Our Depth Chart Discussions are just about wrapped up here at RG, but plenty could have changed since the start of March. So I’ve doubled back to some of the more intriguing position battles for fantasy purposes, and we’ll hit on some of the others in the near future, too. Today, we look at the American League.
If last year was any indication of what we can expect form the Orioles outfield, then fantasy owners are going to want to get in on the action again this season. The breakout season of Adam Jones was huge, the shortened but pleasant return to form of Nick Markakis was a nice surprise, and although injuries and match-up playing cluttered up left field most of the time, the O’s still managed to get decent production out of the spot on the whole. Jones and Markakis return again in 2013 and while left field is still being settled, should all go according to plan, the outfield should remain a quality source of fantasy production this year. Read the rest of this entry »
It’s easy to see the Red Sox bullpen following many trajectories. They have assembled a staff which could prove to be one of the league’s elite, with his strikeout guys littering the 6th-9th innings. However, red flags exist if they are not appropriately snuffed out as the season opens, it’s also easy to see some of these guys suffering continued regression from their career peaks and Boston’s pen instead being most useful if you had a time machine and could bring them to 2011.
The Boston Red Sox outfield went through some big changes during the offseason. Both corner spots will be filled by new arrivals. Both Jonny Gomes and Shane Victorino have been effective throughout their careers, but there are reasons for concern moving forward. Even with those worries, Jacoby Ellsbury might be the riskiest player in Boston’s outfield. The center fielder was one of the best hitters in baseball in 2011, but will need to prove he’s capable of those numbers again. On top of that, he’s received the dreaded “injury prone” tag. There’s value here, but only if you can get past some red flags.
|
The Likely Top Four
|
The Cast of Thousands
|
You’d think that after a shocking run to the playoffs despite having a dozen different pitchers make at least two starts — and only one make more than 20 — that the Baltimore Orioles would have done something to shore up their rotation this winter. They haven’t, so far, and while their decision is more than defensible, it doesn’t make projecting the 2013 collection any easier.
Here’s what we do know about this year’s Orioles rotation, however. We know that Joe Saunders (seven starts), Dana Eveland (two starts), and Randy Wolf (two starts) aren’t going to be part of it. We know that the top four is likely to be made up of Wei-Yin Chen, Jason Hammel, Miguel Gonzalez, & Chris Tillman, and we know with near absolute certainty that when the season ends, at least one of those four men (but likely more) will no longer be in the rotation. Read the rest of this entry »
Last season was supposed to be better for the Blue Jays than it was. They were absolutely annihilated by injuries in both the lineup and the pitching staff, but while there were some bright spots offensively, the pitching was simply dire. As a staff, the Jays racked up the third lowest WAR total in baseball at 7.6. Remove Brandon Morrow’s decent 2.4 WAR season and the rest of the pitchers muster just 5.2 WAR.
The good news is that this year’s rotation looks virtually nothing like last year’s patchwork ensemble. New acquisitions R.A. Dickey and Josh Johnson combined for nearly a win more last season than the entire Jays staff and while he’s not as impressive as the other two might be, Mark Buehrle would have been the Jays second best starter behind Morrow. Read the rest of this entry »
The new-look Toronto Blue Jays are the new darlings of the AL East, projected by many to win out over perennial division powerhouses in the Yankees and Red Sox. The infield, which used to rely on Yunel Escobar and Kelly Johnson up the middle, has a new look with new faces in Jose Reyes, Maicer Izturis, and Emilio Bonifacio in place. And the corners have the tantalizing upsides of young star Brett Lawrie and 2012 breakout Edwin Encarnacion. If everything breaks right, the Toronto infield could be one of the best in baseball, despite not being very deep, in 2013.
“Out of crisis comes opportunity.”
That’s the mantra anyone contemplating the Marlins infield should probably try to hold on to. Cause it’s definitely a crisis, that squad. Practically every position is up for grabs, and some new players will own starting roles in Miami this year. The problem, though, is that most of the players that might take the opportunity born of this crisis are flawed, and some are extremely flawed. There might not be a mixed league starter in the whole crew.
The Atlanta Braves have a history of quality starting pitching, and that success has extended into recent years. By earned run average, their rotation has ranked among the top ten in baseball in each of the last four years, including a 3.75 ERA last season.
This spring, the starting rotation is already set with the only caveat being Brandon Beachy’s expected midseason return from Tommy John surgery.
The Yankee lineup is a bit of a mess. And that’s being nice. With Mark Teixeira, Curtis Granderson and Alex Rodriguez all ailing, guys like Juan Rivera and Brennan Boesch will start the season in a lineup that is usually one of the most formidable in the league. With Travis Hafner and Chris Stewart also figuring to see regular at-bats, this lineup is anything but formidable.
But this post is just about the infield, not the whole lineup.
Let’s start with the Teixeira injury. Teixeira was originally reported to be out with a strained wrist injury until sometime between the first and middle of May. But it now appears that Teixeira has a partially torn tendon sheath. This is the same injury Jose Bautista had last year that ended his season early. Teixeira’s injury is supposedly a bit different in that the tendon under the sheath is stable whereas Bautista had an unstable tendon, which is the reason Bautista’s injury required season-ending surgery.
If we could be sure Teixeira would be back sometime in May, he might still be worth drafting as your corner infielder. But with so much uncertainty about the timeline after this latest development concerning his injury, there’s probably too much risk to take on. However, if you play in a league with more than one DL slot, he might be worth stashing if he falls to the last couple rounds of your draft.