SB Nation User Blog: alskor

AL Top 50 List

alskor — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 07:40:17 -0000

I know we've been seeing a lot of these lately. Thought Id try my hand... but with a twist. Left out the lesser league. I didnt feel like wasting my time predicting who will be losing the 2011-2016 All Star Games!

FYI, Heyward and Stanton would be #1-2 and Bumgarner would be either #4 or #5.

1) 1B Justin Smoak TEX

An advanced hitter who will hit for a very high AVG and good power from both sides of the plate. Sure thing, middle of the order hitter with a good glove at 1B.

2) RHP Neftali Feliz TEX

Special arm. Secondary offerings better than advertised. True Ace potential here.

3) OF Desmond Jennings TB

Great defense? Check. Patient hitter ? Check. Hit for a high AVG? Check. Hit for Power? Check. Speed out the wazoo? Check. What don't people like about this guy...?

4) C Carlos Santana CLE

Middle of the order hitter at a premium position. Really like his bat. VMart v.2.0.

5) RHP Chris Tillman BAL

Potential Ace pitcher. Great stuff and has improved all over this year.

6) 1B Jesus Montero NYY

Phenomenal bat. Would like to see a little more patience from him, but minor quibble.

7) LHP Brian Matusz BAL

Being "plus" across the board but not "plus plus" anywhere really shouldnt be taken as a negative. Pretty sure thing, too, but has a considerably high ceiling.

8) LHP Martin Perez TEX

Exciting young pitcher with everything you want. I want to say I need to see it at higher levels, but he was just promoted... and frankly, if he got lit up it wouldnt change anything for me b/c he's so young. Really, he just needs to keep doing it.

9) RHP Wade Davis TB

Great stuff. Very good young pitcher. Not sure why he sometimes doesnt get the love he deserves. I guess he's never had that one truly dominant year that gets everyone on the bandwagon... but Im sitting here on it.

10) OF Matt LaPorta CLE

Middle of the order bat with plus patience and power.

11) RHP Casey Kelly BOS

Special arm, bright future. Not too shabby as a SS either. I heart athletic pitchers.

12) RHP Hector Rondon CLE

Love this kid. Electric arm and impressive stuff.

13) OF Michael Saunders SEA

Decent defense and the kind of the approach at the plate that I look for. Bit of speed, bit of power. I dont see a real star here, but I sort of expect to look up in 5 years and see him up on the leaderboards in a lot of categories in a sneaky way.

14) OF Josh Reddick BOS

Very underrated. Good defensive CFer. Incredible plate coverage. His approach seemingly improves monthly.

15) 1B Chris Carter OAK

Ive loved Carter for a long time, as you may have noticed. I do have some concerns about him, though... and his lack of defense is troubling... but he's gonna be a major leaguer with plus plus power. Its funny... basically just a matter of time until he's overrated now.

16) 3B Lonnie Chisenhall CLE

I was first on the bandwagon here... but he has more warts than are typically discussed. Id like to see improvement in his K and BB rates... but the kid can certainly hit. Big question was power, but he's shown tons of that.

17) SS Tim Beckham TB

Loved his tools last year and still love them.

18) LHP Matt Moore TB

Great arm in the perfect situation for him. He's the prototypical Rays development pitcher.

19) LHP Casey Crosby DET

Exciting arm that I loved out of high school before the injury. He's good... Im not sure just how good yet... have to see him at higher levels.

20) RHP Jason Knapp CLE

Live arm. Needs to work on secondary stuff and control... but that basically goes for every pitching prospect. Unlike most of them Knapp already has an Ace's fastball.

21) 2B Jemile Weeks OAK

Sort of like if Desmond Jennings were a 2B. Some questions about his glove, and still some about his power... but he looks like he could be a great sparkplug/leadoff guy. The basement on this guy is pretty damn enticing. The ceiling is crazy.

22) SP Michael Ynoa OAK

Brilliant young arm. I only have reports to go on, but the reports all say "historically good." Im skeptical. Not sure what to think, but based on what I know so far Im placing him here to hedge my bets.

23) OF Ryan Westmoreland BOS

As good a set of tools as anyone in the game. Concern was how raw he was, but this scorching hot start has glossed that over. Lots of hurdles still in front of him, but not too many guys have a ceiling like this.

24) SS Reid Brignac TB

Very good defender and pretty good bat. This guy should be starting at SS for somebody already - and if he was, he would likely be one of the better options there in the league.

25) 1B Lars Anderson BOS

Back injury has sapped his power and wiped out his confidence, but Im still a believer. Obviously a downgrade was necessary, though. Still young, and all the things I liked about him before are still there.

via cache.daylife.com

26) RHP Phillippe Aumont SEA

Great stuff.

27) RHP Jake Arrieta BAL

Great fastball, but secondary stuff really concerns me. He'll be a good major league pitcher, but might not live up to his minor league success.

28) RHP Jeremy Hellickson TB

Tim Alderson with better velocity...? I like Hellickson a good deal... but he does have his issues.

29) OF Nick Weglarz CLE

A guy I thought I was high on but keep seeing crazy high on other lists. He's not going to be Adam Dunn. He looks more like oh, say .260/.360/.550 with poor defense to me. That's a damned good hitter... but from a guy who should probably be at 1B that doesnt really excite me. Very good prospect... but not a real top notch prospect.

30) 3B Mike Moustakas KC

I liked him considerably less when we found out he wasnt a middle infielder... but he's a very good 3B prospect. Not the stud everyone expected at one point... but not nearly as bad as some are making him out to be.

31) RHP Junichi Tazawa BOS

Throws strikes, stays ahead in the count and pitches like a vet. His pitches move a ton. His stuff is very good, but not front of the rotation good. He does pitch better than his stuff, though. Fun pitcher to watch.

32) RHP Carlos Carrasco CLE

All the tools... sort of a poor man's Wade Davis as a prospect. Hasnt dominated like he should.

33) SP Michael Bowden BOS

People keep worrying about what he's not instead of what he is. He throws strikes with plus stuff. Gonna be a decent MLB pitcher. Flyball tendencies are the thing that concerns me.

34) OF Tyson Gillies SEA

Exciting lead off type. Rocketing up my list all year.

35) RHP Nick Hagadone CLE

Another live arm, but this one has some decent secondary stuff already. Not sure if he's a reliever, but he's going to be very good either way.

36) RHP Nick Barnese TB

Another great young Rays arm. Still kind of raw despite the good results.

37) RHP Dan Hudson CWS

Like what Im seeing here.

38) OF Ryan Kalish BOS

Boston's third best CF prospect is damn good in his own right. A top 100 prospect 2 years ago, Kalish is still young (21), has a great glove, hits for contact, is extremely patient and has finally hit for power again after that wrist injury.

39) 1B Eric Hosmer KC

Liked his tools last year, still like them. No idea why he was promoted... but I still expect him to hit. Great swing.

40) RHP Danny Duffy KC

Everything you want to see, but without top notch stuff.

41) OF Austin Jackson NYY

No star potential here, but solid hitter and very good defender in CF. Plenty to like here.

42) LHP Mike Montgomery KC

Young lefty who throws hard and keeps the ball on the ground. All of that sounds great.

43) 3B Adrian Cardenas OAK

Doesnt excite me... but pretty good at everything. Gotta maintain the high AVGs - which he hasnt done in AAA...

44) OF Aaron Hicks MIN

Raw, but love his tools. Dont quite understand why people had him so high after his debut.

45) RHP Tim Melville KC

Royals sped up his delivery and its upped his velocity. Another young live arm with great upside, but very raw and lots of questions.

46) RHP Brandon Erbe BAL

Seemingly forgotten among the O's pitching prospects, this guy has some very good stuff and his results have been pretty impressive.

47) OF Ben Revere MIN

Not as high on him as most. Very good contact hitter, but complete lack of power is troubling.

48) Arodys Vizcaino NYY

Love the arm. Lets see what he does at the next level.

49) 3B Dayan Viciedo CWS

Starting to get it.

50) LHP Trevor Reckling LAA

Nice arm, but his velocity keeps him from being a higher rated prospect. I do love athletic pitchers with good mechanics.

via actionallstars.files.wordpress.com

HONORABLE MENTIONS (In no particular order! Some I wanted to write about, others I didnt. Not meant to indicate any kind of order at all.)

RHP Wilmer Font TEX
-Fun arm. Lets see more.

C JP Arencibia TOR
-Never been a huge fan b/c of his lack of patience. Not surprised by his performance this year at all. He'll be an okay major league catcher but I dont know why people thought there was a star here.

RHP Zach McAllister NYY
-Sinkerballer who's been very good. Stuff holds him back, but looks like a good mid-back rotation type

RHP Jordan Walden LAA
-Still love this arm.

RHP Daniel Cortes SEA
-Big dude with good stuff, his control has left him this year but he's still missing tons of bats. Will be off a lot of radars after this year, but there's plenty to like.

3B Alex Liddi SEA
-High Desert mirage? Possibly. I liked him before that though, and I see real progress here.

3B Danny Valencia MIN
-Not a huge fan, but he keeps proving me wrong...

SS Yamaico Navarro BOS
-Great glove, bat is coming along nicely.

1B Anthony Rizzo BOS
-Sleeper... everything you want is there.

RHP Stolmy Pimental BOS
-Live arm, great stuff. Starting to figure it out.

RHP Felix Doubront BOS
-Another young live arm with great stuff who could add velocity

OF Grant Desme OAK
-Looking very good. Need to see more. Big time sleeper.

RHP Juan Ramirez SEA
-Good arm that didnt live up to expectations this season.

LHP Neil Ramirez TEX
-Not having a great season, but I was an admirer going into '09.

RHP Jeremy Bleich NYY
-Solid pitcher, but as was feared he has turned out all too hittable.

LHP TJ House CLE
-Good looking young arm.

LHP Kelvin De La Cruz CLE
-Injured, command a concern.

RHP Michael Main TEX
-Mystery fatigue disease has derailed him, but top notch stuff.

RHP Blake Beavan TEX
-I think he's ultimately a reliever.

OF Engel Beltre TEX
-Not sure what to think. Havent given up, of course. Still love the tools.

OF Wilkin Ramirez DET
RHP James Simmons OAK
1B/OF Sean Doolittle OAK
OF Greg Halman SEA
IF Carlos Triunfel SEA
OF Peter Bourjos LAA
C/1B Hank Conger LAA
RHP Will Smith LAA
RHP Tyler Chatwood LAA
RHP Carlos Rosa KC
RHP Danny Gutierrez KC
RHP David Bromberg MIN
LHP Tyler Robertson MIN
2B Scott Sizemore DET
OF Jordan Danks CWS
LHP Zach Britton BAL
LHP Kyle Lobstein TB
C Austin Romine NYY

Feedback is welcome, but a**hole comments will be met with the like. I apologize in advance for not listing your favorite prospect as high as you would like. This isnt meant as some sort of definitive list - consider it my preferences. Also, its still early and plenty of season is left... so although Im sure someone will dig up my comments at a later date, please remember this was a snapshot of one moment in time, and my list would probably be different tomorrow and different again the next day.

There are a lot of guys Im not settled on and I kept switching around. I could easily be convinced to swap them around again, so have at it.

July 22 MiLB

alskor — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 19:15:55 -0000

Some Probable Pitchers:

(AAA)

Wade Davis (TB)

Kris Johnson (BOS)

Jeff Manship (MIN)

Hector Rondon (CLE)

Jo-Jo Reyes (ATL)

Ryan Rowland-Smith (SEA)

(AA)

Felix Doubront (BOS)

Radhames Liz (BAL)

Madison Bumgarner (SF)

Jhoulys Chacin (COL)

Kyle Drabek (PHI)

Jeremy Papelbon (CHC)

(A+)

David Bromberg (MIN)

(A)

Brandon Hamilton (DET)

Martin Perez (TEX)

Stolmy Pimental (BOS)

Sam Runion (KC)

Notables in actions so far:

-Arodys Vizcaino (NYY): 5 IP, 4 H, 1 R (Unearned), 0 BB, 9 Ks

-Ryan Westmoreland (BOS): 1-4, HR (4),

-Josh Fields (SEA): 0.2 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 2 K

-Greg Halman (SEA): 1-4, HR, 2 K (~~still in progress~~, Stanton and Morrison also in that game)

-Mike Stanton (FLA): 2-3, K

-Logan Morrison (FLA): 0-2, 2 BB, K

AL Only Dynasty Draft

alskor — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 17:05:59 -0000

-5X5 with OBP instead of AVG

-22 man MLB rosters

-17 man minor league roster

-Auction for MLB players, keepable unless they hit free agency

Here are the results. Id be delighted to hear any feedback, especially which picks people liked and disliked... as well as which teams had the best drafts and which had the worst. Thanks.

1	1	1	Al	TEX	Justin	Smoak	1B
1	2	2	Joe D	KC	Eric	Hosmer	1B
1	3	3	Dave	BAL	Brian	Matusz	SP
1	4	4	Al	TEX	Derek	Holland	SP
1	5	5	Pat	CHW	Gordon	Beckham	2B
1	6	6	Pat	TB	Tim	Beckham	SS
1	7	7	Pat	MIN	Aaron	Hicks	OF
1	8	8	Pat	OAK	Michael	Ynoa	SP
1	9	9	Mike	BOS	Ryan	Westmoreland	OF
1	10	10	Pat	TEX	Martin	Perez	SP
1C		11	Al	KC	Tim	Melville	SP
2	1	12	Dave	LAA	Trevor	Reckling	SP
2	2	13	Joe D	SEA	Greg	Halman	OF
2	3	14	Dave	TOR	David	Cooper	1B
2	4	15	Steve	KC	Mike	Montgomery	SP
2	5	16	Dave	DET	Ryan	Perry	RP
2	6	17	Steve	CLE	David	Huff	SP
2	7	18	Joe D	TB	Matt	Moore	SP
2	8	19	Dave	CHW	Dayan	Viciendo	3B
2	9	20	Tom	KC	Danny	Gutierrez	SP
2	10	21	Tom	CHW	Brandon	Allen	1B
2C		22	Tom	TB	Nick	Barnese	SP
3	1	23	Dave	SEA	Josh	Fields	RP
3	2	24	Joe D	BOS	Josh	Reddick	OF
3	3	25	Al	CLE	Hector	Rondon	SP
3	4	26	Steve	CLE	Kelvin	De La Cruz	SP
3	5	27	John	SEA	Michael	Saunders	OF
3	6	28	Brad	BOS	Junichi	Tazawa	SP
3	7	29	Al	OAK	Jemile	Weeks	2B
3	8	30	Steve	OAK	Vin	Mazzaro	SP
3	9	31	Al	CLE	Lonnie	Chisenhall	SS/3B
3	10	32	John	BOS	Casey	Kelly	SS
4	1	33	John	MIN	Shooter	Hunt	SP
4	2	34	Joe D	NYY	Austin	Romine	C
4	3	35	Tom	DET	Casey	Crosby	SP
4	4	36	Steve	KC	Kila	Ka’aihue	1B
4	5	37	John	DET	Cale	Iorg	SS
4	6	38	Brad	TEX	Neil	Ramirez	SP
4	7	39	Joe M	LAA	Tyler	Chatwood	SP
4	8	40	Steve	BAL	Kam	Mickolio	SP
4	9	41	Tom	TEX	Julio	Borbon	OF
4	10	42	Joe M	CWS	Jordan	Danks	OF
5	1	45	John	MIN	Carlos	Gutierrez	SP
5	2	43	Joe D	LAA	Peter	Bourjos	OF
5	3	44	Al	TEX	Max	Ramirez	C/1B
5	4	46	Steve	MIN	Danny	Valencia	3B
5	5	47	John	MIN	Wilson	Ramos	C
5	6	48	Brad	OAK	Sean	Doolittle	1B
5	7	49	Joe M	TOR	Brad	Mills	SP
5	8	50	Pat	CWS	Chris	Getz	2B
5	9	51	Brad	BOS	Michael	Almanzar	3B
5	10	52	Joe M	CLE	Carlos	Rivero	SS/3B
5C		54	Brad	TOR	Justin	Jackson	SS
5C		53	John	BOS	Stolmy	Pimental	SP
5C		55	Brad	CWS	Clayton	Richard	SP
5C		56	Tom	NYY	Abraham	Almonte	SS
5C		57	John	DET	Cody	Satterwhite	RP
5C		58	Al	LAA	Will	Smith	SP

Im unsure of a couple of picks at the end - there were about 6 or 7 more, but there was a flurry of trades. Ill edit this when I figure it out for sure.

Thanks again

Fantasy Help: Trade for Smoak OR Draft a Beckham & a Pitcher?

alskor — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 20:54:20 -0000

Have to bother the community one more time with my fantasy league! It looks like my draft is going to go 1- Smoak, 2-Hosmer. Would I be crazy to trade the #3 & #4 up for the #1 to take Smoak and the #11?

Or should I just take two of:

Gordon Beckham
Tim Beckham
Brian Matusz
Derek Holland.

I know a lot of people answered Smoak as the BPA in my last question... is he worth two of these guys? Or am I losing my perspective? I thought he was going to drop to me and got settled on taking him... is this pre-buyer's remorse or is Smoak worth it??

Poll

Should I take two of Holland, G Beckham, T Beckham, Matusz OR should I trade up for Smoak and take Melville, Hicks, etc...?

Keep your draft picks and take two of Holland/G Beckham/T Beckham/Matusz

145 votes

Trade your picks for Smoak and the #11 (Melville/Ynoa/Hicks/etc...)

48 votes

193 votes | Poll has closed

Fantasy Help: Minor League Draft

alskor — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 04:44:19 -0000

I have my minor league draft (and major league auction) coming up on Sunday. I have my draft board pretty set but Id like to see what other people think.

The League:

-10 Team

-AL ONLY

-5X5 OBP instead of AVG

PLAYERS AVAILABLE:

Gordon Beckham
Tim Beckham
Aaron Hicks
Derek Holland
Eric Hosmer
Brian Matusz
Tim Melville
Justin Smoak
Michael Ynoa

I have the 3rd and 4th picks... Im curious how people would rank these players...

Thanks!

Rank these pitching prospects...

alskor — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 02:46:21 -0000

Curious to see what the community thinks... they are all "B" prospects according to John.

David Huff, CLE

Tim Melville, KC

Mike Montgomery, KC

Michael Pineda, SEA

Trevor Reckling, LAA

Hector Rondon, CLE

Junichi Tazawa, BOS

How would you rank these prospects? Why?

If you could, would you rank any of the players below above the former list? If so, why? John has these guys as "B-'s." How would you rank these pitching prospects?

Nick Barnese, TB

Zach Britton, BAL

Shooter Hunt, MIN

Brett Hunter, OAK

Vin Mazzaro, OAK

Brad Mills, TOR

Matt Moore, TB

Martin Perez, TEX

Bill Smith, LAA

Fantasy Help: Minor Leaguers

alskor — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 07:22:54 -0000

via www.minorleaguebaseball.com

I get to keep 17 minor leaguers each year in a 10 team, 5x5 (w/ OBP instead of average), real life contract, head to head, AL Only league.

I have nine draft picks in our upcoming draft - I need not use them all, though. So, the issue is who is worth keeping and who is worth dropping to draft a guy to replace him with. All the players from this year's MLB entry draft are available as well as a spattering of prospects who stepped forward from last year (including Derek Holland, Michael Saunders, etc...).

I realize this is difficult without knowing who is available to be drafted where, but I am certain to use at least my first seven picks. After that will be a value decision based on who is left on my draft board... but Im not worried about the last two picks right now. I just want a general sense of whether people think Im considering the right guys to drop.

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So, at least seven picks to make, and there are 15 minor leaguers I own now. So minimum, I would need to drop 5 guys from the list below. I would also like to have in mind two more guys ready to drop if a guy I have left is there. These are my current minor leaguers( the last number is age for the 2009 season):

MY TEAM

1B BOS Lars Anderson 21
SP TEX Michael Main 19
SP KC Dan Cortes 21
SP OAK James Simmons 21
SP KC Daniel Duffy 19
1B/3B OAK Chris Carter 21
SP OAK Fautino De Los Santos 22
SP MIN Tyler Robertson 20
SP TEX Omar Poveda 20
2B/SS CLE Josh Rodriguez 23
SP SEA Gaby Hernandez 22
SP BAL Chorye Spoone 22
SP TB Glenn Gibson 20
RP DET Virgil Vasquez 25
RP TEX Beau Jones 21

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So, this is where Im leaning right now:

DEFINITE DROPS:

SP SEA Gaby Hernandez 22
SP BAL Chorye Spoone 22
SP TB Glenn Gibson 20
RP DET Virgil Vasquez 25
RP TEX Beau Jones 21

I like Hernandez... but what is the upside here? Spoone is apparently badly hurt - SLAP tear of his labrum. Gibson had a train wreck of a season. Vasquez just got claimed by the Red Sox but is OLD and likely would only be used in middle relief, if at all. I like Jones, but he's been converted to releif, and from a strategy standpoint I dont feel like I have enough spots in my minor leagues to hold on to relief prospects who are multiples years away from fantasy usefulness.

POSSIBLE DROPS:

SP MIN Tyler Robertson 20
SP OAK Fautino De Los Santos 22
SP TEX Omar Poveda 20
2B/SS CLE Josh Rodriguez 23

I LOVE Robertson... but Im very concerned about his health and the lack of info Im finding about him. I also LOVE De Los Santos... I drafted him well before most people knew his name (June of 2006). I was just struck by his otherworldly stats. I know I shouldnt let it cloud my decision, but it was so exciting to see him explode on the prospect scene. To me, FDLS is too good to give up on.

Poveda was a guy I really liked and grabbed late last year, but he's not any sort of standout and the Rangers are sooooo loaded with pitching prospects. JRod... I like the guy, but he underwhelmed me, is getting kind of old and I just expected more from him. JRod and Poveda are the likely drops here... but I dont have a problem passing on the last rounders if they arent significantly better than Poveda and JRod...

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So does anyone have a good reason I should do something different? Do people agree with my assessment of the players above? Anyone have any info that would help me make a decision? Lastly, what do you guys think of my minor league system?

Thanks in advance and all criticism and advice is appreciated. I spend a great deal of time agonizing over these spots and its nice to get some outside opinions...

I also am pursuing the idea of trading picks away

via farm2.static.flickr.com

Revisiting Volquez's pitch counts

alskor — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 04:44:03 -0000

Dusty Baker is an idiot. That is all.

Anyone still want to defend this crap? Why, Dusty? Why? Nothing to play for whatsoever. The funny thing is Im sure there are people still willing to defend this usage pattern, but heck, they made up their minds before they even looked at the evidence.

Oh well, maybe we can convince them next year when Volquez gets hurt and we revisit this again. Actually, Im sure they'll point to something else as the reason even then...

Fantasy Conundrum

alskor — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 06:56:32 -0000

Alright, my team has been too injury wracked to compete, so Im selling off pieces to build for next year.

10 team

AL Only

5X5

Dynasty (with salary cap rules that arent important to this question - suffice to say that rookies/young players make their actual real life salary and other players are got at auction)

Auction/Salary league with 133M cap

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

I am trading Javy Vazquez (who is under contract for 12M through 2010). Im also throwing in other assets who cant be kept beyond this season (Orlando Cabrera, who is an impending free agent, Alexei Ramirez, who cant be kept because he was an in season pick up, and Bartolo Colon, who is an impending free agent). I have four potential return packages on the table, and I am COMPLETELY STUMPED as to which one to take:

1) Carlos Gonzalez and a First Round pick (in the 2009 Minor League Draft)

2) Reid Brignac and a First Round pick

3) Nick Adenhart and a First Round pick

4) Ben Revere

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

I am strongly inclined towards offers 1 & 2. I love Revere, but the guy is lowballing me - though to be fair he doesnt want any of the other pieces, just Vazquez himself). Adenhart is a good bit below Brignac and Gonzo in my book.

As for the difference between offers 1 and 2... I just have no idea who to take. I think I like Gonzalez as a hitter more... but Brignac is a shortstop... and its sooooo hard to find a decent SS. Positional scarcity wise, I have to lean Brignac. They are both guys who are basically living off one great minor league season and have underperformed recently... also, by BP's top 100 they were ranked right next to eachother - 25 and 26 (with Adenhart 27!).

Another factor is I have the following outfielders under contract or own their rights for a long time: Ellsbury, Granderson, Delmon Young, Franklin Gutierrez. So Im not hurting for OFers. The only SS I have under contract next year is Asdrubal Cabrera... but I dont really view him OR Brignac as a solution for next season. Im definitely getting a SS in the auction either way.

I have no idea what to do and I need an answer tomorrow. The more I look at the two the more alike they look.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

I think Im going to ask for the deals to be added on to like this:

1) Carlos Gonzalez and a First Round pick and Chris Carter OR Brandon Wood

2) Reid Brignac and a First Round pick and Josh Fields OR Adam Lind

The bad thing is... if they both accepted... I still dont know if Id be able to decide!

HELP! PLEASE!

Thanks in advance

Trade Advice: Joe Nathan for whom?

alskor — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 05:07:53 -0000

Ok, Im in a 10 team, AL only, 5X5(OBP instead of AVG), Dynasty, salary(~130M$ cap), H2H league. I hesitate to ask this here b/c the rules of my league are fairly uncommon(though straightforward). They can be found here, if youre interested: http://www.bradarbige.com/baseball.htm

Well, anyway, my team is in need of a 3B for the upcoming season. At auction only Mike Lamb and Akinori Iwamura will be available. I desperately need HRs as it stands. So Im shopping Joe Nathan for a better option.

Now, player salaries, briefly, are determined two ways: 1) the price won at auction - for the real life length of years OR 2) when a player re-signs in real life - his real life length and salary. So Joe Nathan is signed for 1 year, 6 Million. The reason I would be willing to move him is to fix my lineup issues. My offense is essentially Big Papi and Curtis Granderson.

Now, where it gets interesting is that I have a number of offers for Nathan:

Kevin Youkilis, for real life salary, and control thereafter...
Adrian Beltre, for 9.5M per, with two years remaining
Hank Blalock, for 11.5, for one year, AND Wade Davis
Hank Blalock AND Adam Miller AND ~2 Million
Hank Blalock AND TWO OF Justin Masterson, Tony Butler, Jeff Niemann, Lance Broadway AND ~3 Million.

*) Keep Nathan/Shop him for prospects and sign Iwamura/Lamb

I have no idea what Im going to do right now, and although it doesnt make much sense any feedback would be appreciated. I have a decent amount of cap space, but I do need to fill my UTIL spot, and hopefully with a power hitter (Carlos Pena? Jack Cust?). Id also like to get in on a couple starting pitchers, if I can, so the cost certainty of trading for a 3B is desirable on that front.

My pitching staff is the best in the league: Beckett, Lackey, Vazquez, Bonderman and Millwood(with Garrett Olson and Luke Hochevar waiting in the wings on my MiLB roster). My offense worries me a ton though, so Im very willing to punt saves - and have been willing to do so for a while. Its just that Nathan was such a bargain that I couldnt do it. Youre only permitted to keep playes who re-sign with the same team(ie. If a player leaves his team via free agency he MUST go into the auction and cant be re-signed). In addition Id have to re-sign Nathan at whatever price he re-signs in real life and I have no desire to do that. I just cant see spending it on a 1 category player.

Well, anyway, thanks for the insights.