Alberto Callaspo

[Triplec223]

I came across this guy while scouring the WW for a replacement shortstop. Maybe I missed something, but I had never even heard of him, but his minor league numbers are pretty solid. He's a switch hitter with 2B/SS eligiblity (Yahoo), great BB:K ratio (229 BB, 144 K in minors ; 37-37 in big leagues).

At a quick glance, his numbers are similar to Howie Kendrick in that he hits for a VERY high average but doesn't steal much or flash a lot of power. However, I think if you're carrying someone like Jhonny Peralta, Khalil Greene or JJ Hardy right now, Callaspo may serve as a nice fill-in until those guys pick it up.

Anyway, I'm just trying to get some reads on this guy from someone who knows more about him. Looks like he's an everyday player for Kansas City, though I'm not sure which position he plays primarily. What are everyone's thoughts on this guy? Roster-worthy in a 12-team league? Can he keep it up, etc?

[kab21]

He's borderline roster worthy in a 12 team league using MI (so 18 deep at both 2B and SS). He was a sleeper in my larger leagues (20 and 24 teams) that I was able to get on both teams as a reserve. The upside is that he should hit for a high avg (.300+ - possibly .320-.340) but he has almost no power and doesn't steal many bases. In addition he has been batting at the bottom of the order which limits his run potential. You might be looking at a 2008 Ryan Theriot statline with fewer SB's (less than 10?).

And he's been playing 2B but could switch to SS if Aviles continues to struggle.

[J35J]

Yup, good hitter but thats it. He'll be doing good to hit another HR this year and he won't likely get double digit steals. KC's offense is pretty putrid so the runs won't be too impressive either. Another case of a better guy to have in real life than in fantasy....but of course there is always a time where you just need to plug a spot in your roster and not have it kill your avg....this is a good guy to do that with.

[Tavish]

It also difficult to predict exactly what will happen when Gordon comes back. Someone will have to lose playing time between Gordon / Teahen / Callaspo. I don't see them setting Gordon down once he is healthy even though Teahen has been solid at 3B and both Teahen and Callaspo swinging a decent bat. There was some talk that maybe if Aviles didn't get back on track Callaspo could try and handle SS at the ML level, but that would make the infield defense even worse than how bad it already is.

[Padres Fan]

He was a intriguing prospect could always hit but no power and is a decent fielder, wouldve been a factor last year but had off field issues. Angels gave up on him with since they are loaded with Erik Aybar/Howie Kendrick/Brandon Wood and Sean Rodriguez, and traded him to Arizona, but they had no room there for him and sent him to KC

[Trebor]

I too came across Callaspo on WW while looking to dump his teammate Aviles. and im curious, and in no way trying to thread hijack, but you guys seem to know about Callaspo...so who would u guys rather have? Callaspo or Aviles?

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ROSTER/LEAGUE SPECS

12 team H2H
1st yr of 4 yr Keeper (1-3 kept/yr, $ = prob keeps)
19 Cats, 18 roster spots + 2 DL
Bat: r-1b-2b-3b-hr-rbi-sb-bb-k-avg
Pitch: w-l-s-cg-sho-bb-k-era-whip
3/45 Moves used

C- Napoli
1B- Huff 1b/3b
2B- Kinsler$
3B- Chipper
SS- TheRiot
OF1- J.Hamilton$
OF2- J.Damon
OF3- B.Upton$
U- J.Votto
Bench1- E.Dukes
Bench2- Aviles 2b/ss

DL1- empty
DL2- empty

SP1- Peavy
SP2- Kazmir
RP1- Nathan
P (rp2) - Rivera
Bench3- B.Myers*
Bench4- Zambrano*
Bench5- A.Galarraga*

*17 IP min per week, so bench SPs rotated in when needed

[kab21]

I too came across Callaspo on WW while looking to dump his teammate Aviles. and im curious, and in no way trying to thread hijack, but you guys seem to know about Callaspo...so who would u guys rather have? Callaspo or Aviles?

The benefit with Aviles is that if he starts swinging the bat reasonably well he can be 10-15HR/10-15 SB guy which is 8-13 more HR's and 5-10 SB's more than Callaspo. But Callaspo is the better real-life baseball player since he has the K and BB rates to hit for a good/great average and maintain a high OBP. At first I liked Aviles this offseason but when I took a deeper look at him i saw stuff I didn't really like. I can't remember all of the details but it was stuff like lack of track record, K and BB rates, swing % on non-strikes (possibly more) that made me stay away from him.

[threelions]

I too came across Callaspo on WW while looking to dump his teammate Aviles. and im curious, and in no way trying to thread hijack, but you guys seem to know about Callaspo...so who would u guys rather have? Callaspo or Aviles?

I'm having the same question, and adding Bloomquist in the mix.

one out of those 3, whom to pick?

[fezzik]

I too came across Callaspo on WW while looking to dump his teammate Aviles. and im curious, and in no way trying to thread hijack, but you guys seem to know about Callaspo...so who would u guys rather have? Callaspo or Aviles?

I'm having the same question, and adding Bloomquist in the mix.

one out of those 3, whom to pick?

Ha, I had the same choice. Well, actually it was between Bloomquist and Callaspo. Since my league is a 7x7 which includes BBs and OPS, I grabbed Callaspo. If it was a 5x5, I might have gone with Bloomquist because of his solid SB potential. Bloomquist doesn't seem to play quite as much as Callaspo, so that was another reason I went with Alberto.

I had to find a temp replacement for S. Drew.

[Trebor]

"No more rhyming now, I mean it. -Anybody want a peanut?" ^

haha

I guess my real question is, once Gordo is back, will Callaspo be the odd man out? some1 above sorta covered this...but since im thinking of dropping his teammate Aviles for him...hmmm.