Roto Roundup: Should We Buy Marlins Starters?

Are you pumped for Opening Day 2012 or what? I know I am. I couldn't wait for this day to come. I went through withdrawals after the World Series.

Every fantasy owner has high hopes for the team they drafted, or have yet to draft in some cases. I still have two drafts left. One Friday and one Saturday. I hope we made the offseason go quicker for you with our offseason coverage.

After reading Buster Olney's piece this morning, I get the feeling that the new Marlins park may play as a very good pitchers park, so, if you still have yet to draft, you might want to target one of the Marlins starters this season. Guys like Ricky Nolasco could finally put it together in this ball park. Nolasco has alway had solid strikeout to walk rates, but gives up the long ball a bit too much, and is too hittable. Josh Johnson was excellent in the old ballpark. He could be a top 5 starter in this ball park, if you believe he can stay healthy all season.

I grabbed Anibal Sanchez in the 7th round of my NL-only redraft league last week, with the thought that the ballpark may play huge, and he could maintain the growth in strikeout rate we saw last season.

Here is an excerpt from Olney's piece:

Marlins Park plays like a canyon; it appears to be Petco Park east, an acute pitcher's park. Three hundred and eighty-six feet to the left-center field gap, 392 feet to right-center field, 418 feet to straight away center field, with high walls in center. The Cardinals' Kyle Lohse flirted with a no-hitter, holding the Marlins hitless for six innings, and when he was asked after the game how he liked the park, a small smile flickered over his face that could be properly translated this way: Are you kidding me?

I think Giancarlo Stanton will have no problem hitting homers in this stadium, but guys like Logan Morrison and Hanley Ramirez may have a tough time reaching their projections.

Then again, it is only one game and we don't know how the park will play when the roof is closed.

More Roto Roundup after the jump:

i have a feeling we may see some prospects make the big leagues quicker than usual after reading some of the prospect experts over the past few months. The Rangers and Orioles are pushing their top prospects Jurickson Profar and Manny Machado to AA to start the season. Machado has 237 at bats in High A under his belt, and Profar has not played above Low A ball. These moves are very telling about the talent these two players possess.

Will Cody Ross make the Red Sox fans forget that Carl Crawford will miss at least the first month of the season? He had a great spring and could thrive in this lineup and ball park.

I am not sold on new Red Sox closer Alfredo Aceves. I think their best closer is now in their rotation-Daniel Bard. Aceves just doesn't have the strikeout rates that you want to see from your closer. I am not sure Mark Melancon is the answer either, but think he is a better choice than Aceves, as he strikes out 8 batter per nine, and he kept the ball on the ground at a 56% clip last season.