As I alluded to in my 3rd baseman posting, first base scares me greatly this year in a deep league format. Outside the big six – Miguel Cabrera, Albert Pujols, Joey Votto, Adrian Gonzalez, Prince Fielder, & Mark Teixiera – I see very little reliability from a position that could leave you hurting if you aren’t an owner of one of those guys. Don’t agree with me? Well go look at the 1st baseman that come after those 6 on Mock Draft Central to round out your top ten: Konerko, Hosmer, Morse, & Berkman. Your 11th is Freddie Freeman; the quintessential average first baseman. I know people want to consider Konerko safe, but he’s 36. I prefer not to be the first person in line to find out when the wheels come off guys like him. Then there’s Hosmer – a 22 year old who can’t take a walk. I like his career long term, but even fangraphs is projecting him around 23/13. Steals are nice, but I want 30 HRs from my 1st baseman and I want them now! Round things out with Morse – a person with very little track record though I do kinda trust him – and Berkman. Hey, if I don’t trust Konerko at 36, why would I trust a guy who had his worst major league season in 2010 and hit 24 of his 31 HRs in the first half of his rebound 2011 campaign who is also 36 and won’t have Pujols in his lineup anymore? And was that a long sentence or was it just me? Point being, I do not want to leave the first round without a 1B this year. Taking Teixiera would most likely ruin my perfect draft, but I would grab him nonetheless. However, if I could get one of those first 5 this year, I’d feel comfortable taking a risk on Paul Goldschmidt around the 12th. There are a lot of upside plays later in the draft that I have no problem taking a gamble on, but I want at least one of my first basemen to be an offensive rock for me.
Please, blog, may I have some more?Daric Barton
On Base Percentage (OBP) is what Skynet created for the Oakland A’s so they could win the World Series and ruin baseball.
Actually, that doesn’t sound quite right. I think OBP is the brew baseball writers’ fermented in a basement to scare Andre Dawson, or it was the reason pitchers feared Jim Rice, thereby making him a Hall of Famer.
Please, blog, may I have some more?In the last installment of the grading process, we have to look at the bad – those guys I, Albert Lang, was totally wrong about. As always, in the comments, feel free to beat your chest about who you were high on relative to the rest of fantasy baseball players!
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Robinson Cano hit his third and fourth homer yesterday. He’s now batting .395. This will probably sound homeless-person-crazy since we’re only 12 days into the young season, but I think Cano could win the MVP and will win the batting title. You thought Pedroia’s MVP season was nice from a fantasy standpoint? How’s .330 and 30 homers coming from your 2nd baseman? You like that? What, you want it a little higher? Okay, how’s .335? Yeah, that feels good, doesn’t it? I have Cano’s 2010 projections at 90/27/100/.315/5. Hold those numbers up to the light and they sing gospel songs that will make your ears smile. And Cano can exceed those numbers. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
Carlos Gonzalez – CarGo sounds like he’ll be shipped off to the DL.
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The Rangers bullpen costing C.J. Wilson the win is like ten thousand spoons and all you need is a knife. Maybe Frank-Frank didn’t like Wilson cutting into his save chances last year. I was skeptical of Wilson moving into the rotation. I said to myself, “Grey, you’re handsome.” Wait, wrong conversation. I remember it now. “Grey, why not start Neftali Feliz? Why they fussing with C.J.
Please, blog, may I have some more?Ryan Garko was traded to the Aints for Scott Barnes, no relation to Priscilla. Not sure why the Indians traded a cheap guy with 11 homers and a .285/.362/.464 line. Maybe the Giants offered some trinkets to the Indians. Besides his season line, Garko has been hot recently (.429 in his last seven games with two homers). Pac Bell/AT&T/The Fridge That Sandoval Raids is not a hitter’s haven, but Garko should hit in the heart of the order and see every day playing time. Definitely worth pursuing in NL-Only leagues and 12 team leagues, if you’re hurting at corner.
Please, blog, may I have some more?Jason Bay has been terrible. Like Don Mattingly’s wife in a mugshot terrible. In June, J-Bay hit .230 and 4 homers, but he was hitting the cover off the ball in June compared to July. In July, he’s hitting .203 with 1 homer. This month Garrett Jones has hit more homers during REM sleep. The optimist in me says Bay will hit 15 homers and .300 the rest of the way with ten steals. The pessimist in me thinks he’ll be benched in favor of Chris Duncan. The realist looks at all of his splits and sees a guy that has been consistent throughout his career, minus a season (2007) when he was battling knee problems. The surrealist in me thinks Bay will hit a line drive up the middle that will ricochet off the pitcher and shoot to the 1st baseman who will smack the ball into center, then the ball will slowly roll back towards the infield until God tilts the field and the ball rolls towards the 3rd baseman, but God tilts too far and the field freezes causing the ball to roll back towards the catcher. In all likelihood, Bay’s 2nd half should be somewhere in the realist realm (though it would be cool if the surrealist was spot-on). I think Bay can give you 10+ homers, .280 average and a handful of steals. Right now, I’m actively trying to acquire him in one league. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
Erik Bedard – Back to the DL. In related news, George Sherrill was an All-Star in 2008, Adam Jones in 2009 and Chris Tillman is about to be called up.
Please, blog, may I have some more?Matt Holliday is a sell. Zoinks! Holliday’s value does go up with this trade to the Cards. But his value doesn’t skyrocket as it seems most people will now think. Remember, this is Matt “Shin-Soo Choo Has Better Numbers Than Me” Holliday. In the National League, where there’s better pitching and less Runs scored, suddenly Matt Holliday has a ton of value? Way more value than he had in Oakland? Why, because Oakland was a bad team and the Cards were a great team? Oakland actually had a better OBP than St.
Please, blog, may I have some more?Carlos Quentin returned to play yesterday after taking a two month sabbatical for a foot thingiemaboo-boo. So he DH’d right? Nuh-uh. Oh, Jim Thome? Nope, Ozzie Guillen in his infinitesimal wisdom DH’d Josh Fields in the nine hole. It’s almost like Ozzie’s daring Quentin to stay healthy. Why not give him a hot foot with an M-80? So what can we expect from Quentin for the rest of the season? Best case scenario, has him playing 5 games a week and hitting well (as he did in his rehab assignment). Maybe 15 homers, good RBIs and a .270 average. He’s not going to come without risk. At any point, I’m expecting word that he’ll be out for the year. How’s that for a ringing endorsement? So through one game, Quentin’s 1-for-4 and healthy. Now give us forty-five more games. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
Gavin Floyd – 7 IP, 3 ER, 5 baserunners, 7 Ks. Now has an sub-2.50 ERA at home. No one tell him his home is a hitter’s park.
Please, blog, may I have some more?Friends are going to spring training in Arizona this year and I was invited. Intrasquad games and closers coming in for the third inning? I took a pass. The only thing exciting about spring training is its conclusion. Nevertheless, there are some things to keep an eye out for while continuing to catch every episode of the RR/RW Challenge: The Gauntlet.
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