Let me preface this post with some no holds barred truth: I hate catchers. I don’t just hate them, I deep down inside loathe them so realize how painful this post is going to be. I’m going to offer you a strategy that is palatable but realize I’ll likely not follow it. The first catcher I’ll be drafting will go in a round after 18 in my league. I just don’t put much faith in drafting high on a position that you’re not going to get 150 games out of. Last I checked, Buster Posey and Joe Mauer were going to light the world on fire last year. They combined to play 127 games total for 2011. In my league – which is also a keeper – the one team that made the playoffs with his keeper Mauer traded him for spare parts by the All-Star Break and the Posey keeper finished 8th. Relying on Catcher numbers is something I refuse to do. Compromise you say? Alright, I could talk myself into taking Yadier Molina as my first catcher off the board in the 15th round and round that out with a Russell Martin chaser in the 21st. Molina should balance out Martin’s BA drain and Russell provides the pop. Plus you’ll get a sneaky 10 to 15 SB from your Catcher position. See what happens when you compromise? No one is happy!
Please, blog, may I have some more?Tyler Flowers
Jered Weaver will not make his final start of the year because he doesn’t care about your H2H team. Weaver ends the season with a line of 18-8/2.41/1.01/198. If you throw out three bad starts, his ERA would’ve been 1.72 in 220 innings, but if if’s and but’s were candy and nuts no one would ever leave the bathroom. Verlander’s gonna win the Cy Young, shizz is foregone. Put it in an envelope and hand it to your mail carrier so he can steam it open and check it for cash. Either way, let’s look at what Weaver did this year. Mullet over, if you will. Weaver was better last year. Blunt is as blunt does right there. His K-rate, xFIP and hair were all better. His K-rate this year was right in line with past rates, if you exclude 2010. For now, last year looks like the outlier for Ks. Also, batters made contact with his pitches inside the strike zone at a higher rate than last year and hitters weren’t as fooled by pitches outside the strike zone. In the end, he’s not going to be terrible in 2012; it’s just a repeat of 2011 seems unlikely, unless Superman circles the earth a few hundred times.
Please, blog, may I have some more?I said three days ago that Brian Wilson was probably headed for a DL stint. And now he’s on the DL. Confession: I’m a time traveler! And not for stocks or gambling Biff-style, I use my foresight for fantasy baseball. To recap what I’ve been saying, I said three days ago that Brian Wilson– Wait, I should recap from a little further back. Ramon Ramirez already has two saves, so that’s who I’d grab first. Affeldt could get some saves, you just need to put up with his annoying duck. Casilla may sneak into the picture, but I wouldn’t go deeper than one of these guys unless you’re very desperate. Though remember closers can smell desperation and you’ll never get any saves like that. Anyway, here’s what else I saw this weekend in fantasy baseball:
Psyche! Before we get into the roundup, I just wanted to announce that this afternoon there will be announcement.
Please, blog, may I have some more?
I need to thank frequent commenter ltf for today’s lead. Tim Wheeler (COL, OF) has not been a highly touted prospect in the Rockies farm system – ranked number 21 overall. Since my Scouting the Unknown article written on June 1, 2011, he has hit 10 more home runs (6 weeks).
Please, blog, may I have some more?The top 50 fantasy baseball prospects list aims to provide a list solely for fantasy baseball purposes. Due to fantasy baseball’s immediacy of statistical production, players are not necessarily ranked based on tools or projections far into the future, but instead, current production.
Please, blog, may I have some more?Chicago White Sox 2010 Minor League Review
Overall farm rankings according to Baseball America (2010)
2010 (19) | 2009 (16) | 2008 (28) | 2007 (26) | 2006 (14) | 2005 (12) | 2004 (20)
Record of Major and Minor League Teams
MLB: [88 – 74] AL Central
AAA: [67 – 77] International League – Charlotte
AA: [53 – 87] Southern League – Birmingham
A+: [81 – 58] Carolina League – Winston-Salem
A: [65 – 74] South Atlantic League – Kannapolis
R: [47 – 28] Pioneer League – Great Falls
R: [32 – 36] Appalachian League – Bristol
The Run Down
The White Sox minor league system played in a sandbox of disappointment in 2010.
I don’t want to believe a word I read by anyone in the New York Mets organization. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, I’m in minayal. As the definition states, “Denial of the truth by a GM – either disingenuously to the press or, even sadder, they believe the lie. Includes denial of player injuries, trade rumors, manager firings, etc. Example, “If it weren’t for the Mets being in such minayal, Reyes would be on the DL and I could have an empty bench spot on my team!” Related adjective is Riccardulous.” So with that said, Jose Reyes was cleared to return to action. I haven’t been as interested by something I’ve read in the New York Post since they so delicately handled a recent crisis with the headline, “Holy Shiite!” Could Reyes really be good to go? I sure as heckfire hope so since I’ve drafted him already on a few teams. As I’ve maintained since he went down, this wasn’t another leg injury. It was his thyroid. It might phonetically sound like it’s located in the leg, but it’s not. Omar says Reyes could be ready for Opening Day. My best guess is he’ll miss the first week and a half and by May you won’t even remember he missed any time. I say grab him, hopefully I’m not in minayal. Anyway, here’s some more fantasy baseball news:
Albert Pujols – Went for an MRI with a sore back. The New York Post said, “Pujols is full of Shiite!” Actually, they didn’t. But could one day. Pujols played last season with one working elbow. I’m not too concerned about a sore back.
Please, blog, may I have some more?Rookie pitchers give you a roofie. Rookie hitters give you agita. So why do we keep going back for more like a guest on Oprah? It’s sorta like the old joke that Woody Allen quotes in Annie Hall. We need the eggs. Besides said eggs, if a rookie somehow/someway breaks out, he’ll help you win your championship. Face it, if you draft properly in the first 7 to 10 rounds, your team will be competitive, but so should other teams. It’s what you do after those rounds that makes the difference. You’re not winning your league with A-Rod, but you could with Ian Desmond. As wonky as that sounds, it’s true. If you click on the player’s name, you’ll find whole posts and projections for each guy. It’s like Santa woke up drunk in March. Anyway, here’s some rookies to target for 2010 fantasy baseball:
Brian Matusz – As the fortune cookie that snuck through quality control says, a person who goes to bed with scratchy rear wakes up with a smelly finger. Rookie pitchers can give you a scratchy rear. I’m real hesitant about rookie pitchers. I’d prefer a starter to target from that post.
Please, blog, may I have some more?Chicago White Sox 2009 Minor League Review
Overall farm rankings according to Baseball America (2009)
2009 (16) | 2008 (28) | 2007 (26) | 2006 (14) | 2005 (12) | 2004 (20)
Record of Major and Minor league teams
MLB: [86 – 77] AL Central
AAA: [67 – 76] International League
AA: [92 – 47] Southern League
A+: [73 – 65] Carolina League
A: [82 – 57] South Atlantic League
R: [42 – 34] Pioneer League
R: [27 – 39] Appalachian League
The Run Down
With one of the better rookies of 2009 in Gordon Beckham, and there is an argument that he should have won Rookie of the Year, the White Sox are still in desperate need to become younger.
With September 1st knocking on August’s door — August 31st, is that you? Uh… No. August 30th? Nope. August 32nd? No, you nitwit! It’s September 1st! – it’s time we looked at September call ups. These are potential September call ups that will, should, could and potentially make or not make a difference in fantasy baseball. Today, we’ll look at the hitters, then on Tuesday afternoon we’ll look at pitchers. So tip out some of your malt liquor for the pitchers who aren’t here and take a drag on that Newport, cause Razzball’s Alive With Pleasure with September call ups, the hitters. Anyway, here’s some potential September call ups to keep your eye on for fantasy baseball:
Jason Heyward – I could shave words of praise in my merkin for Heyward, but it probably won’t do us any good. If Heyward gets called up, he probably won’t have that large of a role in September.
Please, blog, may I have some more?