Available waiver pickups (hitters)

A problem we have with our rosters is that we are only allowed 3 spots on our bench for alternate players. As a result, there are still a lot of players out there on the waiver wire who could turn out to be nice pick-ups during the season.

So far, these are HITTERS who appear to be pretty good sleepers or solid pickups:
(1 being the best… and so forth)

Catchers:
1. Rod Barajas (Tex): This guy hit 20 homers? That’s pretty good. It doesn’t hurt that the Texas line-up is getting better, even with the loss of Soriano. Wilkerson gets on base a lot, and that Ian Kinsler is one helluva prospect at 2nd base. Sounds like Barajas could get a lot of RBI opportunities. I’m looking at 75 RBI’s and 22 homers.
2. Brian McCann (Atl): Good hitter, and he’s the undisputed #1 catcher in Atlanta. Could get you 17-20 homers and will bat a good average in his 2nd year in Atlanta.
3. Ryan Doumit (Pitt): This guy has talent, and Pittsburgh has some experienced hitters in their lineup this year. Could get some RBI’s. He hit .345 in AAA last year, with 12 homers in just 165 at-bats. He has had health problems (elbow) lately, so keep watch.

1st base:
1. Casey Kotchman (Angels): This could be his year. Will give you a nice .300 average with a bunch of doubles and at least 80 RBI.
2. Conor Jackson (Ari): Same as Kotchman. Nice batting average and the Diamondbacks are really high on him.
3. Durazo/Nevin (Tex): One or two of these guys could be huge this year. Nevin is actually tearing it up in Spring Training.

2nd base:
1. Josh Barfield (SD): This kid can play. Nice speed and power combination. Could give you 15/15 this year. Already has 4 doubles, a triple, a homer, and 11 rbi’s in spring training. Oh, and he’s hitting .571 (batting!).
2. Luis Gonzalez (Col): If you pick this guy up, play him at Coors. Hehehe… 15-18 homers and 80+ runs isn’t too bad overall. If you hit 2nd in front of Helton and company, and can bat close to .300, you have to score a bunch of runs, I think… Oh, I forgot, he’s hitting .313 in spring training right now (3-11).
3. Jose Vidro (Wash): Hey! He looks healthy this spring… I’m not lying.

Shortstop:
1. Ian Kinsler (Tex): This guy will give you SS/2nd base versatility (after he plays 20 or so games into the season at 2nd), has 20/20 ability, hits in that Texas lineup, and already has 2 impressive homers in spring training.
2. Hanley Ramirez (Fla): Okay, he's getting a lot of attention these days. He was a helluva prospect in Boston the last couple of years, but had all kinds of personal problems. New venue, a new starting job, and new confidence could be the best medicine. He's hitting well in spring training... keep an eye.
3. JJ Hardy (Mil): He’s okay. He plays hard, every day, and scores runs. He will play every day because of his solid defense, but his offense could catch up this season. Hopefully.


3rd base: (I’ve got four, and they’re all good):
1. Edwin Encarnacion (Cin): 5 homers already in spring training. Hits the ball hard.
2. Mike Lowell (Bos): Will rebound nicely in Boston
3. Ryan Zimmerman (Wash): A hitting machine. Power numbers will be nice when playing outside of RFK.
4. Pedro Feliz (SF): If Barry plays, Pedro will have a bunch of RBI’s… nice power.

OF: (I’ve got 5):
1. Granderson (Det): Nice all around numbers.
2. Corey Patterson (Balt): This guy has loads of talent, but little in the head. He is being given a chance in Baltimore, and already has 3 steals in spring training.
3. Matt Murton (ChiCubs): I love this guy. Professional hitter, will hit .300 with 18-25 homers this year.
4. Jason Michaels (Cle): The Indians are high on him this year. He’s batting 2nd in that nice Cleveland lineup.
5. Dave Roberts (SD): You need steals? He’ll give you some, if he plays regularly. Just keep an eye on him.

More on the free-agent pitchers next time.

2005 Reflection (What did it take to win last year?)

Last year, it was an exciting race to the finish, with Kyle’s Bombers and Crazy Carl making nice stretch runs before Mike’s Sting was able to pull away. Also, Kris’ Duds made a nice showing in 4th place despite having no closers for most of the season.

This week, we’ll look at how offensive categories influence roto baseball. Next week, we’ll look at pitching. Here are how the offensive stats “stacked” up:

Home runs: 336 was the top home run count (Texas)
That averaged 26 homers / player (13 players total)

Steals: 194 was the top steals count (NY K9’s)
That averaged about 15 steals / player

RBI: 1174 was the top rbi’s count (Texas again)
That averaged 90 rbi / player

*If you look at the home run rankings and the rbi rankings, each teams rankings in the 2 categories were similar and didn’t deviate too much… for instance, the team that ranked 1 in homers also ranked 1 in rbi’s… and the most any team deviated in these were just 2 points… for instance another team ranked 7th in homers and 9th in rbis…

Batting average:
This is a category where having guys (like Ichiro) with huge at-bat numbers and with high batting averages can help a team. Others like Lugo and Furcal helped the Duds win this category. It’s nice having power hitters with good batting averages, but often times it’s the speedsters with huge at-bats and high averages that make the most difference in this category.

Runs:
This is a category that can have many different factors and variables… Having base-stealers can help in runs, but you have to also factor in on-base percentage… Guys who walk a lot, even if they are clean-up hitters, do score a lot of runs. Guys like Pujols and A-Rod not only have monster rbi numbers, they also score a bunch of runs (they score off homers, they get on base through walks, they hit a lot of doubles and score from there, and they have power guys behind them in the lineup). Sure, Damon, Jeter, Rollins, and Figgins (classic leadoff guys who can steal) scored a whole bunch of runs last year… but it was Pujols who led the league in runs (as a #3 hitter).

ROTO POINTS /RANKING

Sting Runs (8) HR (9) RBI (8) Steals (5) Batting average (3)
Duds Runs (9) HR (8) RBI (7) Steals (8) Batting average (10)


Last year, the Sting did pretty well… scoring nicely in all the categories except for batting average. On his team, Beltran, Carlos Lee, Thome, Nevin, and even Sizemore did not hit for hefty averages, thus leading to the #3 ranking in average.
Interestingly, the team that did the best combining batting average, power and speed was the Duds… led by Ortiz, M. Cabrera, Ichiro, Furcal, and Lugo. Lastly, this team had NO 20steal/20homer players… NONE… the Duds had the best offense by having a nice blend of power guys with speed guys…

Hallucination 06 Draft (3-5-06)

Although it was a fun draft this year (being live), we had a few glitches and three teams were not able to draft the players they wanted. Hopefully through trades and free agent pick-ups, these teams can work themselves back into shape.

Season starts in less than one month! Yahoo!!!

Here is a little more in-depth analysis of the way I thought the teams played out...

Criteria:

Starting pitching: 40%
Closers: 10%
Power: 30%
Batting: 10%
Speed: 10%

5.Rounders: That pitching staff is solid... Good offense, but a little more power could be helpful
ST: A-
CL: B-
P: B
B: B+
SP:B+

4. Bay State Bombers: Solid offense, especially if Grif, Thome, and Barmes can stay healthy...
St: B
Cl: A-
P:A-
B:B
Sp: A-

3. Sting: Always a contender every spring. Starting pitching has potential, but not as deep as past years. Offense has nice names but it's those "other" guys like Cano, Peralta, and Francoeur who will surprise.
St: B
Cl: A-
P: A-
B:B+
Sp: A-

2. Crazy Carl: Arguably the best 3 starting combo in our league. Bullpen is crazy deep and may be used in trades to bulk up offense. Hitting is solid, but will get better through trades, believe me.
St: A-
Cl: A
P:B+
B:A-
Sp: A-

1. Dingle Berries: Balance, balance, balance... Good starters, deep bullpen, and the best outfield in the league.Pitching is good and balanced.
St: A-
Cl: A
P: A-
B: A-
Sp: A-

Other comments:

K9s: Solid starters... need a little more speed and good seasons from past studs
No.#1 Dogs: Great hitting (wow! check out that outfield)... you need some closers...
Baked beans: Good starters, great speed (let me say that again... great speed)... closers?
Oddballs: What's R.Howard, M.Mora, and C.Tracy doing on the bench? Good offense! Closers?
Firebirds: Questionable injury-prone starters, decent bullpen, middle of the road speed, sprinkling of power hitters, a couple promising speed/power combo guys who are still so young and inexperienced... could finish as high as 3rd (if lucky), as low as 10.

take care and good luck people!