Lots of roster tweaking going on right now as fantasy owners everywhere are trying to put together the perfect squad. But while most of your league has scooped up the top post-draft talent remaining, there are obviously a few strays lying around that could serve as quality bench guys for you to plug in when needed. With the middle infield positions sitting so thin, you might want to start there. Read the rest of this entry »
In the real world, “in the hole” means I’m standing at the top step of the dugout, helmet on, bat in hand, waiting to get into the on-deck circle. In the fantasy world, it means I’ve screwed the pooch. Let’s face it. There’s nothing worse than starting the fantasy season with a bunch of your guys on the DL. Not only do you have to replace players you drafted and hoped would bring you much joy throughout the season, but you also have to fight off an entire league of eager beavers for said replacements.
When was the last time you saw a single position in fantasy take such a beating before the season even gets underway? First there was the sudden change to Brett Myers in Houston. Then Joakim Soria and Ryan Madson headed for the DL, each in need of Tommy John surgery. Then Drew Storen had elbow issues and Frank Francisco needed his knee drained. It’s been a disaster, right?
Well, now it gets worse as Andrew Bailey heads to the shelf for three to four months with thumb surgery and Kyle Farnsworth lands on the DL with elbow soreness. The waiver wire has been a hotbed of action for the last few weeks and it’s getting even hotter with these next two guys…
He probably only cost you a buck in your auction or a 23rd round pick in your 12-team, two-catcher, mixed league snake draft. Not a very steep price to pay at all. But the handwriting is already on the wall and it’s only a matter of time before Ramon Hernandez becomes a wasted pick for you. Wilin Rosario is the catcher-of-the-future in Colorado and when he made the 25-man roster over this past weekend, Hernandez and his owners are learning that the future is now.
Come on, man. It’s one day out of the year. That’s all we’re asking for here. We’re not asking you to split the atom or anything; just give us your undivided attention for only a few hours on one day out of the year. You better have one hell of an excuse for your absence because even just one team on autodraft messes with the draft strategy of everyone else.
As Eno pointed out the other day, six of us from FanGraphs/RotoGraphs joined up with six writers from The Hardball Times to do battle in a 12-team rotisserie league for both bragging rights and charity. The winner gets to donate the prize to the charity of his choice while the site for which he writes gets to reign supreme in the fantasy universe. Sounds like fun? Well, you weren’t there for the four-plus hour auction.
So a buddy of mine calls me the other day in need of a 10th team for his home league. Apparently someone dropped out at the last minute due to work obligations and he needed to find someone competitive to fill the slot. Shallow league, very basic. 10 teams, mixed, 5×5 roto, standard snake draft. Happily, I obliged and decided that this would be a great opportunity to see just how long I could wait on drafting a starting pitcher while still maintaining a competitive staff in the league.
For those that love to follow industry leagues, the Tout Wars drafts took place this past weekend in New York City. In addition to their usual rundown, this year introduced a brand new Mixed League and as I was looking over some of the rosters, Josh Donaldson’s name stuck out to me. He went for $4 to Rotowire’s Derek Van Riper who went with a “stars and scrubs” approach, but considering some of the other names that went for a buck, along with RotoGraphs’ reader Jeff’s question in the Catcher Tiers piece, it seems that Donaldson is on quite a few people’s fantasy radar these days. Now the question remains, is he worth a look?
It’s been somewhat of a bittersweet spring for the Kansas City Royals. On one hand, Eric Hosmer and Alex Gordon are off to great starts and look like they’re going to build on last year’s success while Lorenzo Cain has emerged as a strong force both with the glove and the bat. On the other, you’ve got Salvador Perez down with knee surgery for 12 to 14 weeks and Joakim Soria likely headed for Tommy John surgery…again. The first hand? Music to fantasy owners ears. The second? Not so much. The closer situation will be handled in-house so hopefully you handcuffed your Soria pick to the pair of Jonathan Broxton and Greg Holland. The catching situation, though, forced the Royals to go outside.
I was involved in a 15-team keeper league auction the other day and after staring at Adam Dunn in my queue for what seemed like and eternity, I finally made a move on him. It wasn’t until very late in the draft and I had held back some extra cash but when I ended up shelling out $14 for him, I questioned whether or not I overpaid. Did I not think that Dunn was worth that kind of money so late in an auction or was it simply just a temporary case of buyer’s remorse after strapping myself for cash with another few roster spots left to fill? Then I remembered my rationale after taking him in the 13th round of the KFFL Baseball Analysis Draft & Experts League and Mike Axisa’s 10 Bold Predictions and mental order was restored. Dunn is headed for a big rebound this year and if you can get him on the cheap (and yes, $14 for 40 HR certainly qualifies as cheap), then you make that move.