16 Team Keeper

[johnlee1986]

C A.J. Pierzynski
1B Derrek Lee
2B Dan Uggla (2014)
3B José Bautista (2013)
SS Hanley Ramírez (2014)
LF Luke Scott (2013)
CF Willie Bloomquist
RF Carlos Quentin
Util B.J. Upton (2014)
BN Denard Span (2012)
BN Vernon Wells
BN Travis Hefner
BN Brandon Belt (2014)
SP Roy Oswalt
SP Chris Narveson
SP Mark Buehrle
SP Kyle Drabek (2014)
RP Joe Nathan
RP Jonathan Broxton
P Chris Pérez
P Edwin Jackson (2013)
P Francisco Liriano
BN Anibal Sánchez

Standard Scoring OBP replaces AVG, 10 keepers per year max of 4 years on contract


Edited: April 9, 2011

[fantasybaseballking]

C A.J. Pierzynski
1B Derrek Lee
2B Dan Uggla (2014)
3B José Bautista (2013)
SS Hanley Ramírez (2014)
LF Luke Scott (2013)
CF Willie Bloomquist
RF Carlos Quentin
Util B.J. Upton (2014)
BN Delmon Young
BN Vernon Wells
BN Brandon Belt (2014)
SP Roy Oswalt
SP Daisuke Matsuzaka
SP Mark Buehrle
SP Kyle Drabek (2014)
RP Joe Nathan
RP Jonathan Broxton
P Chris Pérez
P Edwin Jackson (2013)
P Clayton Richard (2013)
BN Anibal Sánchez
BN Chris Narveson

Team looks decent enough to contend, so now its up to you to steer it to victory. Offensively, while you have pop, your batting average won't be very high. Your starting pitching has the potential to be good, but also comes with massive risks. Your relieving core, of course, is superb

My suggestions:
1. Try to capitalize on Bloomquist's great start and package him with Vernon Wells for a better OF.
2. Check for better SP options on the WW (feel free to post again so I can help)
3. If the above doesn't work, consider trading a RP with one your lesser SP to get a front-line starter.
4. After the above pitching trade, pick up a closer or closer-in-waiting from the WW. Are Jordan Walden, Chris Sale, Jake McGee, Sean Burnett, Matt Capps, Clay Hensley, Kyle Farnsworth, or Leo Nunez available?

Keep me posted and good luck!

[johnlee1986]

A little update to my team...
I'm not sure if you remember I've traded Carlos Quentin for Francisco Liriano, so I've made that upgrade in the SP department
I've also dropped Piercynski and picked up Hanigan (heard of news that Pier is going to given a lot of rest this year, and i want to see where Hanigan takes me, i might pick up Jose Molina since he'll be catching for Drabek, Reyes and Morrow) and also I've picked up Hafner and dropped DiceK (to replace the power I've lost in Quentin)

As for your suggestion in capitalizing on Bloomquist, I wanted to load up a bit more on SB, since i've pretty scarce aside from HanRam and Upton. I've made offers for Ichiro (bloomquist, richard), span (richard, which i sort of like but the guy said he'll have to think a bit more, he does like it too). Any thoughts?

Best SPs out there are Harang, Zito, Arrieta, Litsch, Francis, Blackburn
Not much.

And closers are even more scarce, none of those guys are available, although Balfour was recently dropped and I'm thinking of picking him up, Thoughts?


Always appreciated FBK Thanks!

[johnlee1986]

Also, Bourjos was JUST dropped, I'm wondering if I should stash him away, dude has serious speed

[fantasybaseballking]

Hi John,

How many open slots do you currently have?

Of those available SP, I'd really only have interest in Arrieta, and Francis (and purely for upside).

As for Bourjos, sure, I'd grab him if you have a slot, but curious exactly what your options are first. If you can, he'll provide plenty of use or trade value down the road. Perhaps you can pick Bourjos up and package him with Bloomquist and Richard for Ichiro?

What other catchers are on the WW? Is Jarrod Saltalamacchia there? How about Josh Thole?

[johnlee1986]

Hey FBK,

I've made some changes to the lineup as follows:

drop AJ Piercynzski for Ryan Hanigan (short term)
trade Carlos Quentin for Francisco Liriano
trade Richard Clayton for Denard Span
drop DiceK for Travis Hafner

And as per your question, I have no open slots on my team.
And Salty and Thole are both on the WW, which one do you like better? I originally had Salty but dropped him for Pier... got impatient with him =S

[fantasybaseballking]

"And as per your question, I have no open slots on my team.
And Salty and Thole are both on the WW, which one do you like better? I originally had Salty but dropped him for Pier... got impatient with him"

I like the moves you made, so good job!

As for the catching situation, I definitely like Salty and Thole better in the long run. But they bring different things to the table.

For what it's worth, Bill James and ZiPs projections are below:

Bill James
Salty: .249/.323/.422 with 12 homers, 43 rbi's, and 45 runs
AJ: .276/.315/.403 with 12 homers 59 rbi's and 53 runs
Thole: .280/.352/.385 with 3 homers, 35 rbi's, and 34 runs
Hannigan: .273/.342/.380 with 5 homers, 37 rbi's, and 39 runs

ZiPs

Salty: .230/.308..382 with 9 homers, 38 rbi's and 39 runs
AJ: .272/.304/.399 with 11 homers, 52 rbi's and 49 runs
Thole: .273/.342/.380 with 5 homers, 49 rbi's and 48 runs
Hannigan: .269/.356/.364 with 5 homers, 32 rbi's and 32 runs

Now, keep in mind these are pre-season projections. Salty and AJ compare fairly similarly, whereas Thole and Hannigan offer like numbers. That being said, Salty and Thole were only expected to get about 350-375 at-bats, whereas AJ was considered the full-time starter (500 or so at bats).

Thus far into the season, only Salty, AJ, and Thole have gotten over 20 AB's. Obviously, we need to understand these are small sample numbers, and with these guys being 3rd tier catchers, we need to go with gut and luck sometimes over quantitative analysis.

I could be wrong, of course, but as a Mets fan I'm watching Josh Thole play every single day. The Mets management is pretty much sold on him being their starting catcher for the next 5-10 years, so I'd put my money on him getting at least 400-500 at-bats. With that opportunity, he should hit around 7 or 8 homers, with 60 rbi's and 60 runs. I see him doing that while hitting anywhere between .285 and .305. I look at him as a young Jason Kendall.

It depends on the risk you want to take. If I've convinced you, ride Hannigan while he's hot and then grab Thole. Otherwise, AJ is obviously the safest bet. On a side note, however, monitor White Sox prospect Tyler Flowers. If AJ struggles, gets hurt, or is traded, Flowers would be the starter. He's very similar to JP Arenciba. One final side note- if Hannigan gets full playing time throughout the season, he could hit 10-12 homers. Still, I like Thole's ability to raise your team's BAvg and OBP stats.

Good luck!

[johnlee1986]

Great thanks for all the advice! I really appreciate it.

I will keep an eye out on Thole, as I like his OBP as well and he does have that Catcher job down pat...