h2h Corner ~ Keep, Trade or Drop (IV)
April 15, 2009
Time for the latest edition of the game show that is sweeping America like Who Wants to be a Millionaire did back in 1999, which was the year of Ivan Rodriguez, the New York Yankees and Livin’ La Vida Loca. You guessed it, Keep Trade or Drop (KTD). Read more
h2h Corner ~ The Cardinals Closer Carousel
April 15, 2009
The Cardinals closer situation is akin to the dreaded committee approach that Theo thought was such a good idea back in 2004.
While committees make real good sense in real baseball, they drive fantasy players crazy. I’m here to help. Read more
Minor-ity Report: Spotlight on Brett Wallace
April 15, 2009
A 1st round, 13th overall pick in the 2008 amateur entry draft, Brett Wallace is an intriguing prospect. Known to be a gifted offensive third baseman, his glovework is ignominious. Wallace is a rarity among blue chip prospects in that he notched three seasons at the NCAA level at Arizona State University. There, Wallace hit 7, 16, and 22 homers in each respective year, ending his college career with around a .400 batting average.
Wallace entered pro ball in 2008 and was immediately plugged into the Midwest League (low A ball) where he batted a robust .327 to go with 5 homers and 25 RBI. After his strong initial showing, Wallace was promoted to the Texas League (double A) where he batted .367 in only 49 at bats. Again, Wallace flashed some pop with 3 homers in his limited stint in double A during 2008, and all told – made the jump from college, single A, to double A combining for a total of 30 homers, 119 RBI in just about 400 at bats.
Right now, the situation at the hot corner in St. Louis is a tenuous one. Tony LaRussa is creatively juggling journeyman and Dodger castaway Joe Thurston, aging prospect David Freese, and stopgap utilityman Brian Barden. None of the above have a solid hold on the job as of yet, so if Wallace continues his meteoric rise to the bigs, his ETA might just be 2009 if the glove improves.
The question is – how bad is Wallace with the glove? Some scouts and experts have deemed Wallace more suitable at first base. As we know, King Albert has as firm a hold on first as any player on the planet at their respective position, so there is no danger of Wallace slotting into first. So again, how bad is Wallace defensively? His fielding percentage was .952 between single and double A during ‘08, but there was improvement as Wallace jumped to double A. No word yet on defensive prowess this season, but time will tell if Brett Wallace has matured into a serviceable option at the hot corner in St. Louis this year. Either way – have him on your fantasy radar NOW!
Lastings Milledge: First Bust Of 2009
April 15, 2009
Yesterday, the Washington Nationals demoted outfielder Lastings Milledge to Triple A . It is unclear when he will return, and when he does, whether he’ll have a starting job.
Milledge was given ”top prospect” billing soon after he was drafted by the New York Mets. He was never able to achieve his potential while a Met, but he appeared to have unlocked a promising future with the Nats. Milledge led the Nats in home runs, RBI’s, and stolen bases in 2008, and was slotted to bat leadoff this year. Many fantasy baseball managers expected Milledge to build on his 2008 successes with an even better season in 2009. Some projected an increase in steals because of his position in the batting order, and an increase in homers now that he is 24 and has matured as a hitter.
But seven games into the season, the Nats decided to send a message to the slumping Milledge by sending him down to the minors. In 24 at-bats, Milledge batted .167 with 0 homers, 1 RBI, and 1 SB. He was a defensive disaster in centerfield, and was not an offensive catalyst at the top of the order. Instead of making solid contact on the ball and displaying the patience necessary for a leadoff hitter, Milledge aggressively hacked at the ball, striking out an ugly 10 times in 24 at-bats.
There are several fantasy baseball implications of Milledge’s demotion. First, Elijah Dukes (who we profiled as a major sleeper candidate) is assured of a full-time job. He was expected to start the year in right field, but slumped in spring training and lost his job to Austin Kearns. Now, Dukes will start in center field and should do very well. He’s a 20-20 candidate (and his ceiling is even higher than that). If he’s available in your league, I strongly recommend picking him up.
Second, Josh Willingham will get more playing time. Instead of being the fifth outfielder, he moves up to the fourth outfielder role, and should get plenty of time spelling the oft-injured Kearns. Plus, Willingham is only one Nick Johnson injury away from having a starting role – either in the outfield or at first base. Willingham should be considered in NL-only leagues, but not mixed leagues. But don’t be overly optimistic; his 0-11 start doesn’t help his cause.
Third, and most obvious, Milledge owners are S.O.L. But don’t give up on him yet. The Nationals have a roster full of talented, but injury-prone players and will need Milledge if one of their guys goes on the shelf. Their offense is not strong enough to leave Milledge sitting in the minors for long. More likely, the Nationals are merely sending Milledge a message that he can’t lollygag it in the majors. Unless Milledge struggles mightily in the minors, expect him to be back up in the majors within a month.
Mail Time-The Pilot
April 15, 2009
This may or may not work out as I have planned. Below I am going to give you, the readers, my email address where you can send questions, comments, hate or anything you would like. From these emails I am going to incorporate them into a weekly (or monthly column depending on the number of responses.)
I would just like you to include your name and where you are from. Please try to keep most of the questions fantasy baseball related, but I have no issues with general baseball questions either. I hope this woks out.
Email me at: Robertholtjr@gmail.com
Lets get the questions rolling.
Instant Feedback
April 15, 2009
I still remember the very first trade I made in my primary fantasy baseball league. The year was 2004. I had a slumping $6 Kevin Millar on my team along with a surplus of starting pitching. I badly wanted to upgrade that one spot in my offense so I packaged $5 Mark Redman (fresh off his best season, actually his only good season), $10 Brandon Webb (fresh off his rookie of the year season), and Millar to get a young multi-talented outfielder who I was sure would give my offense an instant jolt. His name: Austin Kearns ($10). OK, you can stop laughing now. Seriously, while that was before Brandon Webb became BRANDON WEBB, that was also before Austin Kearns became austin kearns. Just for the record I also got a $2 pitcher named Shingo Takatsu out of the deal. He pitched well for me for over a month before I ended up trading him to another team–about a week before he was annointed the White Sox Closer for the remainder of the season.
The powers that be in the league thought I had made a bad enough trade that they made the other guy throw in “future considerations” to balance it out. He ended up giving me a $5 outfielder named Jason Lane, who sounds like nothing now but actually had some potential value at this time. Anyways, despite what you may all be thinking right now the point of all this is not to share with you all what a poor trader I am, nor is it to share with you all that I too once suffered from the affliction that is Austin Kearns.
The following is literally true: the first day that Kearns was officially on my team an inside pitch broke his arm putting him on the shelf for a couple of months. I still remember driving home from work that day, listening to the baseball news on the radio, when I heard the broadcaster mention that Austin Kearns can’t seem to catch a break. Before I even had time to react he mentioned how Kearns had a broken arm after being hit by a pitch in that day’s game. Talk about instant feedback from the fantasy baseball gods.
Well I just experienced something quite similar the past couple of days with my first trade of the 2009 fantasy baseball season. In one of my 12-team NL-only leagues I just traded away Mark Reynolds and Aaron Miles for Lastings Milledge and Gregg Dobbs. Reynolds hit a two-run homer earlier tonight, about the same time the Nationals optioned the petulant and irresponsible Milledge to the minors. There is nothing quite like instant feedback, is there?
Did You Know…?
Jacoby Ellsbury had more SBs than Brian Roberts and Elvis Andrus combined?
Polls
Loading ...
