MARDI GRAS MADNESS: Beer Belly Mashers

Felipe M

I continue to review our league's fantasy baseball team.  Up next is a long time nemesis and the only person I wish "bad luck" for the 2013 season.

But first, take a look at team Texas Sooner's loaded squad if you haven't all ready. 

EAST DIVISION--BEER BELLY MASHERS (out of Kansas City)

BATTING LINEUP

Like: You know your team is in trouble when Dustin Pedroia might be your best power hitter.  No disrespect to Paul Goldschmidt or Andre Ethier, but Pedroia has the track record as a complete hitter, especially with power.  And that’s not saying much.  I’m a fan of Jon Jay’s as his high on-base% makes him useable in fantasy leagues.  I also believe in Eric Hosmer to turn his career around and become the hitter everybody thought he could be, but time is running out for the guy.  Andrelton Simmons is expected to struggle, but if he can streamline the things that made him a successful hitter in the Minors, he can definitely hold his own in the Majors and become a productive player in fantasy leagues.

Dislike: Juan Pierre as a LF is just so wrong.  I’m skeptical of Salvador Perez and I think he could prove to be a bust, but most fantasy “experts” like his prospects for 2013.  I actually liked Matt Carpenter coming into the draft because he would eventually qualify at 2B.  But as a starting 3B?  I’m not buying that.  Dexter Fowler as a DH is giving the frustrating player too much respect.  Even Ethier, as the sole power hitter in the OF is disastrous. 

Look Out For: Wil Myers was picked as the #1 prospect in baseball by many publications.  Whether he plays this season or not is pretty doubtful, but at this point, he’s probably not available in a majority of leagues.  Oscar Taveras finished as the #1 prospect on this site.  Many publications believe he could be the 

1^st prospect to be called up for the Cardinals.

2013 Hitting Projections
Player	Team	Pos	BB/K	AB/K	AB/HR	OBP	SLG	OPS	SB
Salvador Perez	Kansas City	C	0.35	8.58	35.00	0.327	0.435	0.762	0
Eric Hosmer	Kansas City	1B	0.56	6.01	28.87	0.340	0.437	0.777	15
Andrelton Simmons	Atlanta	SS	0.57	8.69	70.27	0.331	0.400	0.731	13
Dexter Fowler	Colorado	CF	0.54	3.69	41.71	0.367	0.445	0.812	15
Paul Goldschmidt	Arizona	1B	0.44	3.59	22.30	0.352	0.482	0.834	13

PITCHING

Like: Unlike their hitting, pitching is where this team will survive in 2013.  Just look at the names: Josh Beckett, Gio Gonzalez, Zack Greinke, Matt Harvey, CC Sabathia, Jeremy Hellickson and even Dan Haren provides the team with a loaded pitching staff.

Dislike: After viewing their lineup, I’m left wondering if it was really necessary to add Jarrod Parker and Wandy Rodriguez to the team.  

Bullpen: Not a good strategy of acquiring shaky closers like Greg Holland, Tom Wilhelmsen, and Jason Grilli when their lineup is so weak and lacking depth.

2013 Pitching Projections
Player	Team	K/BB	K/9	BB/9	H/9	WHIP	HR/A
Jason Grilli	Pittsburgh	2.72	9.87	3.63	6.68	1.15	1.02
Greg Holland	Kansas City	2.60	10.17	3.91	6.52	1.16	0.52
Tom Wilhelmsen	Seattle	2.03	7.73	3.80	7.10	1.21	0.76
Wandy Rodriguez	Pittsburgh	2.47	6.99	2.83	9.64	1.39	0.87
Jarrod Parker	Oakland	2.32	7.73	3.33	8.44	1.31	0.80

Look Out For: I've mentioned Harvey already, but it’s worth noting again that he is definitely a key figure in the Mets’ future and did an admirable job late in 2012.  There’s lots of promise with this kid. 

PREDICTION: Typical Beer Belly team as he’s always a powerhouse in terms of pitching and usually does a great job in complementing that strength with formidable hitters.  Unfortunately, this year, the team is too unbalanced as even this serviceable lineup will not be enough to help this team reach for a championship in 2013.  This team definitely personifies the definition of greed and in the end, it might cost them.

More fantasy baseball is available here.

CATCH!: 2013 Early Pre-Rankings--Catchers

Is this the year that Carlos Ruiz cracks the
Top 10, Catchers' list?
(photo courtesy of Mike McCann's Field of Fotos)

Felipe M

It's only February, but I'll go ahead and release my preliminary rankings at every position, beginning with the catching position.  The list has a deep emphasis on the upcoming, fantasy baseball season. Names highlighted in GREEN indicate players that are currently on my keeper team.  Other different colors will indicate "tier breaks" on the list.

TOP TIER

1.  Buster Posey: Let me count the ways that Posey has become a valuable commodity in baseball:

• The San Francisco Giants seem to always win with him in the lineup.
• Probably the best keeper catcher in any format imaginable
• Quite possibly the best, all-around hitting catcher in the game today.
• And I can go on and on, but we'll have to save that for another day...

2. Yadier Molina: Has always been an above-average defender, but has seen his offensive production increase in terms of batting average, on-base%, and SLG%.

3. Joe Mauer: Like Posey, Mauer was once considered the best, all-around catcher in the game, but age and lack of power production has slightly dropped him from the top spot.  Nevertheless, Mauer is still a good-hitting catcher and is a solid, "safe" pick at the position.

4. Mike Napoli: Injury concerns in the offseason along with decreases in his slash line last season prevented Napoli from one of the top 3 spots.  However, a move to the Boston Red Sox, where he will be permanently situated at 1B and the fact that he can still provide power, put him comfortably in our top 5.

5. Carlos Santana: Santana has had to battle injuries that has sapped some of his ability to produce power and average, but he's still an on-base machine and he's still young enough to prove his prowess.

6.  Miguel Montero: MLB Network has named the Arizona Diamondback catcher the face of the franchise.  He basically has also become the D'backs' best hitter by default as well.  

7.  Matt Wieters: Just like Santana, Wieters, at 26, is young enough to improve on his offensive numbers, but unlike Santana, Wieters' low batting average also comes along with a low, on-base%.  The switch-hitting catcher can still hit for power, but he needs to prove he can contribute in other categories before we move him up on our list.

SECOND TIER

8. Salvador Perez: Seems like every baseball publication has him ranked high, but we warn our readers about this guy: he's only 22 and is far from having fully developed batting skills.  His power production, at this stage of his career, is merely based on potential.  Be cautious.

9. Wilin Rosario: Another, young, power-hitting catcher.  But as we explained on this site already, Rosario comes with a lot of holes in his game including poor plate discipline, low contact rate, and unpolished defensive game.  Just like Perez, many publications have him ranked high, but be cautious of this player.

10. Jesus Montero:  Struggled mightily as the Seattle Mariners' DH, but he's only 23 years-old and Safeco Field will have new, somewhat hitter-friendly dimensions for 2013 so that should help the young hitter as well.  

11. Carlos Ruiz: His advanced age and the fact that he will begin the season on suspension drops him outside the top 10, but Ruiz has been one of the more dependable, steady catchers for the past few years or so and has a reputation for his clutch-hitting.  Having Ruiz along with one of these younger catchers would provide you with insurance at the backstop position.

12. Ryan Doumit: Injuries have been a hindrance to Doumit reaching his full potential.  Despite no real position for Doumit for the Minnesota Twins, he's still projected, by many publications, to reach 500+ at bats.  He can be a cheap source of power, injuries notwithstanding.

13. Jonathan Lucroy: A career year moves Lucroy into a borderline, starting fantasy catcher.  However, as impressive as 2012 was for him, it's hard to envision him posting another .881 OPS in 2013.

14. A.J. Pierzynski: A career year by A.J. gave him the opportunity to sign with the Texas Rangers. Very questionable that he'll hit for that much power again, but playing in Texas gives him the opportunity to come close to reaching those numbers again.

15. Brian McCann: I'm the biggest McCann fan and his biggest apologist.  It's hard to look past the decrease in his numbers last season, but he was battling a nagging shoulder injury.  The Atlanta Braves still have confidence in him and he'll be given every chance to come back at 100%.

THIRD TIER

Here are how the rest of the catchers pan out:

• John Jaso
• Alex Aliva
• A.J. Ellis
• Jarrod Saltalamacchia
• J.P. Arencibia
• Tyler Flowers
• Chris Iannetta
• Russell Martin
• Welington Castillo
• Rob Brantly

And here are a few catchers to keep an eye on this spring:

1. Travis d'Arnaud
2. Wilson Ramos vs Kurt Suzuki-- Suzuki is still ahead of Ramos in the Washington Nationals' depth chart.
3. Mike Zunino

First Base is next!  Who?  Exactly!

For more MLB content, click here. 

For our list of 1B, click here.