MARDI GRAS MADNESS: Bourbon St Red Sox

Felipe M

As explained in the last article, I'll be posting my fantasy baseball keeper league predictions on this website.  

To view my team, click here. 

I posted predictions for the Co-Commissioner's team, the Castroville Crushers.  No we take a look at the other Co-Commissioner's team.

WEST DIVISION—BOURBON ST RED SOX (out of New Orleans, LA)

BATTING LINEUP

Like: Prince Fielder proved that there was no ballpark big enough to deny his power.  Looking for a bounce-back season from Jacoby Ellsbury as well.  The future of this team is Bryce Harper whom is still improving on his skills and still young enough to post bigger numbers—this after coming off an All-Star season in 2012.  I also like Norichika Aoki: what he lacks in power, he makes up in a very patient approach at the plate and is a speedy baserunner with 30+ steals appeal.

2013 Hitting Projections
Player	Team	BB/K	AB/K	AB/HR	OBP	SLG	OPS	SB
Jacoby Ellsbury	Boston	0.50	7.00	33.39	0.343	0.454	0.798	27
Prince Fielder	Detroit	0.97	5.73	17.55	0.417	0.533	0.950	1

 

Dislike: Big-cut swingers Rickie Weeks, Mike Moustakas, and J.J. Hardy; projected to combine for 353 strikeouts (118 a piece).  And that’s not mentioning Adam Dunn’s strikeout totals as his career is dipping rapidly.  Obviously, his appeal is in his power, but should not belong on any fantasy team, at least not this early in the season.

Look Out For: Jesus Montero as the Mariners have given him the opportunity to take over the catching position.  Montero’s stats as a catcher were a lot better than as a DH in 2012. 

BENCH: It will be interesting to see if Yonder Alonso can benefit from the fences being moved in at San Diego.  He had a good, late-season run in 2012.  As long as Michael Cuddyer plays in Colorado, he will continue to find a place on a fantasy team.  I don’t see Denard Span being utilize too often on this team.

PITCHING

Like: Madison Bumgarner (see 2013 projections below) might be the best pitcher on the Giants.  He won’t be doing it by himself either as the Red Sox are loaded with pitchers: Edwin Jackson, Jon Lester, Kris Medlen, Ian Kennedy, Hisashi Iwakuma.

Player	Team	K/BB	K/9	BB/9	H/9	WHIP	HR/A
Madison Bumgarner	San Francisco	4.04	8.35	2.07	8.18	1.14	0.82

Dislike: Not a fan of Clay Buchholz as he’s been a disappointment since the BoSox have given him a regular spot in the rotation after many years of being hyped as a highly-touted prospect. 

Look Out For: There’s a few candidates at this spot: Matt Garza, when he comes back from injury, gives the Bourbons incredible depth in the rotation.  Minor Leaguers Danny Hultzen and Kevin Gausman are very likely to be called up later in 2013, but Hultzen is more likely to step into his team’s starting rotation and flourish than Gausman.

BULLPEN: As opposed to years past, the Bourbons didn’t go after a lot of relievers.  They did pick up Jonathan Papelbon who is a top-tier closer.

PREDICTION: The pitching is incredibly loaded and might be good enough to carry the club to another championship.  What’s stopping this team from a sure spot in the playoffs in their infield, sans Fielder.  Nevertheless, they have an OF that should prove to be consistent throughout the year.  Whether they can make up for the short falls from their impatient teammates is yet to be seen.  

More fantasy baseball content is available here. 

MAKING THE PITCH: Boston Red Sox

Jon Lester's 2013 projections suggest that he's no longer an elite starting pitcher.
(photo courtesy of Mike McCann's Field of Fotos)

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. 

For our review of the Baltimore Orioles, click here. 

Let's take a look at the Boston Red Sox.

PROBABLE STARTING ROTATION

1. Jon Lester
• Good: K/9 OF 8.12 makes him an intriguing option to be a potential #1 or #2 starter on your rotation.  1.01 HR/9 shows he can limit the long ball.
• Bad: WHIP of 1.34 is affected by a high 8.87 H/9.  BB/9 of 3.20 is similar to Chris Tillman's. In terms of having a similar walk rate and K/9, Lester is close to emulating Bud Norris.
2. Ryan Dempster 
• Good: 8.39 K/9 is still good, no matter how old a pitcher might be.  1.04 HR/9 is still a pretty good indicator--along with a 3-year average Groundout/Flyball ratio of 1.2-- that he might still be good enough to keep the ball low in the strike zone.
• Bad: WHIP of 1.31 makes him less desirable.  3.25 BB/9 is manageable, but H/9 has to be lower.  Currently, he's projected to be over 8.5 in that category.
3. Clay Buchholz
• Good: 6.46 K/9 still makes him a somewhat serviceable pitcher.  HR/9 of 1.01, just like the previous two pitchers mentioned, show that he has the skill set to keep the ball low in the strike zone.
• Bad: Unfortunately, he might be locating the ball too low in the zone.  1.96 K/BB is close unusable in fantasy baseball.  1.35 WHIP makes him irrelevant.
4. Felix Doubront
• Good: 8.16 K/9 makes Doubront a sleeper for 2013.  
• Bad: 3.68 BB/9 raises his WHIP to 1.36.  Just like Buchholz, Doubront is teetering on the brink of irrelevance in fantasy circles.

CLOSERS

1. Joel Hanrahan
• Good: Hanrahan is expected to have a K/9 of 10.57.  Adequate K/BB of 2.96, H/9 of 7.0, and WHIP of 1.17 are similar to fellow closer, Chris Perez. HR/9 is a minute .71.
• Bad: 3.57 BB/9 is a tad high.  Other closers with similar BB/9: Chris Perez, Steve Cishek, and Greg Holland.

FANTASY ADVICE

The common theme with all the starting pitchers is that they are projected to have high WHIPs and BB/9 of 3.20+.  But what makes them intriguing options is that they can rack up the K's--even Buchholz. If you draft smart and not depend on the big names that these pitchers carry, they can prove to be very useful on your staff.  This cannot be reiterated enough: DON'T DRAFT THE NAME; draft the numbers.

More MLB content is available here.