Posts Tagged ‘Pablo Sandoval’

2011 Fantasy Baseball Lineup Planner – Week 6

Here is a look at the latest news and notes from around major league baseball to help you set your fantasy baseball lineup for week 6 (May 2 – May 8)  of the 2011 fantasy baseball season.

American League:

Outfielder Rajai Davis returned from the disabled list for the Toronto Blue Jays and should be active in all formats. He stole five bases in three games since his return including including three today.Davis’ return will send Corey Patterson back to his role as a reserve outfielder.

Third basemen Evan Longoria is expected to return from the disabled list on Tuesday for the Tampa Bay Rays so he should be active in all types of leagues as you are likely not to have a better alternative unless you play in a shallow eight or 10 team league.

Jered Weaver missed Sunday’s start for the Los Angeles Angels due to illness on Sunday so he will now become a two start pitcher in week 6, swapping places with Tyler Chatwood. Weaver will get starts at Boston and at home against Cleveland.

Joel Pineiro made his first start of the season for the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday against the Tampa Bay Rays. He allowed one run in seven innings with three strikeouts. He should be activate in AL-only formats going forward and will get his next start on Thursday at Boston.

National League:

Cole Hamels looks like he will become a two start pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies in week 6 with Roy Oswalt still dealing with issues stemming from the tornadoes in Mississippi as Hamels moves up to start on Tuesday. There has been no definite date for when Oswalt is expected to return so you might want to reserve him for next week if you have a decent starting pitcher on your reserve to replace him with.

Zack Greinke is expected to make his National League debut on Wednesday for the Milwaukee Brewers as he comes off of the disabled list. Greinke will get the start at Atlanta against Tim Hudson. In his last rehab start at Triple-A, Greinke allowed two runs on seven hits in five innings with seven strikeouts.

With Ryan Zimmerman out of action for the next six weeks for the Washington Nationals after surgery, Jerry Hairston Jr. should see the majority of at bats at third base. Hairston is off to a slow start this season hitting .208 in 53 at bats, but he should be active in NL-only formats going forward while Zimmerman is out.

Pablo Sandoval will be out four-to-six weeks with a fractured hamate bone for the San Francisco Giants. In the interim, Miguel Tejada will move to third base with Mike Fontenot starting at shortstop, giving Fontenot some value in NL-only leagues. Fontenot went 2-for-4 on Sunday, batting seventh and playing shortstop.

With the St. Louis Cardinals now going with a closer by committee approach, NL-only league owners in need of saves should consider having active Mitchell Boggs, Fernando Salas and Eduardo Sanchez.

The Los Angeles Dodgers swapped out relievers in their bullpen activating Hong-Chih Kuo from the disabled list and demoting Kenley Jansen. The demotion of Jansen serves as a reminder how fickle relief pitchers can be from year to year unless they a longer track record of success in the major leagues. Kuo moves in the saves picture in the Dodgers bullpen with Jonathan Broxton and Vicente Padilla.

To help set your pitching rotation for next week, check out the week 6, two start pitchers.

2010 Final Fantasy Baseball Rankings – Third Base

Here is a look at my 2010 final fantasy baseball rankings for the position of third base. Several players are included in the list that did not start the year at third base, based either on games played or where I expect them to play in 2011.

1. Jose Bautista – hit .237 the first half with 24 home runs and was even better after the break, hitting .287 with 30 home runs in 73 games. Attributed a change in his swing that saw him hit 8 home runs in September of 2009 as the reason for the jump in home runs. Could go anywhere from round 1 to 3 in 2011 mixed fantasy baseball leagues.

2. David Wright - Wright was much better in his second year in Citi Field as his power rebounded. Still of some concern going forward is his rising strikeout rate which will hinder his batting average somewhat.

3. Evan Longoria - home runs dropped by 11, stolen bases and batting average were both up for a second straight season. Expect home runs to bounce back up in 2011; still a solid first round pick.

4. Adrian Beltre - bounced back from an injury marred 2009 to turn in the second best season of his career since his 2004 year. Managed 28 home runs despite hitting none in the month or April.

5. Alex Rodriguez - turned 35 in July and the numbers are starting to slow down. Third straight season he failed to play in more than 140 games. Also the third straight year his stolen base totals and batting average have declined. Based on his name alone most people will still consider him a first round pick next year but based on age and some other young players rising up the board, that should not be a guarantee.

6. Ryan Zimmerman – nothing to really nit pick on regarding his performance. Missed 20 games, otherwise his numbers would have been a little bit closer to 2009.

7. Michael Young – numbers similar to 2008 when he played close to the same amount of games. Now at age 34, his days of double digit steals are likely over.

8. Casey McGehee – built upon his rookie season and held up over a full season of at bats, hitting .285 with 23 home runs. His play has kept prospect Mat Gamel stuck in the minor leagues and he seems well suited to hit 5th in the lineup going forward.

9. Chase Headley – his value is somewhat inflated because of his number of stolen bases at a position where not too many occur. Has not shown the ability to hit for power yet in the major leagues, managing to his just three home runs at home this year.

10. Scott Rolen – Rolen was on fire the first half of the season, hitting .290 with 17 home runs in 79 games. Managed just three after the All-Star break, getting only 188 at bats as he battled injuries. The 20 home runs he hit were the most since 2006 when he hit 22.

11. Mark Reynolds – by fay the biggest fantasy bust at third base based on draft position. Rising strikeout rate hit 42% this season, leading to a drop in numbers across the board. Hit just .176 after the All-Star break and went homerless in September.

12. Placido Polanco – similar numbers to when he was in Detroit, batting average close to .300 with five or six home runs and stolen bases. No real upside but you always know what to expect when you own him.

13. Aramis Ramirez – Second straight year he missed significant time due to injuries. Has not played in more than 150 games since 2006. Still flashed power but low batting average dragged his value down.

14. Ian Stewart – was on his way to 20+ home runs before being limited the second half of the season to only 130 at bats. Likely remains in a platoon role in 2011 which limits his upside.

15. Pablo Sandoval – had a sharp drop off in performance in 2010. Could have been partly due to weight issues as well as the league adjusting to him. Second biggest bust at 3b after Reynolds.

16. Alberto Callaspo – was much better stats wise in Kansas City then with the Los Angeles Angels after being traded. Hit only two home runs in 213 at bats after being dealt.

17. Kevin Kouzmanoff - the move to the American League had little impact on his numbers as he put up similar stats to 2009. The home ballpark still seems to affect his power numbers even in a new location as he only hit five home runs at the Oakland Coliseum.

18. Chris Johnson – solid rookie campaign in 341 at bats with a .308 average and 11 home runs. Will not to improve his plate discipline going forward if he wants to maintain that same level of performance. Had only 15 walks against 98 strikeouts this year.

19. Brandon Inge – predictable fall off from his 27 home runs, much like it was from the 2006 to 2007 season. His .247 batting avergae was the highest it has been seen 2006.

20. Casey Blake - power numbers were there but batting average dropped by 32 points and runs scored fell by 28. Turned 37 in August so this could be the start of the end for him.

2010 Fantasy Baseball Draft Leagues – Draft Position

Now that we have been looking at fantasy baseball mock drafts, it is time to look at draft position and how that impacts your fantasy baseball team. For the purpose of this discussion, we will be using a 15 team mixed league format.

Usually there are several positions I want to grab in the early rounds of the draft based on the depth or lack of depth at a position. Some places in the draft order mean you will not have a shot at any of these positions. If you are not comfortable with having either a weak shortstop of second basemen or whatever position you value, than you might need to adjust your strategy or grab a player a round earlier than you wanted to because he will not make it back to your pick in the next round.

Some fantasy baseball leagues offer you the chance to list a preference for your draft order. If that is case, it pays to have made sure you have done several mock drafts from multiple positions before the real event. Every year I feel there is a stronger part of the draft order where an owner might have a slight advantage for drafting. Knowing where this spot is in your draft can make a huge difference in you winning or losing you fantasy baseball league.

Let’s take a look at some of the sections of the draft and assess the strengths and weaknesses of each group.

Picks 1-5: If you value a shortstop, unless you get Hanley Ramirez, you are most likely in trouble. From the previous fantasy baseball mock draft article we know it is likely that Jose Reyes and Jimmy Rollins are not going to make it back in the second round. Derek Jeter is there in the third round but it is probably a little early to take him based on other value on the board.

Also at risk picking in these slots are your team stolen base totals. I usually try to set a goal of getting 40% of my teams stolen bases from my first three picks of the draft. Unless you grab Matt Kemp in the top five, chances are you are getting 15-20 steals from your first round pick. On the way back in the second round unless Justin Upton or Grady Sizemore slide to you, the only real stolen base numbers come from second basemen like Brandon Phillips, Dustin Pedroia or Brian Roberts. Chances are though that if you took Chase Utley in the first round, you are not going to grab another second basemen in round two so you have to look elsewhere for steals.

In the third round, stolen base options would be a second basemen if you did not grab one in round two, Jayson Werth or reaching for Ichiro Suzuki or Derek Jeter. So if your goal for stolen bases is 170, and we are aiming for 40%, then we want to try and get 68 steals from the first three picks. Picking in the top 5 spots assuming no Kemp and unless Upton or Sizemore slide, you are most likely only going to be at around 40 to 50 steals so you need to keep that in mind as you prepare for the draft.

Picks 6-10: This is not a bad spot to be in as after the top five, the opinions widely vary on the next group of players so sitting at 10, there is a good chance that you could get one of the top players on your draft board.

Same potential problems with missing out on a shortstop lie in this draft range. Also at issue is possibly second base assuming Utley does not slide. There is a very good chance that Phillips, Pedroia and Roberts are all gone by the time the third round pick comes. That leaves possible options of Robinson Cano, Aaron Hill, or Ben Zobrist coming back in the fourth round.

Third base could be an issue as well as you miss out on A-Rod in the first round and on David Wright in the second round. Mark Reynolds might slide to this group, but if you take Ryan Howard in the first round, it would be hard to take Reynolds here because you would start in a huge hole from a batting average perspective. Ryan Zimmerman and Kevin Youkilis are gone by the end of round two / start of round three so you miss them in the third round which leaves possibly Pablo Sandoval or Aramis Ramirez in the third round or else take the risk of hoping Ramirez slides back to your spot in the fourth round.

If you like to take catchers early, this spot could work to your advantage as you would like have a shot at Joe Mauer in the first, Victor Martinez in the second and Brian McCann in the third.

Picks 11-15: If you are a fan of position scarcity, this spot of the draft will give you some great draft selections with David Wright, Jimmy Rollins, Jose Reyes, Troy Tulowitzki and Ian Kinsler all in this range. It is also a good spot to grab stolen bases with the above listed players as well as Carl Crawford and Jacoby Ellsbury in the mix as well.

Downside to this spot is you miss out on a top tier first basemen most likely. Five first basemen are off the board if the current average draft position (ADP) numbers hold up, as well as missing out on Joey Votto, Adrian Gonzalez, Kevin Youkilis and Justin Morneau in the second round on the way back. Possible options in the third or fourth round would be Kendry Morales, Lance Berkman or Pablo Sandoval if he slid. If you pass on all of the above players, the last shot at an upper tier first basemen is Derek Lee or Billy Butler in the fifth round but there is no guarantee they make it back to your turn.

That would leave one power hitting first basemen left on the draft board in Carlos Pena. The power would help but depending on what you do in the first few rounds would impact whether you can afford to pick him or not. If you happened to grab Ian Kinsler and Jimmy Rollins in rounds 1 and 2, two guys that hit around .280 or lower, adding Pena to the mix would put at risk your points in the batting average category.


2010 Fantasy Baseball ADP – Third Base

by Todd Lammi

This is the fifth article in the series looking at the current 2010 fantasy baseball ADP (average draft position) for players at third base. The data uses ADP numbers from Mock Draft Central using the NFBC scoring system.

The chart below lists players arranged by my 2010 fantasy baseball rankings with the current ADP broken down by where that player would fall in a 12 or 15 team league by round and pick. The one caveat being that the 12 team numbers may be skewed slightly as some players may go later than others due to the larger player pool to pick from.

Undervalued:

Kevin Kouzmanoff at pick 271 0verall looks like great value now that he is away from Petco Park. He hit only .200 at home vs. 287 on the road in 2009. He should also see a boost in runs scored now playing in the American League as well.

If I am picking at the end of the 4th round of a 15 team mixed league, I would be ecstatic if Aramis Ramirez was still on the draft board. It was just a year ago that he was a pick at the end of the second or early third round. He should be at 100% after dealing with shoulder issues all season in 2009 and there is no reason for him not to hit 25+ home runs with a batting average in the .290 to .300 range.

Overvalued:

I love Chipper Jones as a player, but his current average draft position seems too high. Looks to be partly because of the drop off in talent at third base that Jones is getting selected at his current ADP combined with the fact people automatically assume Jones is going to bounce back to hitting over .300 again this season. He turns 38 at the end of April and with the nagging injuries he is now encountering, I think there are much safer options much later in the draft, than to risk an 8th or 9th round pick on him.

12 Teams 15 Teams
Rank Name ADP Round Pick Round Pick
1 Rodriguez, Alex 3 1 3 1 3
2 Longoria, Evan 10 1 10 1 10
3 Wright, David 14 2 2 1 14
4 Reynolds, Mark 20 2 8 2 5
5 Zimmerman, Ryan 36 3 12 3 6
6 Sandoval, Pablo 41 4 5 3 11
7 Ramirez, Aramis 63 6 3 5 3
8 Figgins, Chone 82 7 10 6 7
9 Young, Michael 91 8 7 7 1
10 Beckham, Gordon 92 8 8 7 2
11 Stewart, Ian 134 12 2 9 14
12 Beltre, Adrian 182 16 2 13 2
13 Gordon, Alex 211 18 7 15 1
14 Cantu, Jorge 171 15 3 12 6
15 Jones, Chipper 133 12 1 9 13
16 Kouzmanoff, Kevin 271 23 7 19 1
17 McGehee, Casey 216 18 12 15 6
18 Blake, Casey 226 19 10 16 1
19 Peralta, Jhonny 204 17 12 14 9
20 Headley, Chase 233 20 5 16 8

The FBT Fantasy Baseball Draft Guide is now available for purchase for just $9.99. You can view a sample here to see the template for the top 10 catchers and top 10 starting pitchers.

The Draft Guide includes the following:

  • Projections in Excel for 480 players using the standard 5 x 5 fantasy baseball categories
  • Cheat sheets already set up to be printed out
  • Expanded player rankings for all positions
  • Ages for all players as of opening day
  • Word / PDF document that explains how to use the projections and some tips for some neat things to do in Excel.
  • The first article that will be only available to subscribers (and not posted on the website) for “how to win your fantasy baseball draft league”. This is a seven page document with 3,500 words of fantasy baseball goodness based on my 20 years of playing in fantasy baseball leagues.
  • You will also receive weekly reports every Monday that feature updates to rankings and a new article all the way up to opening day.
  • Support for any questions you have in regards to Excel to ensure you get the most out of the data.

Order now to get the information you need to dominate the competition!!!

Next up in the 2010 Fantasy Baseball ADP rankings will be outfielders.

Fantasy Baseball 2010 – Multiposition Eligibility

by Todd Lammi

Here is a list of all the Fantasy Baseball 2010 players with multiposition eligibility. This list is especially helpful for a number of reasons.

1) Players with multiposition eligibility have a little more value than a player at one position when comparing similar stats. For example, you may have Pablo Sandoval and Joey Votto in the same tier at first base, but the flexibility of having a guy that can play two positions slots Sandoval ahead of Votto then.

This becomes more critical playing in a one year league where injuries always happen. It also gives you more flexibility when grabbing a player from the free agent list the more ability you have to shift your lineup around to get your best counting stats in the lineup.

2) Players with multiposition ability have a better chance of getting playing time. This becomes important in larger leagues, 15-20 teams, or AL or NL only leagues. The ability of Omar Infante to to play three positions means he can get 300-400 at bats this year as a reserve, and he is someone that you can grab late or cheaper in an NL draft or auction league.

3) Multiposition players are a great source of end game picks in an auction format for AL or NL only leagues. Finding a player for $1 or $2 that can get you 300 to 400 at bats in a only league is of great value. If miss out on a position, say shortstop and you are scrambling for a player at the end of an auction, knowing you have three to five options available to choose from is better than knowing only the shortstop qualified players which might leave you stuck with a hitter that gets only 50 to 100 at bats.

Below is a list of all the Fantasy Baseball 2010 players that qualify at more than position, based on 10 games and 20 games.

Name 10 games 20 games
Garrett Atkins 1B, 3B 1B, 3B
Willy Aybar 1B, 2B, 3B 1B, 2B
Jeff Baker 2B, 3B 2B, 3B
Clint Barmes 2B, SS 2B
Jose Bautista 3B, OF 3B, OF
Ronnie Belliard 1B, 2B, 3B 2B
Andres Blanco 2B, SS 2B
Willie Bloomquist 2B, SS, OF SS, OF
Emilio Bonifacio SS, 3B, OF SS, 3B
Asdrubal Cabrera 2B, SS 2B, SS
Jorge Cantu 1B, 3B 1B, 3B
Jamey Carroll 2B, SS, OF 2B, SS
Juan Castro 2B, SS 2B, SS
Alex Cora 2B, SS SS
Chris Coste C, 1B C
Craig Counsell 2B, SS, 3B 2B, SS, 3B
Bobby Crosby 1B, 3B 1B, 3B
Michael Cuddyer 1B, OF 1B, OF
Mark DeRosa 1B, 3B, OF 3B, OF
Greg Dobbs 3B, OF none
Adam Dunn 1B, OF 1B, OF
Darin Erstad 1B, OF OF
Josh Fields 1B, 3B 3B
Mike Fontenot 2B, 3B 2B, 3B
Jake Fox 3B, OF 3B, OF
Alberto Gonzalez 2B, SS 2B, SS
Khalil Greene SS, 3B 3B
Jerry Hairston 2B, SS, 3B, OF SS, 3B, OF
Bill Hall 3B, OF 3B, OF
Jack Hannahan 1B, 3B 3B
Brendan Harris 2B, SS, 3B SS, 3B
Willie Harris 2B, OF OF
Chase Headley 3B, OF 3B, OF
Anderson Hernandez 2B, SS 2B, SS
Ramon Hernandez C, 1B C, 1B
Micah Hoffpauir 1B, OF 1B, OF
Omar Infante 2B, SS, 3B, OF 2B
Maicer Izturis 2B, SS 2B, SS
Garrett Jones 1B, OF 1B, OF
Adam Kennedy 2B, 3B 2B, 3B
Jeff Keppinger 2B, SS, 3B 2B, 3B
Mark Kotsay 1B, OF 1B, OF
Jose Lopez 1B, 2B 2B
Mark Loretta 1B, 3B 3B
Julio Lugo 2B, SS 2B, SS
Victor Martinez C, 1B C, 1B
Casey McGehee 2B, 3B 2B, 3B
Daniel Murphy 1B, OF 1B, OF
Jayson Nix 2B, SS, 3B 2B
Augie Ojeda 2B, SS, 3B 2B, SS, 3B
Ramiro Pena SS, 3B SS, 3B
Jhonny Peralta SS, 3B SS, 3B
Martin Prado 1B, 2B, 3B 1B, 2B, 3B
Nick Punto 2B, SS 2B, SS
Robb Quinlan 1B, OF OF
Mark Reynolds 1B, 3B 1B, 3B
Ryan Roberts 2B, 3B, OF 2B
Luis Rodriguez 2B, SS 2B, SS
Brendan Ryan 2B, SS SS
Pablo Sandoval 1B, 3B 1B, 3B
Ramon Santiago 2B, SS 2B, SS
Skip Schumaker 2B, OF 2B, OF
Ian Stewart 2B, 3B 2B, 3B
Nick Swisher 1B, OF 1B, OF
Fernando Tatis 1B, 3B, OF 1B, 3B, OF
Mark Teahan 1B, 3B, OF 3B, OF
Joe Thurston 2B, 3B 2B, 3B
Matt Tolbert 2B, 3B 2B, 3B
Juan Uribe 2B, SS, 3B 2B, SS, 3B
Luis Valbuena 2B, SS 2B, SS
Ramon Vazquez 2B, SS, 3B 2B, SS
Eugenio Velez 2B, OF 2B, OF
Omar Vizquel 2B, SS, 3B SS, 3B
Ty Wigginton 1B, 3B 1B, 3B
Kevin Youkilis 1B, 3B 1B, 3B
Delwyn Young 2B, OF 2B, OF
Ben Zorbist 2B, OF 2B, OF

The FBT Fantasy Baseball Draft Guide is now available for purchase for just $9.99. You can view a sample here to see the template for the top 10 catchers and top 10 starting pitchers.

The Draft Guide includes the following:

  • Projections in Excel for 480 players using the standard 5 x 5 fantasy baseball categories
  • Cheat sheets already set up to be printed out
  • Expanded player rankings for all positions
  • Ages for all players as of opening day
  • Word / PDF document that explains how to use the projections and some tips for some neat things to do in Excel.
  • The first article that will be only available to subscribers (and not posted on the website) for “how to win your fantasy baseball draft league”. This is a seven page document with 3,500 words of fantasy baseball goodness based on my 20 years of playing in fantasy baseball leagues.
  • You will also receive weekly reports every Monday that feature updates to rankings and a new article all the way up to opening day.
  • Support for any questions you have in regards to Excel to ensure you get the most out of the data.

Order now to get the information you need to dominate the competition!!!

Coming next in the Fantasy Baseball 2010 series will be a look at the fantasy baseball rankings by position for 2010.

Fantasy Baseball – the Daily Dirt for Friday

by Todd Lammi

It was light day for fantasy baseball teams on offense on Friday night, as 15 teams scored two runs or less.The Colorado Rockies were the only team to score in double digits, erupting with a nine-run seventh inning to defeat the St. Louis Cardinals 11-4. Dexter Fowler hit his third home run of the season and Ian Stewart hit his ninth. Recent call up Carlos Gonzalez arrived late for the game and appeared in the 8th inning, going 0 for 1.  Albert Pujols (18), Ryan Ludwick (9) and Yadier Molina (4) all went deep for the Cardinals. In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond on Friday…

Hitters:

Adam Lind followed up his 5 for 5 night, by going 2 for 4 with a home run. Lind’s recent hot streak has raised his batting average 33 points in his last seven games.

Pablo Sandoval went 2 for 4 with two RBI and delivered his fourth home run of the season. Sandoval is now hitting .306 on the season with 24 RBI on the year.

Carlos Lee went 2 for 5 and drove in four runs on a grand slam, giving him 10 home runs on the season.Lee is now batting .317 on the year with 35 RBI.

Luke Scott homered for the second straight day, and has now homered in six of his last nine games with 18 RBI during that stretch.

Pitchers:

Justin Verlander tossed eight shutout innings with seven strikeouts, but lost his seventh win of the season when Fernando Rodney allowed two runs in the ninth inning. Verlander who last lost on April 17th has allowed five hits or less in six of his last seven starts.

Ricky Romero allowed three runs in seven innings with five strikeouts to pick up his first win in a month and a half.

Kevin Millwood hurled seven shutout innings with five strikeouts to improve his record to 5-4 on the season. Millwood has allowed three runs or less in five of his last six starts.

Carlos Zambrano pitched 6 2/3 shutout innings with seven strikeouts to notch his fourth win of the year and his 100th career victory. Zambrano helped his cause by hitting his second home run of the season and is now hitting .269 on the year.

Yovani Gallardo scattered two hits in eight shutout innings with six strikeouts to up his mark to 6-2 on the season. Gallardo has had scoreless starts in two of his past three outings.

Mike Hampton allowed one run in seven innings with five strikeouts to even his mark at 4-4. Hampton has allowed one run in back-to-back starts while dropping his ERA by a full run over those two appearances.

Carl Pavano pitched nine scoreless innings with six punch outs to gain his sixth win of the year. Pavano has allowed four runs in his last 23 1/3 innings with 16 strikeouts.

Dallas Braden allowed one run in seven innings with seven strikeouts to even his record at 5-5. Braden has allowed three runs or less in four consecutive starts while going 2-0 during that stretch.

Felix Hernandez allowed one run in seven innings with seven strikeouts in a no decision. His inconsistency is the only thing keeping him from taking the next step to one of the top pitchers in the game. In his last nine starts, Fernandez has had four outings with zero run, two outings with one run and three outings with five or six runs allowed.

Closers:

Some people scoffed earlier this year when I said Jonathan Broxton was the best reliever in the national league. He picked up his sixth win Friday night to move to a perfect 6-0 on the season. He has allowed only nine hits in 28 innings of work with 45 strikeouts on the year.

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