Saturday, March 21, 2009

Mike Jacobs


Dude can hit. Spring training is treating him and the Marlins well. Mike Jacobs has 5HRs and 12RBIs so far and he's still under 30 years old. He's over the golden 27 but he still has the potential for a big season for owners. If you are in need of power than he might be it. You will have to suffer from a low average, .260's, and 100+Ks. What you will get is 25HRs/90-100RBIs. This guy is worth the draft pick, not early though.

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Thoughts

Joba Chamberlain - Spring training started off slowly for him but he seems to have found his groove. I am still not sold on him and would not take him in a draft until the mid-teens. Since the Yanks want to take it easy on this pitcher, don't expect him to throw more than 140-160 innings this year. Then comes the injury factor. Just not a pitcher I would waste a pick on early.

Manny - Well, he signed his contract and now he's going to be sitting and resting his sore hamstring. In most leagues, this slugger is going in the 4-5th rounds. Remember, he has an option to opt out of the contract at the end of the season so for fantasy owners this is great news...another contract year. More massive numbers on the horizon?

Robinson Cano - He has a sore shoulder but seems to be doing fine now. This 2B is going in drafts more for his name and his team than his true value. Keep an eye on his health. He has the potential for 15-20HRs while batting .320.

Cole Hamels - Dude is sore. I would watch this situation very carefully because the injury is with his elbow. Not something you want with a pitcher. Again, proves the point of drafting pitchers early, just don't do it!

Pudge - He's back in the bigs. He signed with the Astros and will be a decent catcher for the year. As long as he is healthy he should give you decent production from your catcher spot.

Mike Aviles - This guy is all about average. If he isn't hitting .320 he isn't giving you much. His WBC action, .200avg, just doesn't cut it for me. You heard it from me first, he's going to be a flop this year.

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Monday, March 9, 2009

A-Rod Update

He's out 6-9 weeks.

Ok, this is great news if he can stay healthy for the rest of the year because he is due for a second surgery at the end of the season. First surgery is just to hold him through until the second one.

Owners should stay away from A-Rod in the first round. There is too much at stake with a first round pick to give it to someone who might be out for the season. Remember, you can't win your league with your first pick but you can surely lose one!

Now you might ask, how far should I let him fall into someone grabs him off the board. It is all about risk and reward. I would most likely grab him in round 3. At this point in time I would have two strong bats and I can gamble a little with a 3rd bat. But again, this is all up to you and how much risk you want to take on.

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Saturday, March 7, 2009

A-Rod

The whole situation with A-Rod is a little complicated. But if you want to look at it from a simple point of view think about it this way. A-Rod is a first 2 to 3 picks in any draft, there is no doubt about it. But now that there is a medical issue so how far will he drop. I would recommend not drafting him unless he drops to the late first round. Of course this is with the information we currently have on him. They have elected not to go with surgery and use the rest/treatment option. I had the wheel pick and A-Rod was on the board, as of today, I would draft him and make another solid hitter as my second round pick.

Simply put, draft him only if he drops into the late first round. In my eyes, he is not worth a spot in the top of the first round.

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Thursday, March 5, 2009

Manny

The Manny situation is finally over. It was a pretty stupid few weeks where both sides tried to get their way. Anyways, back to the fantasy world. No matter where Manny goes he is going to hit and he's going to hit as a premium fantasy hitter. So, his signing doesn't change his fantasy status.

People who bat around him will benefit greatly from his amazing ability to hit. Players like Kemp, Ethier, Furcal, Martin, and maybe even Hudson will find some extra runs and a few better pitches to hit. The value of those guys increase. Make sure to keep those guys on your fantasy radars especially since drafts are quickly approaching.

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Sunday, March 1, 2009

Randoms

Carl Pavano had a healthy 2 innings for the Indians and found a way not to land himself on the DL. This guy has the stuff still and if he ends up pitching 25-30 games this year you might have a gem on your hands. If you have a late round pick and you are kind of filled with most of your positions why not throw him a bone and see if he can do something with it. If he stinks it up out of the gate, just cut him loose. In my eyes, he's a half sleeper, not a full blown one but he's inching towards one as spring training continues.

Johan Santana has an ailing elbow. As I have always said, do not draft pitchers in early. They are too vulnerable. Make sure to keep an eye out for his health especially if your draft is fastly approaching.

Adrian Beltre will not be allowed to participate in the WBC for his home country of the Dominican Republic. Apparently, the Mariners have denied his chance because they say he is not 100% healthy. This is the walk year for Beltre, who never really lived up to this 5 year $64million contract he signed after his huge 2004 season. I am a firm believer in the walk year affect so I am planning on taking Beltre in the early double digit rounds. Even though he doesn't give the Gotti like numbers of 2004.

Chris Carpenter had a nice outing. With 19 pitches he made 6 outs. If he stays healthy throughout spring training this is a guy I am going to draft as my 4th pitcher in the late teens. He will most likely fall into the late rounds of most drafts because of injuries in the past few years. If he stays healthy he could easily be a complete STEAL!

Francisco Liriano is healthy and throwing the smoke he usually does. If he falls to the early teen rounds grab him but I wouldn't set him into my lineup as pick from the 5-10 rounds. Just not worth it.

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