At the request of you, the readers, we are covering the early Average Draft Position (ADP) results by individual position Over the past week, you’ve seen results for Second Basemen and AL Starting Pitchers, so now it’s time to cover the boys behind the plate. Here are some early ADP results for the Catchers with a few thoughts added in. Read the rest of this entry »
How many times have we heard this before…?
“It’s just a stupid game.”
“I always thought I’d end up with someone who played sports, not watched them on their computer.”
“What do you mean you can’t come to my sister’s rehearsal dinner because you have a draft?”
Yesterday I covered the bottom half of the list here, numbers 10 through 6. Some solid speculation on some people’s part in the comments section as to who made the top five, so without further ado…
Injuries are just the worst. While, in most leagues, you have the ability to add and drop players on a regular basis, nothing ruins a fantasy season more than when your team gets decimated by injuries. You may possess the most in-depth knowledge of both baseball and statistics, but when the injury bug makes a run through your team, you can only do so much to keep pace. In most cases, you simply cannot predict when it’s going to happen to your guys. Fluke injuries happen all the time. However, there are, obviously, numerous players out there that have a very visible track record and you need to decide come draft day (or even in a trade) if they are worth the risk. So here’s a list of the top 10 most injury-plagued major leaguers with some thoughts as to whether you should take a chance or let them be your competition’s problem. We’ll cover the first half today and then bring you home with the rest tomorrow.
Let’s face it. Fantasy football is for suckers. You can have the worst draft in the world and still end up in your championship game just by being active and playing the waiver wire properly. It is not nearly as complex nor as difficult to find success at as it is in fantasy baseball. Still, it serves as a great distraction through the long, cold winter when all you have to keep you warm is the news from the Hot Stove League and the anticipation of your fantasy baseball draft.
By now you’ve already heard the news that the Rockies traded Chris Iannetta and his over-inflated OBP to the “can we please have Mike Napoli back, our catchers stink” Angels while signing Reds free agent Ramon Hernandez as a replacement and mentor for prospect Wilin Rosario. If not, then wake up and check out articles here from Erik Hahmann, Jack Moore and Chris Cwik, all of whom have chimed in on the move. But while all that is certainly big news, my fantasy radar keeps me in Cincinnati. With the departure of Hernandez, the Reds will have a new catching tandem to watch and, more than likely, bigger possibilities on the horizon.
When it gets down to the final few rounds of your draft or those last couple of auction dollars, you need to make some smart decisions. Keeper league owners usually drift towards the minor league hopefuls that could make an impact either this year or next, but for re-draft leagues, it’s about winning now. Sure, you could take a chance on a prospect and hope to get a second half call-up, but obviously there are no guarantees and the player could be waiver fodder by mid-season, rendering the pick a waste. You might be better served sifting through some of the major league rosters and finding yourself a couple of utility players who could realistically end up with extra playing time. It happens almost every year, and the value that some of these guys produce by year’s end could be the difference between a championship squad and an “also-ran”.
As we sit and wait for all the big-named free agents to find themselves new homes, it’s time to start thinking about strategy for next year. There are numerous of ways to go about drafting your team and you’re going to hear plenty of do’s and don’ts from a variety of people. So allow me to chime in here first and tell you why punting saves should not be in your plans when developing a proper draft strategy. Some people see no harm in it and tell you to just bulk up elsewhere. I disagree. It’s an automatic concession of points to your competition and immediately puts you at a disadvantage.
Over the last week or so we’ve done plenty of articles discussing the impending move of the Houston Astros to the American League and how it will impact those in the fantasy baseball community. But no matter how many times we attempt to look on the bright side and find the silver lining in it all, there’s one common thing that seems to come through in every piece. It’s like that early montage in the movie Major League where the Indians’ fan base is looking at their 40 man roster in disbelief — from some guy asking who Mitchell Friedman is to the groundskeepers’ claims that “these guys are sh*tty”. There’s almost no love for the 2012 Astros and very little hope for the club moving forward. However, just like the old fantasy adage (is there such a thing?) that states that even closers on bad teams can be good and helpful, the same can be said about everyday players from Houston. Just because the team is in relative shambles, doesn’t mean that you can’t find some helpful players at a bargain cost.
Last season, there was plenty of fanfare when Anthony Rizzo was brought up by the San Diego Padres. He was the prized, power hitting lefty acquired in the Adrian Gonzalez deal and with the Padres removed from playoff contention and looking to save a little face, it was time to see what he could do. Unfortunately for him, the team, and his fantasy owners, the call-up turned into just a quick cup of coffee as Rizzo ultimately flopped. Granted it was just 153 plate appearances, but with a K-rate of 30.1% and a triple-slash line of .141/.281/.242, the 22 year old Rizzo looked over-matched. This year, as we head into spring, the Padres will likely give him every opportunity to win the first base job and while his owners are hoping for him to succeed, Jesus Guzman just might have something to say about it.