Archive for Manny Machado

Mike Trout is a stud.  No question about it.  At 20 years old, the Angels outfielder has taken MLB by storm with a .341/.397/.562 slash line that comes with 12 home runs, 40 RBI, 57 runs scored and 26 stolen bases. He’s delivered all of that and, mind you, he was in the minors for the first month of the season. The production has been phenomenal and as an owner of Trout in my primary keeper league, the smile is so wide, it makes the Kool-Aid guy look like a crying fool. But while the old adage is not being able to see the forest through the trees, so many keeper league owners are so hell-bent on building up their future that they fail to see the season at hand and are so willing to dismantle their entire squad simply to acquire Trout and hand me the league this year. Read the rest of this entry »

My primary keeper league is a 15-team, mixed roto league where we start two guys at each position with six outfielders and nine pitchers.  We draft our starting roster and then have just two opportunities  — the final week of April and mid-May — to fill out a 10-player bench from the free agent player pool.  That’s it.  No other time.  There’s no streaming of pitchers throughout the year unless you roster a few on your bench and there’s no waiting to pounce on a rookie on the waiver wire once he gets called up.  You need to know in March who is going to get called up, regardless of whether it’s mid-season or September.  The first month and a half is all about knowledge and foresight. Read the rest of this entry »