Fantasy Baseball All Questions Answered Thread

Kemp
Bautista
Cabrera
Pujols
Tulo

Upton is a close 6th
I am assuming Braun will be suspended for 50 games.

as he has been the most consistent, but I have to say, one can argue for taking any of these 3.

see below

Justin Smoak
Kenley Jansen
Chad Billingsley

Edinson Volquez
Scott Baker
Pedro Alvarez
Adam Dunn

Dunn and Alvarez are better than what they showed in 2011. Baker and Volquez pitch in pitchers parks, and Volquez strikes out almost 9 batters per 9 innings with a 50+ ground ball rate.

but you have to take Strasburg over Moore, but can see Moore performing very well in 2012.

early-mid second round

yes, his power numbers should drop in Petco.

He was very consistent month to month in 2012. He may not hit .300 again, but he should be very productive.

Yonder Alonso and maybe, maybe even Bryce Harper if he wins the RF job in spring training.
Moore should outperform 2011 Pineda in 2012

but Axford, Rivera and Papelbon are all very good as well

40+ this season.

I think he can steal 25+ bases in 2012, with double digit HRs. Not sure I am buying on Presley in 2012.

Robert ranked him as his 37th best pitcher in his early 2012 rankings, and i could see him moving up when we publish our final rankings.

his worst month at the plate in 2011 was May when he hit .236. He hit .288 or higher in every other month.
I ranked him as my 10th OFer overall.

struggled in his rookie year, but he had high K rates in the minors. If he can cut down his walk rate and improve his K rate, he could be a sleeper in AL-only and mixed leagues. Not sure he is draftable in mixed leagues, but is someone to watch.

Huston Street in SD
Oakland is tough to call…Balfour probably gets the first shot, but Fautino de los Santos could get some opps as well.
We will watch what roles they have in spring training.

is guaranteed a spot in the A’s rotation, Not sure how the Rangers will handle Ogando, but i think he should start.

2012-Halladay-Greinke-Lester
Next 3 yrs-same

wow…that is some list
I would keep:
Braun
Upton
Stanton
Harper
Trout
Kershaw
Castro

I could see swapping Ellsbury for Trout or Castro though. Nice problem to have.

or guys in the minors?

for you.
Who are your other pitchers?

I read recently that he is still dealing with the post concussion syndrome. I imagine you could get him very late in mixed league drafts.

is he can stay healthy, he will have more LT value.

would be my pick.

Is the list of best bats/pitchers your current roster, or guys available?

but there are some questions about whether he can catch up to a major league fastball.
From Buster Olney’s blog this morning:

Rizzo’s ugly numbers from his first turn through the majors — 18 hits in 153 plate appearances, with one homer — tell only part of the story. Rival talent evaluators were taken aback by how overwhelmed Rizzo looked against even mediocre fastballs last summer; to many, it looked like Rizzo simply lacked the kind of bat speed needed to be a productive major leaguer. “What I saw scared the [bleep] out of me, to be honest,” said one AL official, describing how he saw Rizzo get tied up inside by right-handers throwing 88-90 mph fastballs.

I would keep the 12 you listed, including Reynolds. Power is down in MLB and getting 30 bombs from Reynolds is valuable, despite the low BA.

his drop in K rate is concerning to me. Gio’s K rate increased in 2011 and now he is moving to the NL.

I posted something about him over at Minor League Ball a few days ago. I am curious how much HR power he has. Will be very interested in seeing how he fares against AA pitching this season.

for pitchers its K/9, BB/9, K/BB, GB rate, FIP
for hitters BA, OBP, SLG, BABIP, K%, BB%

I also look at the trend in each of these stats. Are there trending up or down?

and may have to write something on this over at Minor League Ball……as both are the same age and will eventually play the same position.
Right now, I would lean Bogaerts. BA had a nice writeup on him in their Top 10 Red Sox prospects.

and still taking questions.

Smoak had a tough season on and off the field in 2011. He dealt with a hand injury and still hit 15 HRs, and off the field had to deal with the death of his father. He just turned 25 yrs of age, so he still has plenty of time to reach the potential many expected.
But, if the Mariners do sign Fielder, I could see them dealing him to the Rays possibly.

i am not sure why the Reds haven;t signed him yet. He is better than Cordero and younger. What’s not to like.

The Angels might look to sign him, but the chances are small. He will sign somewhere on a one year deal, possibly to set up and then get traded at midseason, I think.

I do like Bumgarner, but Strasburg should have the better 2012 and career. Strasburg has the talent to win some Cy Young awards, and is on a team that I think will be contending as soon as this season.

This is no slight to Bumgarner though.

I think he will hit for the better BA and approach 25 HRs this season.

unless the Yankees get in on Cespedes.

I think he is a sleeper and could go 15-15 with regular playing time in Cincy. He just may push himself up the SS rankings in 2012

but I do say I am concerned with all the innings Carp threw last year and with Duncan taking a leave of absence, who knows how he will perform in 2012.
I like Hudson a bit more than Carp as he consistently owns a low ERA and WHIP.

and I think Houston should just let him play everyday in 2012 so they can determine if he is an everyday starter or a bench guy.

I hear that he was all over the place in extended spring training in 2011, and may start there again this year.

he walks too many batters, but could certainly turn things around in 2012, assuming he repeats AA.

I would keep Rasmus. Not a fan of an injury prone outfielder like Sizemore.

I would deal Bautista for both Hosmer and Castro……like both of these young hitters.

nice roster

Here are my 7:
Fielder
Cargo
Harper
Hosmer
Stanton
Trout
Tulo

I can see dropping Cargo for Bautsita, but would prefer the younger hitter.

If playing for just 2012, my keepers would be:
Bautista
Bruce
Fielder
Cargo
Hosmer
Stanton
Tulo

Yes, I do think he bounces back. I would only deal him if I can getting proper mkt value for him. I would not sell low.

After reading BA’s scouting report on him, he sounds more like an all glove, some bat type player. No power, some speed, good glove. Not that high, but BA says he is the Braves SS of the future.

I think many are cautious with Morales right now as he has just started to run. We don’t know how his ankle will respond to the running or to baseball activities.

I think he might struggle initlally since he has not started since 2009 in AAA. Plus, he has made just 30 starts in the minors, and his K rate dropped as he moved up each level.
He also gives up more fly balls than ground ball, so pitching in Texas could result in a high HR/FB rate in 2012.
I am sure we will see some excellent starts from him this year, but I think they might be mixed with some very bad starts as well.