Rick Porcello won the 5th starter spot in Detroit over Smyly. Or Frownly, as the case may now be. Yawn. This is most unexciting news ever. This is like reading a Yelp review for The Cheesecake Factory. They have big portions. Yay. Who even writes Yelp reviews for The Cheesecake Factory? I want some of your free time, Cheesecake Factory reviewer. I don’t like Porcello and wouldn’t draft him in any leagues. He has a 5-ish K/9, which is atrocious. Which II, The Return of Which Mountain, leads Porcello to need good luck on balls hit into play. Though, no matter what I say, Porcello is invariably asked about in the comments for whether or not to pick him up, so y’all ain’t reading this anyway, and, since you’re not reading, I was the one who made heaving noises from the movie theater balcony and dropped cream of corn soup on your head. (Spoiler Alert for Game of Thrones: Was I the only one who was reminded of Chunk from The Goonies when Tyrion was confessing to the weird breastfeeding lady? Any the hoo!) Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in spring training for fantasy baseball:
Please, blog, may I have some more?Jacob Turner
This post is about 3000 words due to wanting to cover everyone. Stupid, OCD! OCD Voice, “Don’t forget to touch your elbow 75 times before ranking these guys, it’s good luck!” Due to its length, I’ll get right to the good stuff. All the 2013 fantasy baseball rankings are there. All 2013 Fantasy Baseball Position Eligibility is there. All 2013 fantasy baseball sleepers are there. All 2013 fantasy baseball rookies are there. All 2013 fantasy baseball dollar values are there. All 2013 fantasy baseball hitter projections are there. All 2013 fantasy baseball pitcher projections are there. And everything tangentially related to nonsense is there. Anyway, here’s the top 100 starters for 2013 fantasy baseball:
Please, blog, may I have some more?
Like Tobias from Arrested Development, the Miami Marlins will forever be known for their offseason fire sale. OH, THE BURNING! Giancarlo Stanton seems to be the last man standing in South Beach. However, rebuilding can often mean opportunities for young talent to shine. This will be the case for catcher Rob Brantly. Brantly, 23, will have the chance to be the every-day catcher (sorry, Jeff Mathis) for Miami in 2013.
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Spare me while I talk about my team for a moment. I almost missed out on my head to head playoffs. Another team grabbed the final spot one week before the postseason was to begin. Oh no, it was that mean old Mr.
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Once considered an elite prospect, Brett Wallace now has few lingering believers. The 2008 1st round pick has already been with four organizations, and is currently passing time in the Pacific Coast League at Oklahoma City, Triple-A affiliate of the Astros. Houston gave Wallace ample opportunity to prove his worth in 2011, but he effectively squandered the 350+ PA, posting a .259 AVG and a .110 ISO, which is pretty miserable coming from a 1B. During a brief stint in the bigs earlier this year, the 25-year-old was much improved, batting .333/.429/.583 in 42 PA. Granted, it’s a small sample, but it conjured memories of why we touted Wallace in the first place — outstanding plate coverage, lightning-quick hands, beautiful lefty stroke, advanced approach, power potential… the works, really, from a hitting perspective. Jeff Luhnow — Houston’s brilliant 1st-year GM, and the man who drafted Wallace in 2008 while handling player procurement for the Cardinals — recently acknowledged that the first baseman should resurface in the bigs before long, which is kind of an ambiguous timetable. Regardless, Wallace’s Triple-A production has been big of recent (.371/.476/.600 through last ten), and he could be useful in NL-Only and deep mixed formats should he return to Houston anytime soon.
Please, blog, may I have some more?This is always painful, but it’s also necessary. What follows is a look back at my preseason prospect rankings — a self audit, if you will. To be clear, this isn’t a re-ranking or anything, but it should suffice to remind all of you that I am mostly stupid. Please keep in mind that these guys are very early in their careers, and there is plenty of time for each to either figure it out, or get figured out. Anyway, let’s cut to it:
1.
Please, blog, may I have some more?Many saw Mark Appel as the odds-on No. 1 overall pick in last month’s First Year Player Draft. Signability concerns, however, caused his stock to slip, and the tall, athletic RHP out of Stanford fell to Pittsburgh at No. 8 overall. In retrospect, he should’ve fallen further, as Appel refused a signing bonus worth $3.8 million, opting to return to Stanford for his senior season. Must be frustrating for Pirates fans. A larger offer from the club would’ve forfeited their 1st-round pick for 2013 under the new CBA terms. Instead, their first selection for 2012 was for naught. With arms like Jameson Taillon and Gerrit Cole already in their minor league ranks, the addition of Appel would’ve given Pittsburgh one of the most impressive collection of starting pitching prospects in the game. Certainly much of the frustration here needs to be directed toward MLB’s new draft slotting system. After paying above-slot bonuses to several later-round picks, the Pirates were handcuffed when it came time to negotiate with Appel and his agent Scott Boras. Still, better foresight from Pittsburgh a month ago could’ve avoided this unfortunate situation. Appel should be near the top of next year’s class once again. For more on him, here’s a brief scouting report I wrote pre-draft.
Please, blog, may I have some more?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.
Please, blog, may I have some more?We’re a few weeks from Opening Day, and the outlook on prospects for 2012 is taking shape. As usual, it’s important to take a prudent approach with these guys. Prospect-happy drafting is not wise. Most of these names won’t make major impacts for another year or two – if ever. Even so, it’s a good idea to get to know ‘em. I tried to limit this list to guys I thought would contribute this year. Rankings are weighted heavily in terms of realistic 2012 playing time, but I’m factoring each player’s projectable ceiling as well. I’ll be following this post with my Top 25 Fantasy Prospects for 2013 & Beyond. That one will run on Sunday. For now, this:
1.
Please, blog, may I have some more?Detroit Tigers 2011 Minor League Review
Organizational Talent Rankings via Baseball America:
2011 (25) | 2010 (27) | 2009 (28) | 2008 (27) | 2007 (14) | 2006 (13) | 2005 (29) | 2004 (22)
2011 Affiliate Records
MLB: [95-67] AL Central
AAA: [67-77] International League – Toledo
AA: [67-75] Eastern League – Erie
A+: [64-74] Florida State League – Lakeland
A: [70-69] Midwest League – West Michigan
A(ss): [39-35] New York Penn League – Connecticut
The Run Down
2011 didn’t deplete the Tigers pipeline too terribly, as most of their top guys are still around. Dan Schlereth had a nice year out of the bullpen for the Tigers, and a few others (Sizemore, Furbush) made impacts with other big league clubs after being traded. The shuffling, though, didn’t do much to alter the complexion of the farm system. Offensively, Detroit is pretty well set for 2012. There could be a void in left field if Delmon Young signs elsewhere, but I imagine they’d try to fill that slot with an impact bat via free agency, rather than through their system. The Tigers will, however, have an opening in their starting rotation. And while it appears that top prospect Jacob Turner has a firm grip on that role, there are a number of promising starters in Detroit’s minor leagues and it isn’t fair to rule anyone out just yet.
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