Apparently, another name I have for sleepers are guys that were supposed to be good last year and ended up yawnstipating. A.J. Pollock, or as my slightly racist grandfather would call him, That Pollock, didn’t meet expectations last year, putting up 7 homers, 14 steals and a .302 average. Or did he…? Damn, you reversal question. You know, I was going along fine before you came along and had me doing a logic U-turn. No, he didn’t meet expectations, but he also only played in 75 games due to a fractured right hand. Let’s be clear, he missed three months with a fractured hand. One presumably uses a right hand to bat with. Si or no si? Si, si. One also would lose timing from missing three months. Si or no si? Si, si. So, Pollock, or as my slightly racist grandfather would call him when he’s in a bad mood, That Filthy Pollock, didn’t really have a bad year. He actually had a solid year when you consider he missed so much time with such a serious injury. If he played in 150 games…Well, don’t even make me pull out the prorating. Shizz gets downright beautiful. Prorating is dangerous. Prorating can get you in a world of trouble. “My girl is so pretty for those ten minutes right after she comes out of the beauty salon. If she were that pretty all the time…” Now, you’ve just prorated yourself into marrying some girl you met in a bowling alley. However, it is totally fine to prorate your love-making ability. “Yes, that was only three minutes this time, but imagine that again for ten, fifteen or even twenty minutes!” So, what can we expect of A.J. Pollock for 2015 fantasy baseball and what makes him a sleeper?
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Organizational Talent Rankings via Baseball America
2014 (18) | 2013 (20) | 2012 (29) | 2011 (7) | 2010 (3)
2014 Affiliate Records
MLB: [85-77] AL Central
AAA: [79-65] International League – Columbus
AA: [73-69] Eastern League – Akron
A+: [62-74] Carolina League – Carolina (2015: Lynchburg)
A: [65-74] Midwest League – Lake County
A(ss): [33-42] New York-Penn League – Mahoning Valley
Graduated Prospects
Trevor Bauer, RHP | T.J. House, LHP | Jose Ramirez, SS | Roberto Perez, C
The Gist
Several of Cleveland’s younger players made waves during the 2014 season. Corey Kluber pitched his way to a Cy Young award, Michael Brantley broke out in a big way (h/t Grey), and Carlos Carrasco rode a down and up season that included a trip to the bullpen. He ended up as one of fantasy’s best starters over the final two months. You could even throw Jose Ramirez into the mix, who held his own at shortstop for the Tribe down the stretch. Looking ahead, this is a system headlined by top prospect Francisco Lindor, who should be in Cleveland at some point in 2015. Beyond Lindor, it’s a farm that is strong “up the middle” (catcher/middle infield/center field) and there is plenty of impact talent lurking in the low minors. It’s worth noting that two of the top five prospects were 2014 draftees.
I already went over my Aaron Sanchez fantasy for 2015 and now it’s Drew Hutchison‘s turn. Marcus Stroman might be next. I’m a little in love with all the young pitchers in Canada. Maple Leaf Life! That’s what my so-very-not-gangster chest tattoo says. “Hey, what’s up Hologram Tupac, you’re Thug Life and I’m Maple Leaf Life, you wanna play pinball?” That’s me trying to hang out with Hologram Tupac. Why is there not a hologram for every dead celebrity? Did the world drop the ball here? It’s been years since a good dead celebrity hologram showed up. There should be one for every dead celebrity. “Hey, ma, I want you to meet my girlfriend, Hologram Dana Plato.” Okay, so I want every young Blue Jays pitcher, but that’s for the short-term. Not in keepers. For the long term, I think Toronto as an organization is taking classes from Dusty Baker. Hutchison went from 57 IP in 2013 in the minors after returning from Tommy John (the surgery, not the man) to 184 2/3 IP in the majors. Maybe the Jays bought two surgeries up front at a discounted rate and want to make sure they get to use them. So, in a few years, Dwayne Murphy might be trying to twirl Hutchison’s noodle arm on his fork, but for 2015 I think we should be okay. Even if we’re not, he should come at a cheap enough price in redraft leagues that he’s going to be worth the gamble. Anyway, what can we expect of Drew Hutchison for 2015 fantasy baseball and what makes him a sleeper?
Please, blog, may I have some more?Thomas Crapper did not invent the flush toilet, but he did much to popularize it, according to Wikipedia. Crapper owned the first toilet showroom and due to his name being on a large number of toilets, U.S. servicemen would see it and say, “I need to go to the Crapper.” Hopefully, this adds a bit of context when I say Jean Segura spent 2014 in the crapper. The legacy of Crapper doesn’t end there. Up until Crapper’s time, the inventor and biggest proponent of the flush toilet was John Harington. He was also a popular writer and provocateur who spoke often about the toilet, beating it into people’s brains to call it “The John.” With that in mind, we can also say the Brewers shortstop for 2014 was “In the John” Segura. In 2013, Segura’s 2nd half fell off, and it led people to think his 2014 would be putrid. Those people were proven to be correct. I still don’t buy it. Yes, I don’t buy Segura is bad even after he had a terrible 2014, which was hinted at by a terrible 2nd half in 2013. Yes, I am excited about Segura even though he has a good three months to his entire career. I’m throwing last year out. He had a sub-par April, was moved down the order, and never bounced back. Things really went pear-shaped for him in June and July (.196 and .179). We don’t know his state of mind while his child was sick and then after losing the child. This had to affect him in some way. Perhaps he wanted to be back with his wife and ailing child, maybe he couldn’t concentrate. I have no idea; no one does but Segura. If we’re to throw out his June and July, then he hit .276 on the year. So, just like everyone wants to throw out his huge 1st half in 2013, can’t we also throw out those two months? Go ahead and answer under your breath, I can still hear you. Anyway, what can we expect of Jean Segura for 2015 fantasy baseball and what makes him a sleeper?
Please, blog, may I have some more?The dynasty league first-year player draft is a unique winter ritual. It’s typically how dynasty owners get their hands on all of the unowned players who were previously ineligible to be claimed. Take all the 2014 draftees from June, mix with the top international signings from Cuba and elsewhere, sprinkle in the July 2nd international prospects, and you’ve got a whole new pool of players to draft from. With both comments and questions on the topic from previous articles, I think it’s worth looking closer at some of the top options in such a draft. And there is no better way to do that than with some good old-fashioned rankings.
Please, blog, may I have some more?There is so much great Hall of Fame analysis currently online – e.g., Jay Jaffe’s SI series, Bonah (Ben Lindbergh and Jonah Keri) on Grantland, Tom Tango, several ESPN writers – that I feel I have little to add. I find myself agreeing with much of this analysis and the general sabermetric consensus that the ballot is ridiculously packed with HOF-worthy talent.
So rather than provide derivative HOF analysis, this post provides a fantasy baseball spin on all the players I feel deserve HOF-entrance. I threw in a few non-fantasy points/links where I thought it interesting.
Please, blog, may I have some more?There was one fateful night in mid-September that changed everything for me and Mike Fiers. He beaned mi novio in the cantaloupe. Giancarlo went down and Fiers stopped mattering to me. I couldn’t even look at him. I opened his ESPN player page and drew a black eye on his picture and blacked out a tooth, but that didn’t assuage me and now I Sharpie’d up my computer screen, making my porn-surfing that much more complicated. So, that fateful night, I went out to a hospital near me, hoping to take my mind off what transpired. In time of distress, I always find it’s best to be there for those less fortunate than me. In the ICU, I found an elderly man, who was on life support, with his family surrounding him. I pretended to be a nurse and asked the family to wait in the hallway. I put a Brewers hat on the elderly man and laid a Fiers jersey over his body. I proceeded to tell him how much I hated what he did to Giancarlo and I would never forgive him. With that, he opened his eyes and said, “Where’s my family?” Then he flatlined. In some weird way, this helped me put my hatred of Fiers behind me. This elderly man allowed me to move on. He sacrificed himself so I could look at Fiers with fresh eyes and consider him for a sleeper post. What a mensch! So, what can we expect of Mike Fiers for 2015 fantasy baseball and what makes him a sleeper?
Please, blog, may I have some more?Organizational Talent Rankings via Baseball America
2014 (19) | 2013 (28) | 2012 (21) | 2011 (24) | 2010 (29)
2014 Affiliate Records
MLB: [88-74] NL West
AAA: [68-76] Pacific Coast League – Fresno (2015: Sacramento)
AA: [79-63] Eastern League – Richmond
A+: [73-67] California League – San Jose
A: [62-76] South Atlantic League – Augusta
A(ss): [38-38] Northwest League – Salem-Keiser
Graduated Prospects
Joe Panik, 2B
The Gist
The Giants won their third World Series title in five years thanks in part to an impressive performance from home-grown lefty Madison Bumgarner. Both Bumgarner and graduated prospect Joe Panik were first round picks for the organization. It’s mostly pitchers in the top ten here, but the Giants have been good at developing young arms to this point. Pitching in AT&T Park also helps their fantasy value if in fact they do make it to the major leagues. Two or three of the pitchers listed could see time in the majors in 2015. While the system is light on bats with potential fantasy impact, three position players did still find their way onto this list – led by the potential successor to Buster Posey behind the plate. San Francisco will have a new Triple-A affiliate in 2015 (Sacramento).
I nearly didn’t write this post, because, even as I write this in November, Carlos Carrasco seems overhyped for a sleeper. So, a big part of the equation, will a guy be more valuable than his draft spot, hence be a sleeper, work for Carrasco? I’m not entirely sure. There’s no ADP data right now. Since I think Carrasco could be a top 20 starter by the end of 2015 and I don’t think he’s going to be ranked near that, then he’ll likely still have his sleeperitude. Carrasco can teach us a good lesson and you know I’m hot for teacher. Carrasco exemplifies why it’s nice to look at a guy like Trevor Bauer, Randall Delgado or any young pitcher, but not to expect too much. Carrasco was a sexy prospect in the Phillies system back in 2009, and only now four years later is it appearing that he could actually become what we once thought of him. And by ‘we’ I mean me. Because I’m not embarrassed of my past mistakes, here’s what I wrote five years ago, “Pursue Carlos Carrasco in your 2009 fantasy drafts. All of them. Hold on, I’m bring out the caps — ALL OF THEM. Now don’t make go get the exclamation mark. If Carrasco doesn’t make the club out of spring training, he’ll soon be there and will make an impact. If he does make the team but only as a long man out of the bullpen, he will soon be starting. Don’t worry about what the Phils will be saying out of spring training.” And that’s me making myself blush! I jumped the gun a tad on that. If Carrasco and I were in Deadwood, Carrasco would’ve just turned to about face when I shot him in the back, that’s how much I jumped the gun on him. I obviously underestimated how much the Phils would Mr. Bungle their entire team. Anyway, what can we expect of Carlos Carrasco for 2015 fantasy baseball and what makes him a sleeper?
Please, blog, may I have some more?“I’m glad I’m getting some company.” Easy there, Brett Lawrie. Oswaldo Arcia is only up to post-post-hype status. Still has a long way until he has nine posts before his hype. “Are you sure he didn’t have post-op surgery?” No, Lawrie, now run along and into a wall. Arcia you later! Thanks, pun punch and your floating fruit! I’d run away with you and get married, but I cantaloupe. Last year, Arcia had 20 homers, one steal and a .231 average. Someone hit the snooze button, I’m gonna take a power nap. *claps hands* Couldn’t sleep, but I had an idea to look deeper at his numbers. Well, not that much deeper, just slightly deeper. He had 20 homers in only 103 games and 372 ABs. In that few ABs, the only ones with 20 homers are George Springer, Steve Pearce, Tulowitzki and Evan Gattis. Pearce? Well, let’s throw him out for, um, ever. Springer, Tulo and Gattis all have big-time power. They’re thirty homer guys if healthy and chalking up 500+ ABs. Don’t believe Arcia belongs in that company? Arcia, wouldn’t want to be ya! Anyway, what can we expect of Oswaldo Arcia in 2015 fantasy baseball and what makes him a sleeper?
Please, blog, may I have some more?We’re about a third of the way through the prospect rankings for every MLB organization. The amount of prospect information that is available to us as fantasy players is immense. Videos, reports, and rankings are out there in spades. They come from a variety of sources and are typically valuing players for real life baseball instead of fantasy. I want to give you an idea of how I sift through everything when I do each team’s fantasy rankings and what to look for when you go out and do your own research on players.
Please, blog, may I have some more?Sometimes I use opening paragraphs of off-season content to remind myself what I was doing at the time of writing it. It’s hard to say when this stuff will come out so I like to treat these like that YouTube guy did with himself. Sky, this is me from the past! Are you falling asleep to Jeopardy now? Do you have dentures? Are you, by any chance, dead? If so, can I have your stereo? Sorry, you just never know when these posts might go live. Maybe if I pass along the way, this post could become a piece of art reveled by many…or it could just be another one of my crappy posts. Yeah, prolly one of those! Oh well, if you’re not famil with the series, take a look back at Top April and Top May pitcher posts from earlier. The premise is pretty basic. We’re slowly looking back on the 2014 Fantasy Baseball season in month sets of data just to see how much value you got from drafting a high end pitcher compared to what you could’ve gotten late in the draft or from your free agent pool. As you may or may not remember/know, we were chirping ‘#PitchingIsSoDeep’ earlier in the year so here’s us – well, me at least – trying to see if that was truly true. So without further ado, let’s begin anew…sorry, got caught up in rhyming. Let’s just get on with it. Anyone want a peanut? Here’s the top June pitchers from last year to see what we can gleam for 2015 fantasy baseball…
Please, blog, may I have some more?