Posts Tagged MLB
This Stephen Strasburg kid is pretty good
Posted by Chris Cwik in Baseball on March 10, 2010
The term "prospect" does not apply
Less than 24 hours after another Aroldis Chapman nearly stole his thunder, Stephen Strasburg proved that he is the best pitching “prospect” in baseball. Strasburg’s Spring Training debut was nothing short of phenomenal. In two innings, Strasburg managed to accumulate two strikeouts while allowing two measly singles to the Detroit Tigers. Despite the strong effort, his team lost the game 9-4 (a feeling Strasburg should probably get used to). Although it was only two innings of work, analysts are salivating over Strasburg’s enormous potential. While Jim Riggleman still suggests Strasburg will begin 2010 in the minors, he left the possibility of Strasburg making the 25 man roster open.
So the Aroldis Chapman hype begins
Posted by Chris Cwik in Baseball on March 8, 2010
Much was made of the Cincinnati Reds off-season signing of Aroldis Chapman. Like most Cuban defectors, there were no official scouting reports of Chapman’s repertoire. To those of us outside of the scouting community, most Cuban prospects are relatively unknown. Sure, stories exist of their potential dominance, but until a scouting report is released, we can only make assumptions on hearsay. Thankfully, AOL Fanhouse’s Frankie Piliere gave us a full scouting report of Chapman a few days ago. Needless to say, the report is pretty damn positive, and seems to suggest that Chapman could begin the season in the Major Leagues. For the Reds, that is the 30.25 million dollar question.
Is Spring Training Actually Starting Tomorrow?
Posted by Chris Cwik in Baseball, Fantasy on March 1, 2010
"Time to Nut Up or Shut Up"
Thank goodness, yes! Tomorrow, four MLB teams will see their first game action since early October. For many fans, Spring Training is the first opportunity to start forming opinions about their team. How will ____ fit it with the team? Is ____ going to experience a resurgence? How will ____ recover from last years injury? Is _____ finally ready to break out? Fans of every team ask these questions each year. Take me for example, I would answer the previous questions: Juan Pierre, Andruw Jones or Alex Rios, Jake Peavy, and Tyler Flowers. Each year, however, analysts advise against forming opinions based on Spring Training stats. In some ways, it makes a lot of sense. Players don’t always face the top competition in Spring Training. Often times, context is the key. That said, what can you actually take away from Spring Training?
Fantasy Outfielder Rankings
Posted by Chris Cwik in Baseball on February 13, 2010
We finally move out of the infield, and into the fantasy outfielder rankings. While most infield positions don’t offer too much depth, the outfield offers a lot of bargains to players who wait. If you need speed late in a draft, you can find cheap steals in Michael Bourn or Juan Pierre. If you want power, you can usually find Jason Kubel or Jay Bruce pretty late. Even if you need a little bit of both, you can take a chance with Alex Rios or Nate McLouth. Since most leagues start 3 outfielders per team, Matt and I have each ranked the top 35 outfielders. Let’s jump straight into it.
2010 Fantasy Baseball: 3rd Basemen Rankings
Posted by Chris Cwik in Baseball, Fantasy on January 26, 2010
Can David Wright rebound?
It only took 535 plate appearances from Alex Rodriguez to make him the number one 3rd baseman in 2010. While A-Rod’s last two seasons have not been up to par, no one has been able to overtake the Yankee in the past few seasons. David Wright was the likely candidate to usurp Rodriguez, but a power outage in 2009 has Wright’s status in limbo. Evan Longoria, Ryan Zimmerman, and Mark Reynolds all had breakout seasons; but need to show consistency to overtake A-Rod next season. There are many players that have question marks coming into the 2010 fantasy season, but 3rd base offers some solid depth to those who wait.
2010 Fantasy Shortstop Rankings
Posted by Chris Cwik in Baseball, Fantasy on January 15, 2010
Another fantasy season, another season with little-to-no depth at the middle infield positions. While Hanley Ramirez, Derek Jeter, and Troy Tulowitzki look like solid choices, there are plenty of questionable choices. Jose Reyes is coming off an injury, Jimmy Rollins had a down year, and many people are questioning Ben Zobrist’s breakout. Depending on what you believe, some shortstop lists are going to be quite different. Without further ado…time for the shortstops.
2010 Fantasy Baseball: Second Basemen Rankings
Posted by Chris Cwik in Baseball, Fantasy on January 9, 2010
Sorry for the extended holiday break. After last night’s podcast, we are back and ready to update you guys with our opinions on the latest sports news.
Most of you will be watching the NFL Playoffs today, which is a sad reminder that fantasy football has come and gone. However, the fantasy baseball magazines are already available for pre-order (and possibly available in stores already). That being said, the second base rankings were hell for me. As a matter of fact, I couldn’t even finish the rankings because I don’t see much value in owning some of the players. Yikes!
Follow along with our rankings after the jump.
Merry Christmas: 1st Basemen Fantasy Rankings
Posted by Chris Cwik in Baseball, Fantasy on December 25, 2009
The No-Brainer Number 1 Pick at 1st
1st base has typically been a fantasy position that offers a lot of depth. If you aren’t fortunate enough to take Albert Pujols early, you can always grab a dependable sleeper much later. This year, there is more of the same. While 1st base is a deep position, the talent available is very young, which could lead to some huge breakouts this season. For example, only 5 players on each list are players currently over 30 years of age. That’s a lot of young and (sometimes) cheap talent. Take advantage of that this season.
Rankings after the jump.
Fantasy Baseball Catcher Rankings 2010
Posted by Chris Cwik in Baseball, Fantasy on December 21, 2009
Big Surprise Here, Mauer is Number 1
Before we get into the column, I want to mention that Monty has also decided to take on this endeavor. We haven’t made any wagers, but bragging rights will work as far as I am concerned. Without further ado…
The last few seasons, the catcher position has been quite top heavy. The upcoming season should bring more of the same. While there appear to be 3-4 sure things at catcher, the rest of the top 10 is marred with breakout players and bounce back candidates.
The FP2FP 2010 Fantasy Baseball Challenge
Posted by Chris Cwik in Baseball, Fantasy on December 18, 2009
The Face That Launched 1 Man's Rankings
I mentioned a few days ago that I made my triumphant return to Milwaukee. During the brief amount of time I spent there, Monty and I were able to grab a few drinks and argue about baseball. This led to one fierce argument regarding fantasy baseball. A season ago, Monty took Chris Davis in a draft. While he contends it was not a bad pick at the time, I argued that he should have realized Davis came with considerable risks. At this point, it really doesn’t matter who was right. However, our argument took us many places…one of which was the ranking of players in fantasy baseball by supposed experts. Because the internet allows anyone access to any information, I contend that there is no such thing as a fantasy “expert” anymore. Therefore, without looking at the “experts” rankings going into 2010, I am going to compile fantasy rankings for 2010 on my own. Check out the rules and stipulations after the jump.
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