Drew Storen had arm discomfort… About two weeks ago. He hasn’t pitched in a game since March 7th and had soreness in his biceps playing catch yesterday. Playing catch? What, the Nats doing a video for Cat’s in the Cradle? He should be pitching, not playing catch. So that’s one red flag. The bigger red flag with a skull and crossbones is obviously soreness from playing catch. That’s awesome for a young reliever who was used a lot last year (75 1/3 IP). Two days ago, Davey Johnson said Storen wasn’t throwing because he had strep throat. So does he have strep arm now? Johnson said he’s not worried about Storen. Davey lies… Davey lies when he cries and implies Storen is still his prize… In all but the shallowest leagues, I’d grab Tyler Clippard, who sounds like a captain in the America’s Cup. For those in deeper leagues or feeling light on saves, I’d grab Lidge. I think Storen will ultimately be fine, but better safe than sorry as they say in the Clichè Hall of Fame, which is located on Main Street in Capital City. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in spring training for 2012 fantasy baseball:
Joe Blanton – Report out of Philly is they aren’t motivated to trade Blanton. Sounds like when your garbage piles up and you can’t motivate to throw it out. Maybe we’ll see the Phillies on the new season of Hoarders.
Ryan Howard – Without a walking boot, he took grounders yesterday while sitting on a stool. Maybe he’s hoping he can be the Bill Cosby of 1st baseman. “I was taking ground balls with my manager, Man-yoo-el. Man-yoo-el is great; he gave me chocolate cake!”
Ryan Madson – Threw twenty pitches in a simulated game, then left with pain in his elbow. Wow, and Dusty hasn’t even managed him in a game yet. He just points his toothpick at pitchers’ elbows and they go down. This is starting to sound like Sean Marshall is gonna be the closer for the Reds on Opening Day. Yes, he should be owned too.
Juan Pierre – Has been caught stealing three times in five attempts in the spring. Is there anything sadder than a steals-only guy who can no longer steal? That’s not rhetorical. Really, is there?
Neftali Feliz – Rangers are reporting that Feliz threw with no issues. To incorrectly paraphrase Modest Mouse, this is bad news for people who like bad news about starters they don’t want to own.
Carlos Marmol – Will return on Monday. Will close until July. Will be traded to a contender to be an eighth inning set-up man. It’s a feeling I have.
Mark Reynolds – The O’s are talking about trading him. Looks like the O’s management got the letter in the bottle that was dropped in the Atlantic about thirteen years ago that read, “Go young, you have no chance of competing right now.”
Adam Dunn – Sticking with the newly established donkey theme, Dunn hit two homers yesterday. In 1970, Boog Powell hit 35 homers and won the MVP at the age of 28. The next year, he struggled to hit 22, then 21, 11 and 12 before having one final (Berkman-type resurgence) with 27 homers in 1975, then he was out of baseball at the age of 35. Frank Howard hit 44 homers at 33, then 26 homers the next year and pretty much out of baseball at 35. Greg Luzinski hit 35 homers at the age of 27. At 28, he hit 18. Then nothing for 4 years (had a Berkman resurgence year), then out of baseball at 33. Mo Vaughn went from MVP contender to retired. The history of the big-bellied isn’t great when they start to age. Dunn is 32 years old. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was out of baseball at the age of 35. Can Dunn come back and hit 25 homers this year? It’s possible. It’s gonna come with a .240 or lower average. We’re not going to see 40 homers from The Big Donkey again.
Desmond Jennings – Could be out until next week, but he should have plenty of time to be ready for Opening Day. Or as they call it in the Albright household, O’Jennings Day.
Dustin Pedroia – Left the game after being hit on the forearm. He didn’t want to leave, but Bobby Valentine insisted. Then Pedroia nipped at his ankles and Bobby put a cone on his head. Pedroia should be back in a few days.
Kendrys Morales – In his first action with the Angels since his limp-off home run, he got two hits. Small victories are good. They’re especially good for Morales who celebrates big victories like an idiot.
Tyler Greene – The Cards look like they’re going to start Greene at 2nd base and in the leadoff slot (with Furcal somewhere at the bottom of the order). Greene feels like a guy that someone in an NL-Only league will either get lucky drafting or will want to drop by week two.
Tyler Colvin – Hitting near .400 in spring training. That means nothing, as does Colvin in most leagues. However, I wouldn’t be shocked if we get into the first week of the season and Blake is benched (or injured), Cuddyer goes to 3rd and Colvin is playing the outfield and becomes one of the hottest adds. It’s a thought to stash next to your rolling papers.
Scott Baker – Yesterday, he threw in a minor league game. So he pitched Twins batting practice?
Justin Morneau – 3-for-33 this spring. Feels like old times!
Lorenzo Cain – Now has four homers and is batting .486 in the spring. Cain…Sugar!’s not yet on any of my teams, but I think I might need to reach for him in one league. Bourgeois, you’ve been Marx’d down!
Billy Butler – Hit his third homer of the spring as he has an insane 1.258 OPS over 39 at-bats. They don’t call him Mr. Grapefruit for nothing.
Pedro Alvarez – Ah, my old heartthrob, is playing like there’s a reason why he’s not my new heartthrob. It looks likely M.C. Gehee will be playing 3rd base. The Pirates get the gas face.
Erik Bedard – Named Pirates Opening Day starter. The Pirates then added, “If he’s healthy.”
David Wright – Took BP and said, “I feel about as good as I’d feel, I guess, picking up a bat for the first time in a few weeks. Hopefully it gets better from here result-wise. But just being out there and being able to go through a full day and a full round of batting practice and not feeling anything, that’s pretty good.” I’ll read between the lines for you. ”I was swinging at about 50% against a soft-tossing BP pitcher and I still didn’t really get good swings on the ball. It was sure nice to see the fellas after going through three weeks of testing done by a Met doctor who had a degree from a med school in Guam. I wonder if there’s bears in Guam and if they call them Guamy Bears.”
Jon Niese – Got an offseason nose job because Beltran used to make fun of him. It’s not the first time that a Mets outfielder led to drugs being applied to a Mets pitcher’s nose.
Fausto Carmona – Or as his birth certificate says, Roberto Hernandez Heredia, is scheduled to throw 80 pitches at the Indians’ academy in the Dominican Republic. Afterwards at the academy, Carmona will take classes like “Ethics In Nomenclature and Age” and “Nutrition: It’s a Real Word.”
Yup. And when Storen needs to head off to see Dr Andrews, I guess he’ll be wanting to borrow the car keys.
@Steve, Ha…
@Grey, Sigh. Just the Ha. I almost prefer the Hehe.
I’m in a head to head league with weekly lineups. There are 10 bench spots and unlimited waiver wire transactions. That seems like a large bench where there are unlimited pickups. My question is, how would you fill out those 10 BU slots? 7 SP, 1 RP, 2 bats sound about right?
@Giant JJ, It sounds about right, yeah…
*12 TEAM HEAD-TO-HEAD 7X7* — Do I do this trade?
I get: Evan Longoria and Melky Cabrera
I give: Pablo Sandoval and Hunter Pence
Categories: AVG, OPS, R, RBI, HR, TB, SB | ERA, WHIP, W, L, K, SV, QS
C. Buster Posey (Round 9)
1B. Joey Votto (Round 1)
2B. Dan Uggla (Round 3)
3B. Pablo Sandoval (Round 5)
SS. Dee Gordon (Round 10)
OF. Giancarlo Stanton (Round 2)
OF. Hunter Pence (Round 4)
OF. Desmond Jennings (Round 8)
Util. Logan Morrison (Round 15)
BN. Peter Bourjos (Round 17)
BN. Alex Rios (Round 19)
P. Anibal Sanchez (Round 12)
P. Brandon Beachy (Round 14)
SP. Yovani Gallardo (Round 6)
SP. Madison Bumgarner (Round 7)
RP. Jason Motte (Round 11)
RP. Huston Street (Round 13)
BN. Kenley Jansen (Round 16)
BN. Jhoulys Chacin (Round 18)
BN. Ervin Santana (FA pickup)
@thatonekid343, I like it for you…
Which scrub SP from the Japan series would you pick up to sneak in a 2-starter in the short week 1–Vargas or Colon?
@Steve Stevenson, Vargas
Ahhhh. The days of reading Razzball in the morning and seeing my league mate from down under has already raped the FA pool. The smell of grass and leather in the air and a dirty kiwi stinking up the joint. Welcome back boys of summer.
@BSA, hehe
@BSA, Ha!
With all these RP spots in flux right now would you rank these guys for me? Greg Holland, Jonathan Broxton, Tyler Clippard, Sean Marshall, Vinnie Pestano and I will throw in Kenley Jansen just for the heck of it.
@Ringo, i’m not Mr. Albright, but I’ll bet:
Marshall, Clippard, Jansen, Hollard, Pestano, Broxton’s fat self
but you got two possible Cuddleboys there and Jansen + Holland + Pestano who have never closed, really. Broxton’s fat self might, in the long run, be the best bet.
@Ringo, Holland, for saves
What would be awesome is if Jennings started playing in a kilt. At the very least, those infielders are gonna miss a lot of tags on SB attempts as they close their eyes in horror when he starts sliding…
@papasmurf, Ha!
@Grey: Is Lo Cain a must add in all leagues right now? What exactly is his upside? Drop Pestano for him (I’ve got Santos, Capps, Thornton and going for Marshall on waivers)? Thanks broheim!
@The Situation, I’d lose Pestano for him…Cain: http://razzball.com/top-60-outfielders-for-2012-fantasy-baseball/
better keeper: Sabathia, Beltre, Pence, or Jennings? Thanks!
@long john, Jennings
Jennings or Pence in a keeper?
@Ronkonkoma, Jennings
Drop Niese/Dirty Sanchez/Danks or Cahill for Marshall? (6×6 with K/9).
@nightpandas, Danks
Man my trade of my Marshall & Holland + for Wilson & Motte + seems like it might’ve been a tit for tat trade now eh?
@timSTi, still like the wilson and motte side better
@timSTi, not feeling great about Wilson…
@Wake Up, I didn’t draft any closers in my 14tm rotor auction so getting Motte & Wilson was huge. His elbow issues are making me nervous, especially with romo on his ass…
@timSTi, me too
Thank god MmmBerry doesn’t have the same feeling about Colvin/Cuddyer/Blake as you. He’d be predicting 80HRs for Colvin in the thin air of Colorado!
@MrMojoRisin, Ha!
Man I screwed up RPs in my draft (damn NCAA’s) so now I’m scraping the barrel for saves in my 20-team league. Matt Lindstrom or Fautino De Los Santos for saves (or at least some holds)?
@Indy Mike, FDLS for now…
Chasing saves, Casilla or Lidge? Determined to get a hit on one of these guys…
@TheNewGuy, Lidge for right now…
@TheNewGuy, Casilla
@Grey
In a 12 team H2H league with weird categories. There are 9 hitting categories vs. only 7 pitching categories. Knowing there are 2 more points I can win each week, I’m going a little more hitter heavy than I usually do. My goal is to get Greinke in the 4th, or Bumgarner in the 6th as my #1, and then fill out the rest of my rotation much later with guys in the tier of Beachey, Zimmermann, Gio, etc.
So the 7 categories are: Wins, Saves, Ks, ERA, Whip, plus K/9 and HR’s allowed. That looks like something where you could almost punt SPs, but we need a minimum of 40 innings pitched each week to qualify for pitching stats.
Based on this format, are there any players that stand out as notably undervalued/overvalued from standard ADPs? Should I be targeting high K/9 guys? Do MR hold much value in a format like this? (The Storen news has me quite high on Clippard.( There is a super deep bench in this league if that matters at all.
@Howie Met Your Mother, MRs with high K/9 will be undervalued is my guess…
Update on Storen:
MRI revealed inflammation. No UCL damage.
@Eddy,
And they said he will rest for awhile. What has he been doing since the 7th – the last time he threw? And then it was sore simply playing catch? I trust the MRI results are true, but that doesn’t bode well for his longevity this season.
@Wilsonian,
No argument from me there. I rushed to pick up Clippard in any league he was available.
@Eddy,
He’s gone in one league I’m in, but still available in my other (where I have Storen). But I don’t have any room to stash him. I almost sent out an offer with Storen the other day. Kinda wish I would have now… Although you never know, this could be a whole lotta nothing. And he could save 40+ games again this season. Only time will tell. But I’m definitely worried.
@Eddy, That’s good…
Davey better be Storen him for later as I just freaking drafted him last night. I’m bent. I have Motte and Guerra/Jansen, but I still need some positive Grey.
@2qbn, Ha!
I am one who sees no reason to discount the possibility of an Adam Dunn comeback. He’s got a new manager who is showing an interest in playing him both in the outfield and at 1B; he has a new batting coach; he’s still in a great hitter’s park; he’s crushed four spring home runs off legit MLB pitchers, including two off a lefty; and he’s sporting a 9:1 BB/K ratio. I think 30-plus HR are in the offing and I wouldn’t at all be surprised if he hits over .250 with an OBP north of .375. It’s early, but at this point all signs point to a comeback.
@acomak: Good news for Drew Storen, MRI revealed no structural issues, just a little inflammation in elbow joint. UCL looked completely fine.
@The Talented Mr. Dope man, Whew
It sounds like Storen is on his way to Davey Johnson’s Locker.
@Griff, Nice!
Awesome line on Morneau……on a side note, who would you target if looking for a closer to last a bit longer, Marshall or Clippard?
@Mr2Bits, Thanks! Marshall…
@Grey: long time stalker first time poster this year. I’m in a 12 team H2H points league (favoring power with no penalty for k’s or avg) that starts 3 OF and drafting 5th. Should I go for Braun/Kemp or get a 1B Fielder/Gonzo (assuming the first 3 are gone). All top tier 1B will be gone by 2nd round in my league and there will likely be some good OF to choose from in 2nd/3rd rounds. Thanks for all your work – the podcast is a great addition!
@smegma, Thanks for the kind words! Braun/Kemp…
I think once-hot chicks trying to squeeze into leather pants at 70 are pretty sad. You can totally see their Depends lines.
@CT Old School, HA!
Trade question related to the Madson situation. In an 11-team NL-only, 5×5 $260 cap league, keep up to 15 on active, I was offered Sean Marshall at C2 (can add a year for $5), for JD Martinez, who is $5, but I cant keep him after this season with the Astros move to the AL in 2013. Do I take it?
@PaulyOH, I’d hold for now…
When is the next Closer Look coming out?
@Ed Nugent, Early next week…
Henry Rodriguez. Seems to have got his walks in order in spring. Whats his upside Grey?
@Bourjos, Saves, maybe… And lots of Ks…
Hey Grey, remember me…after my “team outlook”, one trade question.
Guy needs 3B, got like 6 or even more OF and would like to get a deal done. Now, I have Panda, Aramis and Valencia and I could give one away, even though my Outfield isn’t that bad. Would you try to shop one 3B (maybe in a package) for a guy like Desmond Jennings, Cruz or even Holliday, Ellsbury?
Thanks.
C: Brian McCann (Atl – C)
1B: Pablo Sandoval (SF – 1B,3B)
2B: Howie Kendrick (LAA – 1B,2B,LF)
3B: Aramis Ramirez (Mil – 3B)
SS: Erick Aybar (LAA – SS)
CI: Eric Hosmer (KC – 1B)
MI: Danny Espinosa (Was – 2B)
LF: Logan Morrison (Mia – LF)
CF: Matt Kemp (LAD – CF)
RF: Justin Upton (Ari – RF)
OF: Adam Jones (Bal – CF)
Util: Vernon Wells (LAA – LF,CF,RF)
BN: Brandon Belt (SF – 1B,LF)
BN: Danny Valencia (Min – 3B)
BN: Lorenzo Cain (KC – OF)
BN: Aaron Hill (Ari – 2B)
SP: Tim Lincecum (SF – SP)
SP: Madison Bumgarner (SF – SP)
RP: Brian Wilson (SF – RP)
RP: Jose Valverde (Det – RP)
P: Mat Latos (Cin – SP)
P: Anibal Sanchez (Mia – SP)
P: Ubaldo Jimenez (Cle – SP)
P: Huston Street (SD – RP)
BN: Derek Holland (Tex – SP)
@Steve 2.0, I’d shop Aramis for an OF…
Hello Grey.
How do you feel about this team in a 15 team roto keeper? Weekly lineups, high IP max.
C-Santana
C-Mesoraco
1B-Cabrera
2B-Kinsler
3B-Bautista
SS-Rollins
CI-Betemit
MI-Aviles
OF-Gordon
OF-Cespedes
OF-Fowler
OF-Thames
OF-Bernadina
UT-Laroche
BN-Bloomquist
BN-Alvarez
BN-Rizzo
P-Kennedy
P-Beachy
P-D Hudson
P-Moore
P-Kuroda
P-Chacin
P-Madson
P-Hanrahan
P-Santos
BN-Myers
BN-Reed
BN-Bauer
I know I have too many closers for a 15 teamer, but I like having the insurance and great trade bait (as their values will skyrocket for guys who only ended up with 1 closer). And I’m glad I did take extra as Madson is already hurt…
@Chris, You have a bunch of holes on hitting, and your pitching is a bit too strong for a 15 teamer… You may only have one outfielder…
Hey Grey – I currently have Aroldis Chapman as one of my relievers, it sounds like he’s battling Homer Bailey for the 5th starter spot. If he loses this battle, is it possible he’ll get optioned to Triple A?
-Can you make projections for Chapman if he is in fact the 5th starter?
-Also, we are in a Saves & Holds league (both I could use)- in this shituation is it worth dropping Chapman and picking up David Hernandez?
@Hooverville, It is possible… See my projections for Bard for Aroldis… Similar… Maybe a bit higher WHIP for Aroldis… Sure, Hernandez…
What is sadder? How about Fielder selling his dreads in order to buy Braun some clean urine. Meanwhile, Braun sold his steroids in order to buy Prince a new invisibile heavy bag for post-scoring celebrations. As we now know, there will be no more “punch at my open hands, now duck buddy, one day you’ll beat the champ Ryan.” Well, he never did beat the champ. But he did beat the charge, and he never needed that clean urine because he was innocent all along. But, he does now make the shirts that the champ wears during his post-bout celebrations. And it all seems to make a little more sense through Corey’s Hart-colored glasses…
@Wake Up, HA! Genius…
I am in a 20 team h2h dynasty league. I was offered cargo dee gordon and daniel hudson for my fielder lester and peter bourjos. I like this trade but have my doubts. What do I do?
Btw I could trade fielder and Lester for tulo and scherzer. Better?
c jp arencibia
1b miguel cabrera
2b neil walker
ss yunel escobar
3b evan longoria
inf prince fielder
lf carl crawford
cf peter bourjos
rf justin upton
of carlos lee
util vernon wells
bn ryan lavernway
Bn miguel Sano
Bn mat gamel
sp clayton kershaw
sp cliff lee
sp ubaldo jiminez
sp jon lester
rp jason motte
rp matt throton
rp matt reynolds
rp matt capps
p scott downs
p brad peacock
bn aaron harang
bn scott downs
bn garrett richards
bn blake beaven
bn brian matusz
@Ryan, I’d take CarGo in the first trade…
16 Team H2H that values Holds … would you trade Bedard/Duda for Adams/Kubel if you were already kind of stocked on SP but weak on RP.
@Kevin, Nope
@Grey, Thank you. I was planning on pulling the trigger on it. Glad I asked. Are you a believer in Duda or Bedard? Or Just not excited about either Kubel or Adams?
grey – thoughts on this team? drafted last night, 12 team h2h 5×5
C- mesoraco $1
1b- pujols $46
2b- uggla $18
3b – pablo $21 keeper
ss – andrus $18 keeper
mi – utley $6
ci – berkman $10 keeper
of-desmond jennings $10 keeper
of – giancarlo $28 keeper
of – pence $21 keeper
of – logan morrison $10
util -?
p- bumgarner $12 keeper
p-gio $10 keeper
p-liriano $9
p-minor $9
p-sale $9
p-worley $8
p-dempster $6
p- jonathan sanchez $1
p-nicasio $1
p-sergio santos $10
p- jim johnson $4
p-greg holland $3
p-vinnie pestano $1
DL-brett anderson $1
also, who would you drop to grab someone for util? thanks.
@jake, I think your hitting is stronger than your pitching, which isn’t a bad thing. I like the team, you may have pitching issues you’ll need to deal with in-season…
@Grey, i obviously went hitter heavy but i think i have a lot of high upside pitchers who may or may not pan out, will have to be active on the wire. who would you drop? im trying to work a 2 for 1 trade but if i cant someone has to go for my utility spot
@jake, Pestano
Grey,
Need to pick up some steals, with my second most needed category being avg.
I have these guys available on the wire:
Rajai
Revere
Tabata
Given your projections, it seems as if Revere and Tabata would serve me just as well as Rajai, who is ranked 40 1/crazyfraction for OF… and it doesn’t jive with your rankings. Is Rajai’s ranking based on his posting those same stats in about half the PA’s as the other two, and with every day action could have huge upside? Your suggestion?
@DasPeck, Tabata
You were busy today! Thanks for tweaking Madson for me. I am glad I drafted Marshall already.
@Bourne, Yup…
I have Madson and Marmol…awesome…and someone just swiped Marshall…awesome….my healthiest closer is Frank Frank…awesome
That’s ok, SAGNOF!!
@B.o.B, You’ll be okay…
12-team mixed league. Looking to make an add:
-Bourjos
-Peavy
-Nolasco Kid
-Altuve
-Homer Bailey
-Cozart
Who you picking up?
@cubbies299, What do you need?
@Grey, No needs. Just trade value. My team’s where it needs to be.
Damn, missed out on Cain…Sugar! Seems like it was only yesterday that Butler was the only Royals batter worth owning, and now all of their starters (save C) are owned in 12 teamers. Too bad their pitching is so blah.
@royce!, True
Hello Grey, and everyone.
Had my last draft of the year last night, wanted to get some feed back from everyone on the site.
10 Team Head to Head League 5×5 (5 Outfielder league)
First number is round, second number is overall pick #.
C – Miguel Montero (16) (153)
1B – Votto (2) (13)
2B – Kendrick (8) (73)
SS – Elvis Andrus (6) (53)
3B – Longoria (1) (8)
MI – Danny Espinosa (15) (148)
CI – Ryan Zimmermann (5) (48)
UTIL – Mike Moustakas (17) (168)
OF – McCutchen (3) (28)
OF – Jay Bruce (4) (33)
OF – Adam Jones (10) (93)
OF – Drew Stubbs (11) (108)
OF – Jose Tabata (19) (188)
P – Madison Bumgarner (7) (68)
P – Gio Gonzalez (9) (88)
P – Mat Latos (12) (113)
P – Drew Storen (13) (128)
P – Daniel Hudson (14) (133)
P – Max Scherzer (18) (173)
P – Joe Nathan (20) (193)
P – Sergio Santos (21) (208)
P – Scott Baker (22) (213)
BE – Bud Norris (23) (228)
BE – Tim Stauffer (24) (233)
BE – Vance Worley (25) (248)
I think I got some steals in this draft (like Votto at #13 and Bruce and McCutchen), but I’m not really sure what to make of the team as a whole. What’s everyone think? I’m not really sure how I feel about Saves, especially now that I woke up and found out Drew Storen might be hurt. Feel free to weigh in!
@T-Rex, Your pitching is very strong, and your hitting is okay, but not as strong. Your league is shallow so you’ll be able to work waivers to fix hitting holes in-season… Right now, you look weak on average and power…
@Grey, Weak on average and power? I feel like I’ve got quite a few guys that are 20+ homer guys as well as Longo Votto and Bruce that are potential 30+ guys.
Average, yeah I suppose I can see that. I figure I’ll end up around .275ish overall? Do you think that is too hopeful of a guess?
I’d say around .270-ish…
@T-Rex,
you might win SB category every week .
you took adam jones in the 10th round .
i can only imagine how good of a bat that you could have gotten
in the 9th round , instead of taking that POS (pitcher of significance)
gio gonzalez .
@chata, you think i shouldn’t have taken adam jones in the 10th? I dont understand your comment.
12 team roto draft – non keeper
C Russell Martin
1B Albert Pujols
2B Chase Utley – waiting for him to go to DL
3B Ryan Zimmerman
SS Jose Reyes
OF Jay Bruce
OF Drew Stubbs
OF Nick Swisher
Util Mark Reynolds
BN Peter Bourjos
BN Torii Hunter
SP Yu Darvish
SP C.J. Wilson
P Josh Beckett
P Brandon Morrow
BN Jhoulys Chacin
BN Vance Worley
RP Heath Bell
RP J.J. Putz
P Kyle Farnsworth
BN Matt Thornton
took Utley in round 18
there are still nice 2b dudes around
well not that nice but I can deal with
them – Aaron Hill and Kelly Johnson
Batters Stat Categories: Runs (R), Home Runs (HR), Runs Batted In (RBI), Stolen Bases (SB), Batting Average (AVG)
Pitchers Stat Categories: Wins (W), Saves (SV), Strikeouts (K), Earned Run Average (ERA), (Walks + Hits)/ Innings Pitched (WHIP)
@Mr Baseball, Chase Utley is the Phillies starting second baseman – then added, “If he’s healthy.”
@Mr Baseball, Justin Morneau – 3-for-33 this spring. thats why I been getting 20 trade offers to take him off other teams roster
@Mr Baseball, Ha! Your team looks like a bit of an average issue… You may only have two guys hit over .260… Pitching’s a bit wonky too…
11 team mixed keeper league. OBP instead of AVG… I need to narrow this to 9.. Any opinions would be appreciated.
7 Definite keepers for me:
Jay Bruce 18 – 3 yr deal
Brett Gardner 9
Tommy Hanson 11 (he’s a must keep based on league rules)
Drew Stubbs 1
Brandon Morrow 3
Brandon Beachy 4
Zach Greinke 19
I need 2 of these – in order of preference:
Mark Reynolds 17
Jayson Werth 13
Kevin Youkilis 17
Alexei Ramirez 16
@Rob, Werth, Reynolds…
Oh is this also another good trade for me? Fielder Sano bourjos for cano Gaby Sanchez and Alex rios.
c jp arencibia
1b miguel cabrera
2b neil walker
ss yunel escobar
3b evan longoria
inf prince fielder
lf carl crawford
cf peter bourjos
rf justin upton
of carlos lee
util vernon wells
bn ryan lavernway
Bn miguel Sano
Bn mat gamel
sp clayton kershaw
sp cliff lee
sp ubaldo jiminez
sp jon lester
rp jason motte
rp matt throton
rp matt reynolds
rp matt capps
p scott downs
p brad peacock
bn aaron harang
bn scott downs
bn garrett richards
bn blake beaven
bn brian matusz
@Ryan, Looks decent…
@Grey, Do u think this is better than deal for cargo?
Just curious why you’re noting spring stats for Butler, Cain, Morneau, and Dunn. Isn’t Spring training all about position battles and who’s healthy? With the Cain blurb, one almost gets the impression that his spring stats are affecting your player valuation. What gives? Are you falling off the wagon?
Cain’s in a position battle with Bourgy, the rest don’t mean anything….
Hey Grey, I am in a 1e team H2H on yahoo and we get to keep three guys. I think I will definitely keep Justin Upton and Andrew McCutchen, but I can’t make up my mind on the third man. I have Andrus, Beltre, B. Phillips, Teixeira, and Jon Lester. Who do you think is the best keeper of that bunch?
Beltre or Tex… Dealer’s choice…
Sorry, that was meant to be 12 team. I don’t play in 1e leagues.
GOD DAMN YOU RYAN MADSON! I really hope this isn’t going to be the second year in a row my top closer gets blown up in my biggest league before April 15th.
Anyway, seeing as how I’m a lonely baseball nerd, I’ve come to consider your mustache a source of comfort and even a close personal friend. We laugh together, we yell at Mike Scioscia together….ah the good times. Anywho, I’ve got a couple teams I wanna share, but I’ll do one today and one sometime in the not today. They’re both semi-expert leagues, in that they both have more than a few good fantasy writers in them and other smart baseball peeps. This is the first one, which was a Yahoo! snake draft, and for the second year in a row my most difficult draft of the year. Note: You weren’t a fan of his draft last year and I finished second, so in the immortal words of every five year old in the country “neener neener neener
” Note 2, electric bugaloo: I already made one trade which I will further explain.
C-Matt Wieters
C-Carlos Ruiz
1B-Lucas Duda
2B-Jose Altuve
3B-David Wright
SS-Elvis Andrus (second draft in a row he fell to the 6th and second time I was willing to take him there)
MI-Dee Gordon
CI-Edwin Encarnacion
OF-Jose Bautista, GIANCARLO, Jay Bruce, Peter Bourjos, Matt Joyce
Util-Jesus Montero
BN-Mike Aviles, Brian LaHair
SP-Stephen Strasburg, Mat Latos
RP-Ryan Madson, Matt Thornton
P-Matt Garza, Anibal Sanchez, Greg Holland, Jonathan Broxton, Brad Lidge
BN-Jon Niese
The trade I made was Kershaw and Mike Minor (sad face) for David Wright and Matt Wieters. Wieters was my target, but I wanted a CI too, obviously I would have preferred a first baseman and not to trade Minor, but the deal was too good to pass up, even if I’m worried about Wright. I’m now trying to use Wright or an outfielder plus a lesser SP to upgrade SP and acquire a first baseman. I have an offer out there of Wright and Sanchez for Sabathia and Goldschmidt.
I built this team with the thinking that I wanted to punt one of 2B or MI and one of 1B or CI, since those seem like the easiest offensive positions to patch post-draft, and then target Aviles, Encarnacion, and Duda late to use as versatility plays, since having Bautista is the cog that makes this strategy fairly viable. If it works, I’ll be able to play matchups like it was a five bench league and it could be a solution to potential batting average woes, especially if I wind up with Goldschmidt at 1B. I also plan to use Ruiz’s slot as a streamer slot once Montero gets catcher eligibility, though that’s a plan that’s bound to change at some point.
I picked up Niese and Duffy after dealing Kershaw and Minor, but after hearing about Madson’s cranky elbow I dropped Duffy for Lidge.
Any pearls for me on this one? I partly just do this as a way of getting my thoughts down thinking about my own teams, but as always, your thoughts are much, much appreciated.
I thought you were gonna say I built this team on rock n roll…” How many teams?
@Grey, My bad, 12.
You had Kershaw to deal, but I’m not sure it made sense to deal him for an injured guy… You have more faith in Wright than I do… The team looks pretty stacked in hitting and a tad weak on pitching… The one concern about hitting is it’s unbalanced… You don’t have many 20/20 guys… Instead you have 50 steals here, 35 homers there… Now I like this team, so it’ll finish last…
@Grey, Yeah I’ll agree with that, I’m hoping I created enough redundancy with the hitter types (i.e. Stanton/Bruce, Andrus/Gordon) to offset the lack of balance, and I’m definitely looking to acquire pitching right now. I think if I can get a low end #1 or high end #2 for Wright, I’m in pretty good shape, though since everyones so worried about Wright right now that prospect is debatable.
The reason I ultimately decided to make the trade was because my offense looked pretty weak. The corresponding move was to drop Nolan Reimold (who seems in danger of losing playing time and therefore sleeperishness) and Josh Thole. So basically the trade came down to Kershaw, Minor, Reimold, and Thole for Wright, Wieters, Niese, and Duffy (or Lidge since I’ve dropped Duffy, but at the time the intent was to grab him). I thought that was a pretty solid overall improvement for my roster. But I’m also not super comfortable having Strasburg alone atop my pitching staff.
I do agree that I prefer the side I gave in a vacuum though, and the dude who I sent it to had some really serious pitching issues, so it helped his team more than mine, but I liked what it did for mine enough to do it.
Is it a no-brainer that I drop Addison reed 4 either clippard or Holland, just have a feelin that Thornton, not Mellon and not that kinda feelin, doesnt having lasting power, ur thoughts, and as side note im hopin the podcasts keep comin, last one was classic, fantasy focus who?
Thanks! Yeah, go with Holland for now…
@Gray: would you still keep Jennings over Sabathia in a H2H points league, 9 starts per week max, where each team keeps 3 players, where Votto & Miggy are my other two keepers? I love Jennings, but I’d have a better chance of picking him up during the draft than Sabathia, no?
Would this scoring system change your draft strategy?
Thanks!
I hear ya… Sure, go with CC…
Grey in a 12 team h2h league what round would you target Cain in?
Around 200 overall…
Official: Soria will undergo Tommy John.
Ned Yost better not be coy now.
And he’s done…
lol small victories are good for Morales
Hehe
Best moment of our RCL draft last night was seeing Sparkakis drafted in the 10th round.
I guess a razzball commenter and a razzball reader can be mutually exclusive!
You should see some of the data VinWins is compiling about the drafts (you will see it at some point, everyone will…)
@Grey, He should definitely tally who reached the farthest for your biggest crushes (Gio Gonzalez, Cozart, Bruce, etc.)
He will… My big takeaway from looking at the data is, in the end, people do what they want… Which makes sense, it’s their team…
Kyle Farnsworth or Max Scherzer?
Apples and oranges…
@Schmohawks Bob, I would prefer Scherzer though…
@Grey, Thanks. It’s a fourth starter versus a 5th closer. I know it’s apples and oranges but Scherzer seemed like a good guy to have.
Scherzer way over him in that scenario…
“There’s nothing sadder than a sad Japanese man.”
-Orgazmo
HA!
Grey, in the first week, from a H2H point of view, do you even bother sitting any pitchers?
Already over thinking Price v. Yanks…
@Eddy, Nope
I got the Grandmaster Melle Mel reference.
nice one
Thanks!
I love Braun. I really do. Picked him up his rookie year after drafting Joe Crede at 3B. He helped me win my $$$ league that year. Haven’t been able to draft him since. He’s been falling to my pick (7) according to CBS ADP. Still, I just can’t see myself taking him over Votto. By my pick in round 2 Longo, Fielder, and every other 1B will be gone. My scenarios would look like
1) Braun
2) Kinsler/Reyes/reach for Tex
3) best available 3B
4) reach for Konerko/Hosmer
or
1) Votto
2) McCutchen
3) best available 3B
4) best available (pitcher, Bruce, Pence, Uggla, etc)
I saw that you didn’t update your pairings post to include him after his suspension was overturned. If Kemp is a good comparison for pairings, everyone you mention in his post will be gone for me in round 2 except Kinsler.
Based on all this, would I be crazy to go with Votto over Braun?
Any other round 2 pairing suggestions for Braun?
Thanks dude.
@L-Boogie, I’d go with Braun over Votto. It wouldn’t be crazy to do the opposite. They’re in the same tier… That Braun pairing makes sense…
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