Fantasy Baseball Thoughts: Matt Moore, Matt Kemp and Leo Nunez (who?)

by Ray Guilfoyle on Sep 23, 2011 7:00 AM EDT in Baseball

A quick one today as I worked late last night.

Rays pitching prospect Matt Moore made his first major league start last night and he dominated a watered down Yankees lineup, but it still included Derek Jeter, Mark Teixeira, Nick Swisher and Jorge Posada. He struck out 11 in 5 shutout innings, giving up just 4 hits and a walk. He struck out Jeter twice and Posada 3 times. Could he be the second coming of Stephen Strasburg? I mean Strasburg struck out 14 Pirates in his major league debut, and I have to wonder if the watered down Yankee lineup last night was better than the lineup Strasburg faced last year. Something to ponder.

Yankees prospect Jesus Montero went 3-3 with a walk and 2 RBI. The story here is that ESPN listed him as the Yankees catcher last night. Are they showcasing him for an offseason trade?

Fake Teams reader dudedudedude provided a link to Fangraphs 2011 Staff Awards and he let me know that they voted Roy Halladay as a landslide winner of the NL Cy Young. That choice is not surprising as Halladay is having a terrific season on the mound and is leading all pitchers with a WAR of 8.0. I guess most of you know that I disagree with that decision, right?

But hey, they got the NL MVP right!

Rockies outfielder Eric Young has seen plenty of playing time of late, and I wonder if 2012 will be the year where he gets 500 at bats. I would love to see how many bags he could steal with regular playing time. This year he has 25 SBs in 28 attempts in just 167 at bats. Does that mean he could steal 70 bases if given 500 at bats? I would bet the over.

Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp stated last night that he wants to spend his entire baseball career in Los Angeles. Coming from a Dodgers fan who is still upset that Adrian Beltre did not resign with them back in 2004, I am hoping Kemp is sincere when he says that.

Speaking of Kemp, he has an outside shot at the triple crown this season. He is currently leading the NL in RBI with 118, 2nd in HR with 36, one behind Albert Pujols, and 3rd in BA, hitting .326, with Jose Reyes hitting .329 and Ryan Braun hitting .330. He needs a lot of help to get there, but you never know. I own him in the UBA NL-only league at $47 and am seriously considering keeping him next year. Am I nuts to keep him at that high price?

So did you hear that Marlins closer Leo Nunez has been playing under a fake name? His real name is Juan Carlos Oviedo and is a year older than his listed age of 28. Apparently the Marlins knew this for a few months. Yeah, and these GMs and owners had no idea players were using steroids, right?

Bigger bust: Gordon Beckham or Matt Laporta? Both?

Who would you rather have in 2012? Desmond Jennings or Brett Lawrie? I think I lean toward Lawrie, but Jennings is very intriguing as well.

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Nearly 20% of Kershaw's starts

have come against the Giants. I mean, come on.

by Winter'sComing on Sep 23, 2011 8:14 AM EDT reply actions

you mean

The 2010 world series champs! Lol

Ray Guilfoyle
www.faketeams.com
www.minorleagueball.com
www.mlbdailydish.com

by Ray Guilfoyle on Sep 23, 2011 8:54 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions

Against his teams most hated rival, he's been nothing but Koufaxian against them

Does it not matter that Halladay and Lee get to face the horrible Marlins and Nationals? Or the falling apart Mets?

by Ivdown on Sep 23, 2011 12:23 PM EDT up reply actions

thanks Ivdown

I was thinking the same thing.

Seriously though, how can Kershaw be dinged because he pitches in a division with mediocre to below mediocre offenses.

Ray Guilfoyle
www.faketeams.com
www.minorleagueball.com
www.mlbdailydish.com

by Ray Guilfoyle on Sep 23, 2011 12:32 PM EDT up reply actions

Because it's no where near the NL East

Have you looked at the NL West? There isn’t one lineup there other than the Diamondbacks that has any amount of talent. The Padres have Maybin? The Giants second best hitter by WAR this season is Buster Posey. That should give you an indication of how bad they actually are. I’m not saying it’s the sole reason Kershaw has done well, but you would have to be insane to say that he doesn’t benefit from the division.

by dudedudedude on Sep 23, 2011 1:44 PM EDT up reply actions

because that NL East is tough

against those tough NL East teams, Kershaw had a 2.87 ERA vs ATL in 2 starts, a 2.51 ERA in 2 starts vs FLA, and a 0.61 ERA in 2 starts vs NYM. He did not start against Philly.
In those 6 starts, he had a 49-12 K/BB in 44.2 innings pitched.

Tough division.
The Mets have Jose Reyes? Wright is half the hitter he used to be. Bay should have stayed with the Sox. Pagan’s 2010 was his career year.
The Marlins have Stanton. Hanley is 1/3 of the hitter he used to be.
The Braves have McCann. Heyward was invisible this year. Uggla had two good months.

Ray Guilfoyle
www.faketeams.com
www.minorleagueball.com
www.mlbdailydish.com

by Ray Guilfoyle on Sep 23, 2011 4:23 PM EDT up reply actions

List of players with 90+ games and a wRC+ of 120 or higher by division
Marlins 1
Mets 6
Braves 3
Nationals 2
Total: 12
wOBA: .311

Padres 3
Rockies 3
Giants 1
Diamondback 1
Total: 8
wOBA: .308

So yes, it is fair to say the NL East has been tougher than the NL West, and you would be silly to argue that.

Halladay against the NL West: 47 K’s, 6 BB in 39 innings spanning 5 starts. His ERA is 2.3.

You can argue anything you want against individual performance against a certain division but it’s still a ridiculously small sample size. That’s why you should look at overall team stats.

by dudedudedude on Sep 23, 2011 5:50 PM EDT up reply actions