MARDI GRAS MADNESS: Texas Sooner

Felipe M

I continue to preview my head-2-head fantasy points' baseball keeper league.  The last team reviewed was team Halladay Holiday. 

Up next is a strong contender for the 2013 league championship.

CENTRAL DIVISION—TEXAS SOONER (out of Texas)

BATTING LINEUP

Like: I make no secret as to how much I like Ben Zobrist’s game: patience, pop, and versatility made him a much, sought-after commodity in drafts this season.  Aramis Ramirez, despite concerns with age and boom-and-bust tendencies, still makes him a legit option at the hot corner.  I also like Freddie Freeman’s game and I expect big things from him in 2013.  Shin-Soo Choo also came in this year with many concerns, but a new environment in a new league should be the remedy to make Choo a relevant name in fantasy.

2013 Hitting Projections
Player	Team	Pos	BB/K	AB/K	AB/HR	OBP	SLG	OPS	SB
Ben Zobrist	Tampa	2B/SS/RF	0.81	5.07	29.45	0.373	0.462	0.835	16
Aramis Ramirez	Milwaukee	3B	0.56	7.08	21.24	0.346	0.506	0.852	4
Freddie Freeman	Atlanta	1B	0.49	4.35	21.65	0.359	0.484	0.843	3

Dislike: Ichiro Suzuki and Austin Jackson in the starting OF might prove to be an Achilles’ heel.  I’m also not a fan of starting two SS’s.  Bad enough that the enigmatic Starlin Castro is slotted at that position, but Elvis Andrus was not born to be a fantasy, DH hitter. 

Look Out For: There’s a few names to mention here: Currently, Mike Napoli is starting at Catcher, but Mariners’ prospect, Mike Zunino might get called up sooner than many of us think as he begins his baseball career at Triple-A.  Jackie Bradley has been highly hyped this spring and is on the verge of making the Red Sox opening day squad.  Finally, Pablo Sandoval has elbow issues, but if he overcomes the injury, he can provide much needed offensive power that the Sooner is currently lacking at the moment.

BENCH: The only other player to mention is Carlos Correa, the #1 pick in the 2012 draft.  He will start his career in Class-A.  Might be a while.

PITCHING

Like: Justin Verlander and Stephen Strasburg: what more can I say?  Check out their stats below.

2013 Pitching Projections
Player	Team	K/BB	K/9	BB/9	H/9	WHIP	HR/A
Justin Verlander	Detroit	3.93	9.23	2.35	7.31	1.07	0.77
Stephen Strasburg	Washington	4.42	10.91	2.47	7.27	1.08	0.79

Other pitchers worth noting: Homer Bailey as he seems to finally be refined enough to be an adequate pitcher in fantasy leagues.  Not a stud like he was expected to be, but he’s legit enough to warrant a spot; Anibal Sanchez and Mike Minor are excellent in support of Verlander and Strasburg.  Even C.J. Wilson will bring something to the table despite the low BB/9.  And having A.J. Burnett and Matt Harrison at the backend of the rotation is insane.  Not really a fan of Harrison, but as a spot starter in a points’ league, he is definitely a luxury.  This could possibly be the best starting staff in the league.

Dislike: Not a fan of Glen Perkins.  His low K/9 makes him an underwhelming choice for a closer.  Also, of all the closers out there, he has the 8^th worst, HR/9 rate.  Wei-Yin Chen—I’ve been preaching all spring: beware of this guy!  He is prone to give up plenty of long balls and a high 1.28 WHIP makes him not worth the headache that he will provide you.  But on a deep rotation like this, he may be worth the gamble, but considering the issues on offense that this team has, I would highly consider dropping Chen for a hitter.

Bullpen: Not only does this team have the two best right-handed pitchers in the game, but they also have the best closer in Craig Kimbrel.  He’s near automatic in the 9^th inning and almost unhittable. 

PREDICTION: The pitching staff is loaded and enough to carry the team to a championship.  The offense is lacking a consistent source of power and it might cost them late in the season, but it might be steady enough to prove to be adequate for much of the season.  They definitely need to find an upgrade for LF and CF and it might cost them in a title run, but a strong pitching staff has proven to be just enough to win a league title.  A better offense would increase their chances.  

More fantasy baseball is available here. 

MAKING THE PITCH: Detroit Tigers

Tiger Management, along with Manager Jim Leyland,
have a tough choice to make for that #5 spot in the rotation.
(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.  

Check out our analysis of the Chicago Cubs, here. 

The Detroit Tigers will now be looked at.

PROBABLE STARTING ROTATION

1. Justin Verlander
• Good: It's JUSTIN VERLANDER!
• Bad: His WHIP (1.07) is only slightly better than Jered Weaver and Zack Greinke.  
2. Doug Fister
• Good: 3.63 K/BB is three-tenth's worse than Verlander's.  
• Bad: 9.21 H/9 raises expected WHIP to 1.23.
3. Max Scherzer
• Good: 3.51 K/BB: do you sense a pattern with this pitching staff yet? 9.46 K/9 would lead the team in that category.  
• Bad: 8.31 H/9 increases WHIP to 1.22.  
4. Anibal Sanchez
• Good: 3.12 K/BB is fueled by a  7.97 K/9.  
• Bad: H/9 of 8.78 raises WHIP to 1.26. 

CLOSER

1. Bruce Rondon
• Good: #3 Prospect in Tigers' organization.  9.96 K/9 along with 6.75 H/9 gives him a chance to be dominant.  Jim Leyland, in an interview today, explained that he's been impressed with the pitcher's progress.  The praise from Leyland came after he pitched a perfect 9th inning against the New York Mets of yesterday's game.  
• Bad: He's a young, raw pitcher and it's not surprising that he's projected to struggle with walks (BB/9 of 4.98), raising his WHIP to 1.30.  He's also might be susceptible to the long ball (HR/9 1.29).  The Tigers also seem to be really interested in acquiring Carlos Marmol from the Chicago Cubs.  

FANTASY ADVICE

The #5 slot is up for grabs between Rick Porcello and Drew Smyly.  Suddenly, Porcello has found a way to boost his strikeout totals.  He's seen an increase in the last few seasons or so and last I checked, he was striking out one batter per inning during this spring.  However, FanGraphs did an interesting feature on his strikeout totals in the spring, citing that the level of talent he's faced is pretty much a joke (how hard is it to strikeout Dan Uggla, anyway?).  

On the other hand, Smyly seems to have no problems striking out hitters (K/9 of 7.78 compared to Porcello's 5.35) and even though he might give up more walks, both pitchers are expected to finish the year with similar WHIP (1.30).  It's a pretty close match this spring, but it looks like the Tigers' best bet is to send down Smyly to the Minors; unless, of course, they can trade Porcello (to the Cubs for Marmol?).  

As much as Rondon's upside seems to be legit, personally, I would stay clear from the young fireballer.  The walks are a concern.  I also would prefer Smyly over Porcello, but even Porcello might be worth a flier.  If his spring numbers are close to being the real deal, Porcello's stock will easily sky-rocket.  

As far as the other Tigers' starters go: any one of those pitchers will help out your fantasy team in a big way this season.  Verlander is the benchmark that all, wanna-be elite pitchers should try to reach.  Fister, Scherzer, and Sanchez will fit nicely in the middle of your rotation.  They are conventional, top-notch, 2nd-tier starting pitchers.  

More MLB content is available here.