Choosing 5 Keepers, WHIR

[GamerJOW]

Standard 5x5 Rotisserie Keeper League, in our 1st year of existence. I'm currently sitting in 2nd place, and starting to look at end-of-season choices for which five players I should designate as my keepers. Players I'm seriously considering have some notes on pluses and minuses after them.

C - Mike Napoli - Prodigious power relative to position. 1B eligibility this year opens up more options. Average is a concern, and Scioscia prefers a better defensive C.
1B - Mark Teixeira - 1st round pick. His famous slow starts went WAY too long this year and contributed mightily to my troubles in BA.
2B - Ian Kinsler (DL)/Juan Uribe - If Kinsler didn't get injured every time he sneezed, I'd be happy to keep him. Same thing if I thought Uribe was more than a 1-season wonder.
3B - Pablo Sandoval - Looked like a great pick preseason. Thoroughly average. Down year, or flash-in-the-pan regressing?
SS - Maicer Izturis
IF - Adam LaRoche
OF - Shane Victorino
OF - Josh Hamilton - Practically a Triple Crown year. Injury concerns are valid, though.
OF - Chris Young - Power + Speed. Is his increased plate discipline a mirage?
OF - Tyler Colvin - Sleeper choice. Best left-handed power to come up with the Cubs in years if legit. That's a big 'if.'
U - Ben Zobrist - Amazing last year, average at best with his power missing and his average is slumping. Eligible everywhere but C, P, and 3B, though.
Bench players - Casey Blake, Brad Hawpe (yeah, I know), Jeff Keppinger, Erik Hinske, Ramon Hernandez.

SP - Adam Wainwright - Any reason not to keep this guy? Seriously?
SP - Cliff Lee - The Rangers' bandbox ballpark does not make me happy; otherwise, practically a lock as a keeper.
SP - Johnny Cueto - Solid young pitcher on a winning team. Is he headed into 'breakout seasons' soon?
RP - Brian Wilson
RP - Rafael Soriano
P - Matt Thornton
P - Matt Belisle
P - Kyle McClellan
P - Randy Wells
P - Carlos Silva (DL)

[bigoz89]

A couple no brainers:

Tex
Wainwright
Hamilton

After that I would probably go with:
Kinsler (even with all the injuries, I am probably a sucker)
Panda/Lee/Chris Young

I still believe somewhat in Sandoval but I think last year's 25 hrs might be about as high as he ever gets.
Lee is a stud and I would have a hard time letting him go.
Is this going to be Young's norm from now on or just his career year?

In the end, I think I would probably go with Lee.

A little help with mine please? viewtopic.php?t=418503

[Wadderboiz]

Hamilton, Young, Waintwright, Lee, Cueto...I don't like Texiera as a first round pick.

[GamerJOW]

Hamilton, Young, Waintwright, Lee, Cueto...I don't like Texiera as a first round pick.

At the time, in March, he was unquestionably the best value on the board when I drafted him 11th overall. I'm not saying he's performed to that level this year, only that his position on the draft board can be a factor in considering keeping him or not.

Funny how one response calls Tex a no-brainer, while the second wouldn't keep him at all.

[bigoz89]

He was taken late 1st in all of my drafts this year and he will probably be taken in the 2nd next year. I consider that a no brainer in keepers! You aren't giving up your pick in conjunction with where you drafted them, right? I just can't see a single situation where you don't keep Tex but everyone is entitled to their own opinions!

[djfoss73]

would say wainwright, lee, tex, hamilton, young
cueto is a maybe, but i dont think you want 3 SP keepers, hamilton's too good even with the risk, tex i think is a no-brainer still (but it is more debatable than it should be). young's success is not so much better plate discipline-he still chases more than he should, but he's making better contact and i dont see much to indicate the average is a mirage. hes not going to hit .300, but .265/100/30/100/30 potential, especially if the arizona lineup gets itself together a bit. compare chris young to matt kemp this year--they look like very similar profiles for next year, both borderline-top 25 hitters in the outfield with decent average and good power-speed combo.

[misterf]

Tex, Hamilton, Wainwright, and Lee for sure. They are by far your best players.

With that group, you are going to start the season with 4 players that will generally be gone by the middle of the 3rd round in most 12-team drafts next year....not a bad start.

Tex might be an early 2nd rounder instead of 1st rounder, but he is probably the best player on your team. Slow start or no...he always ends up playing up to the numbers on the back of his bubble gum card.

The last spot comes down to Kinsler (scarce position) or Chris Young. You really couldn't go wrong either way. Young is probably the safe bet.......but a healthy Kinsler would be more far valuable because he plays 2B. So it really depends on if you want to go high risk/high reward or play it safe. I would probably go with Kinsler, because plenty of Chris Young's will be available in the draft. Locking up one of your middle infield spots would let you be more flexible in the draft.

[dleoboyd]

Your 5 best players (if healthy - and that's a serious concern with this group) are:

1. Mark Teixeira
2. Josh Hamilton
3. Ian Kinsler
4. Cliff Lee
5. Adam Wainwright

Having said that I'd be doing everything in my power to sell high on Josh Hamilton. He's had a great year and is a considerable talent, but his BB%/CT% combo does not equate to a .350 hitter (although he is a legit .300 hitter), so you can't count on the excessive BA again next year, which also has been largely driven by an unsustainable BABIP. Along with that you have a more significant risk of injury - of which he has been very prone throughout his entire professional career. Perhaps you could acquire a player who has "underperformed" like Evan Longoria in exchange for Hamilton? If you could do a 2-1 and move Cliff Lee as well it would open a spot for Victorino, who IMO is your 6th best player (again - assuming all are healthy).