Archive for paul goldschmidt

So you take your Prince Fielder or Adrian Gonzalez, you select Evan Longoria or Jose Bautista and breathe a sigh of relief that you have first base and third base covered, now let’s see about building something of a respectable pitching staff. And then around the 15th round it occurs to you that you have that pesky corner infield situation to tend to (not to mention middle infield, and for those of you in such leagues – one or more utility slots — but that’s for another post).

I have fallen into a false sense of security before during drafts where I select a player and feel a little like Ed Norton in Fight Club regarding his couch – that is, “I’ve got that sofa issue handled.” We know there’s more work to be done on the offense side of the dish, yet we might fail to plan as diligently as we did for the respective positions.

This post is a little strategy that might be quite “101” to some, but it was born out of comments about the need to plan for the flex positions in our leagues. The context is standard 5×5, 12 team, non-keeper roto leagues.

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– Ian Kinsler has decided that now is the time to turn on the jets and get going before the playoffs start. In a little over a month, the second baseman has hit ten homers and stolen a couple bases, all while hitting a contextually low .278 thanks to a poor BABIP. Sometime this week, Kinsler will set a personal best in games played, yet his uncharacteristically healthy season has gone mostly unnoticed. His batted ball times are a little worrisome, but I’d like to think he could be a .270/20/20 guy next season, and that’s assuming he misses time. Add in his production if healthy or replacement level production when he’s on the DL, and you have a very good fantasy second baseman.

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Welcome to another game of Keeper League Would You Rather.  While first base is widely considered the deepest position in fantasy baseball, it is also has a high percentage of players protected, given the fact that most of your mashers are found here.  Still, dynasty leagues, AL or NL-only, and deeper mixed leagues have numerous owners looking for cheaper alternatives at the position with the hopes that an inexpensive youngster will eventually provide big time power at a bargain rate.  So let’s look at two of the more popular options from the youth bin…

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Today marks the second day of a new feature we will be trying out here at RotoGraphs. In an attempt to keep you, the fantastical reader, informed, we will be looking at some of the stories around baseball that have an effect on your fantasy team. Because this piece is ultimately being read by you, your opinion is requested. Please chime in using the comments and let us know what you would like to see from this piece.

– Stephen Strasburg, the phenom to end all phenoms, will begin a minor league rehab assignment sometime next week. The Washington Nationals ace has come back quickly from Tommy John surgery, and while some of his owners would prefer him to take it easy and wait until 2012 to return, getting a taste of big league action in 2011 will be good for the Nationals organization. As long as he’s not being rushed back, Strasburg pitching this season shouldn’t be a problem for his long-term development. If you’re in a standard redraft league, don’t worry about picking The Monument up, though.

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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.