This week we’ll look at a few more position battles taking place in the National League. They may not be the sexy names, but paying attention to these battles just might give you a leg-up on the competition come draft day.
Keeper leagues challenge every manager to prepare for the present and the future at the same time. Whereas it is important to draft a team that will win you a fantasy championship; a proper balance of performance and potential needs to be addressed. When that balance is overlooked a manager might find himself drafting for next season before this se...
Baseball Blasts are from Articles I have searched for that can can give you little more insight into Teams, Players, and MLB in general..LBB can be a very useful tool. Allow me to do the digging for you, as I have searched every newspaper ...
Ten rules and ideas to try for a successful fantasy auction. If you like this article, consider signing up for our Premium Site where you can get more just like it, including Mike Podhorzer's 42-0 projections.
Last week we spotlighted some of the more noteworthy position battles this spring, and this week we’re going to take a look at a few more that will be worth keeping an eye on especially as late-round draftees/flyers.
Is this chic pick for the playoffs overrated? Let's look at the top five stories facing the Mariners. It isn't pretty.
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07 Feb 2009 |
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| The perennial hopeless pitching staffs are still well in place for the most part. The Nationals, Astros, Orioles, and Rangers are still loaded with bottom shelf starters. However, there are a few teams whose rotations are drastically different than last season and not in a good way. Would be contenders are going to find it difficult to contend this season if they settle on their current starting staffs. Below is a list of teams that, in the past, contained valuable fantasy pitchers but find themselves lacking in that department heading into the 2009 season. Los Angeles Dodgers  With Derek Lowe, Brad Penny, and Greg Maddux out the door the Dodgers are left with a patch-work starting staff. Chad Billingsley will take on the role of staff ace but is recovering from a broken leg. The Dodgers didn't have an off-season injury in mind for Billingsley when their decision was made and are on their knees praying that he can make a full recovery. They are banking a lot on Billingsley to carry this staff in '09. We all know the potential of Clayton Kershaw but the Dodgers are making a huge gamble with essentially a rookie as their no. 2 starter. The 100 K in 107 IP is lovely but the 52 BB have to be bothersome. Hiroki Kuroda had a very nice first season in America and should see improvement but he doesn't exactly strike fear into anyone just yet. It's certainly a decent top three starters, a top three that some teams would love to have. But what are the Dodgers going to do with the last two rotation spots? They acquired Claudio Vargas in the off-season and he will most likely join the starting staff. But can Vargas pitch well enough to finish the season on the starting staff? He hasn't shown the ability to do so yet. The Dodgers would like to get something out of their investment in Jason Schmidt but since we are wishing I would like a gold-plated toilet. If Schmidt can be ready by the beginning of the season I'm sure they'll give him a chance to win a job in Spring Training. But if Schmidt can't go then who do they turn to? There are a couple of options but...it's ugly. The young and unimpressive Eric Stults is one option. The old and nearly defunct Shawn Estes is the other option. Neither are good ones. The Dodgers could be faced with considerable turmoil within their rotation in 2009. Chicago White Sox The Sox have a nice top three to their rotation. Mark Buehrle is as solid and steady as they come and youngsters on the rise, John Danks and Gavin Floyd, should take the next step in their progression this year. The Sox are hoping that three solid pitchers and a potent offense will be good enough to get them back to the playoffs but I don't have as much confidence about it as they do. You know your staff is in trouble when you are counting on getting something out of Bartolo Colon these days. The Sox signed him to a 1 year - $1M contract in hope that the hefty righty can somehow return to a form similar to a few years back. Ughhhh...whatever. If Colon wins eight games I'll grow my hair like his. The fifth spot is up for grabs with youngster Clayton Richard being the favorite. Richard is not the most heralded prospect but has some potential. He was going to be a member of the U.S. Olympic team until his call-up to the White Sox. However, he was less than impressive in his first season of big league action. The more promising prospect Aaron Poreda has an outside shot of winning a job but the Sox would like to bring him along in the bullpen similar to what the Yankees did with Joba Chamberlain. At any rate, things are looking shaky at this point for the White Sox last two rotation spots. Cleveland Indians  What once was a decent starting staff has turned into a collection of question marks. There's no more relying on CC Sabathia to carry them for stretches. Paul Byrd was never a fantasy stud but provided stability to their rotation. Byrd is waiting until mid-season to decide if he wants to play again but if he does it won't likely be in Cleveland. Adding to the dilemma is Jake Westbrook out for the foreseeable future with elbow and hip problems and could miss the majority, if not all, of the 2009 season.Nobody expects Cliff Lee to pitch close to his '08 numbers but the Indians are going with him as their ace. It's a risky proposition to say the least especially since the Indians have their eyes set on a division title. With a significant case of coming down to Earth in store for Lee it will be quite a challenge for the Indians to find stability at the top of the rotation. Fausto Carmona certainly did not impress last season and his future is up in the air. If he can return to his '07 status it would go a long way in helping clear up some of the mess that is the Indians rotation. However, it looks unlikely that he will do so. The rest of the rotation is full of...to use a technical term...hot garbage. Aaron Laffey showed some craftiness last season but is not what you look for in a no. 3 starter. Oh wait, what am I thinking? The Indians have Carl Pavano now. Can you say World Series? Ah, that's a good one. I'm not sure what they think they can get out of Pavano but they didn't have many other options. Ten wins from Pavano would be a real shocker to this writer. Scott Lewis pitched well for the Indians last season but was shaky towards the end of the season. It's unclear what they can get out of Lewis as of now. The other options for Cleveland are the injured Anthony Reyes, meatball server Jeremy Sowers, and journeyman Tomo Ohka. Say a prayer for the Indians of Cleveland. These teams cannot make the playoffs in '09 with these question marks surrounding their pitching. All three teams are going to have to rely heavily on their offenses to make it to October. Things will start to sort themselves out in Spring Training and we will have a better understanding of where they stand then. However, it could be a long 2009 season for these starting staffs. Are you any more optimistic about these team's rotations than I am? What solutions do you see, if any? I'd like to hear from fans of these teams about their hopes or worries about these starting staffs.
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Comments (7)
  written by ChristopherMulligan, February 11, 2009
I like both guys but I don't think either are ready for the Bigs just yet. McDonald is closer but I'm not sure we see either guy this year.
written by Krause, February 10, 2009
Did you see the Dodgers just added Randy Wolf to there rotation? Now they'll be a force to be rekoned with!
written by ewanbrown, February 10, 2009
I think you're missing out 2 important names.
1 - James McDonald. Could be a solid 4th/5th starter for LA 2 - David Huff. Similar to McDonald but for Cleveland. Very under the radar
written by ChristopherMulligan, February 10, 2009
What up Krause. You gotta keep the hitters. Pedroia and Quentin are 2nd round picks and you can get Volquez and Santana later in the draft. While Volquez and Santana are very good pitchers, there are more guys who can match their numbers than there are guys that can match Pedroia and Quentin's numbers. Take the value and lock up 2nd base early.
Thanks for checking out the site bro. I'm going to have to make sure not give out all my secrets now that I know you guys are reading. See you on draft day, looking forward to throwing some back with the boys. Bring your A game pal. Later.
written by Krause, February 09, 2009
Hey I got Edison Volquez and Ervin Santana as posible keepers I also have Dustin Pedroia and Carlos Quentin.I can keep two(you know the rules) our league tends to favor pitching but i'm leaning toward the hitters! Whats your thoughts?
P.S. Great work on this site!!!
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Tags: fantasy baseball pitching staffs starting pitchers Los Angeles Dodgers Chad Billingsley Clayton Kershaw Hiroki Kuroda Claudio Vargas Jason Schmidt Eric Stults Shawn Estes Chicago White Sox Mark Buerhle John Danks Gavin Floyd Barolo Colon Clayton Richard Aaron Poreda Cleveland Indians Cliff Lee Fausto Carmona Paul Byrd CC Sabathia Jake Westbrook Aaron Laffey Carl Pavano Anthony Reyes Scott Lewis Jeremy Sowers Tomo Ohka
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