So I’ve decided to go on a hiatus from Razzball. It has nothing to do with Razzball itself, as I think this is a great fantasy site, with the best fantasy sports community I have seen. It has everything to do with me trying to limit my time spent on fantasy baseball, because life is getting crazy. I’m still considering writing again at some point once everything settles down [Jay’s Note: Please do, you’ve certainly spoiled us my friend.], but who knows when that will happen. With this post, I decided that it might be helpful to go over a few things I’ve learned during my time here:
1) David Ortiz (you knew I was going to mention him, right?) is one of my favorite players in OPS, OBP, and really all leagues because he tends to be undervalued due to his age. Old guys who can still produce are valued less than they should be because of their lack of upside, which also causes rookies and prospects to generally be overvalued.
2) One of the other types of players consistently undervalued are platoon players. This year Seth Smith is demonstrating that he can be much more than a guy who lingers on the waiver wire, but others like Matt Joyce should be used when bench space is available. I generally look to own lefties when selecting platoon players because they will have more opportunities to face righties and they seem to have more pronounced splits than righties.
3) Mike Trout pretty much broke most projection systems in 2012 and nearly every expert was predicting that it would be the best year of his career. I never understood the logic that he couldn’t produce at that level again because it was historic since, by definition, he was an anomaly. I hope the same mistake isn’t made if Bryce Harper performs at an historic level next year or any number of top talents realizes their full potential.
4) On the other hand, Josh Donaldson didn’t have the benefit of being a hyped prospect. I wrote about my love for him numerous times last year and am glad that he was able to continue to be a top third baseman. I understand not believing in guys without a track record, but when guys have produced for nearly a full season with no red flags, their performance is real on some level.
5) I’ve written about my appreciation for Billy Hamilton’s value in OPS and OBP leagues where stolen bases are also valued. With Billy producing like I thought he would after a rough start, he is reducing the number of SAGNOFs that his owners need to roster. This is beneficial depending on league settings.
You met me at a very strange time in my life. I do wish we could chat longer, but I’m having an old friend for dinner. Where we go from there is a choice I leave to you. You have no idea what I’m talking about, I’m sure. But don’t worry, you will someday. After all, tomorrow is another day! Remember, I’ll be right here. So long, partner.
