Wednesday, March 04, 2009

The 2009 All Sleeper Teams

Every year I provide my readers (more than ever this season) with three teams composed entirely of sleepers. Each team uses a different criteria to determine who is a sleeper. These teams all have players that will benefit you in many different types of leagues. This is followed by very brief comments on what makes them sleepers.

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The Day Dreamers (not sleeping but lacking the proper respect) - This squad is composed of lite sleepers that are more likely to be bargains in shallower mixed leagues. In deeper leagues you might laugh at the notion of these players being sleepers.
C Jarrod Saltalamaccia, Texas Rangers - Increased playing time
C Jeff Clement, Seattle Mariners - Increased playing time, gaining position flexibility (C, 1B, DH)
1B Kendry Morales, Los Angeles Angels - Full time job, blistering hot in fall/winter leagues
3B Alex Gordon, Kansas City Royals - Improving skills, better lineup, post-hype
CR Chris Davis, Texas Rangers - Amazing 2008 preview, off the chart projections

2B Mark Ellis, Oakland Athletics - Better BABIP luck, better lineup
SS Khalil Greene, St. Louis Cardinals - Out of Petco Field Hell, better lineup
MI Bobby Crosby, Oakland Athletics - Healthy, new position flexibility, new batting coach
OF Nelson Cruz, Texas Rangers - Improving skills, new opportunity, great lineup OF Ryan Spilborghs, Colorado Rockies - Increased playing time, improving skills
OF Dan Murphy, New York Mets - Increased playing time
OF Shin-Soo Choo, Cleveland Indians - Increased playing time, improving skills
OF Jeff Francoeur, Atlanta Braves - Can't get worse, improved focus, he'll be a lot cheaper

UTL Julio Lugo, Boston Red Sox - Could still start but will play often either way, healthy

SP Joba Chamberlain, New York Yankees - Only health keeps him out of top ten starters SP Josh Johnson, Florida Marlins - True Ace stuff, underrated team, finally healthy
SP Manny Parra, Milwaukee Brewers - Groundball Pitcher with strikeouts = Awesome
SP Wandy Rodriguez, Houston Astros - Improving skills, good stuff
SP Kevin Slowey, Minnesota Twins - improving skills, improved defense
MR Grant Balfour, Tampa Bay Rays - Dominating stuff, no clear closer
MR Octavio Dotel, Chicago White Sox - Closer stuff behind the declining Bobby Jenks
MR Ryan Franklin, St. Louis Cardinals - Experienced closer behind youthful save candidates

CL Frank Francisco, Texas Rangers - Healthy, the forgotten closer, not throwing chairs

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The Cat-Nappers (A loud noise would wake them in a hurry) - This group consists of players that are definitely underrated, unhyped, or unexperienced. These are the players you'll want in deeper leagues.
C John Baker, Florida Marlins - Late bloomer, OBP skills, underrated team
C Brayan Pena, Kansas City Royals - The best skills at his position, underrated team
1B Chris Duncan, St. Louis Cardinals - Healthy, Mad Power, The Genius
3B Edwin Encarnacion, Cincinnati Reds - Better luck, underrated power
CR Russell Branyan, Seattle Mariners - Huge opportunity, 40 homer upside
2B Emmanuel Burriss, San Francisco Giants - batting average and steals what more do you need? SS Cesar Izturis, Baltimore Orioles - 30 steals possible if you can live with .260 average
MI Eugenio Velez, San Francisco Giants - a little old for his levels but still has underrated skills, 40 steal upside, should get steals even from the bench
OF Brett Gardner, New York Yankees - Could be the next Kenny Lofton, the best CF option
OF Carlos Gonzalez, Colorado Rockies - Nice tools, great park, opportunity
OF Josh Anderson, Atlanta Braves - does whatever Bourne, Tavares, and Pierre can do, only better
OF Jerry Owens, Chicago White Sox - This is not the year to pay for steals, 40 steal upside
OF Josh Phelps, San Francisco Giants - should be 1B/OF reserve, nice power upside

UTL Jonny Gomes, Cincinnati Reds - Could be the next David Ortiz, great power, needs an opportunity

SP Andrew Miller, Florida Marlins - Was better than he looked last season
SP David Huff, Cleveland Indians - Strikeouts and groundballs, gotta love it
SP Brett Cecil, Toronto Blue Jays - Top prospect with a rotation shot
SP Anthony Reyes, Cleveland Indians - If healthy he can be a frontline starter
SP Andy Sonnanstine, Tampa Bay Rays - If the K9 comes up a smidge he could win big

MR Jeremy Affeldt, San Francisco Giants - improving skills, could see saves
MR Garrett Mock, Washington Nationals - closer stuff behind shaky Hanrahan
MR Jose Mijares, Minnesota Twins - Closer stuff, improving role

CL J.J. Putz, New York Mets - The obvious choice if the rumors about K-Rod being injured are true

***

Nearly Comatose (No Explanation Necessary) - This team is loaded with long shots and comebacks. These are the high risk, high reward players. You don't want to own more than one or two of these players because the potential for failure is very high.

C Michael Barrett, Toronto Blue Jays - If healthy he could be a top ten catcher
C Nick Hundley, San Diego Padres - Big time power but he couldn't hit for average in the minors

1B Nick Johnson, Washington Nationals - If healthy he hits for average and power
3B Eric Chavez, Oakland Athletics - He appears to be healthy, 2002: .275, 34 Homeruns
CR Brett Wallace, St. Louis Cardinals - He's young but can seriously hit, next Pujols

2B Anderson Hernandez, Washington Nationals - failed prospect getting an opportunity
SS Jerry Hairston, Cincinnati Reds - Has a shot at the fulltime shortstop job
MI Alberto Callaspo, Kansas City Royals - Former prospect could be starting at second

OF Endy Chavez, Seattle Mariners - Defense could win him 400 at-bats
OF Andruw Jones, Texas Rangers - Only has to beat out Marlon Byrd
OF John Mayberry Jr., Philadelphia Phillies - Power hitter could sneak his way into a platoon
OF Jody Gerut, San Diego Padres - Has a shot to be the starting center fielder
OF Barry Bonds, Free Agent - He wants to come back

UTL Travis Hafner, Cleveland Indians - he needs to start hot or he'll be replaced by Matt LaPorta

SP Barry Zito, San Francisco Giants - After the all-star break he resembled the old Zito
SP John Smoltz, Boston Red Sox - He should be back in May. Iron Will and Huge Heart
SP Chris Carpenter, St. Louis Cardinals - So far so good, Ace or closer if healthy
SP Mark Prior, San Diego Padres - You never know...
SP Curt Schilling, Free Agent - Would return to a contender




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The Fantasy Baseball Search Expert League

Last night we had the Fantasy Baseball Search Expert League draft on Mock Draft Central. A great time was had by all. This league has a few not exactly unique but uncommon challenges. It a mixed 5x5 Head-to-Head league. It uses On-base Percentage rather than Batting Average. The rules also state that every team has to accumulate 40 innings a week unless at least eight of the nine pitching spots are filled by starters. These rules aren't a huge handicap but they forced me to approach things a little differently than I might otherwise.

My biggest weakness in Fantasy Baseball is probably Head-to-Head Leagues. I have been in a few but have only one Head-to-Head Championship on my record. I've attributed this to balanced lineups that don't dominate any particular categories. Thus in this draft I decided to go for high OBP power hitters, and high strikeout starters and essentially dump steals and saves. I didn't do exactly as planned but I'm okay with the results.

The Results:
Player Team Acquired
1B Mark Teixeira NYY R1 P10
1B Lance Berkman HOU R2 P3
1B Kevin Youkilis BOS R4 P3
1B Jason Giambi OAK R20 P3
2B Brian Roberts BAL R3 P10
2B Jose Lopez SEA R11 P10
2B Mark DeRosa CLE R15 P10
3B Edwin Encarnacion CIN R12 P3
SS Derek Jeter NYY R5 P10
C Jorge Posada NYY R16 P3
C John Baker FLA R26 P3
OF Magglio Ordonez DET R6 P3
OF Johnny Damon NYY R7 P10
OF Andre Ethier LA R10 P3
OF Brett Gardner NYY R22 P3
OF Juan Pierre LA R27 P10
DH Kendry Morales ANA R24 P3
SP Felix Hernandez SEA R8 P3
SP Jon Lester BOS R9 P10
SP Josh Johnson FLA R13 P10
SP Clayton Kershaw LA R17 P10
SP Justin Duchscherer OAK R18 P3
SP Chris Carpenter STL R19 P10
SP David Huff CLE R23 P10
SP Anibal Sanchez FLA R25 P10
RP Joey Devine OAK R14 P3
RP Kevin Gregg CHC R21 P10





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Tuesday, March 03, 2009

Computer Problems and Expert Draft

I have now been through six computers in less than a year. Two in just the last week. Fortunately, I think I'm past it. I have a draft at 9pm for the Fantasy Baseball Search Expert League. I'll be writing about that tonight. Wednesday morning should see the annual All-Sleeper Teams. See ya real soon.

From Todd Farino:

Hey everyone. Check out our expert draft coverage tonight at 9:00pm EST on Blog Talk Radio. Ryan, RC, and I will discuss our draft and have some fun while making our picks. The site is to listen www.blogtalkradio.com/the_true_guru and follow the draft at www.mockdraftcentral.com.





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Monday, February 23, 2009

SportsJudge - Fantasy Dispute Resolution


In today’s high paced, intensely competitive world, the constant strive for professionalism in fantasy sports is hardly uncommon. Despite this, no one is perfect, and problems do occur. With that in mind, SportsJudge prides itself on providing the most avid and intense fantasy gamers with a dispute resolution method to make sure each and every problem eventually ends with a proper solution.

SportsJudge.com brings an unsurpassed level of experience and expertise to the competitive world of fantasy sports. SportsJudge has quickly become recognized as a leading authority and resource by those who take their fantasy sports seriously.

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Sleeper Alert: Daniel Murphy


New York Mets manager Jerry Manuel recently announced that rather than platoon INF/OF Fernando Tatis with Daniel Murphy in left field, he would be using Tatis in a platoon with right fielder Ryan Church.

From MLB.com:

"I don't want him to get into a strictly platoon situation," Manuel said of Murphy, who produced four hits in 10 at-bats off lefties last year. "I think he's a little better player than that. Also, with Church being left-handed, I kind of see Murphy being a better hitter right now."

Murphy is a natural third baseman in an organization with a young superstar at the position. The Mets had Murphy working out at second base in the Arizona Fall League. He shows the potential to be a solid contributor at the position. That the Mets did not manage to trade incumbent second baseman Luis Castillo to clear the position is the reason Murphy will spend 2009 in left field.

Murphy is an excellent contact hitter who had strong line drive rates. He does not draw a ton of walks but he draws enough to maintain a decent on-base percentage. He should regularly bat around .300 and may challenge for batting titles if his skills continue to develop. His homerun power is middling at best. At this point in his development 15 or so homers is about the most you can expect. Murphy has decent speed and is a fair base stealer. In full-time at-bats ten stolen bases is very possible with 15-20 not outside the realm of possibilities.

At three minor league levels, Murphy batted .305/.363/.481 with four homeruns in 131 at-bats against lefties and .320/.385/.502 with nine homeruns in 241 at-bats against right-handers. This seems to indicate that Manuel knows what he is talking about concerning Murphy's ability.

Murphy looks like a solid addition in NL-only leagues and a useful player in shallower mixed leagues. I would not hesitate to add him to my rosters

More on Dan Murphy:

Minor League Splits

The Baseball Cube
First Inning
FanGraphs

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Saturday, February 21, 2009

Friday, February 20, 2009

2009 Fantasy Baseball Roundtable - Week Three

Week three of the Fantasy Baseball Roundtable is hosted by Tim Dierkes of Roto Authority.

Name the player who is the worst value for his average draft position, within the first three rounds.

See how this group of experts answered

Patrick DiCaprio: Fantasy Pros 911
Jon Williams: RotoExperts
Tim Dierkes: RotoAuthority
Rudy Gamble: Razzball
Jason Collette: Fanball.com
Brett Greenfield: FantasyPhenoms.com
Adam Ronis: New York Newsday
Derek Carty: The Hardball Times
Patrick Cain: Albany Times Union
Commish:Fantasy Baseball Geeks

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