SB Nation User Blog: alskor

Fantasy Help: Minor Leaguers

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

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

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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

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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.

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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.