Archive for category Fantasy
Post-prospect sleeper: Ian Kennedy
Posted by Chris Cwik in Baseball, Fantasy on March 15, 2010
A former Yankee prospect looks for success in the NL
Oh how the mighty have fallen. While Ian Kennedy was never an elite prospect, he was certainly a valuable commodity heading into the 2008 season. Overshadowed by Joba Chamberlain in the Yankees system, Ian Kennedy completely dominated minor league hitters despite a knockout offering. Kennedy relied on control, command, and an assortment of pitches to rack up ridiculous numbers throughout his minor league career. In 2007, Kennedy posted a 1.59 ERA in three starts with the Yankees. By 2008, Kennedy was penciled in as the Yankees number four starter. That’s where everything started to go downhill. Kennedy, who had always had excellent command, posted a 26-27 walk to strikeout ratio in 39.2 innings for the Yankees. Kennedy was sent back down to AAA ball and proceeded to dominate once again. After suffering an injury to 2009, Kennedy was a throw-in in the Granderson-Scherzer-Edwin Jackson swap. With a change of scenery, can Kennedy prove that he is more than a AAAA pitcher?
Opportunity knocks: Kyle Blanks
Posted by Chris Cwik in Baseball, Fantasy on March 13, 2010
Don't miss out on the power potential
Kyle Blanks is one of the many promising players that has an opportunity to impress in 2010. After being named the 47th overall prospect by MLB.com, Blanks reached the major leagues last season and smashed 10 HRs in only 148 ABs. His intriguing size and power potential make him a strong sleeper towards the end of fantasy drafts. Blanks currently holds an ADP of 272 (per Mock Draft Central), and is currently being selected after Maicer Izturis, John Baker, and Matt Lindstrom (to name a few). With such a low average draft position, Blanks might be one of the key selection towards the end of your draft. So, what type of production can we expect from Blanks in 2010?
Remember Me: Geovany Soto
Posted by Chris Cwik in Baseball, Fantasy on March 11, 2010
Soto provides great value in 2010
Every season, previously written off players rise from the ashes and tilt the competitive balance of your fantasy league. There are many factors that can lead to these surprise breakouts; including injuries, opportunity, and players finally living up to their promise. The people in your league that drafted Chris Carpenter, Miguel Montero, and Nelson Cruz were handsomely rewarded for doing their homework. Some breakouts, think Marco Scutaro and Ben Zobrist, were nearly impossible to predict; proving that sometimes even the best projection systems can be fooled. With that in mind, I would like to focus on one player that falls into each category in the coming days. First up: players returning from an injury. Today’s candidate: Geovany Soto.
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?
Super Bowl Thoughts…Fantasy OF Rankings, The Wire and more…
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Here are the topics we used our breath on…
1. Super Bowl Thoughts??? Does it tarnish Manning’s legacy? Is Brees the best QB? Etc etc etc…
2. What’s up with Johnny Damon?
3. Fantasy OF Rankings…thoughts? Sleepers and risers
4. Some top prospect lists are out. Who are some guys you are targeting in drafts? Who do you like short term/long term?
5. Recap of the Wire…talk about some of our favorite shit
6. Cwik’s take on Arctic Monkeys, my thoughts on Talking Heads
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.
AFC, NFC Championship Game, Fantasy Rankings and more…
Posted by Monty in Baseball, Fantasy, Football, Miscellaneous, Off-season, Podcast on January 21, 2010
Cwik and I talked about the following topics on our latest podcast…
1.AFC/NFC Championship preview. Who is the most important person in Saints-Vikings game
2.Padilla/Blanton/Piniero sign, any of these significant?
3.Matt Forte has surgury. How much did injuries factor in his season?
4. Conan O’Brien offered to play for Washington Generals. Would you watch?
5.Mock Draft notes and thoughts
6.Pop culture notes. I have a great movie suggestion and Chris picked up a new album.
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.
NFL Playoffs, HOF and Bears Firings
Posted by Monty in Baseball, Fantasy, Football, Miscellaneous, Off-season, Podcast on January 9, 2010
After our extended break, Chris and I return for our 6th Podcast to preview the NFL playoffs, as well as some baseball topics…
Here is our rundown of topics
1. Quick recap of Texas-Alabama Championship Game
2. NFL Wild Card playoff preview
3. Bears Fire Ron Turner. What’s next for Bears Coaching Staff?
4. MLB HOF inductee Andre Dawson. Who else deserved to get in?
5. Matt Holliday given $120 million dollars by STL. Was this a good move?
6. Fantasy Baseball Projections
7. Jersey Shore thoughts and Jay Leno taking over his Tonight Show slot?
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