Last Rnd - Ramon Ortiz v. Rod Beck

[slowkidz]

Who has the most upside? Will Beck close again or is Hoffman really healed? Was last year just a bad year for Ortiz?

[slowkidz]

bump

[Madison]

Boils down to what you need to me. Personally, I avoided Ortiz last year due to the amount of HR's that he allowed in '02. Last year wasn't just a down year in my opinion. I don't have him on my draft lists.

As to Beck, Hoffman still has a 40% tear in his rotator cuff and could go down at any time. Then again, he could pitch the entire year. If Hoffman were to go down, it's likely that Beck would get the save opps. Plus Beck is only 14 saves shy of 300 in his career and he has expressed interest in reaching that number.

I'd go with Beck unless you are desperate for another starter. In that case, I'd really scour the free agent pool before grabbing Ramon Ortiz.

[Warpigs]

I'd have to say Ortiz. I'm not a fan of his, but Hoffman has shown everything he needs to satisfy that he's healed and ready to rumble. He was impressive late last summer/fall and he's been working out all winter and is in great shape for spring training. I think Beck will basically become an also-ran, unless something totally unforeseen happens. Ortiz won't be as impressive this year, but at least he still has a job. I'd go with him.

I'd love your feedback on my Cafe All-Star Draft Results post... We can help each other out on our posts since everyone seems afraid to answer them.