Baseball

Baseball - Baseball

So.... it's time.  It's finally time.  Baseball is back!

We have an extra long week for the 1st week, so there are 2 start pitchers a plenty, but this first article is going to concentrate on picking up a few < 50% owned Pitchers according to ESPN leagues.   In the future, I'll be picking 2 Start Pitchers that are < 50 % owned for spot starts in your leagues.  This is a strategy that has helped many a teams find sleepers in a very deep pitching MLB in 2012.  I look forward to helping you win your Fantasy Baseball title!!!

Let's start with a familiar name:  Francisco Liriano.  So, if you read my pre-season article, I didn't have him listed, but he's had an incredible spring.  Spring stats should be taken lightly, but no one ever has questioned his stuff; it's always been his command.  When he's on, he can throw a no-hitter.  When he's off, run for the hills!!!   
Spring Stats: 7 GS, 27 IP, 2-1, ERA: 2.33, WHIP 1.11 & K/9 = 11.0  First Week Opponent: Baltimore Orioles.  % Owned: 47.2%

Read more: 2 Start Pitchers - Week of 4/4

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I,  and you should as well, take spring training stats with a grain of salt because they are very unreliable and are not a great indicator if a player will carry those stats and their play over into the regular season. All too often veterans go through the motions, other times batters are teeing off pitchers that should be in the minors already, and other times there are players who tear up Spring Training (think Jake Fox last year) only to be a complete let down to owners who draft them due to their Spring Training stats. But on occasion players can use spring training as a stepping stone into the regular season, whether they are fighting for a job or even looking to put the prior season behind them and start fresh.  Others just never quite put it together during the spring, showing signs of why you should try to avoid them all together. This first list of Buy & Sell Batters edition isn’t telling you to drop guys in the Sell list, I’m just warning you to stay away from them if you haven’t drafted your team yet, or to try to trade these guys if possible. Let’s take a look at the Week 1 Buy & Sell Batters.

 

Buy:

Edwin Encarnacion:  .322/.359/.610, 5 doubles, 4 HR, 14 RBI, 2BB, 13Ks – Encarnacion was a great free agent pickup last year for any owner that was looking to make a push for the playoffs. He displayed a lot of power by connecting on 11 HR and 36 RBI in the 2^nd half of 2011. Encarnacion looks like he is picking up right where he left off and will continue to hit in the middle of a good Blue Jays lineup. The only alarming stat are his 2 walks and 13 strikeouts. I do expect those numbers to improve once the season rolls around, but many owners feel Encarnacion was a fluke last year and isn’t being drafted in many leagues. Go scoop him up now, or you’ll regret it later.

 

Read more: Buy & Sell Batters - Week 1

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I am going to analyze rounds 10-12 of the Fantasy Daddy Mock Draft. You can follow me @FD_hly203 and leave comments you have on the draft or any questions about fantasy baseball. Lets begin.

Round 10:

Best pick: Corey Hart’s injury scared owners enough to have his ADP drop him to a value pick. Great source of power for an OF in this round.

Reach: I don’t see the fascination with Austin Jackson. Yes he can get you steals but along with a dismal BA and mediocre power. Sorry I’ll pass.

Sleeper: Jordan Zimmerman is not talked about as much as the phenom Strasburg and doesn’t get much pub but he has a good shot of being the best pitcher on the Nats ths year. Remember that the phenom is on an innings limit.

Round 11

Best pick: Getting a 20/20 player this late is awesome. And Chris Young is a good bet to have another run at that milestone.

Reach: I like all of these choices in this round. If I had to choose one could disappoint is Ryan Howard. Some days you hear good reports about him, the next time you will hear that he’ll be out to May or June. I would wait a few more rounds before pouncing.

Steal: Getting JJ Hardy here is nice if you were looking to fill SS. That is a lot of pop for this position.

Round 12

Best pick: Wait, how in the world Mariano Rivera gets drafted after guys like Walden? Am I missing something? Better question, how the heck did I miss him?

Reach: I think JP Arencibia could have been available a few more rounds later. Power potential is there but kills you in batting average and is not a lock to keep his job all year.

Steal: It has to be Mariano again. Seriously, how did he slip by me?

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I am going to analyze rounds 7 to 9 from the Fantasy Daddy Twitter Mock Draft that we completed last Sunday.  In these rounds it was trending towards pitching and the first of the relievers to be scooped up. Out of the 36 picks made in rounds 7-9 we had 15 arms come off the board.

Round 7 Analysis

In round 7 there was a mixed bag of picks of starting pitchers and some pretty solid value picks of positioned players that were still sitting on the board. The value picks included Rickie Weeks, Michael Young,  James Shields, Jon Lester and Lance Berkman.

Best Player: I have it as a tie in this round for James Shields (@TheRealTal) and Jon Lester (@FD_Hly203) as they are both work horses for their respective clubs and to pull down a starting pitcher in round 7 that is arguably a #1 or #2 pitcher on playoff contending teams you have come out of the round with a pretty solid stud.  James Shields numbers may come down a little bit this season but he comes with very little risk.

The Reach: The reach of the round from my perspective was Erick Aybar (@AkonSports), Yahoo has him ranked #161 and he is only owned in 85% of fantasy leagues right now. I do believe he is worthy of a roster spot in most leagues but he could have been drafted at a much later round, especially when there were guys like Dee Gordon (I stole him in the 11^th) Alexei Ramirez and Jimmy Rollins still available. The top tier Short stops were long gone and it was necessary to draft an Aybar type in the 7^th.

Best Value: This might hold a little bias but I (@FD_Rocs) was stoked to draft Michael Young and all his position eligibility in the middle of the 7^th round. He hits in one of the most potent offenses in the majors and consistently gives you a .300 plus average with 80-90 runs and 80-90 RBI’s year in and year out. I liked this play in the 7^th because I had taken a flier on my boy Paul Goldschmidt in the 6^th round (early yes but I expect big numbers from him this season) and in case he falls flat and doesn’t meet expectations (Bill James predicts him for 30 bombs and 90 RBIs) I could always use Young in his place at first or at utility.

Round 8 Analysis

This round consisted of 7 pitchers being drafted and out of those 7 the first 2 relievers were snatched from the competition in Craig Kimbrel and Drew Storen.

Read more: Fantasy Daddy Mock Draft Analysis Rounds 7-9