The Baltimore infield gave us quite a few fantasy relevant options last year. They had a player finish inside the top 12 at every position other than second base, and Chris Davis emerged as a complete stud. Their four fantasy relevant guys will return to their positions, but there are some questions about whether they’ll be able to repeat their value from last year.
Considering I just covered the A’s infield earlier this month when the team acquired infielder Jed Lowrie in exchange for Brad Peacock and Chris Carter, this one will actually be short and sweet. There hasn’t been any change in the two weeks since that last article was published. What I did do was a little more studying of the team and consulted with those who follow the A’s much more closely than I do and whose opinions I trust and respect. Read the rest of this entry »
You can tell we’re all itching for pitchers and catchers to report when multiple RotoGraphs writers start jumping all over a trade between the A’s and the Astros that doesn’t really have any marquee talent to discuss. But hey, we’re almost there. Just days away, in fact. But while others handle the power bat of Chris Carter, the potential of Brad Peacock and the dregs of what’s left in Houston, I’m going to take a look at how Jed Lowrie’s arrival in Oakland is going to impact the A’s, and how, for fantasy purposes, the outlook isn’t so good. Read the rest of this entry »
Today’s Roto Riteup will not include suggestions for who to pick today in The Game, since the day’s game will have already started by the time this goes live. When games don’t start at ungodly hours, you should expect to see suggestions for the current day’s games.
Since fantasy owners watch games with a certain slant, here are some notes on things you may want to look for during the first few games of the year.
– One thing to take note of over the first week or two of the season is Jemile Weeks’ approach at the dish. The speedy second baseman walked a good deal in the minors, but he tended to opt to put the ball in play during his stint with the A’s last season. Last season the switch-hitter averaged 3.85 pitches per plate appearance and swung 42.7% of the time, so use those numbers as a sort of benchmark going forward. If he decides to walk in the majors, his OBP could make him supremely valuable.
So we’ve done a pretty thorough bludgeoning of the recent reader mock draft, looking at almost every round except for the fliers, and covering several of the positions along the way as well. Second base has me particularly concerned headed into 2012, so let’s break down how the readers handled the challenge of staffing their squads at that position.
The following chart is pretty self explanatory – where the player was selected in the reader mock, what their average draft position is over at Mock Draft Central, and the difference between the two to the right:
| Player | Reader Mock | MDC ADP | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Robinson Cano | 6 | 11 | -5 |
| Dustin Pedroia | 17 | 17 | 0 |
| Ian Kinsler | 28 | 23 | 5 |
| Brandon Phillips | 44 | 60 | -16 |
| Dan Uggla | 59 | 53 | 6 |
| Rickie Weeks | 70 | 78 | -8 |
| Ben Zobrist | 71 | 80 | -9 |
| Chase Utley | 80 | 76 | 4 |
| Howie Kendrick | 92 | 107 | -15 |
| Jason Kipnis | 103 | 162 | -59 |
| Dustin Ackley | 122 | 134 | -12 |
| Danny Espinosa | 126 | 149 | -23 |
| Jemile Weeks | 140 | 152 | -12 |
| Neil Walker | 145 | 139 | 6 |
| Aaron Hill | 226 | 310 | -84 |
| Kelly Johnson | 227 | 329 | -102 |
| Ryan Roberts | 244 | 197 | 47 |
| Jose Altuve | 274 | 228 | 46 |
| Mike Aviles | 279 | 339 | -60 |
| Ryan Raburn | 294 | 346 | -52 |
| Gordon Beckham | 304 | 318 | -14 |
| Daniel Murphy | 313 | 289 | 24 |
| Brian Roberts | 320 | 350 | -30 |
| Alexi Casilla | 329 | 223 | 106 |
With Rafael Furcal (oblique) back on the DL for the Dodgers and Oakland’s Mark Ellis leaving Monday night’s game with a right hamstring injury, a pair of top middle infield prospects are primed to get plenty of big league playing time over the next few weeks, and possibly much longer.
Shortstop Dee Gordon made his debut for L.A. last night as a pinch-runner. Manager Don Mattingly intends to start him most nights as the increasingly fragile Furcal heals, according to a Tweet by Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times. Second baseman Jemile Weeks hasn’t officially gotten the call to the majors yet, but the move is expected with Ellis possibly landing on the DL. Here’s a quick look at what to expect from Weeks and Gordon.
We’re back with another edition of RotoGraphs’ Deep Keepers.
Paul Goldschmidt | 1B | Arizona
You have to love Goldschmidt’s debut numbers: .334/.408/.638 in 287 at-bats. However, he was playing in rookie ball. As a college-drafted prospect, he was probably playing against equal or lesser talent than he faced in Division I college ball. Bumped up to high-A ball in ’10, Goldschmidt has a 1.032 OPS in 11 games. Keep in mind, though, that the California League is a very good hitter’s league, so it’s going to skew his numbers. The 28 Ks in 47 at-bats is also a huge red flag; a strikeout rate of that level is not going to fly in the upper levels, so he has adjustments to make. With that said, you cannot ignore the success that he’s had so far. Monitor his progress.
Nick Weglarz | OF/1B | Cleveland
Weglarz fell off the prospect map a little bit last year after hitting .227/.377/.431 in double-A. On the plus side, his strikeout rate has shown signs of improvement over the past two seasons (it’s basically gone from very high to high), and his walk rate was an outstanding 17.6%. In fact, there is some thought that his patience is actually hurting him, as he’s letting too many hittable pitches go by. One of the big culprits behind his ’09 struggles was his BABIP, which was a crazy-low .245. Keeping in mind that Weglarz is still just 22, he has a lot of potential as an on-base machine with 20-25 homer potential. He’s currently hitting .321/.472/.679 back in double-A.
Jemile Weeks | 2B | Oakland
Weeks split the ’09 season between high-A and double-A but he began the year on the DL and may have never been truly 100%. An explosive, offensive-minded second baseman, Weeks is off to a hot start this season with a line of .342/.419/.579 in 10 games. He has the chance to hit for average and pretty good power (for a second baseman) at the MLB level. For him to truly reach his peek value, the former University of Miami star needs to start stealing bases again. A strong ’10 season by Weeks could convince the A’s to decline Mark Ellis‘ option to return for 2011.
Jordan Walden | RHP | Los Angeles (AL)
A move to the bullpen can do wonders for stalled pitching prospects. A top prospect as a starter, Walden struggled with staying healthy and with developing a reliable third pitch. Lacking pitching depth in the upper levels of the system, the organization chose to convert Walden to the ‘pen so he could focus on his heavy fastball and good slider. The early results have been good as he’s struck out seven batters in three double-A innings and has yet to allow a run. Relievers that can strike out batters and induce a significant number of ground balls can have a lot of success, and Walden looks like a future closer.
Nick Barnese | RHP | Tampa Bay
The pitching depth in Tampa Bay’s system is bordering on ridiculous and Barnese is yet another promising hurler who does not get quite as much ink as some of the other arms. He appeared in just 15 games in ’09 thanks to injuries but he posted a 3.43 FIP and allowed just 56 hits in 74.2 low-A innings. Moved up to high-A in 2010, the right-hander has given up just five hits in 13.1 innings and he’s struck out 10 batters with just two walks. Just 21, Barnese has a ceiling of a No. 2 or 3 starter. He could reach the Majors as soon as mid-2011, if he keeps pitching well.
The Arizona Fall League is a developmental league for prospects that either A) Need a bit of fine-tuning before reaching the Majors, B) Need extra work after missing a chunk of the ‘09 season due to injury, and/or C) Are being considered for inclusion on the 40-man roster this winter.
Josh Bell, 3B, Baltimore
Obtained at mid-season from the Dodgers (in exchange for George Sherrill), Bell has proven to be a smart pick-up for the Orioles. The soon-to-be 23 year old posted an ISO of .281 after the trade, during 114 at-bats at double-A. Overall, he hit .297 on the season in double-A with 20 homers in 448 at-bats. He’s shown patience at the plate with two straight seasons with a +10% walk rate. So far in the AFL, he’s posting the second-highest batting average behind Florida’s Mike Stanton. Bell may need a little bit more seasoning in triple-A before taking over for long-time third baseman Melvin Mora, who is likely to depart Baltimore this winter via free agency.
Bryan Petersen, OF, Florida
A personal favorite of mine, Petersen had a 23/23 season in ’08 but followed that up in ’09 with reduction in both home runs (seven) and steals (13 in 25 attempts) in double-A. The 23 year old remains an intriguing outfield prospect, in part because he reduced his strikeout rate from more than 20% to 15.3%. He also does a nice job of getting on-base by hitting .280-.300 and he’s not afraid to take a walk (10.4%). He’s hitting .441 through seven AFL games, but he’s been caught the one time that he tried to steal. Petersen could surface in Florida by the end of ’10, especially if he can improve his base running.
Grant Desme, OF, Oakland
It’s easy to get excited about Desme’s season because the 23-year-old outfielder hit 31 homers in 486 at-bats, including a .352 ISO rate in 227 high-A at-bats. Two things work against him, though: A) He was old for low-A and old-ish for high-A, and B) He struck out more than 30% of the time. The ’09 season was the first year that he’s been healthy since signing back in ’07. Desme is currently leading the AFL in homers with seven (three more than the next closest hitter) and he’s hitting .436 despite striking out 13 times in 39 at-bats. We probably won’t see Desme in Oakland before 2011.
Freddie Freeman, 1B, Atlanta
One of the youngest hitters in the league, Freeman is struggling in the AFL. He’s hitting just .174/.296/.217 in 23 at-bats. The first baseman also stumbled at double-A in the second half of the minor league season in ’09. After scorching high-A ball earlier in the year, he hit just .248/.308/.342 in 149 at-bats. Freeman hit just .164 in August. He just turned 20 in September so there is no reason to be worried. He should be in Atlanta by mid-to-late 2011.
Jemile Weeks, 2B, Oakland
The 22-year-old Weeks is in the AFL to make up for lost time after beginning the year on the disabled list. Upon his return, he was on fire for the first two months before slumping in July; he never really hit consistently after that. His struggles continue in the AFL with a line of .182/.250/.303 through 33 at-bats. Weeks, though, is showing some patience with three walks and he’s been successful in both of his steal attempts. Weeks may debut in Oakland around the same time as Desme… 2011.