MARDI GRAS MADNESS: The Evil Empire

Felipe M

We continue on our reviews for our fantasy baseball league, Mardi Gras Madness.  Please take some time to read the St Bernard Giants outlook.  

The next team is the newest owner in our league, but by no means is he a rookie to fantasy baseball.  Let's take a look at how our resident Yankee fan fared in his first draft in this league. 

CENTRAL DIVISION--The Evil Empire (from Illinois by way of New York)

BATTING LINEUP

Like: Strong left side of the infield with Ryan Zimmerman and Troy Tulowitzki.  As mentioned before, I truly believe that Tulo is the best SS in baseball, but there are injury concerns with him.  In the last 3 seasons, he’s only played in 64% of the Rockies’ games and has not played in over 150 games since 2009.  Carlos Gonzalez is on the squad as well as he’ll be showing off his power/speed combo. 

Dislike: Nelson Cruz, even though he has enough power to be a relevant fantasy player, is just too impatient for my taste.  He’s projected to post an on-base% of .326.  As an owner who had Carlos Beltran on his fantasy team last year, seeing him run out of gas late in 2012 was a tremendous letdown.  He did play in 150 games, but at 36 years-old, will he be able to get through a full season in 2013?  Adam Jones’ value comes from his counting stats, but eventually, the poor approach at the plate and the relatively low on-base% will catch up to him and screw his fantasy owners.  And even though Dan Uggla was picked in round five (virtual 12^th round) of the draft, Uggla’s fall from the top of the 2B list should be alarming.

Look Out For: Manny Machado as his year can go either way: he will either flourish this season with the Orioles or his impatience will catch up to him and they will be forced to send him back to the Minors.  

2013 Hitting Projections
Player	Team	Pos	BB/K	AB/K	AB/HR	OBP	SLG	OPS	SB
Nelson Cruz	Texas	RF	0.35	4.30	21.07	0.326	0.484	0.809	10
Dan Uggla	Atlanta	2B	0.51	3.55	22.01	0.344	0.425	0.769	3
Adam Jones	Baltimore	CF	0.26	5.06	21.69	0.338	0.494	0.831	13
Manny Machado	Baltimore	3B	0.33	4.96	28.24	0.301	0.429	0.730	9

Bench: The Empire had a very interesting bench as the “homer” in him had him pick up a few Yankee players. Backing up Tulo will be Derek Jeter.  Currently, free-swinging, Adam LaRoche is starting at 1B, but most likely taking his place will be Mark Teixeira.  Kevin Youkilis is a good piece to have on your team because he qualifies at 1B/3B and can also be placed on the DH spot.  Victor Martinez was accidentally picked as a catcher, but he will only qualify at DH this season (until he plays 5 games at the backstop), but the team was able to acquire Matt Wieters after the draft in a trade.  Both are good options at catcher.  Even V-Mart makes for a great DH.  

PITCHING

Like: Johnny Cueto and James Shields are both top 25 pitchers.  Jeff Samardzija fell into our 3^rd Tier list because of his BB/9, but when he has his control working, he can be pretty dominant.  Derek Holland can be useful on the right team and this club is right for him as a middle of the rotation starter.  Ryan Vogelsong is the last member of a solid 6-man rotation. 

Dislike: I’m still skeptical about R.A. Dickey.  I’ve explained before about distrusting kucklers, but his projections were good enough to place him ahead of teammate Shields on my top 25 list.  Clearly, this owner did not read my analysis on Justin Masterson.  

2013 Pitching Projections
Player	Team	K/BB	K/9	BB/9	H/9	WHIP	HR/9
Justin Masterson	Cleveland	2.09	6.85	3.27	9.26	1.39	0.73
Ryan Vogelsong	San Francisco	2.28	7.56	3.32	8.52	1.32	0.77
Jeff Samardzija	Cubs	2.33	8.82	3.78	7.98	1.31	1.02
Derek Holland	Texas	2.73	7.66	2.81	8.51	1.26	1.07
Brandon League	Los Angeles	2.13	6.75	3.18	8.34	1.28	0.53
Chris Perez	Cleveland	2.70	8.84	3.27	7.04	1.15	0.82

Bullpen: One of my favorite closers to pick on, Chris Perez is on the ballclub.  Bad enough that he can be a bit loose with his words and actions, but sometimes he goes through these stretches where he loses control and command of his pitches.  Brandon League has so many people rooting against him as they await for Kenley Jansen to take over in Los Angeles.  League’s stuff and projections also make him a questionable choice at closer. 

PREDICTION: Pretty good team despite the fact that it is being run by a new owner.  Starting pitching and offense might be good enough to keep this team in playoff contention, but they also have plenty of hitters that are susceptible to prolonged slumps.  In a fantasy points’ league like this one where you lose points for strikeouts, it can prove to be difference between making the playoffs and watching other teams playing for the championship.  

More fantasy baseball content is available here.

To check out the rest of the Mardi Gras Madness teams, click here. 

MAKING THE PITCH: Los Angeles Dodgers

Felipe M

We take a look at the projected starting rotations and closer situations of every MLB team.  Of course, this will come from a fantasy perspective.  All cited stats are based on 2013 projections. 

We marveled at how loaded the St. Louis Cardinals' pitching staff was.

The Los Angeles Dodgers also have depth, but in a different kind of way.  

2013 Pitching Projections
Player	Team	K/BB	K/9	BB/9	H/9	WHIP	HR/9
Zack Greinke	Los Angeles	3.89	8.83	2.27	7.47	1.08	0.83
Clayton Kershaw	Los Angeles	3.70	9.28	2.51	7.05	1.06	0.60
Hyun-Jin Ryu	Los Angeles	3.17	8.31	2.62	8.80	1.27	0.89
Josh Beckett	Los Angeles	2.84	7.68	2.70	8.79	1.28	1.01
Chad Billingsley	Los Angeles	2.30	7.53	3.27	8.56	1.32	0.71
Brandon League	Los Angeles	2.13	6.75	3.18	8.34	1.28	0.53

Clayton Kershaw is the best left-handed starting pitcher and the 2nd best overall pitcher coming into the 2013 season.  What more do you want to know?

The Korean southpaw, Hyun-Jin Ryu had himself a very productive spring, but it remains to be seen how he will produce and endure in the Big Leagues.  Predicting Major League success from pitchers coming from Japan, Korea, or other parts in Asia has often been a difficult task.  Ryu, however, seems to have a good, pitching repertoire.  Plus he's only 26 so perhaps his projections are not too far to reach.  I cautiously listed him as a 3rd Tier pitcher, behind Miguel Gonzalez.  He might be worth the risk if you decide to draft him ahead of other 3rd Tier pitchers like Homer Bailey, Jeremy Hellickson, and Joe Blanton.  

Josh Beckett is the pitcher that follows Ryu on the starting pitchers' list.  Even if Beckett can attain the projected stats, that's still not a bad season out of him.  Especially when you consider how disastrous he was last year.  

Chad Billingsley has seen very little action this spring because of a bruised right index finger.  There's even a risk of him starting the year on the DL.  A concern for a guy who failed to start in more than 30 games last year for the first time since 2007.  However, if he stays healthy, despite the high WHIP, he can still be a serviceable pitcher in fantasy leagues.  Walks will drive you nuts, but considering he posted a BB/9 of +4 in 2011, his projected BB/9 is actually an improvement from the righty who has struggled in that aspect throughout his career.

Speaking of injuries, Zack Greinke seems to be at 50/50 to start the season on time.  He is questionable as he's recovering from elbow inflammation.  Other recent reports indicate that he will be ready, so stay tuned.  When Greinke is healthy, he's definitely a top 10 pitcher.

The closer situation is a mess as the Dodgers will be going with Brandon League, but based on his projections, he may not be the right option for the job.  Out of all the current closers, League has the 4th worst K/BB.  Many think it's only a matter of time before Kenley Jansen will take over. Jansen has been compared to Craig Kimbrel--the best closer in baseball.  You might want to handcuff these two or roll the dice with Jansen if you need saves and are banking on the idea that League won't last long in that role.  This is a situation to keep a close eye on as the season progresses.

Finally, the Dodgers are definitely deep in pitching, but not necessarily in a good way as they all have issues that prevented them from being on the starting rotation.  Injuries to Greinke and Billingsley brings hope to these pitchers so it's worth listing them:

• Currently, Chris Capuano is listed as the #5 starter, but he comes with durability issues, advanced age, a disappointing finish in 2012, and is prone to giving up a lot of homeruns.
• Aaron Harang 
• Ted Lilly
• Both pitchers are getting up there in age and have seen some production decrease in the last few seasons or so.  Plus the Dodgers would prefer if they'd stay in the bullpen.
• Numerous pitching prospects, including Zach Lee. 

So as you can see, the Dodgers have depth in terms of pitchers that can step in and do the job, but they are not overwhelmingly, amazing options to place on a fantasy team.  They will have to wait for an injury to get their chance.

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