Archive for January, 2011

Is Anyone* On The Royals Worth Drafting? (Part II)

* Anyone not named Billy Butler and Joakim Soria, obviously.

Yesterday we looked at what remains of the Royals’ pitching staff to determine if any of those guys were worth a roster spot in a fantasy league, and today we’re going to move onto the position player crop. Fun starts after the jump…

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ADP Crowdsourcing: Carlos Santana

ADP Crowdsourcing is back with a slightly different format, and now with the second half of a pair of related players. Just like earlier in the week, we are still voting on where you think the player will be drafted (just like we did before), but also where you would take him.

Before Buster Posey took the league by storm, there was Carlos Santana. Santana was called up by the Indians in mid-June and absolutely dominated. His minor league numbers were always impressive, but it’s hard to expect such an immediate impact from a catcher. Santana hit six bombs in less than 200 plate appearances, and had a walk rate around 20%! Small sample sizes be damned, I’m giddy just thinking about Santana’s debut.

Santana’s rookie season was ended by another rookie in Ryan Kalish, who slid into Santana while he was blocking the plate. Given the images of the impact, it’s a wonder Santana still has a career in front of him, but he’s supposed to be ready for baseball come spring training. Santana is nothing if not impressive, so he’ll probably be playing the National Anthem on his guitar, too.

If not for the injury, Santana may be getting all of the hype that comes with being a young catching stud. But owners are going to have to proceed cautiously, and the common man may not even be excited about Santana due to his BABIP lowered batting average.

Like Buster Posey’s crowdsourcing earlier this week, we are still voting on where you think Santana will be drafted by the average owner, but we’re going to take it a step further. We are also going to vote on where you would draft him, as well. Should make for good times. Also, please note we are using pick, not round this time because of Santana’s likely ADP. Below is a link to the voting form, and please read the wording carefully. For the voting, we’re assuming a 12-team standard league, using 5×5 scoring.

To submit your vote, click here.


Is Anyone* On The Royals Worth Drafting? (Part I)

* Anyone not named Billy Butler and Joakim Soria, obviously.

The Royals traded their two longest tenured players in separate deals this winter, first shipping David DeJesus to the Athletics before sending Zack Greinke to the Brewers in what probably qualifies as the winter’s biggest blockbuster. That has left the team’s roster pretty barren in terms of fantasy talent, at least outside of Butler and Soria. Let’s dig through the team’s 40-man roster and see if any of their notable pitchers are worth drafting in a standard 12-team league. We’ll cover the position players tomorrow.

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Projecting Carlos Gonzalez

There’s nothing more exciting than a breakout star both in reality and in fantasy, and that’s what Carlos Gonzalez was last season. He took home the National League batting title with a .336 AVG, finished second in the circuit with 117 RBI, third with 111 runs scored, and fourth with 34 homers. Because that wasn’t enough, he chipped in 26 stolen bases as well, tied for eleventh most in the league. Players that can impact all five traditional scoring categories are rare breeds, and that’s why CarGo figures to go in the first five-ish picks of drafts this spring.

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ADP Crowdsourcing: Buster Posey

We resume our ADP Crowdsourcing series with a slightly different format, and with a pair of related players this week. This time we are voting on where you think the player will be drafted (just like before), but also where you would take him.

Two words: Buster Posey. One more word: NEXT. In case you don’t subscribe to ESPN: The Magazine and don’t know what I’m talking about, you can read Calcaterra’s small writeup on the matter, or read Buster Olney’s piece.

However crazy ESPN’s selection might be, Posey may well be the NEXT great fantasy catcher. It’s not real often that catchers get called up to the big leagues and put up impressive offensive numbers, but that’s exactly what happened in 2010. Posey hit 18 homers in about 400 at-bats to go along with a .300 batting average. Even if that line was over a full season, it would still be pretty darn impressive.

For the most part, Posey’s numbers look completely repeatable – and there is a category or two that he could improve on (mainly his walks) – but staying stagnant is not going to be enough for most fantasy owners out there. Because Posey will be 24 years old when the 2011 campaign begins, owners will probably be looking for some Giant improvements.

We are still voting on where you think Posey will be drafted by the average owner, but we’re going to take it a step further. We are also going to vote on where you would draft him, as well. Should make for good times. Also, please note we are using pick, not round this time because of Posey’s likely ADP. Below is a link to the voting form, and please read the wording carefully. For the voting, we’re assuming a 12-team standard league, using 5×5 scoring.

To submit your vote, click here.