Friday, April 20, 2012

Believe It Or Not



Welcome to post draft fantasy baseball.  Above is the first thing that comes to mind when I thought of believe it or not.  In this article I wanted to take a look at if the surprise hot starts are legit, and the opening failures will last.  Remember if you will that Roto Hero is all about OBP instead of AVG.   

Surprise Fast Starts (Believe they are Superheroes?):

Josh Willingham: BELIEVE.  Willingham has been smashing like the Hulk so far.  5 HRs in 50 ABs, it’s not too surprising so I think he will keep it up.  The AVG and OBP are surely to drop, but he’s for real and a was a target of mine in every draft.   He’ll move down from his top 15 value, but should stay a top power choice.

Carlos Beltran: BELIEVE.  Believe it or not, Beltran is number four right now in OBP leagues.  Like Willingham AVG/OBP is high, but as long as he is healthy he’s a great option.

Kyle Lohse: NOT. Lohse currently ranks just behind Halladay for top SP.  While he will be a serviceable option, I think the he will return to Bruce Banner status sooner than later.

Jason Heyward:  BELIEVE.  Although I do not believe he will maintain his current pace, I was predicting a return to form for him.  He recently was moved up in the lineup, and with his talent he should last.

Yoenis Cespedes:  NOT.  I was actually hyping him before the season and the power is legitimate.  My fear is that soon teams are going to learn how to pitch to him and the power he relies on for value will slow down.  I would try and sell high.


Surprise Slow Starts (Are these bad starts Flukes or are they Fails): 

Adam Wainwright:  FLUKE.  I’ll admit it doesn’t look good right now.  He’s coming off Tommy John and is 0-3, but he swears he is fine health wise.  I think he is a good buy low candidate.

Kevin Youkilis:  FLUKE.  Bobby V thinks it’s motivation, well Bobby V is a joke.  The biggest mystery to me is the lack of walks.  They will return and so will his value.

Adam Dunn: FAIL.  Knowing his OBP past, I wanted him.  Didn’t get him everywhere, but I wanted him.  Him going yard early is a good sign, but I’m about ready to give up on him.

Ichiro Suzuki: FAIL.  He will obviously be better than he is now so wait to ship, but SEA lineup is bad no matter how much they tried to pretend.  His role as the lone bright star is dimishing.

Troy Tulowitzki:  FLUKE.  I didn’t believe he was a first rounder, but he’ll be back to a top SS option soon enough.

Jose Valverde:  FLUKE.  So it won’t be another perfect season for saves.  He’s still a top option for a team that is going to win lots of games.

Eric Hosmer:  FAIL.  I told you so sounds so childish, but I have been saying he was overhyped on draft boards all year.  In the future he is going to be a stud, I just don’t think it will happen for 2012 season.  Don’t drop, especially not in keeper, but don’t hold your breath for dominance.

Thursday, April 5, 2012

Opening Day

Every baseball season I watch Major League and this.  Who are the pitchers today?

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

The Draft: V The Final Frontier


End of the line for the draft. Thanks for looking if you have any questions feel free to ask. Or on Twitter @RotoHero. Part I. Part II. Part III. Part IV.

This year we played with 8, with even further expanded rosters. I was 3rd pick for 29 rounds of bliss. Our league is 5x5 Roto, but instead of the conventional AVG, we play OBP (I suggest you all do the same), and an innings cap of 1650. (1650 works out to about 6 SPs and 5 RPs for the season).

Out positions: C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, CI, MI, LF, CF, RF, OF, OF, Util, Util, SP, SP, SP, SP, RP, RP, P, P, P, P, BN, BN, BN, BN, BN, DL.

Round 22

1. Matt Thornton (CWS - RP) Uggies vs Yu…

2. Jesus Montero (Sea - Util) Girls Don’t …

3. Ubaldo Jimenez (Cle - SP) Baghwan’s Ba…

4. Jonathan Broxton (KC - RP) Game Recogni…

5. Gaby Sanchez (Mia - 1B) DrunkDrafter

6. Jim Johnson (Bal - RP) Shooting Blanks

7. Jason Kipnis (Cle - 2B) Clip Show

8. Jeff Francoeur (KC - RF) Storm VIII/S…

Round 23

1. Hiroki Kuroda (NYY - SP) Storm VIII/S…

2. Jose Altuve (Hou - 2B) Clip Show

3. Jhonny Peralta (Det - SS) Shooting Blanks

4. Neil Walker (Pit - 2B) DrunkDrafter

5. Tyler Clippard (Was - RP) Game Recogni…

6. Francisco Cordero (Tor - RP) Baghwan’s Ba…

7. Doug Fister (Det - SP) Girls Don’t …

8. Matt Wieters (Bal - C) Uggies vs Yu…

My Picks: Johnson. Peralta. Both should be good. Johnosn was the last closer whose job wasn’t speculative. Happy to have 5 to start in a league that is very active. Peralta will be there if my worst INF Hardy fails.

Hero Pick: Wieters. I like both the Francoeur and Fister picks, but Wieters will actually play his value here. I probably should have taken him, but am still happy with my fills.

Villain Pick: Cordero. For some reason on our draft day Cordero was launched to 105ish in rankings, even though he isn’t closing. We had the discipline not to take him early, but considering this could have been a better setup RP or potential closer, bad pick.

Round 24

1. Melky Cabrera (SF - LF,CF) Uggies vs Yu…

2. Mike Adams (Tex - RP) Girls Don’t …

3. Dexter Fowler (Col - CF) Baghwan’s Ba…

4. Brad Lidge (Was - RP) Game Recogni…

5. Jordan Schafer (Hou - CF) DrunkDrafter

6. Brandon McCarthy (Oak - SP) Shooting Blanks

7. Jair Jurrjens (Atl - SP) Clip Show

8. Greg Holland (KC - RP) Storm VIII/S…

Round 25

1. Nick Markakis (Bal - RF) Storm VIII/S…

2. Mat Gamel (Mil - CI) Clip Show

3. Torii Hunter (LAA - RF) Shooting Blanks

4. Jeremy Hellickson (TB - SP) DrunkDrafter

5. Jose Tabata (Pit - LF,RF) Game Recogni…

6. Chase Utley (Phi - 2B) Baghwan’s Ba…

7. Todd Helton (Col - 1B) Girls Don’t …

8. Shaun Marcum (Mil - SP) Uggies vs Yu…

My Picks: McCarthy. Hunter. McCarthy is why I waited for some of my SPs. Other than wins he’ll be awesome. Hunter is mostly influenced by the fact I can see LAA games, but if he does close to what he did last year, this is still a deal. Another OF you can hold out for.

Hero Pick: McCarthy. Best player on the board and he will outproduce many SPs taken before him.

Villain Pick: Utley. He will have some value, the question is when. Unless you have room on your DL, make him go undrafted, he will be more harm than good till we have an idea of when he is back.

Round 26

1. Colby Rasmus (Tor - CF) Uggies vs Yu…

2. Carlos Lee (Hou - 1B,LF) Girls Don’t …

3. Brandon Belt (SF - 1B,LF) Baghwan’s Ba…

4. Chone Figgins (Sea - 3B) Game Recogni…

5. Chris Davis (Bal - 1B,3B) DrunkDrafter

6. David Freese (StL - 3B) Shooting Blanks

7. Vance Worley (Phi - SP) Clip Show

8. Kelly Johnson (Tor - 2B) Storm VIII/S…

Round 27

1. Martin Prado (Atl - 3B,LF) Storm VIII/S…

2. Johan Santana (NYM - SP) Clip Show

3. Dustin Ackley (Sea - 2B) Shooting Blanks

4. Addison Reed (CWS - RP) DrunkDrafter

5. Rajai Davis (Tor - CF,RF) Game Recogni…

6. Austin Jackson (Det - CF) Baghwan’s Ba…

7. Nyjer Morgan (Mil - LF,CF,RF) Girls Don’t …

8. Matt Joyce (TB - LF,RF) Uggies vs Yu…

My Picks: Freese. Ackley. Once again I pranked it. Freese was a hero in the WS and just of who is around will outproduce Figgins and Davis. Ackley, was not needed by me but already went yard and shouldn’t have still been there for me.

Hero Pick: Worley. If I knew he would have been taken, I would have taken him even in the rounds before. I love my picks, but I think Worley is going to be a hero.

Villain Pick: Figgins. Taken in front of Freese, I can’t believe it. I understand the gamble and it’s hard to get SBs at a corner infielder, but if you want to gamble you could do it in a round or too.

Round 28

1. Jonny Venters (Atl - RP) Uggies vs Yu…

2. David Robertson (NYY - RP) Girls Don’t …

3. Mike Aviles (Bos - 2B,3B,SS) Baghwan’s Ba…

4. Brandon Morrow (Tor - SP) Game Recogni…

5. Chris Carpenter (StL - SP) DrunkDrafter

6. Russell Martin (NYY - C) Shooting Blanks

7. Logan Morrison (Mia - LF) Clip Show

8. Justin Morneau (Min - 1B) Storm VIII/S…

Round 29

1. Jason Bourgeois (KC - LF,CF,RF) Storm VIII/S…

2. Ryan Madson (Cin - RP) Clip Show

3. Mike Minor (Atl - SP) Shooting Blanks

4. Max Scherzer (Det - SP) DrunkDrafter

5. Fernando Salas (StL - RP) Game Recogni…

6. Brent Lillibridge (CWS - 1B,LF,CF,RF) Baghwan’s Ba…

7. Ian Desmond (Was - SS) Girls Don’t …

8. Aroldis Chapman (Cin - RP) Uggies vs Yu…

My Picks: Martin. Minor. Martin is exactly why I wait on a catcher. I got a Yankee and if he fades or someone is hot, it costs me nothing to drop. Minor is going is a great choice, I have since dropped him to get into the BOS closer sweepstakes and he was grabbed immediately.

Hero Pick: Morneau or Carpenter. I liked my picks, but both these are great low risk/high reward.

Villain Pick: Madson. It’s unfortunately easy to pick since he is out for the year.

Monday, April 2, 2012

The Draft: Part IV A New Hope


In an effort to get this out before the season is over the next rounds I am doing analysis for 2 at a time. Part I. Part II. Part III.

This year we played with 8, with even further expanded rosters. I was 3rd pick for 29 rounds of bliss. Our league is 5x5 Roto, but instead of the conventional AVG, we play OBP (I suggest you all do the same), and an innings cap of 1650. (1650 works out to about 6 SPs and 5 RPs for the season).

Out positions: C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, CI, MI, LF, CF, RF, OF, OF, Util, Util, SP, SP, SP, SP, RP, RP, P, P, P, P, BN, BN, BN, BN, BN, DL.

Round 16

1. Jason Motte (StL - RP) Uggies vs Yu…

2. Brandon League (Sea - RP) Girls Don’t …

3. Erick Aybar (LAA - SS) Baghwan’s Ba…

4. Alex Avila (Det - C) Game Recogni…

5. Josh Beckett (Bos - SP) DrunkDrafter

6. Carl Crawford (Bos - LF) Shooting Blanks

7. Michael Pineda (NYY - SP) Clip Show

8. Mark Reynolds (Bal - 1B,3B)Storm VIII/S…

Round 17

1. Miguel Montero (Ari - C) Storm VIII/S…

2. Huston Street (SD - RP) Clip Show

3. Tommy Hanson (Atl - SP) Shooting Blanks

4. Ike Davis (NYM - 1B) DrunkDrafter

5. Rafael Betancourt (Col - RP) Game Recogni…

6. Yoenis Cespedes (Oak - CF) Baghwan’s Ba…

7. Joe Mauer (Min - C,1B) Girls Don’t …

8. Matt Garza (ChC - SP) Uggies vs Yu…

My Picks: Crawford, Hanson. I wanted Aybar and after he was taken I had to gamble on Crawford. He might miss a week or two to start, but he is worth the gamble there. I got my top SPs early (a lot went fast), but needed more and he had been just waiting for me.

Hero Pick: Crawford. He could be a bust, but I’m a believer. Even with the missed time, I think he is a close to a top 100 player.

Villain Pick: Avila/Montero. It’s the same pick. A catcher that won’t play their value. Mauer will beat them and was taken later.

Round 18

1. Ricky Romero (Tor - SP) Uggies vs Yu…

2. Rickie Weeks (Mil - 2B) Girls Don’t …

3. Kenley Jansen (LAD - RP) Baghwan’s Ba…

4. Carlos Pena (TB - 1B) Game Recogni…

5. Kyle Farnsworth (TB - RP) DrunkDrafter

6. J.J. Hardy (Bal - SS) Shooting Blanks

7. Chris Perez (Cle - RP) Clip Show

8. Jayson Werth (Was - CF,RF) Storm VIII/S…

Round 19

1. Brandon Beachy (Atl - SP) Storm VIII/S…

2. Cory Luebke (SD - SP,RP) Clip Show

3. Josh Willingham (Min - LF) Shooting Blanks

4. Corey Hart (Mil - RF) DrunkDrafter

5. Anibal Sanchez (Mia - SP) Game Recogni…

6. Mark Trumbo (LAA - 1B,RF) Baghwan’s Ba…

7. Ervin Santana (LAA - SP) Girls Don’t …

8. Javy Guerra (LAD - RP) Uggies vs Yu…

My Picks: Hardy. Willingham. Happy with both. Just potentially added 60 HRs to my team this late, excited. Willingham is also an OBP stud.

Hero Pick: Weeks. I love both my picks, but Weeks went way too late. I thought about him the previous round but already had my 2B and MI filled. He will be a value if he misses ¼ of the year.

Villain Pick: Jansen. The guy thought he was the closer, and might be eventually. He not a complete waste, but not as strong as the others.

Round 20

1. Chris Young (Ari - CF) Uggies vs Yu…

2. Cameron Maybin (SD - CF) Girls Don’t …

3. Brennan Boesch (Det - LF,RF) Baghwan’s Ba…

4. Grant Balfour (Oak - RP) Game Recogni…

5. Carlos Marmol (ChC - RP) DrunkDrafter

6. Matt Capps (Min - RP) Shooting Blanks

7. Jaime Garcia (StL - SP) Clip Show

8. Ryan Roberts (Ari - 2B,3B) Storm VIII/S…

Round 21

1. Neftali Feliz (Tex - RP) Storm VIII/S…

2. Lucas Duda (NYM - 1B,RF) Clip Show

3. Jason Heyward (Atl - RF) Shooting Blanks

4. Jordan Zimmermann (Was - SP) DrunkDrafter

5. Sean Marshall (Cin - RP) Game Recogni…

6. Alejandro De Aza (CWS - CF,RF) Baghwan’s Ba…

7. Frank Francisco (NYM - RP) Girls Don’t …

8. Brett Myers (Hou - SP) Uggies vs Yu…

My Picks: Capps. Heyward. Got a closer with the job outright. Great. Yes, it’s that Heyward. How the might have fallen. People become scared to take him, so I finally had to do it. Had to. Could end up being the pick of the draft, but honestly I’m still concerned.

Hero Pick: Maybin. Good for 40 bags and won’t hurt you too bad else where. It should be my Heyward pick though.

Villain Pick: De Aza. I’m not completely against him, but there are OFs that will be taken in later rounds I like more.