Nice! Being a Braves fan, and assuming it's not a keeper league, I think I'd try and sell high on Jason Heyward. He is one of the more popular names out of training camp to be thrown around. Granted he isn't in the same league as Jordan Schafer, Schafer won the center field job outright after spring training for the Bravos, and started hot. He then dwindled to just about nothing. I'm not saying he'll be a bad player, but I think his value is about as high as it's gonna be.
Also, any opinions on Francisco Liriano?
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I haven't seen Liriano pitch at all this Spring, but I'd say his effectiveness all depends on his fastball velocity and how often he's throwing his slider (most important part). Apparently, his velocity is up a tick but again, not sure what kind of frequency he's throwing his slider with. If he gets the latter down pat, then his command could improve. He could easily be as wild as he was early '08 and in '09 too, IMO. In that regard, if someone in your league must absolutely have Liriano, then I think that's something to exploit.
Sell High: Raul Ibanez...he ain't gettin' any better Brian Fuentes...people are expecting 40+ saves and I don't see him lucking into that many. He's not that great and now there's Fernando Rodney to contend with. Mike Gonzalez...he's lost alot of velocity and has been rocky in the past with better stuff in the NL
Buy Low: Francisco Liriano...I think he'll be a top 15-20 SP this year, with the potential to be better Ian Desmond...No one knows who he is, but he'll get all the playing time he can stand and he could hit 15 HRs and have 25 steals Colby Rasmus...I see a breakout in a big way. He should hit in front of Pujols and Holliday and score 90+ runs, hit for decent power and chip in a few steals
Timgeorge2 wrote:Sell High: Brian Fuentes...people are expecting 40+ saves and I don't see him lucking into that many. He's not that great and now there's Fernando Rodney to contend with.
I really don't get the pessimism on Fuentes, especially when I was able to nab him for cheap in one of my drafts (and this was with the likes of Brad Lidge taken before him).
If he gets more zip back in that curveball as usual, he'll definitely be more than serviceable. Rodney may have been the more efficient closer last year, but he's no lock either. If anything, I'd handcuff Rodney to Fuentes as much as possible, especially when the Angels get into a lot of close games.
Timgeorge2 wrote:Sell High: Brian Fuentes...people are expecting 40+ saves and I don't see him lucking into that many. He's not that great and now there's Fernando Rodney to contend with.
I really don't get the pessimism on Fuentes, especially when I was able to nab him for cheap in one of my drafts (and this was with the likes of Brad Lidge taken before him).
If he gets more zip back in that curveball as usual, he'll definitely be more than serviceable. Rodney may have been the more efficient closer last year, but he's no lock either. If anything, I'd handcuff Rodney to Fuentes as much as possible, especially when the Angels get into a lot of close games.
If you can get him cheap then that's great. I don't trust guys with 1.40 WHIPs...and I never will. Sure, he had alot of saves last year, but those are situational and I think the Angels have taken a step back as a team. I expect less wins for them. I just don't think Fuentes is that good. I've seen him go ahead of A. Bailey, Bell, and Valverde in drafts and that's insane IMO. I think he could be a real trainwreck this year. His K/9 was down and his BB/9 was up last year and his post-break ERA was 4.81...he's clearly trending the wrong way. I call that bad news...I'd take Wagner, Soriano, or Aardsma over him at this point.
After Lidge? Sure, I'll take him.
As for the, if he gets more zip part...that just doesn't make sense. The guy is going to be 35 this year...he's not going to add zip this year. It just doesn't work that way. Don't hold your breath on added velocity. That's kind of like saying "If Derek Jeter adds more power, he might hit 30 HRs this year."
Bravos of Steel wrote:Nice! Being a Braves fan, and assuming it's not a keeper league, I think I'd try and sell high on Jason Heyward. He is one of the more popular names out of training camp to be thrown around. Granted he isn't in the same league as Jordan Schafer, Schafer won the center field job outright after spring training for the Bravos, and started hot. He then dwindled to just about nothing. I'm not saying he'll be a bad player, but I think his value is about as high as it's gonna be.
+1 on selling high on Heyward for non keeper leagues. I just did a straight swap for J Lackey ... and had a shopped around a bit more might have even gotten a better deal (although with bosox defense this year I like Lackey ... stay healthy for me!)
Timgeorge2 wrote:If you can get him cheap then that's great. I don't trust guys with 1.40 WHIPs...and I never will. Sure, he had alot of saves last year, but those are situational and I think the Angels have taken a step back as a team. I expect less wins for them. I just don't think Fuentes is that good. I've seen him go ahead of A. Bailey, Bell, and Valverde in drafts and that's insane IMO. I think he could be a real trainwreck this year. His K/9 was down and his BB/9 was up last year and his post-break ERA was 4.81...he's clearly trending the wrong way. I call that bad news...I'd take Wagner, Soriano, or Aardsma over him at this point.
Fuentes hasn't had a 1.40 WHIP since '04 and his BB/9 is deceptively higher because he pitched 6-7 less innings from prior years. His breaking pitches weren't particularly good, as he was hit hard on them. If he rediscovers that zip/break, Fuentes will be more effective than some will give him credit for. Would I take him over Bailey, Bell, or Valverde? No. I wouldn't take Fuentes over Wagner, Soriano, Qualls, or Aardsma either, but he's not as great of an injury risk as Wagner and Soriano while Aardsma is a regression candidate, FWIW.
The Artful Dodger wrote:Fuentes hasn't had a 1.40 WHIP since '04 and his BB/9 is deceptively higher because he pitched 6-7 less innings from prior years.
Fuentes over the last few years. YEAR (WHIP, ERA) 2004 (1.46; 5.64) 2005 (1.25; 2.91) 2006 (1.16; 3.44) 2007 (1.13; 3.08) 2008 (1.10; 2.73) 2009 (1.40; 3.93)
So yeah, his WHIP was 1.40 last year. The number of innings is irrelevant as it is per 9 innings. If you were talking about overall then yes, but not per 9...that removes the fact that he pitched less innings. And for the record 2006: 66; 2007: 64; 2008 67; 2009: 65....so, his innings have been the same. Now to be fair, his walks have been the same as well
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