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. 

2012 MLB PROSPECT REVIEW: #80-76

Felipe M 

The following is a review of a list that was compiled way back in March of 2012.  "2012 Outlooks" are based on a summation of scouting reports (entering the 2012 MLB season) of each player condensed into a sentence or two for easier reading.

80. Tyler Saladino--SS--Chicago White Sox

• 2012 Outlook: "Power/patience combo.  Majors by 2013."
• 2012 Achievements: Best Strike Zone Discipline in White Sox farm system and in Southern League.
• Conclusion: Played 21 games at 2B last season where versatility will help both player and Big League team. .82 BB/K ratio at Double-A Birmingham. While the patience was in full display, he experienced a power outage (.315 SLG% in 2012). He posted a low batting average, but still posted a high on-base%.  Once he gets on base, he can be a threat on the basepaths.  Despite his superb patience, Saladino will more than likely start 2013 in the Minors. 

79. Manny Machado--SS--Baltimore Orioles

• 2012 Outlook: "19, suffered knee injury, but still highly talented on offense."
• 2012 Achievements: Played 51 games with Orioles; 2nd youngest player to hit a homerun in MLB Post-Season history; #1 Prospect in Eastern League and its Most Exciting Player; Best Defensive SS and Infield Arm in Eastern League.
• Conclusion: After only playing 2 games at 3B in the Minors, Machado was called up by the Orioles to play all of his games as the team's starting 3B. Pretty fitting seeing how there have been comparisons to Alex Rodriguez. Machado has shown solid plate discipline in the Minors and an ability to get on base.  Power, however, was nothing to brag about, but his age and inexperience definitely played a role in power outage. Once he got to the Majors, Machado did show flashes of full potential, but he clearly struggled in Majors. Nevertheless, the Orioles seem committed in having Machado develop his game in the Majors.  

78. Nestor Molina--SP--Chicago White Sox

• 2012 Outlook: "Might be called up by late 2012."
• 2012 Achievements: Best Control in White Sox system.
• Conclusion: Molina's move up to Double-A proved to be a setback as he was very hittable.  Nonetheless, control was as good as advertised, but his K/9 dropped significantly as compared to his 2010 figures. He will need more time in the minors as he needs to show that he does indeed possess the stuff to dominate hitters. 

77. Casey Kelly--SP--San Diego Padres

• 2012 Outlook: "Not in team's top 5 anymore."
• 2012 Achievements: Started 6 games for the Padres last season.
• Conclusion: Kelly is a former SS turned pitcher.  He posted solid peripherals in Big Leagues, but high WHIP was caused by a very high hit rate (12 H/9 in 2012). However, solid control translated well in Majors, but will need to prove to the Padres that he can limit the number of base hits he gives up if he expects to crack the starting rotation in 2013. 

76. Gary Brown--OF--San Francisco Giants

• 2012 Outlook: "Speedy contact hitter; might start by 2013."
• 2012 Achievements: Participated in Arizona Fall League. #16 Prospect, as well as Best Baserunner and Defensive OF in Eastern League.
• Conclusion: Brown's BB:K declined at Double-A Richmond. He managed to hit 32 doubles, but power production dropped in Double-A. Brown continued to display his speed on the basepaths, as he increased the number of stolen bases to 88 bags in 277 career games. Even though Brown has the ability to make solid contact, he needs to show improvement in on-base%. Giants will more than likely bring him up slowly, unless there are major injuries in their OF next season.

Prospects #85-81 can be viewed here.

Prospects #75-71 can be viewed here.