My Baseball HQ Roto 350 Team
As part of my trip to First Pitch Arizona earlier this month, I decided to participate in Baseball HQ's Roto 350 contest. Basically, I got $350 (fake) bucks to spend on 40 players, which are the players I will be stuck with for the majority of the season (there are only a couple of chances to add free agents throughout the summer and you'd need to free up cap room to add them). All of the player values were pre-set at their average 2010-2011 dollar values, so the very first thing I did was scan the list for potential values. After highlighting these, I then observed the values of the players I most wanted.
The league uses OBP, HR, SB and (I honestly can't remember, but I think it was something like TB-SB) for hitters and W, ERA, SO and (SV+HOLDS-Blown Saves) for pitchers. I spent every last dollar of my allotted $350. Here are the 40 players on my team...
C Buster Posey $6 - This was an easy one. Posey should be a top catcher in both AVG and OBP formats and his injury-shortened 2011 makes his $6 price tag a bargain.
C Carlos Santana $13 - Anyone who follows this site is well aware of my love for Santana. He's one of my few fantasy baseball man-crushes (currently battling with Matt Wieters for top man-crush as a catcher). Santana is a walk machine and should see a rise in AVG and OBP with a better BABIP next season. A .370 OBP with 30 home runs from a catcher for $13? Why, yes, I would like that very much.
1B Ike Davis $8 - I'm taking a little risk on with Davis, who never came back from a nasty ankle injury last season. However, for $8, I think he'll be a bargain capable of a .350-plus OBP and 25-plus home runs.
3B Jose Bautista $47 - No bargain shopping here. In an OBP league, Bautista is that car that you pay over sticker price for because you just have to have it.
1B/3B Pablo Sabdoval $11 - Sandoval's poor 2010 season helped bring his dollar value down here. He's currently Tweeting his workout pictures, so these days may be behind him!
2B Dustin Ackley $9 - Ackley posted a .348 OBP as a rookie and has 15/15 potential in his first full big league season.
SS Troy Tulowitzki $28 - Yeah, he's good. $28 is a fair price.
2B/SS J.J. Hardy $5 - Hardy won't help in the OBP department, but if he stays healthy 20-30 home runs are in the cards.
OF Mike Stanton $15 - Good luck getting Stanton for only $15 in any auction draft in 2012.
OF Jacoby Ellsbury $24 - While I don't expect Ellsbury to hit for as much power in 2012, I do expect him to steal more bases, something I tried to focus on with a few of my outfielders.
OF Peter Bourjos $6 - I'm not expecting Bourjos to help much in the OBP department, but 15-plus home runs and around 30 stolen bases will help at $6.
OF Desmond Jennings $10 - Last season, between triple-A and the majors, Jennings hit 22 home runs and stole 37 bases. You see what I'm doing here? Ellsbury, Bourjos and Jennings all represent power/speed threats that lean toward the stolen base side.
OF Jason Heyward $16 - Heyward posted a .393 OBP as a rookie, but his OBP fell to .319 last season due to injury and mechanical issues. He still has all the talent in the world and I'm willing to bet on a bounce-back season in 2012.
UT Brett Lawrie $8 - As long as Lawrie stays healthy, he is almost certain to be a bargain at $8.
SP Clayton Kershaw $29 - Unlike what I would normally do in an auction draft, I decided to spend more on pitching in this format. Given that there aren't many chances to add free agents, I knew that I needed pitching depth. Kershaw is my number one ranked starting pitcher for 2012, so I had to have him on this team.
SP CC Sabathia $25 - Not many pitchers have been as consistently good as Sabathia.
SP Jon Lester $18 - I'd guess that Lester goes for $20-25 in 2012 auctions. He still has a very good strikeout rate and the offense/defense to help him win 20 games.
SP Madison Bumgarner $11 - An excellent K/BB rate, a good ground ball rate, a low number of home runs allowed and room to improve? All for the bargain price of $11? Yes please.
SP Stephen Strasburg $2 - This was one of the first names I penciled into my roster. Missing almost all of 2011 due to Tommy John Surgery made Strasburg and absolute no-brainer at $2. He should easily be worth $20-plus in 2012.
SP Jordan Zimmermann $4 - Just as I took advantage of the low cost of Strasburg, I simply had to have Zimmerman, who also missed time due to Tommy John surgery, at a mere $4.
RP Kenley Jansen $3 - With the potential to post huge strikeout numbers, I don't care if Jansen closes or not in this format given the use of saves and holds.
RP Jonathan Papelbon $8 - His 3.90 ERA in 2010 helped to keep his cost down, so I jumped at the chance for a value on saves (this was before he signed in PHI, but I think $8 will be a value either way).
RP Ryan Madson $8 - Madson should end up signing as a closer somewhere. He could be a better pitcher than Papelbon in 2012.
BN David Freese $5 - While I'm affraid that his incredible postseason performance will overvalue him a little on draft day 2012, there is no way I could pass up on a $5 cost for a potential $15-20 value at third base.
BN Grady Sizemore $1 - Who wouldn't spend $1 on a potential bounce-back season from Sizemore, even if he doesn't play 120 games.
BN Chris Davis $1 - As depth at 1B and 3B, I take the $1 flier on Davis's power potential.
BN Brandon Morrow $3 - If he lives up to his peripherals, he's a $20 pitcher. If not, at least I get good strikeout numbers for $3.
BN Joe Nathan $1 - Due to time missed with injury and poor numbers when he returned from injury, Nathan was a potential bargain at $1. Now that he has signed with Texas, there is no question that he will be worth a buck.
BN Bobby Parnell $1 - If he closes, great. If not, fine. I'll take the saves or the holds along with good strikeout numbers and the potential for an ERA under three.
BN Derrek Holland $4 - The breakout potential is there (3.76 xFIP in 2011) and at $4 Holland adds some cheap pitching depth.
BN Kurt Suzuki $2 - I was looking for some depth at catcher here. Suzuki should be good for around 15 home runs.
BN Kyle Blanks $1 - The power potential is there and he has shown good OBP potential in the minors.
BN Eric Bedard $2 - Pitchers that missed time with injury seem to be potential bargains in this format. Taking Bedard for $2 gives me depth at a low cost and I don't need him to stay healthy for a full season to earn that value.
BN Bud Norris $3 - Norris may not win many games due to a pathetic team around him, but he will give my team good strikeout numbers and a high-threes ERA.
BN Ricky Nolasco $2 - I'm slowly getting over my Hot Nolasco Sauce man-crush, but for $2 I'll give him and his peripherals another shot.
BN Nolan Reimold $3 - If he wins the starting left-field job in Baltimore, he could be a cheap source of a .350 OBP and 20-plus home runs.
BN Ryan Kalish $1 - It's yet to be seen how the right field situation sorts out in Boston, but a healthy Kalish has enough upside to spend $1 as a roster filler here.
BN Joel Peralta $3 - I love me some holds!
BN Rich Harden $1 - I'm not among those who think Harden can succeed as a starter anymore, but he has strikeout potential and could be a dominant reliever, in my opinion, should someone sign him to that role.
BN Jed Lowrie $2 - We'll see how the Sox use Lowrie in 2012, but he can be extremely useful in streaks and provides depth for my team at both 3B and SS.
The league uses OBP, HR, SB and (I honestly can't remember, but I think it was something like TB-SB) for hitters and W, ERA, SO and (SV+HOLDS-Blown Saves) for pitchers. I spent every last dollar of my allotted $350. Here are the 40 players on my team...
C Buster Posey $6 - This was an easy one. Posey should be a top catcher in both AVG and OBP formats and his injury-shortened 2011 makes his $6 price tag a bargain.
C Carlos Santana $13 - Anyone who follows this site is well aware of my love for Santana. He's one of my few fantasy baseball man-crushes (currently battling with Matt Wieters for top man-crush as a catcher). Santana is a walk machine and should see a rise in AVG and OBP with a better BABIP next season. A .370 OBP with 30 home runs from a catcher for $13? Why, yes, I would like that very much.
1B Ike Davis $8 - I'm taking a little risk on with Davis, who never came back from a nasty ankle injury last season. However, for $8, I think he'll be a bargain capable of a .350-plus OBP and 25-plus home runs.
3B Jose Bautista $47 - No bargain shopping here. In an OBP league, Bautista is that car that you pay over sticker price for because you just have to have it.
1B/3B Pablo Sabdoval $11 - Sandoval's poor 2010 season helped bring his dollar value down here. He's currently Tweeting his workout pictures, so these days may be behind him!
2B Dustin Ackley $9 - Ackley posted a .348 OBP as a rookie and has 15/15 potential in his first full big league season.
SS Troy Tulowitzki $28 - Yeah, he's good. $28 is a fair price.
2B/SS J.J. Hardy $5 - Hardy won't help in the OBP department, but if he stays healthy 20-30 home runs are in the cards.
OF Mike Stanton $15 - Good luck getting Stanton for only $15 in any auction draft in 2012.
OF Jacoby Ellsbury $24 - While I don't expect Ellsbury to hit for as much power in 2012, I do expect him to steal more bases, something I tried to focus on with a few of my outfielders.
OF Peter Bourjos $6 - I'm not expecting Bourjos to help much in the OBP department, but 15-plus home runs and around 30 stolen bases will help at $6.
OF Desmond Jennings $10 - Last season, between triple-A and the majors, Jennings hit 22 home runs and stole 37 bases. You see what I'm doing here? Ellsbury, Bourjos and Jennings all represent power/speed threats that lean toward the stolen base side.
OF Jason Heyward $16 - Heyward posted a .393 OBP as a rookie, but his OBP fell to .319 last season due to injury and mechanical issues. He still has all the talent in the world and I'm willing to bet on a bounce-back season in 2012.
UT Brett Lawrie $8 - As long as Lawrie stays healthy, he is almost certain to be a bargain at $8.
SP Clayton Kershaw $29 - Unlike what I would normally do in an auction draft, I decided to spend more on pitching in this format. Given that there aren't many chances to add free agents, I knew that I needed pitching depth. Kershaw is my number one ranked starting pitcher for 2012, so I had to have him on this team.
SP CC Sabathia $25 - Not many pitchers have been as consistently good as Sabathia.
SP Jon Lester $18 - I'd guess that Lester goes for $20-25 in 2012 auctions. He still has a very good strikeout rate and the offense/defense to help him win 20 games.
SP Madison Bumgarner $11 - An excellent K/BB rate, a good ground ball rate, a low number of home runs allowed and room to improve? All for the bargain price of $11? Yes please.
SP Stephen Strasburg $2 - This was one of the first names I penciled into my roster. Missing almost all of 2011 due to Tommy John Surgery made Strasburg and absolute no-brainer at $2. He should easily be worth $20-plus in 2012.
SP Jordan Zimmermann $4 - Just as I took advantage of the low cost of Strasburg, I simply had to have Zimmerman, who also missed time due to Tommy John surgery, at a mere $4.
RP Kenley Jansen $3 - With the potential to post huge strikeout numbers, I don't care if Jansen closes or not in this format given the use of saves and holds.
RP Jonathan Papelbon $8 - His 3.90 ERA in 2010 helped to keep his cost down, so I jumped at the chance for a value on saves (this was before he signed in PHI, but I think $8 will be a value either way).
RP Ryan Madson $8 - Madson should end up signing as a closer somewhere. He could be a better pitcher than Papelbon in 2012.
BN David Freese $5 - While I'm affraid that his incredible postseason performance will overvalue him a little on draft day 2012, there is no way I could pass up on a $5 cost for a potential $15-20 value at third base.
BN Grady Sizemore $1 - Who wouldn't spend $1 on a potential bounce-back season from Sizemore, even if he doesn't play 120 games.
BN Chris Davis $1 - As depth at 1B and 3B, I take the $1 flier on Davis's power potential.
BN Brandon Morrow $3 - If he lives up to his peripherals, he's a $20 pitcher. If not, at least I get good strikeout numbers for $3.
BN Joe Nathan $1 - Due to time missed with injury and poor numbers when he returned from injury, Nathan was a potential bargain at $1. Now that he has signed with Texas, there is no question that he will be worth a buck.
BN Bobby Parnell $1 - If he closes, great. If not, fine. I'll take the saves or the holds along with good strikeout numbers and the potential for an ERA under three.
BN Derrek Holland $4 - The breakout potential is there (3.76 xFIP in 2011) and at $4 Holland adds some cheap pitching depth.
BN Kurt Suzuki $2 - I was looking for some depth at catcher here. Suzuki should be good for around 15 home runs.
BN Kyle Blanks $1 - The power potential is there and he has shown good OBP potential in the minors.
BN Eric Bedard $2 - Pitchers that missed time with injury seem to be potential bargains in this format. Taking Bedard for $2 gives me depth at a low cost and I don't need him to stay healthy for a full season to earn that value.
BN Bud Norris $3 - Norris may not win many games due to a pathetic team around him, but he will give my team good strikeout numbers and a high-threes ERA.
BN Ricky Nolasco $2 - I'm slowly getting over my Hot Nolasco Sauce man-crush, but for $2 I'll give him and his peripherals another shot.
BN Nolan Reimold $3 - If he wins the starting left-field job in Baltimore, he could be a cheap source of a .350 OBP and 20-plus home runs.
BN Ryan Kalish $1 - It's yet to be seen how the right field situation sorts out in Boston, but a healthy Kalish has enough upside to spend $1 as a roster filler here.
BN Joel Peralta $3 - I love me some holds!
BN Rich Harden $1 - I'm not among those who think Harden can succeed as a starter anymore, but he has strikeout potential and could be a dominant reliever, in my opinion, should someone sign him to that role.
BN Jed Lowrie $2 - We'll see how the Sox use Lowrie in 2012, but he can be extremely useful in streaks and provides depth for my team at both 3B and SS.
