Archive for Roto

Even though relief pitching dominated the narrative of both the 2015 and 2016 postseasons, and even though Aroldis Chapman and Kenley Jansen made his contract look looked relatively tame inside of two weeks, I still couldn’t believe that Mark Melancon got a four-year, $62 million contract. Prior to that deal, the two biggest reliever contracts were four years and $50 million for Jonathan Papelbon and five years for $47 million for B.J. Ryan, two contracts their respective teams no doubt came to regret.

Melancon himself has been healthy and productive in his four seasons with the Pirates. He has thrown at least 71 innings every season with ERAs between 1.39 and 2.23 each year. However, he has achieved that success because of beneficial contextual factors and excellent command—he has walked between 1.0 and 1.6 batters per season in those four seasons—with good but not exceptional strikeout ability. He struck out 8.2 batters per nine in 2016 and has done the same for his career. That is only the 60th best rate among the 85 relievers who threw 60 or more innings last season, and Melancon’s 91.8 mph fastball does not hint at any untapped strikeout potential. Chapman and Jansen each struck out more than 13 batters per nine in 2016.

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So according to Brad Johnson’s end of season value compilation, Brandon Kintzler lost fantasy owners $4.20 in value. But that’s not really an accurate way of describing his contributions to fantasy owners this year. Glen Perkins opened the season as the Twins closer, but made it just a couple of weeks before going down with a shoulder injury. The Twins scrambled to find a replacement and eventually settled on Kintzler, who did a fine job. He earned his first save on June 8, and from that time, posted a 3.40 ERA and 1.34 WHIP with, while recording 17 saves. That stat package isn’t worth much in a 12-team mixed league, but likely a couple of bucks from the time he was actually rostered as a closer.

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Alas, we have come to both the final 2016 Pod Projection recap and the last review of my 2016 preseason articles! We arrive at Raisel Iglesias, whose projections were all likely to be wrong, because we all figured he’d remain in the starting rotation. Instead, he ended up making just five starts, missed a month and a half with a shoulder injury, and then return as a reliever. He even ended up recording six saves! But let’s see what I projected and what actually transpired anyway.

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Alas, we have reached the end of our Steamer and I reviews and I left the best for last…just kidding. Though I was surprisingly far more bullish on Sonny Gray than Steamer was, his season was an unquestioned disaster. So we certainly know whose forecast was better before even beginning our deep dive! But let’s get to the two projections sets anyway and compare what Steamer and I were expecting versus what actually transpired.

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Let’s return to reviewing my Pod Projections, this time diving into popular preseason sleeper, Taijuan Walker. Though he posted a poor 4.56 ERA in 2015, he had been a heavily hyped prospect and averaged over 94 mph with his fastball. So that made him a favorite target with serious breakout potential in 2016. In April, he made his newly minted owners proud, as he posted a microscopic 1.44 ERA and 2.69 xFIP. But then the wheels fell apart and he ended up missing time due to a foot injury. Sadly, the strong April wasn’t enough to keep his ERA from finishing above 4.00, and now he gets to start 2017 on a new team and in a new league. Let’s what what I projected for 2016 and how it compared to his actual results.

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Let’s take a short break from my Pod Projection recaps (only two left!) to review another Steamer and I, where I identify players I’m far more bullish or bearish on than Steamer is. Carlos Rodon was a heavily hyped prospect after being selected as the third overall pick in the 2014 June Amateur Draft. He jetted through the minors so quickly, you would swear he never actually made an appearance. In fact, he recorded a total of just 34.2 minor league innings before making his Major League debut in 2015. It was an excellent debut, at least from an ERA perspective, so expectations were high.

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The reviews are almost complete and now we jump on over to my actual starting pitcher Pod Projection recaps. Today, I’ll start with Jeff Samardzija, whose ERA ballooned by nearly two runs in 2015. With a move back to the National League and a pitcher friendly home venue, he was as in good of a situation as possible to drive a rebound. Let’s see how my Pod Projection turned out.

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The fun continues as the fantasy-like trades are piling up! Yesterday, the White Sox continued their fire sale by making a four-player trade, with Lucas Giolito being the centerpiece of their return. Heading into the 2016 season, Giolito was an elite prospect, ranking as the best in the Nationals system, thanks to a lethal fastball-curve ball combo. But a poor showing over a small sample in the Majors has dimmed his star a bit. Now rather than trying to rebound in the more pitcher friendly National League and a neutral Nationals Park, he’s going to have to regain his status in the American League in one of the most home run friendly parks in baseball.

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Last week fellow writer Justin Vibber and I struck the following deal in the Ottoneu Champions League:

The goal today is not to go into the details of how this big trade came together (though I’d be happy to in the comments for those that want to know), but it is to focus on a very small piece of the puzzle: Luke Weaver.

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Yesterday, we were treated to a thrilling blockbuster of a trade, the type that has probably become all too common in keeper leagues, in which a contending team gives up their top prospects, and a rebuilding team “dumps” their star(s) in return. You know by now that Chris Sale is heading to Beantown and will don a Red Sox uniform. Or perhaps you just heard that his socks have changed color, ya know, from white to red. Paul Sporer gave you a quick rundown on how the move is likely to affect Sale’s fantasy value, but I wanted to go through the park factors and get more specific. So let’s compare the relevant park factors and discuss how the park switch may impact his performance.

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