Felipe M
We continue on our reviews for our fantasy baseball league, Mardi Gras Madness. Please take some time to read about the Houston Steelers.
Last, but definitely not least is our defending champion and a big time Phillies' fan--and Dallas Cowboys' fan. What?
CENTRAL DIVISION--So. Jersey Strong Arms (it must be a Jersey thang)
Dislike: I might be too harsh on Will Middlebrooks, but even though he provided a spark for teams last year and showed off his power, he still had plenty of holes in his swing and terrible approach at the plate. He needs to improve on that aspect of this game is this team expects to repeat as Champions. And as a Michael Morse owner last season, I understand he was hurt, but that still doesn’t excuse his hacking style at the plate. And Ben Revere should not be a DH in a fantasy lineup.
We continue on our reviews for our fantasy baseball league, Mardi Gras Madness. Please take some time to read about the Houston Steelers.
Last, but definitely not least is our defending champion and a big time Phillies' fan--and Dallas Cowboys' fan. What?
CENTRAL DIVISION--So. Jersey Strong Arms (it must be a Jersey thang)
BATTING LINEUP
Like: You can
tell this guy is a Phillies’ fan: Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, and Jimmy Rollins are starting on the team’s
infield. Whether they can take it back
to 2008 is another question, but lucky for them, they won’t be doing it on
their own as Buster Posey, Andrew McCutchen
and Yoenis Cespedes can provide
plenty of offense as well.
2013
Hitting Projections
|
|||||||||
Player
|
Team
|
Pos
|
BB/K
|
AB/K
|
AB/HR
|
OBP
|
SLG
|
OPS
|
SB
|
Yoenis Cespedes
|
Oakland
|
LF/CF
|
0.45
|
5.05
|
22.03
|
0.345
|
0.482
|
0.827
|
16
|
Buster Posey
|
San Francisco
|
C/1B
|
0.70
|
5.77
|
23.61
|
0.390
|
0.510
|
0.900
|
2
|
Andrew McCutchen
|
Pittsburgh
|
CF
|
0.64
|
4.77
|
22.53
|
0.380
|
0.500
|
0.880
|
23
|
Ben Revere
|
Philadelphia
|
CF/RF
|
0.58
|
10.08
|
571.33
|
0.329
|
0.334
|
0.663
|
42
|
Michael Morse
|
Seattle
|
LF/RF
|
0.24
|
4.00
|
21.42
|
0.326
|
0.468
|
0.794
|
1
|
Will Middlebrooks
|
Boston
|
3B
|
0.17
|
3.67
|
20.80
|
0.304
|
0.463
|
0.767
|
8
|
Dislike: I might be too harsh on Will Middlebrooks, but even though he provided a spark for teams last year and showed off his power, he still had plenty of holes in his swing and terrible approach at the plate. He needs to improve on that aspect of this game is this team expects to repeat as Champions. And as a Michael Morse owner last season, I understand he was hurt, but that still doesn’t excuse his hacking style at the plate. And Ben Revere should not be a DH in a fantasy lineup.
Look Out For: This
team has both Billy Hamilton and Jurickson Profar on the same club. I’m not even sure if both players will be
called up this season, but certainly a very interesting strategy to have two
players playing in the same position. Then
again, the Reds have been talking about moving Hamilton to the OF and the
Rangers have played with the idea of moving their veteran infielders move
around just so they can make room for Profar.
Bench: Revere and
Carlos Gomez will probably, but
questionably be alternating the DH spot.
Gomez has good counting stats, but a disastrous approach at the
plate. Chase Headley can probably become the permanent DH/3B when he gets
back from injury.
PITCHING
Like: The Philly
theme continues with Cole Hamels and
Cliff Lee anchoring the pitching
staff. In support of these two are mixes
of young and veteran pitchers with more question marks to their game than
anything. So I will list the ones that
have a better chance of succeeding here (not to guarantee that they will, but
given the options, I’m speaking in relative terms): Alex Cobb is supposed to bust out this season and was impressive in
the spring, especially when you talk about his K/9; Alexi Ogando is a promising pitcher with good, projected
numbers. However, he did struggle this
spring, but was able to post impressive strikeout totals; Marco Estrada pitched pretty well in the spring and his projections
show that he might be in line for a big year.
2013 Pitching Projections
|
|||||||
Player
|
Team
|
K/BB
|
K/9
|
BB/9
|
H/9
|
WHIP
|
HR/9
|
Alexi Ogando
|
Texas
|
3.23
|
8.14
|
2.52
|
8.14
|
1.18
|
1.09
|
Alex Cobb
|
Tampa
|
2.13
|
6.80
|
3.19
|
8.48
|
1.30
|
0.78
|
Marco Estrada
|
Milwaukee
|
3.55
|
8.85
|
2.49
|
8.51
|
1.22
|
1.22
|
Dislike: There’s a lot of pitchers I don’t like on this team, but the worst of the bunch is Edinson Volquez. Volquez had a bad spring and he still continues to give up too many walks (a problem he still has since his days with the Reds. I wrote about this issue when reviewing the Padres’ pitching staff). Another Opening Day starter I don’t like is Bud Norris who not only is supposed to be on a bad team that may not provide the run support he needs, he also has issues with walks and is projected to have a terrible WHIP. To Norris’ credit, he did get the win for the Astros on Sunday night. Jorge de la Rosa is a 32 year-old recovering from Tommy John surgery. He shouldn’t be on anybody’s team. Kyle Kendrick is another pitcher who should have been left on waivers as well.
Bullpen: Amazingly
enough, this team has no closers on the squad.
Look Out For: James
McDonald seems to slowly, but surely be climbing up the pitchers’ list and
distance himself from the Volquezes and Norrises of the world. He can provide good strikeout numbers and if
he cuts back on the walks, he might provide much needed production on this
team. Shaun Marcum is injured once again, but when he’s healthy, he can
be productive. Might be the pitcher to
add some quality depth on this team.
Speaking of injury, Chad
Billingsley is on the club as well and beginning the year on the DL. He’s done a good job cutting back on the
walks and is actually better off as a back of the rotation guy than as an
integral part of any pitching staff (like he was projected to be when he was
coming up with the Dodgers).
PREDICTION: Despite
having all of these pitchers on the team, they really don’t have much depth. Remember, quantity does not necessarily mean
quality. They have the potential to surprise
people by potentially having a great 5-man combo in their pitching staff, but which of
these other quizzical pitchers will step up and have a breakthrough
season? They are also a big bat away
from having a complete lineup. If they
can’t make a trade to improve their offense, then they’ll have to depend on a
few hitters who have very limited skills at the plate. Injured 3B Headley might be that player, but
he too comes with plenty of issues as well.
Too many ifs and question marks on this team to project them as a
playoff team, therefore another title seems to be out of reach.
