Gird your loins – we’re going to be navigating positions battles in each division. Last week, I covered the NL East. Today I’m talking about the AL Central, which actually looks fairly interesting this year. At first glance, the Tigers should run away with the division. At a slightly closer glance, the Indians, Royals, and White Sox all appear to be trying to contend. Who knows? Maybe Verlander’s arm will fall off after pitching over 1,000 innings across the past four seasons, while Miggy and Fielder enter a 24/7 all-you-can-eat buffet in Vegas and never return. Anyway, here’s some of the position battles to keep an eye on in the AL Central:
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Catchers To Target, 2013 Fantasy Baseball
March 4, 2013 | 2013 Fantasy Baseball Draft | 105 Commentsby: Grey
Here, friend, are some catchers that I will be targeting at my 2013 fantasy drafts after the top options are gone. I’m not going to get into the strategy of punting catchers. Been there, half-drunkenly wrote that two years ago. Click on the player’s name where applicable to read more and see their 2013 projections. […]
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2013 Minor League Preview: San Diego Padres
March 3, 2013 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects | 29 Commentsby: Scott Evans
Organizational Talent Rankings via Baseball America
2012 (8) | 2011 (8) | 2010 (20) | 2009 (29) | 2008 (13)
2012 Affiliate Records
MLB: [76-86] NL West
AAA: [56-88] Pacific Coast League – Tucson
AA: [60-80] Texas League – San Antonio
A+: [69-71] California League – Lake Elsinore
A: [69-71] Midwest League – Fort Wayne
A(ss): [47-29] Northwest League — Eugene
Graduated Prospects
Yonder Alonso (1B); Yasmani Grandal (C); Anthony Bass (RHP); Brad Brach (RHP); Dale Thayer (RHP)
The Run Down
Pitching depth is the best asset of this San Deigo farm system. From the upper levels down to the complex leagues, the Padres’ farm is flush with quality arms. There are high-ceiling arms, and there are safe, high-floor guys, too. That sort of depth is hugely important — strength in numbers usually prevails in the volatile practice of developing pitchers. This top ten, however, is headlined by hitters. Rymer Liriano, Jedd Gyorko, and Austin Hedges all bring high-impact upside for the fantasy game, and Gyorko could be providing plenty of value this season. It might not be the best system in baseball, but it’s a damn good one. We can look forward to this San Diego organization churning out fantasy-relevant talent in bulk for the next few years.
2013 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers in OPS Leagues
March 2, 2013 | 2013 Fantasy Baseball Draft, OPS Leagues | 36 Commentsby: Tom Jacks
As a great man once said, “If you win your fantasy league, you will get the girl.” No, that wasn’t Bill Clinton talking at a nerd convention, but let’s pretend it was. Who wouldn’t want him as your wingman? Today, I’m here to help you get the girl in OPS leagues. Is the girl Tim Lincecum? No, that will be in a future article when I finally acknowledge the presence of pitchers. But until then, consider me a denier ever since I created the 5 x 0 fantasy baseball league. Now, I’m not a fan of outright punting positions in most cases, but there are times when I’m content waiting on a position if I don’t get one of the players I want early on (or middle on?). My online acquaintances, today I am here to detail some of the players at each position that I’m likely to grab in OPS leagues if I decide to wait on that position.
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We have made the following updates to the pages in our 2013 fantasy baseball draft kit:
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Heading into 2012, Eric Hosmer looked like a rising star who would improve upon his strong 2011 numbers. By mid-season some owners were questioning whether he was even worth owning. So what should we expect for 2013? I’m thinking he can rebound to his former self and be a nice value in 2013.
Please, blog, may I have some more?I was jazzed to draft Phil Hughes this year like I was from New Orleans and I was smoking doobs with Kermit Ruffins. Then Hughes hurt his back and someone played the sad trombone. That’s yay upside down, which looks like a fire between two teepees. Hughes is now out with a bulging disk in his back. Hey, Hughes, is that a banana in your spine or you happy to see me? I’m not a doctor (no kidding!), but none of this sounds good for Hughes. I’m lowering my projections on him and dropping him out of my favorable tier. It’s early, and there’s still a lot of time, but I’d be lying if I said I was still drafting him with confidence. I’ll draft some players that are mildly injured, but the injury needs to sound a lot better than “may not be ready for the start of the season.” Then there’s Matt Garza, who will be starting the year on the DL. This news comes just days after we freakin’ drafted him. I will now call him Matt Grrza. Whenever I say his name, I will say it like I’m a frustrated Lisa Simpson. Well, if you wanna ride the Garza Strip, be prepared for some bombshells. I’ve updated the top 40 and top 60 starters to reflect Hughes and Grrza’s inability to keep me happy. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
Please, blog, may I have some more?So now that we have some player rankings from the big guys over at Yahoo and ESPN finally out, I get to delve a bit harder into the bargain bin to see if we can find, and it brings up an interesting name: Chris Carter. No, not that Chris Carter. That’s football silly! Of course, I can understand your confusion seeing as I’m the main writer for Razzball Fantasy Football, but you’re not here for my shameless self-promoting, you’re here for some fantasy baseball knowledge. So let’s take a look at Carter and his current 364 rank at Yahoo to see if we have a discount on our hands for 2013 fantasy baseball…
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2013 Giants Fantasy Baseball Preview
February 28, 2013 | Fantasy Baseball Team Previews | 2 Commentsby: Sky
We at Razzball realize that exporting our views across the country has damaging consequences on the blogosphere. To help make amends, we are reaching out to leading team blogs and featuring their locally blogged answers to pressing 2013 fantasy baseball questions regarding their team. We feel this approach will be fresher, more sustainable, and require less energy consumption (for us anyway). The 2013 Giants Fantasy Baseball Preview comes courtesy of Trevor Cole from Giants Baseball Blog.
Please, blog, may I have some more?A baseball historian named Philbus Elbert once said, “The only thing better than baseball in the spring is baseball in the fall.” Philbus was also a diabetic, had a severe drinking problem and died of gonorrhea that he contracted from a horse. Baseball, like a flower, blooms in the spring. They also share equally effusive PR people. Just the other day I read about how a petunia’s branches had gained 15 pounds and were in the best shape of its life. Sure, it’s always good to look at spring training numbers to give you an idea what you can expect from guys during the season — can I draft Jedd Gyorko yet?! Players in spring training are facing the top pitchers who are all displaying their best stuff. No one needs time to get warmed up. No one’s trying new pitches or getting a feel for the ball. They are at the height of their game in March. In fact, I think someone should propose to Bud that the World Series could easily be played in March. Yes, The March Classic. I like how that sounds. Since these spring training numbers mean so much, I decided to look at some players’ stats so far:
Please, blog, may I have some more? 2013 Minor League Preview: Seattle Mariners
February 27, 2013 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects | 18 Commentsby: Scott Evans
Organizational Talent Rankings via Baseball America
2012 (9) | 2011 (18) | 2010 (12) | 2009 (24) | 2008 (12)
2012 Affiliate Records
MLB: [75-87] AL West
AAA: [63-81] Pacific Coast League – Tacoma
AA: [79-61] Southern League – Jackson
A+: [83-57] California League – High Desert
A: [71-67] Midwest League – Clinton
A(ss): [46-30] Northwest League — Everett
Graduated Prospects
Kyle Seager (SS); Jesus Montero (C); Alex Liddi (3B/1B/OF); Hisashi Iwakuma (RHP); Erasmo Ramirez (RHP)
The Run Down
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I was trying to insert that catchy Beastie Boys song in your head, so if it worked, hooray for you. Go ahead and try and pat yourself on the back with your baby T-Rex arms. So we come to this, it has been much ballyhooed and asked for frequently. I figured I would take some time away from inoculating babies in third world countries and devout my charity work to you all.
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