The transformation of Madison Bumgarner into a fantasy ace is nearly complete. Over the last 2 seasons, he is 21st in ERA, 8th in FIP and 18th in WHIP. Last season, he was selected after some other comparable pitchers since he was not a known and/or trusted quantity yet. I would expect him to reproduced his excellent 2012 season except for his last 7 starts. They are a warning sign of possible future struggles.
Drafting Jake Peavy last year was basically an after thought. Not much demand existed for a 31-year-old pitcher coming off a season with a near 5.00 ERA and shoulder issues. He was able to come back with a force and ended up as the season’s 17th highest rated starting pitcher with the same auction value of CC Sabathia, James Shields and Stephen Strasburg. I expect somewhat similar results in 2013 as he had in 2012 because of continued health and improved defense around him.
Yu Darvish’s successful first year in the U.S. was full of some ups and downs. His fantasy owners should have been happy with his final results of 16 Wins, a sub-4 ERA, especially in Texas, and 221 strikeouts. Some signs point to Davish improving during the 2012 season and those changes may follow him into the 2013 season.
Not much was expected from Yoenis Cespedes last year. In most peoples’ eyes, he would start in AAA, get called up and struggle in the majors. He obviously didn’t struggle too much and came in 23rd in Zach Sanders’ Outfield End of Season Rankings. He was within $2 of being the 15th overall OF. For the 2013 season, I see his projected output mixed.
Josh Reddick broke out in 2012 and came in as our 28th ranked outfielder for the season. Not much was expected from him after he was traded to Oakland with their spacious home field. Instead, he surpassed all expectations including hitting 32 HR. The home runs did come with a trade off, a lower batting average.
A couple of days ago, I used comparable players to show how much regression should be expected from Mike Trout. Today, I am going to dive into Trout’s numbers from last season and see if any red flags exist.
Mike Trout exceeded all expectations in 2012 and produced one of the greatest seasons ever. The hardest part of getting an idea of a reasonable projection for him is that there is basically no one to compare to the 21-year-old. I will give it an attempt today.
On Monday, I looked at the top hitters according to the recently added Bill James Handbook Projections. Today, I will see how the projection system sees the pitchers performing this season.
Just a few days ago, the Bill James Handbook Projections were added to each of the player pages. Today, I will look at the top projected fantasy hitters going into the 2013 season.
Torii Hunter is now back in the AL Central after spending the last 5 seasons with the Angels. The 38-year-old will provide needed support to a punch-less Tigers’lineup with the exceptions of Prince Fielder and Miguel Cabrera. Mid-2012 season swing adjustments elevates his value higher than his projections.