Oftentimes, the success of a MLB team correlates to how well the back of the rotation fairs throughout the season. Teams that consistently find solid performances (not necessarily wins) from their #4 and #5 starters will probably end up in the playoffs because the aces usually perform like aces most of the time (barring injury). Your fantasy team is no different.
Spend some time within the first month of the season on your pitching depth. Forget about how solid or shaky your top two starters are and ask yourself how good your pitching staff is 3-5. Among these three pitchers should be one player that is a good bet to produce numbers in line with a #2 caliber SP aka a breakout candidate. Next, make sure you have an unexciting yet durable guy who is a good bet for 30 starts. Finally the third piece of the trio should be a high strikeout guy you won’t want to start each week.
Now if you plan on streaming pitchers all season or spent a premium on pitching in your draft or auction this basic strategy does not translate as well. But the majority of fantasy owners can use these guidelines as a way to measure their pitching depth across the league. For those owners who feel they must wait until June before considering trades, keep in mind the stats your earn in April and May count and waiting around accumulating stats from a less than ideal staff can hamper your hopes of bringing home a fantasy championship.
Sellers Market
George Sherrill – Don’t dump him for anyone but a lack of experience, small ballpark and four quality lineups within the division don’t bode well for a big year even if he retains the closer job all season.
Juan Pierre – He’ll be a headache to own and his PT will drop by the week. Pawn him off on a speed-starved club.
Javier Vazquez – His current value as a low-end #2 SP puts too much stock in his solid ‘07 campaign. Expect him to deliver numbers more in line with a low-end #3 or decent #4 SP.
Dan Uggla – Pitchers simply won’t give him as much to hit this season and he’ll end up pressing. Sell him now before his average tanks and he becomes too much of a burden to carry as a starting two-bagger.
Buyers Market
Edison Volquez – At his current price (most likely free on your waiver wire) he makes for a better #4 or #5 starter than other brand names.
Rickie Weeks – If your team is low on risk, Weeks makes for a solid gamble. Only injuries will prevent him from having a solid season.
Adam LaRoche – Great depth and CI player who will see his stock rise this season. Coming off a bad year and a usually slow starter, you won’t have to break the bank to get him.
Pat Burrell – For the price, he is a solid #3 OF or UTIL player that can deliver great power numbers.
Oliver Perez – No I’m not just plugging him in after his solid outing last night. This guy has improved his control under the tutelage of Rick Peterson. Don’t be surprised if this guy ends up starting the All-Star Game.
Streamers
Jair Jurrjens – Should be owned in deep leagues (14+ teams) but for most people he’ll be a great streamer this season.
Keep an Eye On:
Gio Gonzalez – He will be a solid mid-season add to fantasy rosters and be a big boost to your strikeouts.
Josh Fields – If you have room to stash this guy he’ll eventually help you with plus power numbers. Crede will be dealt or hurt by the All-Star break.
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If you have any questions or comments I’d love to hear from you. If you have any ideas or topics you’d like me to discuss in a future COC leave them here as well. Good luck on your 2008 fantasy baseball adventure don't forget to come back next week!
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Chuggin' Along: The Olympics, NHL and NBA
Since last fall, I have felt the upcoming Olympics in China were going to be a disaster and nothing has happened to change my opinion. Perhaps I am not getting the full story or slanted reports on how things are going in the Far East but I’m not hearing a whole lot of positives. The Olympic torch has made its way to Kazakhstan. Unfortunately, the major theme seemed more to do with protecting the precious flame than how wonderful it is to have the games coming to China. I just get the feeling China is trying to get through these games without a major catastrophe rather than using it as a platform to enhance and promote the Chinese people and culture.
The presence of Lord Stanley is drawing near as the NHL heads into the final stretch of its regular season. Hockey has taken its lumps as a sport overall, but the rule changes and frugal fiscal policies implemented over the past two years have gone a long way toward setting a solid foundation for the sport. There is room for improvement but the best thing the NHL has going for it is its playoffs. If you love hockey you already know, but if you don’t watch NHL hockey, I urge you to carve out a little time to take in the playoffs. If you are busy, set up the DVR or TiVo, you will be glad that you did. They don’t take three days off between games, they don’t play a measly best-of-five series in the first round and they don’t shake hands until someone goes home. You don’t have to be a hockey fan to enjoy it, but you just might take a step toward being one if you give it a chance.
As far as the NBA goes, it’s not something I love to watch. I enjoy playing basketball, I love college basketball, but I’m not a fan of the NBA. Any shred of interest I did have in the NBA went away when I saw teams signing and trading retired players. That is not creative, that is a joke. In the NBA a player’s value has more to do with his contract (or lack of one) than his talent or off-the-court demeanor. Sorry, just not for me. But the playoffs are approaching and soon NBA basketball will be dominating the headlines and sports talk radio. I’ll end up watching a game or three like usual because I love sports, but I’ll come away from it exactly the same way I did last year and the year before; wondering why the NBA playoffs take so damn long. This season, the playoffs begin on April 20 and the Finals start on June 5. It takes a month and a half to whittle it down to two teams? If any league needs to vote on its playoff structure it is the NBA, not the NFL.
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I have decided to make Chuggin’ Along a weekly posting. It will be a quick overview of sports related topics getting less attention here at the Depot. For now, I’m making it Wednesday’s post. Feel free to leave any questions, comments or ideas and thanks for stopping by the Sports Depot!
The presence of Lord Stanley is drawing near as the NHL heads into the final stretch of its regular season. Hockey has taken its lumps as a sport overall, but the rule changes and frugal fiscal policies implemented over the past two years have gone a long way toward setting a solid foundation for the sport. There is room for improvement but the best thing the NHL has going for it is its playoffs. If you love hockey you already know, but if you don’t watch NHL hockey, I urge you to carve out a little time to take in the playoffs. If you are busy, set up the DVR or TiVo, you will be glad that you did. They don’t take three days off between games, they don’t play a measly best-of-five series in the first round and they don’t shake hands until someone goes home. You don’t have to be a hockey fan to enjoy it, but you just might take a step toward being one if you give it a chance.
As far as the NBA goes, it’s not something I love to watch. I enjoy playing basketball, I love college basketball, but I’m not a fan of the NBA. Any shred of interest I did have in the NBA went away when I saw teams signing and trading retired players. That is not creative, that is a joke. In the NBA a player’s value has more to do with his contract (or lack of one) than his talent or off-the-court demeanor. Sorry, just not for me. But the playoffs are approaching and soon NBA basketball will be dominating the headlines and sports talk radio. I’ll end up watching a game or three like usual because I love sports, but I’ll come away from it exactly the same way I did last year and the year before; wondering why the NBA playoffs take so damn long. This season, the playoffs begin on April 20 and the Finals start on June 5. It takes a month and a half to whittle it down to two teams? If any league needs to vote on its playoff structure it is the NBA, not the NFL.
_____________________________________________________
I have decided to make Chuggin’ Along a weekly posting. It will be a quick overview of sports related topics getting less attention here at the Depot. For now, I’m making it Wednesday’s post. Feel free to leave any questions, comments or ideas and thanks for stopping by the Sports Depot!
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
March Sadness
For the first time ever, each of the four top seeds advanced to the Final Four. And people are hailing the Selection Committee? Are you kidding me? If you followed college basketball this season and looked at the Committee’s bracket you are not surprised at this season’s Final Four participants.
Let’s start with the two easy regions. Who had a legitimate shot at knocking off North Carolina or UCLA? At best, there were one or two teams that could have played the top seed tough in the Elite 8. However, playing them tough and winning are two different things, especially considering the advantage of playing close to home.
As for the Midwest, Georgetown and Wisconsin could have hung with Kansas. Obviously Davidson was up to the task as well. In the end, Kansas’ road to the Final Four went through an 8 seed, a 12 seed and a 10 seed. If the Selection Committee really “got it right” then this wouldn’t have happened.
Then there was the South. No matter how much I looked at this region all I saw was chalk. And with the exception of a 5-seed (Michigan State) beating a 4-seed (Pittsburgh) there wasn’t any upsets here. In my opinion, this region offered the most Final Four caliber teams. Consequently, it also offered little excitement for my bracket and yet another #1 seed headed to San Antonio.
So now we are left with the top four seeded teams. You won’t hear people twenty years from now talking about how (insert Cinderella team name here) made a magical run into the National Championship game against (insert BCS school name here) and (insert name of future NBA lottery pick and Hall-of-Famer here). There are plenty of people who won’t agree with me, but this is going to be a sad ending to an otherwise great college basketball season.
One last rant.
Does anyone else have an issue with the All-American team being loaded with freshmen? When did the NCAA start passing its All-American moniker to those players who embolden capitalism by going pro after hanging out in college for a year to simply get old enough for the NBA? This All-American list is a disgrace to every REAL student-athlete and every year becomes less and less meaningful.
Let’s start with the two easy regions. Who had a legitimate shot at knocking off North Carolina or UCLA? At best, there were one or two teams that could have played the top seed tough in the Elite 8. However, playing them tough and winning are two different things, especially considering the advantage of playing close to home.
As for the Midwest, Georgetown and Wisconsin could have hung with Kansas. Obviously Davidson was up to the task as well. In the end, Kansas’ road to the Final Four went through an 8 seed, a 12 seed and a 10 seed. If the Selection Committee really “got it right” then this wouldn’t have happened.
Then there was the South. No matter how much I looked at this region all I saw was chalk. And with the exception of a 5-seed (Michigan State) beating a 4-seed (Pittsburgh) there wasn’t any upsets here. In my opinion, this region offered the most Final Four caliber teams. Consequently, it also offered little excitement for my bracket and yet another #1 seed headed to San Antonio.
So now we are left with the top four seeded teams. You won’t hear people twenty years from now talking about how (insert Cinderella team name here) made a magical run into the National Championship game against (insert BCS school name here) and (insert name of future NBA lottery pick and Hall-of-Famer here). There are plenty of people who won’t agree with me, but this is going to be a sad ending to an otherwise great college basketball season.
One last rant.
Does anyone else have an issue with the All-American team being loaded with freshmen? When did the NCAA start passing its All-American moniker to those players who embolden capitalism by going pro after hanging out in college for a year to simply get old enough for the NBA? This All-American list is a disgrace to every REAL student-athlete and every year becomes less and less meaningful.
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