Tagged: Fantasy Baseball

The Draft

My awesome fantasy team, The Green Sox in the MLBloggers fantasy league is set. My rotation and lineups are nice but my bench and relief pitchers are not so hot. I had to leave before I could draft my bench/ relievers so I guess I shouldn’t be complaining.

Braves World draft Prince Fielder with the first pick which I though was very interesting. My first two picks were my keepers, Tim Lincecum and Ryan Howard. With my third I was about to draft Mark Reynolds but I had some computer issues and it drafted a former Red Sox left fielder who’s last name is three letters. Ya you probably thought I ment Manny.
In the fourth I was going to pick either Javier Vazquez, Chone Figgins, or Josh Johnson. In the end I chose Josh Johnson to go with Tim Lincecum. Then in the fifth I picked Billy Buttler, the first baseman for the Royals who was on my team last year.
With the 119th pick I was trying to get someone at DH. I didn’t end up putting him there but I picked Jason Kubel as my right fielder.Then in the seventh I got J.D. Drew’s younger brother Stephen Drew as my starting shortstop. 
Red Sox DH David Ortiz got his first hit of the season at Fenway Park, and it was a big one. This grand slam gave him two home runs on the young season.
In the eighth I got someone on my team last year. I believe he was a steal for an eighth round pick, On the Boston Red Sox, number 34 . . . DAVID ‘BIG PAPI’ ORTIZ! Now you see why I moved Kubel from DH to right. I think Papi will regain Papi form and hit 35-40 home runs and drive in 100 plus.
In round nine I got the former best prospect in the Red Sox, the no-hit kid, Clay Buchholz who is going to win the fifth spot (sorry Wakefield) but is the third man in my rotation. In the tenth I got former Padre Kevin Kooooooouuuuuuuuuuuuzzzzzzzmanoff. I will probably keep him on my roster but I would like Adrian Beltre or Mark Reynolds or even Troy Glaus.
Then in the eleventh and twelfth I drafted a pair of Cubs teammates, Geovany Soto and Marlon Byrd. I always though that Byrd should be playing backup but then when I really looked into his stats I wanted him.
In the unlucky 13th round I got Dice-K who I think will come back with his 2008 form, when he almost won the Cy Young. In the 14th I drafted a guy who might start the season on the DL, Freddy Sanchez. Sanchez though will do better this year since A.) he  is out of Pittsburgh and B.) he is playing with the Giants.
In the 15th round my friend came over and since he is an Indians fan I drafted Matt LaPorta who I might use as trade bait. In the 16th I drafted another guy on my team last year (who helped me out by hitting two grand slams in a game), Josh Willingham.
In the 17th I drafted yet another guy I drafted the year before, Justin Duchscherer. Only difference is that last year he was not healthy, this year though he is and I can put him under starter, reliever, or pitcher.
In the the 18th I drafted speedster, Carlos Gomez. In the 19th I drafted my first reliever, Ryan Madson. Then in round 20 I drafted Nationals ace (you know you team is bad when your ace gets drafted in the 20th round), Jason Marquis.
In the 21 round I drafted another bad teams ace, and 2009 all-star Zach Duke. In round 22 I drafted someone ESPN suggested, Eric Young Jr. who will be one of my main stolen base guys.
In round 23 I got Nick Blackburn as my last starting pitcher. Then in round 24 I got Blue Jays shortstop Alex Gonzalez. In the 25th I got the Padres, Tony Gwynn Jr.
After that I had to go to the Rodeo which was AWESOME!!!! Something that was not awesome was who I got. 
I set it up so I could get Hideki Okajima and Ramon Ramirez. I got them I got Chad Durblin, and Gabe Kapler after Okajima and Ramirez.
Then though I got Steve Pearce (1B), Greg Burke (RP), Adam Rosales (3B), Ryan Roberts (2B), Sean Green (RP), George Kottaras (C), Sergio Escalona (RP), Renyel Pinto (RP), and Jeff Stevens (RP)
I’ll be honest the only guy I knew out of those is George Kottaras because he use to play for Boston but now plays for the Brew Crew. Ohh well thats what I get for not staying I guess.
I need a closer for sure and there are a few players I would like to have had but one things for sure I am winning it all!
Photo Credits

Fantasy Baseball- Outfielders- Andre Ethier

Andre Ethier

LOS ANGELES, CA - APRIL 30: Matt Kemp #27 of the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrates a 8-5 win with Manny Ramirez #99 and Andre Ethier #16 over the San Diego Padres after the ninth inning at Dodger Stadium on April 30, 2009 in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers would win 8-5. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
Even though Andre Ethier has proven that he can hit for power, contact, and in the clutch many fantasy baseball owners don’t pay serious consideration when it comes to drafting Andre. Why? Well he shares and outfield with Manny who will always be Manny and Matt Kemp who has become a superstar since he started dating singer, Rihanna. Yet, Andre is the best player out of those three.
Andre Ethier is one of the rare types of players I call a “six tool” player. Andre is fast, has a good arm, is a great fielder, can it for power and contact, and can hit in the clutch. When players hit in the clutch that generally means they will get a few extra home runs and or RBIs. 
Fantasy wise though you get a .290 average, 100 runs, 100 RBIs, 30-35 home runs, 5-7 stolen bases, and an OBP of .375 ish. With Andre you will not get the number of stolen bases other guys could probably get with his speed because he is not the best base stealer. However, just like Ellsbury, Andre can still turn a double into a single any day of the week.
Andre is one of the safest bets out there. His numbers have all gone up with the exception of OBP and SLG, since his rookie year. Matt Kemp is a little bit riskier as some analysts think he might let the fame go to his head. Manny, well . . . he is probably one of the most risky outfielders to draft. However, Manny is a high risk- high reward type player. 
When it comes to Nelson Cruz, Josh Hamilton, and Hunter Pence (who will be talked about in a little) all three are very risky. All three of them need to prove they are not “one year wonders,” and Hamilton, so far has not done the best job with that.
Andre Ethier
Ok so you might not be so sold yet on Andre. Well are you sold on Nelson Cruz, Josh Hamilton, or Hunter Pence? Ok you probably aren’t but just pretend you are. Andre Ethier is A LOT better then them. While Cruz and Pence are five tool players just like Ethier is classified as, Hamilton is not the fastest guy but has more pop in his bat obviously meaning he is not a five tool player.
I mean, the stats prove that Ethier is obviously better then Cruz, Hamilton, and Pence but because Hamilton, Cruz, and Pence are more well know Ethier will most likely get overlooked for the third straight year. But there is not way he should I mean, just look at what MLB predicts the stats for Either, Cruz, Hamilton, and Pence will look like.
                  AVG          R          HR          RBIs          SB          OBP          SLG      OPS
Ethier         .289           92         27            101            5            .377          .501        .878
Cruz           .272           88         35             96            22           .345          .533        .878
Hamilton     .291           77         25             92            10           .356          .504        .860
Pence         .297           88        28              87            14           .357          .493       .850
So actually Ethier is tied with Cruz followed by Pence. But when you compare only Ethier’s and Cruz’s projected stats Ethier is the winner.
                  AVG          R          HR          RBIs          SB          OBP          SLG      OPS
Ethier         .289           92         27            101            5            .377          .501        .878
Cruz           .272           88         35             96          
 22           .345          .533        .878

Ethier wins four categories plus the tie in OPS while Cruz wins three plus the tie in OPS. Another thing to take not of is that most leagues do not use OBP, SLG, or OPS. Meaning that Ethier would win three categories to two if you don’t factor in OBP, SLG, or OPS.
Andre will not be in your draft in the seventh round so I would plan on trying to get him with a late fourth pick to a late sixth round pick. I would tell you my plans to get him but well, I do not want anyone knowing my plans this year.
Ethier is a safe bet who has no injury history and will get more pitches to hit with Manny and Matt Kemp on a balanced team who will most likely win the National League West again.
Photo Credits

Fantasy Baseball- Outfielders- Jacoby Ellsbury

When it comes to fantasy baseball outfielders are more likely to be the diamond in the rough. Guys like Josh Hamilton, Carlos Quentin, and Shane Victorino have all become diamonds the last few seasons. However, I don’t see any outfielders becoming diamonds this year. That said you can still get many great players in the later rounds.

Jacoby Ellsbury


Unless you have a fantasy team owner who looks at every single players stats Jacoby Ellsbury will probably not seriously be looked at. Why? Well because outfielders tend to be power hitters and well Jacoby Ellsbury is not a power hitter. But with a guy like Jacoby he makes up almost all the steals you will need along with a .300 average, 100 runs, 60+ RBI’s, and 10 home runs. How good is Ellsbury? Well he is ranked the number one fantasy player on the Boston Red Sox on MLB.com, ahead of Jon Lester, Josh Beckett, Victor Martinez, John Lackey, Kevin Youkilis, Jonathan Papelbon, Dustin Pedroia, and Adrian Beltre to name a few.
Ellsbury though is a better choice then guys like Carlos Lee, Adam Dunn, and Manny Ramirez because Ellsbury can turn a single into a double, a double into a triple, and even a triple into a home run. If Lee, Dunn, or Manny tried to do that they would turn a single into an out. Sure Lee, Dunn, and Manny will hit 25+ home runs and drive in 90+ but when you look at the numbers it makes Ellsbury look better.
 MLB predicts that Ellsbury will steal 67, drive in 63, score 106 times, and hit nine home runs, meaning that if your league does not facto in batting average, OBP, or slugging percentage and each stat counts as one point Ellsbury will get you 245 points. Manny will get you 202 points, Dunn will get you 229 points, and Lee will get you 213 points if MLB’s predictions are right which well you can make you own thoughts about that.
Due up next: Andre Ethier, Marlon Byrd, Shin-Soo Choo, and The Entire Kansas City Royals Outfield

P.S. Sorry for well not blogging since October

Fantasy Baseball Help Tip- 3

Congrats to Kaybee for getting the answer right to “Who was nicked named Bow Wow.” The answer was Hank Arft. Todays question is below.

********************************************************************************************************

Go Back And Forth

When drafting for fantasy baseball do not use your first five picks on pitchers or sluggers. You might want the best pitching team in the whole league but do not try to get it. Draft a pitcher then a slugger. This way you will get a perfectly balanced team. After your first ten picks when you have all of your starters do not go straight to the bullpen. I would suggest picking a slugger two rounds in a row then getting your closer. After that finish off most of your team except two or three guys and draft a bullpen guy. If you drafted all nine of your position players with your first nine picks; A, your not balanced at all and B, your team will stink. If you do not want to listen to me be my guest. I do not care and I am sure every one in your league will not care. Lets say you do pick all five of your starters with your first five picks. Sure you might have a rotation of Tim Lincecum, Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels, Dan Haren, and James Shields you would have Aubrey Huff at first and not Ryan Howard. You would have Carlos Guillen in left and not Matt Holiday. See now if you we balanced you would have Tim Lincecum as your number one ace and Russell Martin at catcher. You could get Chase Utley and Roy Oswalt! You could even get Albert Pujols and Dice-K! The big question is who do your start with in the order? Do you go pitcher then slugger or slugger then pitcher? You could go ahead and get Tim Lincecum with your first pick and not Ryan Braun. That choice is up for you to make. You have to decide do I want to have slightly better offense or slightly better pitching. For me it would be pitching. If you believe in small ball stuff then maybe you want a pitcher. If you believe in hitting a billion home runs then draft a slugger. As for getting your closer in the thirteenth round do not sweet it. I think Brian Wilson is the thirteenth best closer in baseball and he saved 41 games last year! Then I think the fifteenth best closer is George Sherrill who was an all-star last season. In fantasy baseball you need a balanced team to succeed and I think this is the formula for success! If you follow this you could will win this . . .

or this

Ferrari F430

or even this

Okay you probably will not win anything besides bragging rights but you get my idea.

********************************************************************************************************

All right today’s question is “Who was the first major leaguer to leave twelve runners on base in one game?”


Photos

1- tucowsinc.com

2- hot-cars.org

3- activerain.com/blogsview

Fantasy Baseball Help- Tip 2

Before I begin I would like to say a few things.
–My Play was AWESOME! We did very well. I was Uncle Andrew in the Magician’s Nephew. I used a can of hair gell, a bottle of hair dye,and a ton of hair-spray for my hair. I got flowers and chocolate, it’s a weird thing we do to the star at the theatre, and by weird I mean awesome. So if the sports carer doesn’t work I’ll have acting to do.
-Also my championship basketball game got moved to six o’clock so I might get to blog tomorrow.
– I moved the front page of MLBlogs! Congrats Cob for making it also and Hyun Young for being the featured blog.

Closers End The Game and End the Draft


When drafting for your team draft closers at the end or middle, unless you play some weird league where saves are worth more then wins. Closers don’t pitch as much as starters and don’t play as much as position players. The only exceptions would be to Jonathan Papelbon, Brad Lidge, and Francsico Rodriguez and some could argue Marino Rivera, Joe Nathan, and Jose Valverde. Closers get the least amount of point on your team except for benchwarmers. The closer is the most overrated position in all of baseball. All they do is pitch one inning. Yes their is a ton of pressure and not everyone can do it but at the end of the day all it is is pitching one inning. I should know I’m the closer on my baseball team. Unless you don’t blow a one save, save sixty, or are the next Trevor Hoffman you are most likely overrated. I know I will get some really bad comments about this but I really don’t care. The most overrated closer? Francsico Rodriguez. Brad Lidge goes perfect with the exception of the all-star game and all we hear is K-Rod this, K-Rod that. Don’t get me wrong K-Rod is one of the games best at closer but he blew seven games last year. The save really just means how many closer games you won. So in a way you don’t want to have a closer come in and pitch because you want to have a blow out. Sarters pitch 200+ innings if you great and closers pitch about 70 at the very most. Position players play sometimes the whole season. While I respect closers and I think they are a huge part of a teams success they are overrated. 
Francisco Rodriguez
sportsnet.ca

blog.pennlive.com
Closer Jonathan Papelbon gives the Red Sox a vital weapon in the postseason.
sportsillustrated.com
Note- This may have been the stupidest entry I’ve ever written because since I’m the closer for my team i just dissed myself.

Fantasy Baseball Help- Tip 1

I know Cob is starting a fantasy baseball league so I thought for all you first timers I thought I would give you some tips.

Draft Players on Good Teams

When drafting your team try to draft great players on average or great teams. The Mariners lost 101 games in 2008 year. In 2007 years ago they won 88 games. In 2007 Felix Hernandez won 14 games an in 2008 he won nine and lost 14. For pitchers run support is key. A baseball team with great sluggers and average pitchers will do fine. In 2007 the Tampa Bay Devil Rays won 66 games. In 2008 the Rays won 97 games. Every single one of their pitchers did better because of run support. When drafting sluggers you can afford to break this rule for a really good player. Playing on a better team for a slugger means more runs, RBI’s, and a higher on base percentage. You get more runs because people will drive you in more. You get more RBI’s, because more people will be standing at third base. Lastly you will get a higher on base percentage because if a pitcher walks someone they will then have to face a better hitter next. Lets use the Mariners and the Rays again. In 2007 Ichiro hit had 111 runs, 68 RBI’s, and a .396 on base percentage. In 2008 he had 103 runs, 42 RBI’s, and a .361 on base percentage. Akinori Iwamura, of the Rays had 82 runs, 34 RBI’s, and a .359 on base percentage in 2007. In 2008 he had 91 runs, 48 RBI’s, and a .349 on base percentage. Sure his on base percentage dropped by .010 but he had a much better year. When you drafted players on good teams their confidence is higher which means a better year most of the time. So my list of teams I would draft from are the Blue Jays, Red Sox, Yankees, Rays, Twins, White Sox, Indians, Angels, A’s, Rangers, Braves, Marlins, Mets, Phillies, Astros, Cubs, Reds, D-Backs, Giants, and Rockies. I don’t plan on drafting any one from the Rays or Yankees though. Also I left the Brewers and Cardinals off for two reasons their pitchers and the fact that their not that heathy.