I'm most surprised and most excited about this sleeper post because no one is going to want any part of an Astro, let alone this one. Brett Wallace has done nothing to elicit excitement thus far in his career. I could wrangle a group of fantasy baseballers together and get more excitement about the second coming of Grady Sizemore, and I'm talking about his naked pictures, not his on-field second coming, because he's up to around a fifth or sixth coming in that arena. Wait a second, I just stumbled on brilliance. Arena Baseball! Baseballs made of rubber! A field half the size! Juiced up players! Hmm, that just sounds like regular baseball in the late 90's. So, Wallace has meandered around the major leagues. No teams really wanted him. He was a 1st baseman in the Blue Jays, Cardinals and A's systems prior to his current home. Where do prospects go to die? Houston. Yes. I know. In the major leagues, he has a grand total of 16 homers in 232 games. That's obnoxiously bad. Worse, he's a 1st baseman (though, he will be 3rd base eligible in some leagues; 5 games started there). With all of those negatives up front, what can we expect of Brett Wallace for 2013 fantasy baseball and what makes him a sleeper?
Monthly Archives: December 2012
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Paul’s Bleepin’ Golden
December 29, 2012 | 2013 Fantasy Baseball Draft, OPS Leagues | 30 Commentsby: Tom Jacks
It’s time to start looking ahead to the 2013 fantasy baseball season. With that in mind, this column will hope to shine a light on players who are noticeably affected by OPS:
Was definitely a struggle to own Ike Davis in 2012. Was uncomfortable like the air in the room when you find out on Christmas Eve that your crazy aunt is going to jail for seven years. Take it from me, for Christmas, don't buy her a nail file or black and white striped pajamas. Or when she says she was railroaded, don't comment that's ironic because now you're going to be working on the railroad. Looks like I'm gonna need to update Who Is Grey Albright? for my jailbird aunt. Thankfully, criminality skips a generation! If you didn't outright drop Davis in the first two months, you never appreciated when he turned his season around. And, if you did drop him in the first two months, you really didn't appreciate it. For hitters with more than 175 plate appearances in the 1st half, he had the 12th worst average at .201 and the 2nd worst case of Valley Fever since Alicia Silverstone in Clueless. Other than Rickie Weeks and Carlos Pena, Davis had the most ABs (268) from the bottom of the batting average charts pre-All-Star break, so he was causing a considerable amount of pain. At the end of May, he was hitting .154...Shoot, he ended July hitting .208. He only ended the season hitting .227, so it wasn't like he Ichiro-slap-chopped balls for cheap hits at any point last year. His career BABIP (after this horrendous year) is .292. That would put his average in the .260 range with neutral luck. For April through September, he had two months that were in that BABIP range. In June, his BABIP was .288 and in August it was .294. In those two months, he hit .264 and .287, respectively. It wasn't like he was super lucky to hit .287 one month. He just wasn't unlucky. The reason why we're not talking about anything except average is because everything else was absolutely fine last year. So, what can we expect from Ike Davis in 2013 fantasy baseball and what makes him a sleeper?
Before Miggy, There Was Yaz: The Birth Of The Red Sox Nation
December 27, 2012 | Y to Z | 15 Commentsby: Paulie Allnuts
Perhaps the best part of all the hoopla around Miguel Cabrera’s remarkable feat of winning baseball’s fabled Triple Crown was that for a brief time, we recalled the name and exploits of Carl Yastrzemski, the last player in the Bigs to have pulled off this feat. Please, blog, may I have some more?
2013 Minor League Preview: Minnesota Twins
December 26, 2012 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects | 5 Commentsby: Scott Evans
Organizational Talent Rankings via Baseball America
2012 (19) | 2011 (13) | 2010 (6) | 2009 (22) | 2008 (15)
2012 Affiliate Records
MLB: [66-96] AL Central
AAA: [72-72] International League – Rochester
AA: [75-67] Eastern League -- New Britain
A+: [60-75] Florida State League – Fort Myers
A: [77-63] Midwest League – Beloit (Cedar Rapids beginning 2013)
Arizona Fall League Players — Peoria Javelinas
Logan Darnell (LHP); Kyle Gibson (RHP); Caleb Thielbar (LHP); Michael Tonkin (RHP); Evan Bigley (OF); Nate Roberts (OF)
Graduated Prospects
Chris Parmelee (1B/OF); Brian Dozier (SS); Liam Hendriks (RHP); Cole De Vries (RHP); Sam Deduno (RHP); Pedro Florimon (SS); Darin Mastroianni (OF)
The Run Down
There are certainly other teams in the discussion, but when evaluating the most improved farm systems in baseball over the past year, Minnesota needs to be considered near the top. Owning the #2 pick in the draft is always a nice way to bolster a club's young talent, but the Twins went beyond that in 2012, as impact talents lived up to hype, and forgotten prospects returned to form. And they continued improving into the offseason, adding big-ceiling starting pitchers in Alex Meyer from Washington and Trevor May from Philadelphia. The Twins shipped out MLB outfielders Denard Span and Ben Revere in order to acquire those arms, but with capable outfield prospects pushing through from the minors this year, the added pitching depth seems like a smart move. Do take note of this system as there's plenty to be excited about in terms of the fantasy game, and certain prospects should be making their impacts this year.
Position Eligibility for 2013 Fantasy Baseball
December 24, 2012 | 2013 Fantasy Baseball Draft | 85 Commentsby: Grey
On Dancer! On Prancer! On–Oh, I didn’t hear you come in. Welcome, reader! Grab some egg nog and brandy it up to the fire. You look festive. I love that Rudolph tongue ring. The 2013 fantasy baseball rankings are not far away. Right now, January Grey is throwing darts at a board to figure out where to place Konerko. Exciting! In the meantime, let’s look at the players who have multiple position eligibility for this upcoming 2013 fantasy baseball season. This took me far longer than it probably should’ve. Can’t someone write me a program that sorts all the players by games played at a position? Why do I need to go through every player on every roster? It totally harshes my buzz. I did this list of multi-position eligible players because I figured it would help for your 2013 fantasy baseball drafts. I’m a giver, snitches! Happy Holidays! I only listed players that have multiple position eligibility of ten games or more played outside of their primary position. Not FIVE games at a position, not six, definitely not seven. Ten games. 10, the Laurel & Hardy of numbers. So this should cover Yahoo, ESPN, CBS, et al (not the Israeli airline). Yes, Christmas came a day early this year. (Or you actually got a (C)Hanuk(k)ah present this year, if you get your Jew on.) Players with multiple position eligibility are listed once alphabetically under their primary position. On a different post, I’ll make some comments about some of the players. In the mean’s while, you make comments in these comments. Say that fast 117 times! Anyway, here’s all the players with multiple position eligibility for the 2013 fantasy baseball season and the positions they are eligible at:
I Will Wait, I Will Wait For Youk
December 22, 2012 | 2013 Fantasy Baseball Draft, OPS Leagues | 16 Commentsby: Tom Jacks
It’s time to start looking ahead to the 2013 fantasy baseball season. Here are a couple players noticeably affected by OPS.
Kevin Youkilis – Sigh no more, fantasy owners. I’m expecting a rebound for Youkilis in 2013. I’ll admit that I was worried about The Greek God of Injures at the beginning of this year after his slow start, especially since he’s past his peak years and has a storied injury history. Youk fact of the day: he has never played more than 147 games in a season. Worse yet, he hasn’t played in over 140 games in a season since 2008. Meanwhile, he only graced us with his mediocre presence in 122 games this past season. Despite it sounding like time to jump ship, I’m going to advocate steering back towards the old man. On a side note, how weird will it be to see him on the Yankees? Although this wouldn’t be the first time a Red Sox player moved to the Bronx…
You see how I'm segueing from the 2013 fantasy baseball rookies into the 2013 fantasy baseball sleepers. Shizz is seamless, yo. You're welcome. When Manny Machado was first called up, I compared him to Hanley Ramirez, because of his power/speed combo and his maturity beyond his years. (That's baseball maturity, I can't speak to Hanley or Machado's ability to make responsible decisions; to have confidence and the capacity for self-assertion, certainly; the ability to laugh, and to laugh at yourself, not at the expense of others; to take risks and-- well, other signs of maturity as suggested by Ann Landers. I don't know from maturity, I had to Google it.) Unfortch, Machado no longer has middle infield eligibility. Whatever, his power and speed at the age of 20 (!) will play at 3rd base. Also, I love that the Orioles are going with him. By the age of 22, he could be drafted in the top rounds. So, what does that mean for Manny Machado in 2013 fantasy baseball and what makes him a sleeper?
Seattle Bats Need Cialis, Settle For Morales
December 20, 2012 | 2013 Fantasy Baseball Draft, Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 52 Commentsby: Grey
Now, it makes sense. That's Justin Smoak and Dustin Ackley sitting in bathtubs overlooking Mt. Rainier. "The beans acting up on you, Smoaky the Bear?" "Why do you ask, Ackalacka?" "Cause I heard bubbles coming up in your tub." "Nah, I get bubbles in my tub when I get an erection." The move to Seattle will definitely reduce injury risk for Kendrys Morales. Not because he's now assured a DH role, but because he can't hit homers as easily. Snap in an inverted W formation! Kendrys is listed as a Latin 29. If you think he's 29 years old, I have a bridge in Nova Scotia made of smoked salmon to sell you. It smells and it's greying on the edges, but it's worth a lot in retail at the butcher. "Saul, I can get my hands on a bridge made of lox, can you resell it?" That's you talking to your butcher. Kendrys took forever to come back from his limp-off homer, but finally looked to be in a groove in the 2nd half of last season (14 homers in 238 ABs). He's a possible Zombino, even though if he's really 29 that shouldn't apply. 29? Ha! And I'm fifteen with the most beautiful mustache that your deity of choice ever created! Please! His numbers at Safeco aren't nearly as bad as you might think. In 120 ABs, his line is 19/7/23/.292/1. I've seen worse. Nick Punto in any ballpark over the course of three seasons combined. That's worse. I imagine now people will look at Morales with a real puss on their faces because he's in Seattle, but, while the park and lineup aren't great, he doesn't have to worry about platooning randomly whenever the Sciosciapath feels like it. For 2013, I'm still going to predict a bounce back for Kendrys, even though I was thinking of an even bigger one before this trade. The projected stat line I'll give him is 77/26/89/.272. Anyway, here's some more offseason moves for 2013 fantasy baseball:
2013 Minor League Preview: Baltimore Orioles
December 19, 2012 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects | 4 Commentsby: Scott Evans
Organizational Talent Rankings via Baseball America
2012 (20) | 2011 (21) | 2010 (8) | 2009 (9) | 2008 (14)
2012 Affiliate Records
MLB: [93-69] AL East
AAA: [74-70] International League – Norfolk
AA: [78-64] Eastern League – Bowie
A+: [62-77] Carolina League – Frederick
A: [52-86] South Atlantic League – Delmarva
A(ss): [18-48] New York-Penn League — Aberdeen
Arizona Fall League Players — Mesa Solar Sox
Mike Belfiore (LHP); Chris Petrini (LHP); Clay Schrader (RHP); Mike Wright (RHP); Brian Ward (C); Jonathan Schoop (INF); L.J. Hoes (OF)
Graduated Prospects
Manny Machado (SS/3B); Ryan Flaherty (Util); Wei-Yin Chen (LHP)
The Run Down
The Orioles earned a spot in the postseason last year, establishing themselves as one of baseball's most surprising teams. Given the recent upgrades to their competition in the AL East, however, as well as the perennial awesomeness of certain teams in that division, it seems unlikely that they will be playing ball in Baltimore next October. In fact, oddsmakers have the O's at 10/1 odds to win the East -- lowest in the division. Seems like an unfair outlook for a team that won 93 games a year ago, but I can't argue against it -- the Orioles outperformed every win/loss model there was, and few would disagree that their season was one blessed by luck. What's left in Baltimore, though, is a team that's now accustomed to winning. They have a solid lineup that includes a blossoming superstar in Manny Machado, and a staff ace on the way in Dylan Bundy. And while the rest of the system isn't quite spectacular, there should be enough talent pushing through to keep the O's competitive on the field and in the trade market. They might be long-shots, but certainly don't count this club out in coming years.
Josh Rutledge, 2013 Fantasy Sleeper
December 18, 2012 | 2013 Fantasy Baseball Draft | 40 Commentsby: Grey
For whatever reason the Rockies never gave Eric Young Jr. a fair shot at an everyday playing job. I'm pouring out some of my forty-oh for EY. Okay, enough of that sob story. What is this a Lifetime movie? Sheesh! BTW, if I ever had a son, I'd name him Sheesh. Talk about the annoying looks he would get. "Sheesh, where are you?" "I'm on my way other, why are you so annoyed?" "I'm not. Sheesh!" "You sound it." "Sheesh!" "What?!" Man, my offspring could lose a good three years total of his life just explaining his name. The Rockies have committed 2nd base in 2013 to Josh Rutledge. In 356 Double-A at-bats last year, he dominated with 13 homers and 14 steals with a .306 average. Then jumped to the majors and kept it going. In 277 ABs, he had eight homers and seven steals with a .274 average. So what can we expect of Josh Rutledge for 2013 fantasy baseball and what makes him a sleeper?
Getting Dickey Is All In The Extension
December 17, 2012 | 2013 Fantasy Baseball Draft, Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 62 Commentsby: Grey
The Jays started this trading season with a bang by sucking the soul from the Marlins, leaving them soul-less. Now they're finishing up the winter trading season by reaching into the Mets' chest and ripping out their heart like Mola Ram. The Mets trading Cy Young winner, R.A. Dickey is the smartest thing I've seen the Mets do since they clearly labeled the foul lines during their 1986 championship. There's no reason people need to be sniffing powdered limestone. "Hey, Mex, wanna go to Tijuana to get some Devil's Dandruff?" "Doc, we got a World Series game today." *blank stare from Gooden* "So?" I don't think Dickey is a one-hit wonder (pun noted); he was solid enough since 2010. His last three seasons ERAs are 2.84, 3.28, 2.73. Sure, there's some xFIP issues in those years and his K-rates in 2010 and 2011 were 5.37 and 5.78. This was not an ace. Last year, he was. He matched his insane 1st half (2.40 ERA, 123 Ks in 120 IP) with a great 2nd half (3.09 ERA, 107 Ks in 113 2/3 IP). He's 38 years old, but knuckleballers age at wildly different rates than most pitchers. Phil Niekro didn't really peak until he was a doppelganger for Phil Donahue. I mean, when your fastest pitch couldn't win a SpongeBob at a local carnival it's not unreasonable to think Dickey can still have success. Still, Dickey has nowhere to go but down. This is a classic sell high trade, so I say good for the Mets. Dickey is a tough pitcher to predict. It's not surprising that he had a great year last year vs. the AL. He had a great year vs. everyone. In 24 IP, he had a 1.88 ERA and a 0.50 WHIP with 28 Ks vs. the AL. In 26 IP in 2011, his ERA was 2.08 with a 1.08 WHIP and 24 Ks vs. the AL. I think his Ks are going to fall a bit closer to his career average. Give him say a 7+ K-rate instead of a 8+ K-rate, and, due to Metco suppressing homers a tad more than Rogers, I'm going to bump up his ERA a bit. For 2013, I'll give him the line of 16-8/3.38/1.17/182. There is admittedly a larger margin of error in this line than I've given other pitchers. Anyway, here's some more offseason moves for 2013 fantasy baseball:
