Archive for Outfielders

Relevance in baseball and relevance in fantasy baseball are two completely different things. While the Houston Astros themselves haven’t been relevant to the real baseball world since the Biggio and Bagwell days, there have been a few players from Houston who have done right by the fantasy community. Just because their team sucks, doesn’t mean they do. You have to look at it like stripping down a car and selling off the parts. Collectively, they aren’t worth much, but separately, you’ve got some real nice value to be had. And so it is with the Astros outfield. On the whole, it’s not looking too good and there are numerous other outfields you’d rather see on your favorite team. But fantasy-wise, there’s still hope. Read the rest of this entry »

When the New York Yankees signed free agent outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury to a ridiculous seven-year, $153M contract, not only did they likely say adios to second baseman Robinson Cano, but they also reiterated the fact that they simply don’t trust Brett Gardner enough to be their regular center fielder or leadoff hitter. Is he not capable of playing well defensively out there? Can he not get on-base at a reasonable rate? Is he not fast enough to steal bases and set the table properly for the heart of the order? Apparently not, if the Yankees continue to push him aside for every over-priced marquee name that looks their way. Forget about the fact that last season, his first real opportunity to play center field and bat leadoff, he posted a .271/.344/.412 slash line and played a strong defensive game. In Yankee-land, that’s role-player material, at best, worthy of move to left field and trip back to the bottom of the order.

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With Jacoby Ellsbury immersed in the free agent frenzy, the Red Sox seem to be making plans for life in Boston without him. The latest rumors have them looking at Carlos Beltran for right field with Shane Victorino moving to center and Daniel Nava playing left. But the Sox are obviously kicking the tires on a few others and apparently, one thing helping them is Nava’s versatility. With his ability to play either corner position, the Sox can keep their options open and not limit themselves to just the short list of quality right fielders out there. But the real question here is, how do the Sox envision their outfield structure for 2014 and how exactly does Nava fit in? Read the rest of this entry »

On Monday night I took part in a 15-team mock draft for a fantasy sports site to be named later, and while I cannot divulge the results of the draft, as they will be using it for their draft kit, I can talk about one particular dilemma I had when it was time for my pick in the third round. The draft was set up for a two-catcher league with five outfielders, nine pitchers and all the other standard stuff as far as a middle infielder, corner infielder, utility, etc. I had the third pick which I absolutely hated, but made the best of it as best I could. However, when it came to the third round for me — the 33rd pick of the draft — there I was, staring at a personal favorite of mine who let me down last season but also someone in whom I still believe. Dare I make that pick again? Do I take that chance? Am I even taking a chance? Is this pick too high for him? These are the questions that ran through my mind when I said to myself, “Yoenis or No-enis?” Read the rest of this entry »

The 2013 season was a season unlike anything we’ve seen from Coco Crisp. Rather than accrue the majority of his value via his steals, his stolen base numbers were cut nearly in half from his 39 bags in 2012 to just 21 this season. This year Crisp launched a career high 22 home runs, including his 100th career home run (where the present author can be seen celebrating at the 0:38 mark and again at 0:52. And yes, that is a Kurt Suzuki shirsey).

                 
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I’m not really sure what is driving the obsession here, but count me in here for a third time discussing Cardinals 1B/OF Allen Craig. The first time I wrote about The Wrench, back in late January, I questioned the almost unbearable hype he was getting that pushed his ADP to a level that almost ensured he wasn’t going to live up to everyone’s expectations. As I said back then, I wasn’t dogging him as a player as much as I was criticizing the hype machine and those who mindlessly followed it, ultimately driving his ADP to somewhere between the late third and early fifth rounds. I just didn’t see him as a player worthy of such a high draft choice, and certainly not at a position as deep as first base or the outfield. Read the rest of this entry »

As we move into the outfielders this week and look at Zach Sanders’ end of season rankings, there’s no better place for me to start than at the top. Why? Because let’s face it, writing a piece about Mike Trout is probably the easiest thing in the world to do. This poor guy (and I say that very tongue in cheek) has been dissected and analyzed by almost every writer and/or sabermetrician out there over the last two-plus years and all of them have come to the exact same conclusion: Wow. This guy’s pretty good. They’ve looked at his raw stats, his rate stats, his splits, his swing, his defensive ability, you name it. This diamond has been looked at under every gem loop of every level of magnification there is. With very little argument from most, the assessment is that he is the best, most well-rounded outfielder in the game right now. So what more is left to say? Well, I’ll tell you. Read the rest of this entry »

Wow. You look at that calendar and it just hits you like a ton of bricks. With only about a dozen games to go for each team, this is it. We’ve basically got one more scoring period to go in roto leagues and this is likely it for most head to head championships. It’s crazy how quickly this season seems to have slipped by. But if you’re still looking for that quick fix, that body to fill that roster hole with a splash of productivity, well, we’ll just keep throwing stuff against the wall and see what sticks for you. For my final waiver wire piece of the 2013 regular season I give you a pair of dynamic superstars who could very well be available in your not-so-deep-leagues. Read the rest of this entry »

While it seems like time is rapidly running out, there are still roughly three weeks to go in the regular season and that’s still enough time to make a move in a few of the categories involving counting stats. Runs scored and stolen bases are still available on your waiver wire and while it might take the full three weeks to see some results, an impact can still be made…hopefully. With such little time left, you’ve got to pull out all the stops and every bit of help counts. Here are two guys who can probably help in those categories. Read the rest of this entry »

As mentioned last week and around this time every year, with such little time left in the season, you’re simply looking for guys who are contributing now. Worrying about a guy’s ROS stats here on September 4 is a bit silly as few guys available are going to have numbers so enticing that they become a “must-have.” September call-ups are here and eating into a lot of veteran time, so the obvious trick is to find guys who will continue playing regardless of who the team brings up. Here are two guys you may want to consider… Read the rest of this entry »