With the Yankees trading for Michael Pineda and signing Hiroki Kuroda this past weekend, the fantasy values of both A.J. Burnett and Phil Hughes took huge nose dives. While both did not even have decent 2011 seasons, they were looking to rebound in 2012. With the additional pitchers added, Hughes and Burnett should have little fantasy value to start the season.

CC Sabathia is entrenched as the ace of the staff. Ivan Nova should have one of the other spots in the rotation locked down. Pineda and Kuroda will have the final 2 spots since the Yankees inclined to show off their shiny new toys. Only one more spot is left to be filled. Even when one of the two wins the job, it will be just the 5th spot and likely skipped over a few times throughout the season. The other pitcher will probably be regulated to long relief. While both struggled last season, there are some positive signs for them this up coming season.

Read the rest of this entry »

He’s in the news today, so it’s time to re-iterate an old meme of mine: Don’t draft Guillermo Moscoso. Just don’t do it.

Traded to the Rockies along with Josh Outman for Seth Smith, Moscoso showed some nice back-of-the-baseball card stats. On the other hand, his peripherals, along with his new home address, make him a definite miss in leagues of almost any type.

Read the rest of this entry »

Regardless of which side of the fence you sit on as to who got the better end of the deal, Friday’s trade between the Mariners and the Yankees — Michael Pineda and Jose Campos for Jesus Montero and Hector Noesi — was a solid baseball deal that will improve both clubs in areas in which each were lacking.  The Yankees were starving for arms and the M’s were in desperate need of a legitimate impact bat for the middle of their anemic lineup.  We’ve already heard from Michael Barr on the fantasy angle of Pineda’s move to pinstripes, so let’s tackle the other side for immediate impact.  Say what you want about Montero’s limited number of at bats at the major league level; this guy can hit.  If you believe, then welcome aboard.  If not, great!  That’s less of an investment we smart owners will have to make.

Read the rest of this entry »

Even LL Cool J would allow you to call it a comeback. Bartolo Colon defied Father Time last season, returning to the majors with a vengeance. Along the way, he posted a 2.9 WAR, his best performance since the 2005 season. In order to build on his comeback season, Colon signed a one-year deal with the Oakland Athletics. Out of the AL East and in a more forgiving park, will Colon actually be more valuable this season?

Read the rest of this entry »

Welcome back to another edition of the Pod hitter projections. Today I’ll look at one of last season’s biggest surprises, Asdrubal Cabrera. The primary contributor to this breakout was his power surge, as his ISO jumped to .187 and HR/FB spiked to 13.3%, both career highs. He was just 25 last year, so based on age alone, one might believe this is sustainable. Let’s dive into my projection and the thought process behind it.

Read the rest of this entry »

By signing with the Yankees, Hiroki Kuroda’s fantasy value took a huge hit. He has had a few good seasons with the Dodgers putting up numbers near 3.50 ERA, 7 K/9 and 2 BB/9 in the weaker league. The 37-year-old has not had much of a history of time on the disabled list, so he should be expected to throw the entire season.The Yankees get a good starter, but his overall fantasy stats will suffer for a few reasons. He will get a boost to his fantasy value from his teammates, but it will not be enough to offset the downside.

First, he is moving from the National League to the American League. There is probably not much difference in the leagues now in overall talent, but there is some. He will have to face a designated hitter every game instead of a pitcher, too. AL DH’s hit for a triple slash line of .266/.341/.430 while NL pitchers hit a staggering .142/.177/.184. He should expect to see his WHIP and ERA take a hit because of the DH. Besides the extra hits, DHs strikeout less than pitchers (18.1% vs. 32.5%) and walk more (9.7% vs 3.4%).

Other than the disadvantage of having to face a DH, most of the teams he will go against will be from the AL East because of the unbalanced schedule. On average in 2011, the other four teams in the AL East scored 4.7 R/G. In the NL West, Kuroda faced teams that averaged 4.05 R/G game. The competitive AL East could put a dent in his ERA. The dent will grow further by pitching his home games in New Yankee Stadium. It has a 108 batter’s park factor while Dodgers Stadium only has a batter’s park factor of 98. He should expect to see a 10% jump in run scored against him because of the new home park.

Not all is lost with the move to the Yankees. He will have the rest of the Yankee team to help him out. First, the Yankees are generally a good defensive team with with team UZR 20 points higher than the Dodgers in 2011. This will help limit some hits and runs. Second, the Yankee’s bullpen should give him enough support to keep any lead. Last season the Yankees’ bullpen had a 3.12 ERA while the Dodgers had an ERA of 3.92. Finally, the Yankees’ offense should be considered on of the league’s best by scoring 5.4 R/G. He will get good run support and a decent number of Wins.

In all, Kuroda should see a worse ERA and WHIP and some drop in strikeouts because of signing with the Yankees. He should see an increase in wins, but it will not be enough to offset the drop in the other three categories. Good move by the Yankees, bad move for Kuroda’s fantasy owners.

If we can assume relative health of the available third basemen heading into 2012, the position isn’t such a black hole as it appeared to be going into 2011. But taking an early look at the average draft position (ADP) on Mock Draft Central of those qualifying at the hot corner, it seems you’ll have to strike early or pay dearly if you want anyone who occupies the first couple of tiers.

It’s likely no surprise that Jose Bautista is the highest on the list, and among third basemen, he’s very much in a class by himself. But as it stands, Evan Longoria is even sniffing the first round with an ADP of 12.6. Coming off the board in rounds three and four are David Wright, Adrian Beltre, and Ryan Zimmerman, in that order. In standard leagues, that’s very much your first and second tier — gone by the end of the 4th round.

Read the rest of this entry »

So Michael Pineda has parlayed his All-Star performance in Seattle into a gig in the Big Apple due to the overwhelming needs of Seattle’s offense. Many are thinking Pineda slots in right behind C.C. Sabathia as the team’s #2 starter, but as far as fantasy baseball is concerned, I think a degree of caution is prudent.

Pineda demonstrated a pretty tremendous amount of talent in 2011, no question. He was among league leaders in strikeouts per 9 innings pitched at 9.11 K/9 — just shy of Tim Lincecum and a touch ahead of Justin Verlander. That’s pretty good company.

But we have only one season to gauge and frankly, Pineda entered 2011 as a fringe possibility in Seattle’s rotation to begin with. Before you go drafting him as your savior in fantasy baseball, take a step back and look objectively at the situation.

Read the rest of this entry »

In this edition…

How a Japanese pitcher could push back the No. 2 pick’s ETA, why F-Mart landed in the right place and whether a former first-rounder has any hope in a new org.

Read the rest of this entry »

When Manny Being Manny gave way to Manny Being Bannied last season, Manny Ramirez chose to retire from the Tampa Bay Rays after 17 putrid plate appearances rather than face a 100-game suspension for a second PED violation. But, just when it seemed as though we had seen the last of the Green Monster-whizzing slugger with 555 career home runs, Manny is swimming, swinging and showing humility in hopes of getting a Spring Training invite from a club looking for a designated hitter.

Ramirez, 40 in May, still faces a 50-game suspension if a team gives him a chance. We don’t really know what type of shape he’s in or what he has been up to over the past nine months — cutting off outfield throws in Beer League softball games, selling giant grills, pointing at David Ortiz on TV (and wondering why he doesn’t point back)…your guess is as good as mine. And, as Matt Klaassen opined earlier this week, the Manny Market may consist of only Texas, Minnesota, Toronto and Tampa (though I really doubt that last one). But, assuming Manny does get an offer and a chance at playing time come June, what might his batting line be? To get a rough idea, let’s look at his recent performance and the history of greybearded DHs.

Read the rest of this entry »