Carl Crawford

[Amazinz]

We'll see how the drafts go next year, but It is becoming crystal clear to me that Crawford will not be on any of my teams. Just like Pierre this year, he will go way too high and quite possibly won't be a very good value pick. Time will tell.

Definitely agree. I steered clear of Pierre this year. I think Crawford will be a safer pick next year then Pierre was this year because he brings more to the table. But there will always be someone that falls in love with those SBs and reaches for him.

[godallahstar]

Joey Gathright will be next years carl crawford.

well, maybe for half the year...

[tiger spit]

i was at the yanks/d rays game last night..

in the first inning, craw hit a triple,, rounding first base he slipped but got up and made it easily to 3rd..

i will say this with all the confidence in the world... crawford is the fastest player ive ever seen in person... and ive seen rickey and vince colman.

he just flat out flies .. if that was ANY other player it would have been a double, and when i say double,, i mean a close play at second..

craw is 22. im glad you guys will lay off him next season. i'll enjoy his batting avg going up slighty more than where it is now,add another maybe 5 hrs to his totals of this year and of course 60+ steals....remember that the d-rays lineup will be even better next season with gathright and upton in it... more runs for craw!!!

[Madison]

Definitely agree. I steered clear of Pierre this year. I think Crawford will be a safer pick next year then Pierre was this year because he brings more to the table. But there will always be someone that falls in love with those SBs and reaches for him.

I agree that Crawford brings more to the table and will be a safer pick next year than Pierre was this year.

Most likely though, someone will jump and snag him in the first round and it won't be me. Now if he falls a few rounds............

[GSes]

We'll see how the drafts go next year, but It is becoming crystal clear to me that Crawford will not be on any of my teams. Just like Pierre this year, he will go way too high and quite possibly won't be a very good value pick. Time will tell.

Definitely agree. I steered clear of Pierre this year. I think Crawford will be a safer pick next year then Pierre was this year because he brings more to the table. But there will always be someone that falls in love with those SBs and reaches for him.

wow mad, this is exactly would I have been thinking for the last few months now. I feel just like the A's do when they have to let Giambi, Tejada go. The fact is I PURPOSELY got Crawford in EVERY league i am in this season, b/c I knew this guy was something special. The highest pick I used to get him I think was round 9 and on for him in a 12 team league.

I realise lately, he won't be on anyof my teams next season b/c people are going to take him in the 2nd or 3rd round. He is going to project as a top 10 OF next season and a top 25 player overall. I am just not willing to spend that high of a pick on a "specialist" just like I didn't take Pierre at all this year he went way too early.

However I do believe Crawford is legit, and I believe his power will increase as time goes on. At his size he has to increase power as he gets older. By the time he is in his prime he could be hitting 20+ HR with the 70 steals thus justifying him as a #1 pick.

I agree with the guy earlier just as I picked Crawford this season in my drafts as a "steal". Im going to go for Gathwright next year, but Im not confident he will pan out like craws has.

I own Crawford in 4 of my 5 leagues. I am either first, second, or third right now in all those leagues. Crawford by himself carries you in SB while not huring you in RBI, HR, and helps your avg.

I get offeres for crawford every day, and yes even if someone offered me beltran for crawford i wouldn't take it. the simple reason is team needs, I built all my teams with the idea of Crawford + ALL power hitters = Dynamite offense. It has worked for me well, and trading crawford would destroy my teams b/c he is the only sb guy i have. He is untradeable on teams like mine w/ all power + carl unless of course the deal included a pierre or pods or someone with at least 30SB+ potential.

He is just that valuable to all my teams, now if you have crawford and another guy say pods or pierre, or your team is balanced meaning you have beltran and abreu and aarod, etc? guys who contribute SB, then you can trade crawford, but otherwise it would destroy you.

[LBJackal]

Crawford helps a ton in SB's, but it's not true that he doesn't hurt you in HR/RBI......... because he's well below the average starting fantasy OF.

In the future, I can see him as a 20 HR guy though. Last year he had 32 XBH in 630 AB's. This year, he already has 30 XBH in 353 AB's. That's definately a sign of future power, when he increases his SLG% so much. The same thing happened with Lowell.... and after the big increase in 2B came the big increase in HR..... look for that down the line with Crawford, to a lesser extent.

[Oshjo]

i will say this with all the confidence in the world... crawford is the fastest player ive ever seen in person... and ive seen rickey and vince colman.

This may be true, but is anyone else concerned about Crawford's Caught Stealing numbers? What is it now, 13? does that concern anyone else? I mean, for being the fastest player ever, his actual sb% isn't as great as you think it would be.

[Lofunzo]

i will say this with all the confidence in the world... crawford is the fastest player ive ever seen in person... and ive seen rickey and vince colman.

This may be true, but is anyone else concerned about Crawford's Caught Stealing numbers? What is it now, 13? does that concern anyone else? I mean, for being the fastest player ever, his actual sb% isn't as great as you think it would be.

Being fast doesn't necessarily mean a great basestealer. While I would love it if those CS were SB, I won't be concerned unless he ever decides to stop trying to steal.

[George_Foreman]

he's at like 70% now, which doesn't bother me at all. This year, he's been my best pick by far in both of my leagues. I'm just so used to having him, i'm not sure what i'll do next year.

part of me wants to risk at #1 on him and hope he maintains his sbs while starting to hit for power. but part of me looks at pierre and cringes. yes, there are certainly differences between the two, the problem is, i'm actually more confident of his power numbers than his steals for next season. with upton and gathwright on the team next year, they'll not only have another speedster, but they'll have more power and might want to hold the runners back a bit.

I guess when it comes down to it, i probably won't use a first-rounder on him. i'll be more likely to take a power-hitting infielder or someone like manny.

but for now, i'll ride his steals to a big, fat '12' in that category.