Fantasy Baseball Cafe Forums

by **warner892001** » Fri Jan 13, 2012 9:08 pm

I have James Paxton on my team right now. Could he be a starter for the club out of spring training?

I was thinking about picking up Taijuan Walker and dropping Billingsley.

What do you think?

by **cardinal1975** » Sat Jan 14, 2012 12:43 am

James Paxton is a solid pitching prospect but there is absolutely no way he breaks camp with the Mariners. He still needs to refine his command for another year and there is no reason for a team as bad as Seattle to prematurely starts any players arbitration clock before he can actually do them any good.

I think a great many people will tell you that Walker has a ton of talent but is likely 2-3 years away from helping at the big league level and a lot of things can happen to prospects between Low A ball (where he played in 2011) and the majors.

As far as dropping Billingsley goes....I really would hasten to give you any advice without seeing your roster and league scoring/format. My first instinct is to say probably not, however if you want an accurate answer you will need to provide more information regarding your roster, league size, amount of keepers, etc...

by **PlayingWithFire** » Sat Jan 14, 2012 8:14 am

Yeah, need to know league format(including keeper format) before we know. Keep in mind Billingsley was twice the prospect either of those guys are.

by **MaudDib** » Sat Jan 14, 2012 4:50 pm

Agreed, need more info but I would also lean towards no. Walker is years away from the majors and still has a lot of work to do before we know whether he will live up to all the hype.

Billingsley has a lot of problems but I still think he has a chance of being a decent pitcher next year. I wouldn't be ready to drop him for someone that you won't see for at least 3-4 years.

by **kab21** » Sat Jan 14, 2012 10:18 pm

the only reason to drop Bills and pick up a prospect is if you are completely gutting your team with no chance of competing next season. Bills has struggled but he's not that bad.

by **silverZ** » Wed Jan 25, 2012 2:33 pm

kab21 wrote:the only reason to drop Bills and pick up a prospect is if you are completely gutting your team with no chance of competing next season. Bills has struggled but he's not that bad.

Agreed. With all that said I am VERY high on Walker and have him ranked slightly ahead of Paxton. Paxton will need at least another year or two to build up the arm strength to pitch a full season since he missed an entire season of pro ball in 2010. League settings and your team situation matter a lot when it comes to stuff like this.