FB365 League Transaction Roundup 3/28
A new feature here at FB365 for the 2010 season will be a weekly transaction roundup of all the roster moves made in the FB365 League. I think this will be a great way to look at real life fantasy baseball transactions that could happen in just about any league. Participants in the league will have a chance to explain the reasoning behind their moves and I'll give my own take as well. You can find a recap of our league draft here. Onto the first ever edition of FB365 League Transaction Roundup!
Draft Review: FB365 League
This past Tuesday was the inaugural Fantasy Baseball 365 League draft. The league consists of 12 teams including myself and FB365 readers.
Our rosters consist of: C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, CI, MI, OF (4), UT, P(9) and BN (5). Below are the results of the draft with my commentary below. My picks are bold and italicized.
| Round 1 | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Albert Pujols | Seeking Relief |
| 2. | Hanley Ramírez | Piranhas |
| 3. | Ryan Braun | Braun's ... |
| 4. | Álex Rodríguez | FB365 |
| 5. | Chase Utley | Shallow Be T... |
| 6. | Matt Kemp | DONT HASSLE ... |
| 7. | Joe Mauer | PBurke |
| 8. | Evan Longoria | Schwetty Wei... |
| 9. | Mark Teixeira | Babe Ruthless |
| 10. | Ryan Howard | LosPunchados... |
| 11. | Prince Fielder | Rolen on int... |
| 12. | Miguel Cabrera | Strictly Bus... |
Spring Battles: Jayson Heyward Makes the Team
Today brings some moves that were unsurprising (Heyward) and some that I just don't understand (Sliva). Let's take a look at the latest spring battles and how they will affect your fantasy team.
Braves starting right fielder
The winner: Jayson Heyward
Spring Battles: Winners and Losers so Far
Only a couple weeks left until opening day and teams are starting to make major roster moves and set opening day lineups and rotations. Here are the fantasy winners and losers so far.
Yankee's fifth Starter
Winner: Phil Hughes
After a back and forth battle for the Yankees final rotation spot, manager Joe Girardi finally announced that Phil Hughes would start the season in the rotation.
Surprisingly Similar Starting Pitchers
All alliteration aiside, a couple days ago I took a look at Hiroki Kuroda using the "hidden name method", comparing his peripheral stats to those of Chris Carpenter. It's an interesting way to look at two different pitchers and see how one may have had a bit more fortune than the other. Also, it's a good way of finding some pitchers that may be overvalued or undervalued heading into 2010 drafts.
Using 2009 stats...
Player A: 9.50 K/9, 2.00 BB/9, 40% GB%
Player B: 9.49 K/9, 2.14 BB/9, 38.3 GB%
Aroldis Chapman and Your Fantasy Team
The most interesting part of watching the Reds vs. Rockies spring training game yesterday was the difference in tone before Aroldis Chapman entered the game and how the tone changed as he struggled after his first inning of work.
The announcers, Thom Brennaman and Jeff Brantley, started off by building the anticipation of his appearance as he would relieve Bronson Arroyo in the sixth inning. Chapman came out and dominated in his first inning of work, throwing only eight pitches. The tone of the broadcast was wildly optimistic. They talked about his amazing stuff, about how so many people were knit picking his supposed flaws and how they (and the Reds scouts) didn't see those flaws.
Then, the second inning happened. Chapman didn't have his command. He didn't have his velocity. Suddenly, the tone turned from optimism to, well, excuses.
Three Pitchers to Target in Rounds 15-plus
No matter how much offseason research I do or how many mock drafts I participate in, I never know exactly how I feel about a player until it comes time to actually make a pick on draft day. Having made some of those decisions already, I am certainly getting a feel for which players I really feel comfortable with picking and which players I am avoiding all together. Today I'll look at three pitchers that I am routinely targeting in rounds 15-plus (using ESPN Average Draft Position)
Death, Taxes and Closer Turnover: Knock on Wood
Indians closer Kerry Wood may miss up to two months with a strained latissimus muscle under his right shoulder. Wood seems to think he'll be back much sooner than that. No matter how long he is out, there are saves to be had in the meantime and Chris Perez is the guy who will get the ball in the ninth for Cleveland.
Perez has closing experience on his resume, but his results have been mixed. Strikeouts have never been a problem for Perez, who holds a career 10 K/9 in 98.2 Major League innings. However, his command has been inconsistent at best. His career BB/9 is 4.47 and he can leave the ball over the plate too often, resulting in over one home run per nine innings pitched for his young career.
Perez should be a decent option as a low end closer because of his strikeout ability, but don't reach for him on draft day or give up much to acquire him off of waivers.
