Chad Young’s 10 Bold Predictions for 2012
Eno dropped his Wednesday morning, and by Wednesday afternoon, Jeff had reported for duty. Howard and Mike joined today.
Now, I add mine.
Archive for Uncategorized
Mike Axisa’s 10 Bold Predictions
It’s my turn to come up with some outlandish fantasy predictions for the 2012 season. All of us here at RotoGraphs will present a top ten lists over the next few days, then check back to see how right wrong we were after the season. So without further delay, here are my ten bold fantasy predictions for this season, in no particular order…
1. A-Rod will hit 30 HR
Injury problems have prevented Alex Rodriguez from playing in 140 games in each of the last four seasons, and last year his ISO fell below .225 (.185 to be exact) for the first time since 1997. That said, A-Rod is now healthy after undergoing an experimental knee procedure at Kobe Bryant’s behest and will play enough games (and reincorporate his legs into his swing) to bring back the glory days of 30/100.
Jeff Zimmerman’s 10 Bold Predictions for 2012
Eno was the first to put out his bold 10 predictions for 2012. I will now give it a stab.
1) Brennan Boesch will be a Top 30 fantasy player. I liked Boesch even before Prince Fielder was signed. He has the potential to have 20+ home runs and 100+ runs since the Tigers say they will bat him in the No. 2 hole. Also, pitchers are going to challenge him quite a bit since they would rather face him then either Miguel Cabrera or Fielder.
Eno Sarris’ 10 Bold Predictions for 2012
by Eno Sarris
February 29, 2012
We — collectively — are going to steal Mike Podhorzer’s idea and make some crazy predictions for the coming season. Every year, something happens to surprise baseball viewership. Jose Bautista and Lance Berkman come to mind over the past few years.
So let’s try to open our minds and let crazy in for some fun. Then we’ll look back at the end of the season and see which RotoGraphs staff member can access the other side most effectively — then we’ll scoot down the bench a little away from him.
1) No player will hit 40 home runs this year. Obviously Mike Stanton and Jose Bautista loom large, but there were only three guys that managed the feat last year, and the point is that power is down. Handy graph time!
ottoneu Auction Analysis Contest
Two weeks ago, Eno Sarris ran a series of posts asking you, dear readers, to analyze some fantasy questions and offered you a subscription to the FanGraphs+ 2012.
Today, at the behest of Niv Shah – the Abner Doubleday of ottoneu (except, you know, without the doubts that he is actually the man behind the game) – I present to you an opportunity to win a free $9.99 ottoneu team for 2012. All you have to do is tell us who you think was the worst value in the original ottoneu auction that happened this past weekend.
Hanrahan’s Altered Approach and Fantasy Implications
On Wednesday I explained why Joel Hanrahan is a bit undervalued in comparison to John Axford. The next step I decided to take is to evaluate Hanrahan’s fastball to elaborate on why his success last year should continue this season as well. After all, Hanrahan had 269 innings in his career before the 68.2 he threw last year. Standard thinking would force one to believe his 209 ERA+ season was an outlier, as his career ERA+ is just 106.
However, as I explained in the article earlier this week, Hanrahan altered his approach on the mound. He turned into a fastball dominant pitcher, moving away from the fastball-slider combination he had utilized for the majority of his career. At least some credit must be given to Ray Searage, the Pirates pitching coach, and the rest of the group that decided this would be a much more effective way for Hanrahan to pitch.
| Hanrahan’s Heater | Freq. | MPH | Strike | Ball | BIP | Whiff | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Career | 68% | 96.11 | 61.65% | 37.13% | 17.29% | 6.78% | 7.67% |
| 2010 | 61% | 96.74 | 61.64% | 37.07% | 15.66% | 6.32% | 7.33% |
| 2011 | 83% | 97.82 | 63.62% | 34.97% | 19.88% | 7.72% | 10.18% |
Help Me Win LABR Mixed League!
February 23, 2012
The fantasy baseball industry has two primary high-profile expert leagues. The League of Alternative Baseball Reality (LABR) was formed in 1994 by John Hunt of USA Today’s Baseball Weekly, before it became Sports Weekly. In the past, it has only included an AL-Only and NL-Only league. Then in 1997, the “bearded one” Ron Shandler, publisher of the Baseball Forecaster and founder of Baseball HQ, created Tout Wars with an AL-Only and NL-Only version, with a mixed league added in 2005. This league was of course made famous by the book “Fantasyland”. This year, Steve Gardner and USA Today have decided to expand LABR to include a mixed league. I am excited to announce that I have been invited to participate in the inaugural LABR mixed league, which I have obviously accepted.
Seven Lessons from an ottoneu Auction
After part one of the auction for the Second FanGraphs Staff League, I took some time to look back at the strategy I set up going into the auction, and to re-strategize for day two, based on where I was.
And looking back, I’d have to say I executed pretty well, although not always in the ways I expected.
Kicking Rocks: Lip Service
You’re gonna have to learn your clichés. You’re gonna have to study them, you’re gonna have to know them. They’re your friends. Write this down: “We gotta play it one day at a time…I’m just happy to be here and hope I can help the ballclub…I just wanna give It my best shot and, Good Lord willing, things’ll work out.” — Crash Davis
While the influx of baseball chatter and interviews is sincerely welcomed at this time of year, we, as fantasy owners, must maintain a clear head and corral that child-like jubilation that a new baseball season brings. You’re going to hear a number of comments regarding players and teams from both coaches and general managers, as well as from the players themselves. You’re going to hear things that get you excited about a particular player and if you don’t take things with a grain of salt, you could get swept up in the pomp and circumstance of spring training, lose sight of what’s actually in front of you, and fall victim to the hype.
So with that, let’s look at some common phrases you’ll hear and how you might want to react to them. Read the rest of this entry »
Another Look at Day One of the FanGraphs Staff ottoneu Auction
Yesterday, my colleague and fantasy competitor, Steve Slowinski, broke down day one of the inaugural auction for the Second FanGraphs Staff League, with an eye towards how his strategy played out. Today we reconvene to finish our bidding marathon, but before we do so, I wanted to take a more general look at part one.
First and foremost, despite Mr. Slowinski’s kind words, I am not sure I am as well positioned as he thinks, nor am I sure my attempt at patience was as smart as it seemed. And that is due to what I would consider some oddities in the bidding.
