2011 Fantasy Baseball: Facebook

Showing posts with label Facebook. Show all posts

Finding Keepers: Tampa Bay Rays

Facebook

The Tampa Bay Rays went for it all in 2010 and won the AL East before being knocked out of the playoffs by the Texas Rangers. Everyone knew the Rays would be making some wholesale changes this offseason (letting Carl Crawford, Rafael Soriano, Carlos Pena and Joaquin Benoit walk while trading away Matt Garza and Jason Bartlett) but the future looks bright for a team that has 12 of the first 89 picks in the 2011 MLB Draft.

So for all of the talk about what this team has lost, they still have some fantasy keepers on the roster and it all starts with 3B Evan Longoria. Longoria is definitely a keeper and a first-round pick for 2011 and for many years to come. Mock Draft Central puts his current ADP at 4.89, being drafted as high as third and as late as 11th. He's projecting a batting average in the .280s with 25-30 home runs, 100+ RBI and runs with 10+ stolen bases. Third base is a very shallow position this year so I can see why people are jumping on Longoria early.

In 2010, SP David Price was the runner-up in the AL Cy Young Award with a 19-6 record, 2.71 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 188 K's and is now being looked upon as the ace of the Rays' staff. That's a lot of pressure to put on a 24 year old but Price has shown he's ready to handle it. His win total may come down a bit to around 15 since he'll be matching up against other number ones in the AL East but I'd expect his ERA to hover around 3.30 and a WHIP near 1.25 with 200 K's in 2011. Lock him up as a fantasy roster ace.

What's not to like about an outfielder that can produce 18 HR, 62 RBI, 89 R and 42 SB? How about his awful .237 batting average? Such is the case with OF B.J. Upton. If only he could get his batting average up to his career mark of .260, it would make the 20 HR/40 SB potential so much more attractive. If you're willing to accept some bad with all that good and the potential Upton possesses for greatness, he makes a great keeper selection.

OF Desmond Jennings could probably steal 50 bases given an entire season of regular playing time this season. The giant question mark, though, is how much playing time will he ACTUALLY get? I think the Rays are going to bring him along slowly while seeing how the Damon and Ramirez signings play out for 2011. If you are in a dynasty league, Jennings would be a great keeper selection to lock up for 2012 and beyond. I'm not sold that you'll get your return on investment if you are simply keeping him for his 2011 potential.

Best of the rest but not keepers:

SP Jeremy Hellickson is being touted as the "next big thing" but projections on Rotochamp.com put him as an 11-win pitcher, at best. He could be good in 2011 but probably not a keeper until 2012 or 2013.
2B/OF Ben Zobrist is a second baseman that has 20/20 potential but his .253 career batting average could deter him from being on anyone's keeper list. NOTE: He hit just .177 and slugged .293 after the break due to an ugly .190 BABIP.
What you get out of OF Manny Ramirez and OF Johnny Damon this season is anyone's guess but it's been a while since either were worthy of a keeper selection.
C John Jaso is a catcher that can hit .270 with an OBP near .380 and should be sitting there available at the end of most drafts if you're looking for a cheap option at this position.
1B Dan Johnson looks as though he'll be in the mix at first base for the Rays this season. There are some serious discrepancies in projections on what to expect out of him this season.

The Rays roster still has a bunch of players with fantasy value and it will be interesting to see how that relates to the real-life outcomes in the standings. This team will play with a ton of enthusiasm and heart and should be in the mix come playoff time.

Please take a moment to check out the rest of the teams in my "Finding Keepers" series and contact me if you have any interest in participating in my fantasy baseball league (see settings). Also, COSFBA can be followed on Twitter and now has a Facebook fan page to "Like" to have new articles and updates appear in your News Feed. Thanks for taking the time to check out all the ways in which COSFBA helps feed my addiction to fantasy baseball.

Finding Keepers: Milwaukee Brewers

Facebook

The Milwaukee Brewers had a very productive offseason, acquiring two very exciting young arms but it remains to be seen if they gave up too much in doing so.

OF Ryan Braun is at the core of this team's offense and finished the season as the 13th-ranked fantasy player with a .304/101/25/103/14 line. It's hard to find fault with those numbers even though each was below his career average (per 162 games played) of .307/111/36/118/18. The Brewers are a team that injected a lot of optimism and energy into their 2011 season and I'd expect a player like Braun to benefit from that and produce another MVP-caliber season.

Okay, enough beating around the bush. Acquiring SP Zack Greinke from the Kansas City Royals sent a message to the rest of the NL Central (and all of baseball) that the Brewers were ready to make a run at winning now even though it meant sacrificing a few young players. Greinke is one season removed from winning a Cy Young award while on a very bad team. I look for him to regain his dominance and you should too by making him a keeper selection in all fantasy baseball league formats.

OF Corey Hart seemed to figure it all out after a horrific 2009 and wondering if he'd even be a starter in 2010. Merely a late round afterthought in most drafts (ADP 232.7), he rebounded to produce a .283/91/31/102/7 line, which was good enough to finish the season as the 17th-ranked outfielder. Hart is a two-time 20/20 player but has seen his stolen bases slip to just seven last season. It would be great to see him produce a 30/15 season in 2011 but regardless of the stolen bases deserves to be a keeper.

It's hard not to call a player that was drafted with an ADP of 8 and finished the season ranked 100th overall a disappointment, but I'm sure that's exactly what most 1B Prince Fielder owners would say about his 2010 performance. Fantasy managers were definitely expecting big things from Prince after his .299/103/46/141/2 line in 2009 but would be foolish to think he's not going to put up monster numbers again, especially while seeking a mega-millions type contract. If he were made available in a keeper league, I'd be questioning if the league was even worth playing in.

2B Rickie Weeks has averaged 22 home runs and 23 stolen bases (per 162 games played) over his young career and produced the 3rd-best season of all second basemen in 2010 with a .269/112/29/83/11 line. It's hard to ignore production like that when locking in your keepers but be aware that Weeks has only averaged 105 games played over the last six years with a low of 37 in 2009 and a high of 160 in 2010.

What a nice fantasy surprise 3B Casey McGehee has been over the last two seasons, producing at a .288/74/22/101/1 pace and being the ninth-ranked third baseman while holding 2B eligibility too. He'll strictly be a third baseman in 2011 but deserves serious keeper consideration at a position that drops off significantly outside of the top 10.

Best of the rest but not keepers:

SP Yovani Gallardo, newly-acquired SP Shaun Marcum and SP Randy Wolf round out the top four rotation spots and each could have a very good fantasy season but none are worthy of a keeper selection. All three should be available in the middle rounds of drafts when quality starting pitchers start flying off the board.
RP John Axford filled in very nicely as the closer when the wheels fell off of Trevor Hoffman's season. He finished the season with 24 Saves, a 2.48 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and a stellar 11.79 K/9 ratio. Axford will be a fun player to own in 2011. I mean just check out his Twitter profile picture!

Looking over the Brewers roster, fans have a lot to look forward to in 2011. Did I miss anyone? Disagree with my assessment of a player? I'd love to hear from a die-hard Brewers fan that can't wait for the season to get underway and your player and team predictions.

As a new member of the Yardbarker Network, my articles are getting a lot of exposure to a much wider audience and I am grateful to all of the first-time visitors. Be sure to check out COSFBA on Twitter and Facebook, too. If you'd like to see what other teams I've already covered in my "Finding Keepers" series of articles, click here.

COSFBA Goes Yard

Facebook

This offseason, I'm dedicating myself to taking COSFBA to the next level as a legitimate source for fantasy baseball news, advice and opinions. Here's some of the things I've accomplished so far:

Purchased a domain.
Cracked the 200 followers mark on Twitter with @COSFBA.
Made it easier to connect with COSFBA on Twitter, Facebook, Yahoo! and via Feedburner.
Added the feature to become a friend of this blog and follow it publicly.
Continuing my series of articles, Finding Keepers, geared towards identifying keepers on each major league roster.
Joining a sports bloggers network geared at exposing what I do to a larger audience of readers and maybe making a few bucks in the process.

The sports bloggers network I chose to join was Yardbarker, and happily they accepted me. Yardbarker has a great lineup of fantasy baseball bloggers, many that are also fellow members of the Baseball Bloggers Alliance, so take a moment to check them out.

One of the last things I'm hoping to accomplish soon is a brand new logo and possibly some more tweaks to the lay out of the blog that will incorporate Yardbarker a bit more seamlessly. So keep an eye out for those changes and be sure to spread the word of COSFBA through the share options below.

Sincerely,

Daniel

Waiver Saviors: 06/17/2010

Facebook

Here are some names of note that are widely available in ESPN and Yahoo! leagues in the latest installment of Waiver Saviors:

2B/OF Sean Rodriguez, TB (41% E; 18% Y!) was an early season sleeper while tearing it up during Spring Training but crawled out of the gate by hitting only .184 in April. Well Rodriguez is hitting .367 in June with 3 HR, 12 RBI and 3 SB. Anyone producing and playing regularly in the Rays lineup deserves to be owned.
OF Corey Patterson, BAL (0.3% E; 1% Y!) is worth the look if you are desperate for steals. Over the last seven days, Patterson is 10/29 (.345 BA) with 4 SB. I said "desperate", didn't I?
OF Andres Torres, SF (26% E; 17% Y!) is hitting .293 on the season with 30 runs and 11 stolen bases. His defense has kept him in the lineup and the offense has been a pleasant surprise for owners that keep sending him out there.
C John Buck, TOR (24% E; 36% Y!) is sporting a .265/24/12/35/0 line this season and should be owned even in the shallowest of leagues. He's crept up to the number three catcher on ESPN's Player Rater and the inaugural nominee of COSFBA's "Line of the Day".
SP Jonathon Niese, NYM (21% E; 14% Y!) is riding a nice three-game winning streak (23 IP, 15 H, 4 ER, 0.78 WHIP) and could be a nice addition to any fantasy baseball staff while he's hot.
SP/RP David Hernandez, BAL (4% E; 9% Y!) has given up four hits and allowed one earned run in 8.2 IP since being moved to the bullpen. Oh, by the way, he's also recorded two saves and recorded a win. Alfredo Simon is active but Hernandez still got the call on the O's last save opp. Keep an eye on how this plays out but both may be worth owning if your league uses holds.

I know you can find this information on your own or even rely on sites that have a full staff of writers and researchers, but I hope you come to COSFBA and visit often to read and appreciate one man's take on a game (baseball and fantasy baseball) that he loves so much.

Follow me on Twitter and check me out on Facebook, especially if you are a Colorado-based fantasy baseball player.

Ups and Downs: 05/29/2010

Facebook

This edition of Ups and Downs will look at the top five players being added and dropped the most (according to ESPN leagues) and the possible reasons why.

3B Scott Rolen, CIN (+30.7%) has 5 HR and 16 RBI over the last 15 days.
C Mike Napoli, LAA (+27.1%) is back to being the Angels primary catcher and is hitting .349 with 5 HR and 11 RBI over the last 15 days.
OF Jose Guillen, KC (+26.2%) has seen his ownership numbers fluctuate recently. He went on a 3 HR, 6 RBI two-game binge that probably caused a spike in ownership.
SP Mike Leake, CIN (+25.8%) continues to produce quality starts, strikeouts and wins (without a loss) and should be owned in all competitive leagues.
SP Mike Pelfrey, NYM (+23.7%) is 7-1 with a 2.54 ERA and 1.30 WHIP and riding a three-game win streak.
SP Brad Penny, STL (-36.8%) hit the DL and then promptly waivers. His run of four straight losses prior to the injury probably added to the mass drops. Expect him to be a nice add once he's back and proves healthy.
OF Andruw Jones, CHW (-23.3%) is no longer hitting home runs (0 in his last 13 games) and has seen his average drop down to .230.
C Ivan Rodriguez, WAS (-22.8%) went on the DL with a bad back, which is never a good sign for a 38-year old catcher, regardless of how well he was hitting (.325). Keep an eye on him when he returns if you are in need of a catcher.
RP Alfredo Simon, BAL (-22.5%) had a chance at the Orioles closer role prior to his injury. Their bullpen is a free-for-all and Simon probably lost his chance at remaining the closer.
SP Wade LeBlanc, SD (-20.9%) has been knocked around of late (0-3, 13 ER, 15.2 IP) and currently not worth rostering. He could be a nice streamer with the right match up.