Kendrys Morales was so busy running to the DMV to change his name that he will not be ready for the start of the season. This will give Mark Trumbo an opportunity to get some April at-bats. You say ho-hum, I say ho-hmm. Did you see what I did there? DID YOU!? Yeah, I’m not sure either. Trumbo hit 36 home runs in 139 Triple-A games last year. Sure, that was in the PCL which is like hitting on the moon with an aluminum bat. Still, 36 homers is nothing to sneeze at unless you’re allergic to power, upside rookies. In most mixed leagues, Trumbo’s not worth stashing. But in deeper leagues, I’d absolutely take a flyer that Kendrys has a few more setbacks. I mean, it’s already taken him way too long to recover. Who knows? Maybe Trumbo will Pipp Kendry and mash his way into a regular job. BTW, with the switch from Kendry to Kendrys, it seems like the “s” that Alexis Rios dropped when he switched to Alex has finally appeared. Be interesting to see where the “i” shows up at. I’m guessing there’s going to be a new San Fran outfielder, Cody Rossi. Anyway, here’s what else is going on in fantasy baseball:
Scott Downs – Broke his toe. Downs goes… Um, Downs.
Scott Hairston – Sticking with the newly established Scott theme, Beltran is going to start the year on the disabled list. It’s not official. I’m Cust kayin’ here. Right now, I’d put Beltran’s over/under for games played at 100. So who do the Mets go to, Scott Hairston, Lucas Duda or Willie Harris? Is this even a question? In NL-Only leagues, I’d take a flyer on Hairston for a cheap 10/10 season.
Nyjer Morgan – Riggleman is proving himself to be an enemy of fantasy baseballers (<–my mom’s term!). In center field, he’s leaning towards starting Rick Ankiel with Roger Bernadina backing him up and Nyjer headed to the minors. That arrangement is the new blech. At least Nyjer has steals and Bernandina has 15/20 upside. Ankiel is a high-teen power, terrible average guy. He’s useless in just about all leagues. Nyjer has no one to throw a ball at here but himself since he’s currently not hitting well in spring training.
Brian Roberts – Says his back feels great. I say wait two weeks until his back no longer feels great.
Billy Butler – Did I say pitchers…I meant platters.
Kevin Millwood – You know the gag in Hall Pass where an unattractive girl surrounds herself with lesser attractive girls to make herself look better? Okay, now picture that when you hear the news that the Yankees went to watch Kevin Millwood pitch then went back and watched Bartolo Colon.
Will Rhymes – Will start the season at 2nd base for the always-injured Carlos Guillen. Rhymes had 22 steals in the minors last year in 95 games and zero in 54 major league games. It’s rhyming and stealing! Not rhyming and sitting on first! In AL-Only leagues, I’d take a flyer on Rhymes for some SAGNOF.
Andrew Bailey – Dr. Freeze put Bailey on ice until his forearm feels better. I.e., no one has any idea when Bailey will be healthy. I’m guessing he’ll save some games from mid-April to mid-May then hit the DL.
Jake Peavy – Sent a text message to the Chicago Tribune that he’ll be able to resume pitching again on Thursday. He then challenged the beat writer to a game of Words With Friends.
Danny Espinosa – Should be fine after sustaining a bruised foot, which isn’t half as delicious as a braised foot.
Jason Heyward – Turns out his back is sore because he has less cartilage between discs than the average person. See, nothing about Heyward is average! Yeah, that sounds bad but don’t think it’s going to be a real problem for a few years. Not sure why they couldn’t harvest some cartilage from someone else. Jeff Francoeur, “It’s so great to see some of my old friends in Spring Training…. Yeah, of course I’m open for a deep tissue massage.” Then the Braves trainer cackles maniacally.
For the likely source of his back trouble, do a Google image search on “brian roberts wife”.
Grey – you ever seen the ESPN doco/movie “Silly Little Game” about the birth of roto? Recorded it last year, finally got round to watching it tonight!
Ha… I’m watching Silly Little Game DVD while at my job on my work PC, while reading Razzball.
I rule!
@Grey: If that mysterious little “i” snuck it’s way into Teixeiria I wonder id you’d even notice? Or did it already?
10 team head to head 8 x 7
c Weiters
1 Miggy
2 Ricky Weeks
3 Arod
of Kemp
of Stubbs
of Ichiro
util Dunn
Bench
of Travis snider
of Adam Lind
sp Hamels
sp Gallardo
sp Romero
rp cordero
rp Drew storen
p chad billingsly
p craig kimbrel
Bench
sp gio gonzalez
sp brett meyers
sp James shields
sp Johnny Cueto
How did I do for my first draft this year?
11 team roto 5×5 3rd pick 2 slots for every offensive position
C ruiz 28 SP gallardo 7
C salty 29 SP liriano 8
1b morneau 5 RP street 18
1b kendrys 6 RP lyon 23
2b kinsler 4 P gio gonzalez 17
2b hill 13 P gregg 24
3b zimmerman 2 P fuentes 27
3b alvarez 9 BN chacin 25
ss ramirez 1 BN hudson 20
ss reyes 3 BN lilly 22
lf gardner11
lf pierre 15
cf granderson 10
cf colvin 21
rf quentin 12
rf snider 16
util lind 14
util gaby sanchez 19
bn coco crisp 26
took reyes 3rd because everyone i wanted before him were gone — OF a little weak but not bad considering i started taking them in the 10th rd — hopefully morales does not kill me ( i thought he would be fine to start the year but such is life)
what do u think grey?
Only one place that ‘i’ is going.
Toriii Hunter
I’m in a 16 team mixed points league where pitchers get 10 points for a win/save. As a result pitching is overvalued. To give you an example, here are the top 10 pitchers and hitters by projected points using Marcel stats projections (minus the bonuses for things like complete games, no-hitters, and hitting for the cycle):
Player Proj. Points
Roy Halladay 696
Felix Hernandez 686
Tim Lincecum 653
CC Sabathia 652
Justin Verlander 646
Ubaldo Jimenez 634
Jon Lester 628
Jered Weaver 620
Dan Haren 619
Zack Greinke 605
Albert Pujols 540
Miguel Cabrera 437
Mark Teixeira 435
Matt Holliday 425
Ryan Braun 425
Prince Fielder 420
Joey Votto 412
Robinson Cano 409
Hanley Ramirez 408
Adrian Gonzalez 405
I ended up getting the first overall pick in the draft next week, so is Halladay a no brainer pick? I feel like it is, but I could be missing something and I wanted to see how people here felt about it. Last year in the first 2 rounds, there were 18 starters taken vs only 12 hitters and 2 closers.
In my 20 team mixed, I am owning Scott Sizemore and Guilen as my 2b stopgap. I think Sizemore gets the part time gig over Rhymes. Size more has more power and Rhymes more wheels. Jim Leyland would rather watch his guys trot.
Maybe Toriii could use another ‘i’. All in the family!
Cody rossi… Any relation to janice rossi in apt. 2R?
@Steve: @Racehorse:
How was it?
Quick question…I am trading a couple of players in a keeper league for draft picks in a 10 team 5×5 draft. To be more specific I’m trading Delmon Young (a 25th round keeper) and Cole Hamels (a 3rd round keeper) for 2 picks. From the owner I have the choice of his 6th and 14th or 8th and 12th…any thoughts? I’m leaning towards 6th and 14th…
Grey, I challenge YOU to a game of words with friends! My tag is byrone980.
Grey,
Do you think someone emerges as the true closer for the Rays? Maddon’s commitment to using a committee makes me want to smack him and his dumb little fashionable hats. If he stays true to his word, do you still carry both? I just hate using two P spots.
You hit the nail on the head, Grey. This leg has taken way too long to heal. Not to mention how freakish it was in the first place. I mean, I would expect Rocco Baldelli to destroy himself by stomping on home plate, but few others.
I see he hasn’t been downgraded yet, but it’s looking inevitable.
I need to have my AL-only protected list in shortly and have Morales for $15 ($260 cap). I can keep Smoak for $9 instead, or chuck them both back into the water and look for a nice big bass. Please smack me upside the head with the correct fish.
By the way, did we ever come up with a name for Latino players who take til mid-summer to warm up? Cause if that’s not a ‘Pepe Frias,’ I don’t know what is.
When do you think its time to gamble on utley? 16-team 5×5 h2h cats league. It’s 81st overall pick, I’m sitting with cano, wright, youk, j-upside, and ubaldo. Roll the bones?
that heyward/Francoeur bit was HILARIOUS. LOL
grey, in my 12 team keeper, i drafted one team, and then composed another team using guys that were taken immediatlely following my pick (within 10 picks or so)….which team do you like better? (we count holds)
FYI – i started w/ miggy, a-gonz, votto, longoria, heyward, and hamels.
C Napoli C Posada
1B Miggy 1B Miggy
2B Hill 2B Walker
3B Longo 3B Longo
SS brignac SS Alcides Escobar
OF heyward OF heyward
OF ellsbury OF Coghlan/rajai
OF lind OF Manny Ram
Util Votto Util Votto
Util A-gonz Util A-gonz
Hamels Hamels
d. Hudson Scherzer
niese Brett Anderson
t.wood Chris Perez
j zimmermann Axford
Nathan nunez
Lyon adams
Saito takahashi
sorry about the edit (i had both teams seperated by a “tab” but then when i posted it just collapsed.
the one time is the guys all the way on the right, then the next guys are the other team.
Grey,
Had my Big Money NFBC draft last night, what ya think?
12 teams, 5×5 roto, start 2 catchers
1b- M. Cabrera
2b- B. Phillips
ss- E. Andrus
3b- M. Reynolds
c- J. Mauer
c- R. Martin
CI- P. Fielder
MI-A. Cabrera
U- I. Davis
OF- D. Stubbs
OF- A. Jones
OF- B. Abreau
OF- T. Snider
OF – L. Morrision
SP- D. Haren
SP- T. Hanson
SP- G. Gonzalez
SP- W. Rodriguez
SP- J. Danks
SP- J. Cueto
SP- M. Minor
RP- J. Papelbon
RP- J. Nathan
B- M. Ordonez
B- EY JR.
B- J. Montero
B- E- Bedard
B- C. Pavano
B- O- Dotel
B- K. Uehara
I exceeded all my category goals I was was shooting for with your projections. So if your Projections anything close to be legit, should finish a top this league.
@Grey I’m in a 16-team auction league(4 keepers, $250 cap, typical 22 man active roster). Wainwright and Strasburg make for interesting DL stashes (<—your strength). I snagged Strasburg for $1. What do you imagine his trade value may be later this summer and perhaps what his auction value may be next year if he has a health billing similar to Volquez? Of course, like you I also prefer to keep a hitter, but love a good trade chip as well. BTW, love saying the word, "maniacally." Strong finish!
Funny post, especially the Morales bit. However, Grey, as a metro-Detroiter who pours over the Tigers’ every move, I wonder what has you proclaiming Rhymes the starter at 2nd base. He certainly hasn’t been recognized as such by the skipper. I love Rhymes and think Leyland could get the most from him, but right now Scott Sizemore looks to be the frontrunner for the job. And Sizemore, should he pan out, offers a lot more fantasy value than does Rhymes. My opinion anyway.
@Steve- thank you for starting my morning with that!
@Grey- Safer pick Kimbrel or Thornton? Im desperate for safes.
I also think Kendry added the “s” because he wanted to start talking about himself in the 3rd person…
@JMonte:
I’d go Thornton. Correct me if I’m wrong, but he’s pitched the 9th a couple of times in spring training. Plus, I don’t think they gave this guy a three-year, multi-million dollar extension for nothing.
In addition, Venters has been unhittable this spring, while Kimbrel has kind of shuffled a bit. Not sure what Fredi Gonzalez will make of it, but I’d go Thornton if I had to.
@Eddy- Thanks for the input, appreciated. I had similar thoughts as well.
oh, grey, I need to ask… in my keeper league draft comin up, should I be drafting Pineda early, over guys like dempster, Lilly, kuroda, etc? thoughts on Pineda, long term? I’m thinking 200k/year guy.
Grey-
12 team mixed keeper league, 5X5, (keeper cost is draft round), I can keep eight:
Already keeping:
Votto (7)
Wright (1)
Kemp (3)
Dunn (5)
McCutchen (28)
Lincecum (8)
Marmol (9)
Keep Sabathia (2), Bumgarner (27), or Aroldis Chapman (26)?
Rotoworld has a link from USA Today saying that it is highly unlikely that Feliz ends up in the rotation. Bell, Broxton, Cordero, Capps, Nathan, etc. could all be free agents next year, so the idea is that they would have Feliz close this year, and then sign one of the closers in the offseason.
Also, Ian Snell retired. Probably doesn’t mean much to most people. As a Pirate fan, though, he was the most promising of the piles of crap they have been rolling out as starting pitchers since Olly Perez was traded. If James McDonald reverts to struggling, we can look forward to Tallion and Allie in, oh, three or four years. Raise the Jolly Roger!
Kendry(s) is killing me in my keeper league. I kept him thinking possible .300 30 HR guys are tough to come by (still true), but now I’m considering switching him out and keeping Max Scherzer instead. No round cost or anything. Thoughts?
news on heyward is startling. discs close together usually indicates overly heavy lifting with little rest and without use of steroids. he should be taller! but he could also break down..
12-team Roto 5×5 (QS instead of Wins) 4-player keeper league, 200 GS limit
C- Jorge Posada
1B- Miguel Cabrera
2B- Neil Walker
3B- A-rod
SS- Elvis Andrus
MI- Reid Brignac
CI- Carlos Pena
OFx5- Jason Heyward, Rios, Granderson, Aubrey Huff (1B/OF), Manny Ramirez
UTIL- Justin Smoak
BEN-David Murphy
SP- CC Sabathia, Yovani Gallardo, Roy Oswalt, Anderson, Hellickson, Gio, James McDonald
RP- Kimbrel, Franklin, Francisco, Rodney, Fuentes, Farnsworth
Finishing draft this weekend. Current team
C-McCann
C-Santana
1-Votto
2-
ss-Tulo
3-Longoria
mi-
ci-Konerko
of-Kemp
of-Sizemore
of-Krispie Young
of-
of-
ut-Mark Reynolds
ut-
SP Ubaldo
SP Gio
Any thoughts, Comments?
12-team Roto 5×5 (QS instead of Wins) 4-player keeper league, 200 GS limit
Grey, what do you think??
C- Jorge Posada
1B- Miguel Cabrera
2B- Neil Walker
3B- A-rod
SS- Elvis Andrus
MI- Reid Brignac
CI- Carlos Pena
OFx5- Jason Heyward, Rios, Granderson, Aubrey Huff (1B/OF), Manny Ramirez
UTIL- Justin Smoak
BEN-David Murphy
SP- CC Sabathia, Yovani Gallardo, Roy Oswalt, Anderson, Hellickson, Gio, James McDonald
RP- Kimbrel, Franklin, Francisco, Rodney, Fuentes, Farnsworth
Awesome awesome blog. Especially the humor. Thanks for the sound advice.
I have a question. Need to pick a guy to keep from this list. In a 12 team h2h with keepers. (kept Han Ram, Mauer, Hanson, Marcum..I know thats how bad I was last year!) I’m leaning towards guys with an x after name
Cats: Pitching:’APP,IP,W,L,SV,HR,K,ERA,WHIP’
Hitting:R,H,HR,RBI,SB,K,FPCT,OPS,PA’
Greinke Zack
Beltre Adrian(x)
Johnson Josh(x)
Dunn Adam(x)
Jeter Derek
Suzuki Ichiro
Morales Kendry
Ethier Andre
Butler Billy
Pence Hunter(x)
Marmol Carlos
Bruce Jay
Ramirez Alexei
Rios Alex (x)
Hamels Cole
Rivera Mariano
Santana Carlos
Ramirez Aramis
Wilson Brian
Soria Joakim
Young Michael
Stubbs Drew
Victorino Shane
Liriano Francisco
Gallardo Yovani
Grey, Who do you like better long term, Carlos Santana or Matt Wieters?
Dotel or Rauch? Only have room for one. We score holds as well. Grazie.
@johnny: looks weak on everything considering its a 2-team league
Does Bryce Harper play this year? What do you think his chances of starting and contributing next year are? Just trying to figure out where to snag him in a deep keeper league draft.
@charlie- 10 team- 10 keeper league! $$ League
I 2nd the words with friends challenge….mine is natemarcum
FYI, words like Moobs and SAGNOF don’t work, I have tried. Sadly they have become part of my vobaculary that noone seems to understand.
@Jeff: If you can stash him on your bench for a couple of years (ie if you have a REALLY deep bench) then it could be worth having him on your team really cheap. If you don’t have the room to wait a couple of years, well he won’t be playing this year or likely next year.
Took over a team in a dynasty league, looks like I have a fairly weak team so I’m trying to rebuild as much as possible without killing my chances at competing this year.
Got offered Pablo Sandoval and Austin Jackson for my Adam Dunn and Aaron Rowand.
Now, I figure Dunn’s going to be more valuable this year, but if I’m rebuilding, don’t I take Sandoval’s youth and position scarcity over Dunn’s short-term superiority? And getting A-Jax for Aaron Rowand (who I was going to drop anyway) is just a bonus. I’ve got Beltre at 3rd currently, but I can play Sandoval at 1B short-term, and try to move Beltre for a better 1B.
Thoughts from anyone are welcome.
@Grey: Ok, we’re a couple more rounds in, and I’m not sure what direction to go again. 10 team 10×10 h2h.
C: Wieters
1b: Cabrera
2b: Phillips
3b: Longoria
ss: Andrus
ci: Fielder
mi:
of: Cargo
of: J. Upton
of: Stubbs
of: Lind
ut:
dl(?): Utley
sp: Lincecum
sp: Gallardo
sp: Jimenez
sp: Billingsley
sp:
rp(x4):
bench(x7):
Players I’m considering in the 10th round: Reynolds, Gardner, Tabata, Hill, Zobrist, Sizemore, Gio, Morrow, Volquez, Jhoulys, Edwin.
After I make this pick, in the 10th, I don’t have another pick until the 15th.
We count strike outs, I think that’s why Reynolds has lasted this long, but im probably losing strikeouts every week anyway with my lineup.
The 2bs only interest me to an extent because Raburn is eligible there and I know I can get him later.
What do you think? Anyone else have an opinion?
Thanks in advance!
Hey Grey, curious on your thoughts of Ivan Nova. I know you dismiss spring games (with good reason) but 6 no-hit innings in 59 pitches is somethin to look at. Assuming hes grabbing a spot in the rotation, what do you think about him for some cheap wins?
@byrone:
@byrone
It is all about wordfeud – works much better for me. I uninstalled Words w Friends as it barely worked for me after playing for a few days. If you make the switch, invite me to a game. oceanbobby
@Steve: I haven’t seen it.
@Racehorse: Ha!
@Buge Hoobs: Ha!
@Cincinnasty: Even with Ichiro, your team is a average worry. Also, you took a lot of risk on hitting considering your league is so shallow. Pitching looks fine.
@barker: Your outfield looks terrible for a 11 team league. Though the way you’ve listed your team makes it pretty difficult to read.
@Snag: Ha
@happygostabby: Sounds like you have to take Halladay.
@Ryan: Could be…
@Howard: Ha
@schlitzy: Perhaps…
@Beau: Take earlier ones if you can.
@byrone: You don’t want any of this.
@Eddy: I’d own one.
@Ned Shakeshaft: Mercurios… In AL-Only, I’d just keep Morales unless there were a ton of other options in the draft.
@Neidecker: Not with Cano.
@wilsoniam: Hard to read this mumbo jumbo, I think the team on the left.
@jim: I really like your team, well played.
@PublicEnemy#1: Thanks! Probably will go for $20+ if he’s healthy next year. People will be falling over themselves to draft him.
@Stosh: Depth charts I looked at had Rhymes as the next man. Could be Sizemore I suppose, but for a few weeks Rhymes offers more for fantasy. He could steal a quick 5 bases. Sizemore might hit 2 homers and steal 1 base. Over the season, Sizemore is better.
@JMonte: Kimbrel
@byrone: Draft him over them depending on what your staff looks like. You should be trying to win this year.
@Telasdaddy: Bumgarner
@DonSlaughtOnslaught: Ha
@Thunder Dan: Eh
@charlie batch: He should be taller – ha!
@Child Please: Other teams must’ve had solid hitting keepers, because your hitting doesn’t look so great. Pitching looks strong though.
@paddyman: Thanks for the kind words! Dunn…
@Giacomo: Santana
@CL: Dotel
@Jeff: In the minors.
@Nate Marcum: You don’t want any of this.
@mgeoffriau: I’d take Pablo’s side, but the deal doesn’t seem to make any sense for you if you have Beltre.
@amscalone: Take Reynolds
@Jared: Sure, he’s worth a look in deeper leagues.
@grey
words with friends: i fear nothing- byrone980. i’m doin the sxsw thing all week so i won’t be quick…. but i will be deadly
pineda: yes this is my year. came in 2nd last season. my lineup is stacked, it’s my pitching that’s weak. only keeping billingsley, matusz, and marmol. so on one hand, yes the “dempster” tier guys will be safer, but on the other, i need to find my future ace. push me one way or the other.
Fine post, as always, Mr. Albight. Are you going to be doing another Closer Look soon? Say, before this weekend, when I have my draft?
Ivan Nova hurled six no-hit innings Wednesday in a Grapefruit League start against the Orioles.
That works out to – like throwing 1 no hit inning against any other team
@byrone: Rudy’s doing the SXSW thing too. I’d go with the Dempster tier.
@Rabbit: Not by this weekend.
@Mr Baseball: Ha
My only draft is tomorrow. 12 team roto. What round would you take Peavy in (I see him as my #4) and what round for Raburn as my MI? Thanks in advance.
Hey Grey,
Jake Fox has caught my eye. In Yahoo league he has Catcher eligibility. Do you think he has a shot at getting every day playing time?
Thanks sir…
@Eng- Target Raburn around 12-13th Rd and Peavy should go the round AFTER your last round.
Does anyone know if ESPN just automatically re-ups leagues? I commissioned a league last year, and intended to not do it this year, but someone pushed me to. When I went to the league, it said that everyone had already joined, even though at least one manager claimed that he had not done anything to join. So I can’t really tell if I have 10 people signed up or if I’m just going to be drafting against one or two other managers and a bunch of bots.
@Eng: i wouldnt go that early on raburn…. there’s much more valuable pieces avaiable in the 12-13th rounds…. see where he’s ranked and snag him a round before where he should go, if its that far down then you can reach a little more because I’m sure someone else likes him, but I wouldn’t take him that early personally.
Would you keep Adam Lind over Corey Hart and his injury concerns?
Braised foot!
@Eng: #4 start goes around 180 overall. Raburn is somewhere around there too.
@Omnificent: Blech
@SephMeier: Sure
@Derek: Hehe
*****THERE’S A NEW POST FOR FOLLOWUPS.********
@Grey.. Hey man phenomenal stuff you got goin on here. Really like what you have to say and havent come across rankings that actually make sense to me before these. I luckily ran into your rankings about a week or two ago and I just had my draft. Draft was live, and league is a 12 team, 10×10 roto. I had the 6th pick and couldnt believe miggy fell to me. I think I killed it by your steeze, but tell me what you think. Good lookin out.
c- Buck
1b- Miggy
2b- Aaron Hill
3b- David Wright
SS- Alcides Escobar
CI- Mark Reynolds
MI- Ryan Raburn
OF- Justin Upton
OF- Jason Heyward
OF- Andrew Mecutchen
Util- Drew Stubbs
Util- Adam Lind
SP- Francisco Liriano
SP- Max Scherzer
SP- Daniel Hudson
RP- K-Rod
RP- Valverde
P- Chris Perez
P- Edison Volquez
P- Leo Nunez
P- Ian Kennedy
BN- Joel Hanarananananan
BN- Frank Francisco
BN- Jose Tabata
BN- Mike Minor