – Underwent minor elbow surgery. That’s like saying having your tubes tied is minor. Yeah, I suppose it is, but you want someone monkeying by your wrench? The Nats said he should be back before the All-Star break. They previously said he couldn’t throw because of strep throat. Cust kayin’. In yesterday’s game, Henry Rodriguez was warming up for a save opportunity until the Nats tacked on a run to make the point moot. Lidge had also thrown the day before, so the alternating closerousel is still in effect.
Mike Napoli – Was out yesterday after being hit in the temple. Sounds like a religious hate crime.
Peter Bourjos – 1-for-3, 3 RBIs with a home run. I’ll be honest, I feel like people are preparing to lynch me for my ranking of Bourjos, so I’m glad to see him do something. Now, if he did a little more of something, I’d be even happier. If he did a lot of something, I’d be through the Gee Dee roof.
Josh Willingham – 1-for-4 with his third homer as he led the Twins to a 6 run outburst, which, I believe, is the most runs they’ve scored in the last two years.
Starlin Castro – Got his 5th SB and seems cemented in the 3rd spot of the Cubs lineup. Wouldn’t be surprised if he’s a top 3 SS this year (after Tulo and Hanley). If only he wasn’t constantly being awakened by those screaming lambs.
A.J. Pierzynski – 3-for-4, 4 RBIs with his 2nd homer of the year. On Firezynski. He reminded me of this classic post by Rudy.
Alejandro De Aza – Back-to-back games going 2-for-5 with a homer. Could we have our first hot schmotato of the year?
Aroldis Chapman – 2 IP, 1 baserunner, 5 Ks as he beat Rzepczynki, who couldn’t land any of his letters on a Triple Letter score. 5 Ks in two innings with only one baserunners… Guessing his agent is gonna put out a hit on Dusty any day now.
Joe Weiland – He’s being called up to replace Dustin Moseley. I believe Weiland is a fan of Orange Crush and every game Joe pitches there’s a threat of volcano eruption. He looks like your standard Hodgepadre, which means he’s rosterable in all leagues when he’s pitching at home and a wait-and-see in road games. (Of course, the same goes for Anthony Bass, but he’s less attractive then Weiland.)
Jesus Montero – 1-for-3, 1 RBI with his first start behind the plate. Hallelujah!
Kevin Millwood – 6 IP, 1 ER, 7 baserunners, 7 Ks vs. his old club the Rangers. You know Bartolo Colon with his sneaky 4-ish ERA in a pitchers’ park? That’s Millwood. I call them AL-Only guys that you don’t want to own, but someone’s got to. I never said it was pithy.
Jon Jay – 1-for-3 with a homer from the two hole. If he stays in the two hole and hits, The Federalist could have some nice value.
Jonathan Broxton – Blew yesterday’s game in spectacularly awful fashion. With the bases loaded, he had two straight HBPs. Last time he had two straight of those was when the local Waffle House offered Ham and Bacon Pancakes. I’m sure no one who called me crackers for leading with Broxton in last week’s Sell is gonna say they think Broxton is flipping awesome now. But, Grey, can’t Broxton be good? Sure, Random Italicized Voice, but he’s also been hot garbage for the last two years.
Josh Johnson – 3 2/3 IP, 6 ER, 12 baserunners, 1 K. His brother, Gosh, just shook his head and recounted the Halloween video he did with a tube of K-Y and a gourd that ended equally bad.
Joe Nathan – 1 IP, 3 ER with his first blown save. I think he’s got about five more where that came from and a trip to the Disgraceful List in his future.
Troy Tulowitzki – 2-for-6, 2 RBIs. Nursing a hip flexor injury. Is it Tulo injury time already? We couldn’t even get to the All-Star break?
Jason Heyward – 3-for-4, 2 runs, 2 RBIs and a slam & legs. Looky, looky, the mirror fogged up that they held up to his nose.
Randall Delgado – 5 IP, 2 ER, 7 baserunners, 6 Ks vs. the Astros. I know the Astros only have one slugger and he’s currently their closer, but this was a solid start from Delgado. He definitely has upside, just gotta watch for the roofie.
James Shields – 8 IP, 2 ER, 7 baserunners, 5 Ks vs. the 1927 Tigers as he turned their sizzle to lean, which is no easy task.
Stephen Vogt – 0-for-4 as he DH’d, which is whatever (outside of two catcher, AL-Only leagues), but it makes me think of how much playing time Brandon Belt would get on the Rays. This is why certain teams win, they play their next generation of players. They don’t let them sit of the effin’ bench for Aubrey effin’ Huff. Can someone start a website, Eff Aubrey Huff dot com? I’m so annoyed; I need to take my “medicine.”
Fernando Rodney – In yesterday’s podcast, I said four different relievers would see a save in the month of April for the Rays. Then Rodney went and got his 3rd save. Maybe it has something to do with the rule of threes, but yesterday’s save (getting called on to start the inning and pitching perfectly) has me thinking Rodney might get the majority of the saves until he totally Mr. Bungles things.
Jeremy Hellickson – Was hit in the head by a ball during batting practice. As frequent commenter, Wake Up, said, “So much for being lucky with balls in play.” Initial signs are that he’s okay for his next start, but they took him to the hospital just nicasio.
Andrew Bailey will need thumb surgery, according to one doctor. He’s scheduled to get a second opinion today. That second doctor’s gonna say, “The first doctor and I play golf and he only sent you to me to run up your doctor bills. Of course you need surgery.” My opinion is Bailey is always hurt and he’s gonna miss a few months. When Bailey was first traded to the Sawx in the offseason, I even opined, “When Melancon went to the Sawx, I said, “The GM over in Beantown says Melancon is “capable of closing.” In big market speak, that means he won’t be the closer. Melancon is the stereotypical small market closer, big market set-up man.” Prescient ain’t just a word you need a spell checker for. It’s a state of mind! Bailey will be absolutely fine as a closer when he’s healthy, which is to say maybe 4 of 6 months of the season if the Sawx are lucky.” And that’s me quoting me! I don’t just bring this up for the Bailey news, but I wanted to say again how the Sawx GM originally pegged Melancon as having closer potential. Originally, I said he wasn’t a big market closer, but guess what y’all? He’s a heck more of a big market closer than Aceves. He has closer experience and that you can’t buy (legally outside of Canada). The Sawx are saying Aceves could get saves. I’m not sure how much I believe it. If Melancon was out there in my leagues, I grabbed him too (as in, in addition to Aceves). If Aceves does get the first couple of saves, he’ll need to be perfect to keep the job, i.e., vis-a-vis, ergo, Melancon could end up getting 25 saves even if he doesn’t get the first couple. This shituation is fluid so put on some plastic bed sheets. Anyway, here’s what else I saw in spring training for 2012 fantasy baseball:
Frank Francisco – Went for an MRI on his knee yesterday. Ah, the Mets and their injuries. The Mets doctors originally thought Francisco was dealing with patella tendinitis — is that the pre-med Indian kid who lived in my freshman dorm? Frank2 had an ERA north of 5.50 in the spring and the publicity was, “Where’s his velocity?” He thought he’d locate his electricity with tenacity, but kept ending up back at paucity, which left people grabbing Rauch in felicity, prior to her cutting her hair — the audacity! Only issue is unless your league has a category for the number of things a pitcher can reach off a top shelf, Rauch may be useless. Bobby Parnell, who I believe is the little black kid from the movie Role Models, could end up with the bulk of the saves. Then there’s Ramon Ramirez, who insists you not call him Ram-Ram, not that there’s anything wrong with a little Ram-Ram… Basically, the Mets are a shizzshow closerousel that could get you sick to your stomach. I grabbed Rauch in one league, Parnell in another league and think one of them will get the majority of the saves in April for the Mets. Either could run with the job longer too.
Jason Bay – If he struggles in the season, the Mets said they could platoon him. Not even joking here, but I think this the first bit of Mets front office news I’ve agreed with since they fired A.J. Mass from his Mr. Met job.
Sam Fuld – Out 4 to 5 months with wrist surgery. Will give Fuld plenty of time to hunt wabbits.
Sean Marshall – Named Cincy closer. I could’ve told you that last week, and I’m not even reading tea leaves, especially not chunky Betty Draper’s.
Aroldis Chapman – Will stay in the bullpen as a setup man for Marshall. I wonder if Aroldis would’ve signed in Cincy if he would’ve known he’d be stuck in the bullpen for his whole career. Coming from Cuba, he should’ve known he wasn’t going to get any say in the matter with the Reds.
Tyler Colvin – Someone grabbed Colvin in my NL-Only draft during the free round and everyone groaned. Colvin is a whole lot of nothing right now, but prepare for Fowler to get benched a game here and there and Colvin to get a chance. If he does well with those chances, Colvin will be a hot add everywhere.
Josh Beckett – Has a thumb injury, but shouldn’t miss his first start. Beckett did go to Texas to get it checked out. I’m guessing he didn’t hitchhike.
Carlos Lee – Ken Rosenthal reported that Lee can block trades to 14 teams this year. With 18.5 million still going to Lee, 29 teams are hoping they’re one of the 14.
Dayan Viciedo – Hit a home run yesterday and finished with a .196 average. Spring training numbers mean nothing, but I wouldn’t be shocked if this Cuban raftee sees an average around .200 this year.
Randall Delgado – Won the fifth rotation spot for the Braves. As of right now, Delgado doesn’t look like he’s going to pitch well or past May 1st when Hudson returns. Last year, he had an ERA of 2.83 in 7 games started, but a hideous K-rate, walk rate and xFIP. I’m worried about his walk rate and K-rate dropping as he moves up to a new level. Right now, I wouldn’t risk it outside of NL-Only leagues.
Tyler Pastornicky – Hey, the clergyman that Carmella made out with was named the Braves starting shortstop. I went over my Pastornicky fantasy already. I wrote it while being disappointed by the Worst Cooks in America finale.
Roger Bernadina – Nursing a right knee contusion, but should be fine for Opening Day. Yesterday, in VinWins’ post about RCL trends, I was surprised to see Bernadina wasn’t drafted at all. Not that I need to explain myself to you, but there’s gonna be a post later today from Rudy that is gonna blow your mind. Let’s just say, just when you thought my mustache couldn’t get any fuller, it just did.
Jesus Montero – Was escorted off the field after getting beaned in the back of the helmet. After the game, Wedge said he’s okay, it got him “in the fat part of the helmet.” Then Kevin Smith started a Twitter campaign demanding helmets of any size are treated the same, then Michelle Obama started a helmet nutrition program and the fat helmet lost weight and wasn’t nearly as funny.
The Mets doctors said Johan Santana would miss a start or two. That was a year ago. He’s still working his way back. The Mets doctors said Jose Reyes would miss a weekend series in 2009, he missed three months. The Mets doctors said Carlos Beltran would miss a game in 2009; it took him two years to come back. The other day someone asked me for money for Doctors Without Borders so they could help people in The Congo. Why isn’t there a lady in front of Whole Foods asking me to donate to find a cure for David Wright? Because I sure don’t trust the Mets doctors. Film a PSA with Chipper Jones and Julie Andrews and show that shizz before movies. “I’m Julie Andrews.” “And I’m Chipper Jones” Both, “And David Wright needs our help.” The Mets are saying Wright has a tear in his left side and Mets fans have a tear in their eyes. Word on the street is Wright has a similar injury to Ryan Zimmerman’s last year when he missed two months. The prognosis, if prognosis is the right word, is not good. Wright is saying he can be ready by Opening Day. I say great, terrific, other sarcastic word, I don’t want to draft him anywhere. If Della Reese touches his bat while dressed as an angel and Wright gets 500 ABs this year, how good do you think those 500 ABs are gonna be? Do you think he’s going to show power? If 22 homers were the low end for his projections, I’d be surprised if he breaks 17 homers now. What if when he slides, he feels pain in his side? He’s not going to be stealing bases. You see Wright there in the 5th round now, I say pass. Yes, third base just got shallower. Anyway, here’s what else I saw in spring training for 2012 fantasy baseball:
Salvador Perez – Tweaked his knee badly and the Royals sent him for an MRI. I liked Perez late in drafts, so I went looking around for updates on this injury and ended up at the Kansas City Star. Their article started with this line, “The Royals awaited word Tuesday night on the status of their $7 million catcher.” It was funny — and by funny I mean not funny at all — to me how that was the attention grabber in KC. KC is fretting over seven million dollars that is over five years. Yeah, parity is alive and well. Well, whatever the case is, it’s bad news for Perez. He has a meniscus tear and will need surgery. As of this writing, there was no timetable for his return, but I’m guessing six to eight weeks. I’d avoid him in all leagues. Too bad, so sad.
Desmond Jennings – Collided with B.J. Upton and both needed to be carted off the field. This is the worst B.J. related news since that girl with the braces… Well, you remember. Jennings says he’s fine and should be back on the field in a day or two.
B.J. Upton – On the other side of that collision, Fellatio Upton took the worse of it. Yet, he too says he’ll be fine after a couple of days. He’s just dealing with general soreness. General Soreness is his bodyguard.
Freddy Garcia – Hit with a comebacker. He told A-Rod he slept with his ex, and A-Rod said, “Yeah, well, that ex was really a man!” *checking notes* Hmm, seems like he was hit with a different kind of comebacker, one off a bat. The X-rays came back negative, which is actually bad news because it means he can keep pitching.
Tim Hudson – Cleared to throw a bullpen session, but will still be out until at least the first few weeks of the season. Bring on Randall Delgado!
Bryce Harper – Told reporters that he doesn’t expect to make the club. Then the next day, Nats GM Rizzo (not Anthony) told reporters Harper could still have a shot. We have a Razzball exclusive as to what really went down. Harper to reporters, “I’m not making the club.” Rizzo to Harper, “We’re trying to sell frickin’ tickets to frickin’ fans to see frickin’ Nats games and you’re telling them you’re not playing?! Shut your pie hole!” Rizzo to reporters, “He’s still in the picture. We’re still early in the decision-making process.” Riiiiiiight. That’s seven I’s.
John Lannan – Mike Rizzo said he’s fielded several calls on Lannan, but are not shopping him. He must’ve learned how to neg from The Game.
Chris Perez – Threw from 150 feet yesterday. Looks like the Indians found a Grady Sizemore replacement. It’s sounding more and more likely that Perez will be ready to go for Opening Day.
Lance Lynn – With Carpenter almost definitely maybe heading to the DL to start the season, Lynn looks to move his way into the rotation. Out of the bullpen last year, Lynn’s fastball regularly touched the high-90′s as he put up a 2.22 ERA and 32 Ks in 24 1/3 IP. As a starter, he was much less exciting (5.23 ERA, 8 Ks), but like a man who needs prunes that was in limited duty (10 1/3 IP). From his minor league track record, we see a guy who has a 7+ K-rate and moderate control. In NL-Only and very deep mixed leagues, I’d grab Lynn late to see if he can surprise in an early season role with the Cards. There’s a chance for some sweet, sweet upside here.
Tyler Greene – Battling right now for the Cardinals’ 2nd base job with Daniel Descalso and Skip Schumaker. Obviously, unless you’re in a deep NL-Only league, you stopped reading this blurb already. Nothing gets people excited like the mention of Skip Schumaker! Greene did well in Triple-A last year (14 homers, 19 steals in 66 games), but that’s probably because he was 27 years old, i.e., he was old to still be in the minors. In 150 major league games, he’s hit .218 with 5 homers and 16 steals. Best case scenario, we get a Baha Man year. Most realistic scenario, there’s a three-way time share at 2nd.
Josh Hamilton – Jammed his heel. For those that like things delivered in comic book form, Texas hero deals with wounded heel. Rangers are saying this is the first of five dozen minor injuries Hamilton will endure this year, but he should be fine.
Aroldis Chapman – Pitched well yesterday in his bid to become a starter. There’s only one catch, the Reds have five starters already. They would need an injury to someone on their staff. Popping his head in, Dusty says, “Did someone say we need a pitching injury?” Okay, but if you’re drafting today, you’re drafting Chapman as a middle reliever.
Anibal Sanchez – Maybe you’ve heard me mention this brother with the name of a mother before. Yeah, I love him and guess what? He struck out 4 yesterday through two innings with no problems from his previously sore shoulder. When I say boo, you say ya. Boo…Ya… (By the way, I think the Marlins might be watching a bit too much of The Voice.)
Juan Carlos Oviedo – Will report to camp this week. No word yet when Leo Nunez is reporting.
Ryan Howard – Yesterday, Jimmy Rollins said he’d be surprised if Howard plays this year. In related news, the team announced Rollins is out of the running for Director of Phillies Public Relations.
Brett Jackson – As expected, the Cubs announced that Jackson will start the year in the minors. There’s no way Byrd, Soriano and DeJesus are all still starting in the outfield by July. Worth noting in keeper and deep NL-Only leagues. Earlier in the offseason, I went over my Brett Jackson fantasy. I wrote it while watching Luck with the closed captioning on, so I could read what the hell Nick Nolte was saying.
Garrett Jones – Looks like he will be the starting 1st baseman for the Pirates vs. righties. As I mentioned in the 1st basemen to target post, in deep, daily leagues, you can get some value there. Or not. For instance, “Hey, horse, here’s water.” Horse, “Neigh.”
Jacob Turner – Going through a dead arm period. The doctors weren’t sure what the problem was at first, then Haley Joel Osment said he saw Turner’s arm.
Okay, so it’s not the best 2012 fantasy baseball team, but, man, that title sings, right? This is the best 2012 fantasy baseball team that I can put together when drafting from my top 100 for 2012 fantasy baseball and top 300 for 2012 fantasy baseball. Honestly, I could draft another 25 teams from those lists, and they’d all be different. If I took Longoria in the 1st round, everything after it would change. For this exercise, I’m taking Swiggy first, because, well, I have him first overall. Then once I take him at number one, I can’t take another player until the 24th pick, then choose two players within the next 24 picks, then 2 players in the next 24 picks and so on until the end of the top 100. Just like a snake draft. It would be nice if I was in a league where someone drafted Halladay, Verlander and Kershaw in the first round and I was able to take Longoria in the 2nd round, but since Miggy and him are in my first 10 picks, according to the rules I’ve set up for myself, I can’t take them both. Then, as we all know, once you get into the 100′s, there’s wide gaps between ADP and where players are actually taken. People tend to look at team need over value. So for this exercise, once I get to pick #101, I’m going to pick two players every twenty picks, rather than every 24 picks. That’s to account for the wide margin between ADP and where players are drafted. Finally, because there is so much latitude in the last 100, I gave myself free reign to fill up my team. Throughout the draft, I also gave myself the ability to reach to a lower draft pick, but not reach forward. It should still be my ideal team… Or not. Let’s see, shall we? Bee tee dubya, this team is 5×5, one catcher, 5 OFs, MI, CI, 1 UT, 9 P, 3 Bench, just like the Razzball Commenter Leagues that are signing up still. Anyway, here’s the best 2012 fantasy baseball team:
C: Joe Mauer (10)
1B: Miggy Cabrera (1)
2B: Chase Utley (5)
3B: David Wright (2)
SS: Dee Gordon (15)
MI: Zack Cozart (16)
CI: Adam Lind (7)
OF: Jay Bruce (3)
OF: Drew Stubbs (6)
OF: Andre Ethier (8)
OF: Torii Hunter (12)
OF: Lorenzo Cain (17)
UTIL: Chris Heisey (25)
P: Madison Bumgarner (4)
P: Anibal Sanchez (9)
P: Matt Moore (11)
P: Jhoulys Chacin (13)
P: Ryan Madson (14)
P: Mike Minor (18)
P: Jordan Walden (19)
P: Kyle Farnsworth (20)
P: Brad Peacock (21)
BENCH:
P: Ted Lilly (22)
P: Jim Johnson (23)
P: Aroldis Chapman (24)
So what do we learn from that in the most general sense? You don’t have to draft pitchers early. For those looking at my staff and thinking it won’t compete, my last year’s staff when I did this dream team post was:
P: Jon Lester (5)
P: Dan Haren (8)
P: John Axford (13)
P: Daniel Hudson (12)
P: Jhoulys Chacin (14)
P: Chris Perez (15)
P: Craig Kimbrel (17)
P: Mike Minor (18)
P: Jordan Zimmermann (19)
BENCH:
P: Ryan Madson (20)
P: Jason Motte (21)
P: Rafael Soriano (22)
You can switch Mike Minor out of there for Beachy too, because once he was in the rotation I switched the two of them on all of my teams. As I’ve said in the past, I may not know a damn thing, but I can pick a pitching staff. Seriously, Lester, Haren, Hudson and Chacin were all you needed. Then you throw in Beachy, Madson, Kimbrel and Axford and you have 12′s in every pitching category. And that’s not considering you could’ve dropped Soriano and picked up a great waiver wire guy. This shows you that you need to really load up on hitters early, because, as much as you like that late-round-flyer man in the 18th round to be your corner guy, it’s probably not gonna work out for you. Make sure you have at least two outfielders, a 2nd baseman, 3rd baseman and 1st baseman in the first ten rounds. In my team above, I even reached way down for Ethier in the 8th round because I wanted to make sure I had an extra bat. Also, I find myself grabbing Mauer this year to offset Stubbs and other average drains. No one’s getting anything from catcher, so may as well get some average there if he comes at the right price. I am not reaching for him. If he’s there in the 9th to 10th rounds, great. In the end, this really is just an exercise. It’s fun though! For me. So what do you think of my fantasy fantasy team? Don’t like it? Go to the top 300 and make up your own fantasy fantasy team and post it in the comments. Or not. Decisions, decisions!
