*Fantasy Baseball Think Tank*

[TXguy33]

There was a "think tank" thread for fantasy football that I thought was awesome(over 9k replies). Wanted to try the same thing for baseball and see how it works out. Come here to discuss anything related to fantasy baseball. I figure it's a way better way to discuss fantasy baseball than creating a single thread for every "Is this a good trade" thread, etc.

Ready, GO!

[TXguy33]

I will start the discussion with my own question, also. I currently have Ivan Nova rostered. He has had a terrible spring (8+ era). Phil Hughes is still a free agent and has had an excellent spring (1.56 era). Smart to dump Nova for Hughes?

[sircharles032]

Nova's peripherals last year didn't match up to his numbers... strong regression candidate imo

[89FoxBody]

I think Nova will probably regress despite getting a 4th pitch and he really just does not strike people out. Phil had GREAT fastball command in his last start but his curve was still just rolling in there. He's had great results in spring, but overall I'd say that Phil might be a slight upgrade over Nova.

[TXguy33]

Nova's peripherals last year didn't match up to his numbers... strong regression candidate imo

I have to agree.....no way he gets close to 16 wins again....if I had to guess, i'd say around 10-12.

I think Nova will probably regress despite getting a 4th pitch and he really just does not strike people out. Phil had GREAT fastball command in his last start but his curve was still just rolling in there. He's had great results in spring, but overall I'd say that Phil might be a slight upgrade over Nova.

Thanks, I think i'm about to make the slight upgrade. I think Hughes has more upside and gets more k's.


There are some really good free agents still out there in my league...it's a pretty shallow league though, I suppose. Only 10 teams.

[89FoxBody]

I think Phil is a good sleeper for 14-16 wins.

[TXguy33]

I think Phil is a good sleeper for 14-16 wins.

Would you drop Mike Minor or Nova for him? I love Minor's potential making the Braves rotation, so i'm thinking Nova. I also have Smoak on my bench, but I really want to hang on to him. Being a Rangers fan, and seeing him play minor league ball several times, I know the potential he has....I mean, he was in a trade for Cliff Lee...that says enough....

I just dropped John Mayberry for Kurt Suzuki also for 2 reasons. First reason is that it's a 2 catcher league and I am starting Posey and Soto right now....and don't trust Soto at all....so I'll probably need to alternate soto and suzuki. Another reason is for trade bait, because he was by far the best catcher on the waiver wire, and another guy in our league has Chris Iannetta, so i'm trying to trade either him or soto.

[89FoxBody]

I would not drop Smoak...He finished off the season very hot and was slowed by injuries the first half. He has a lot of upside. Phil and Nova are very close in age and I think Phil has more upside, definitely.

Soto had a great year 2 years ago but he was mediocre other than that. Suzuki is nothing special either...mid 10's for homers and a low-.700 ops is the most he will gie you. I'd take Soto over Suzuki.

Minor and Nova are a good comp results-wise but Minor has posted much better peripherals as far as k/9 and k/bb. Vastly better, in fact. Nova has a slight edge in WHIP. Minor's FIP is much better too though.

[TXguy33]

I've somehow ended up with Soto each of the last 3 years. IDK how either, because I don't even like him at all. He just always falls to me when I need a 2nd catcher. I keep thinking he has to reward me at least 1 year for all these ****ty years. Hopefully that's 2012. lol...doubt it.

[clorox_me]

nova is a very lucky and overrated pitcher. If he pitched for any other team than the yankees, he would not have put up numbers anywhere close to what he did last year.

Don't drop minor, he's going to be the next stud pitcher for the braves this year.

[TXguy33]

lots of non believers in nova this year....

I don't think I would have ever started him anyway unless it was a 2 start week w/ 2 really good matchups.

My starters at pitcher are:
Sabathia
Price
Strasburg
Cain
Cueto
Scherzer
Mccarthy
Axford
Hanrahan

Mccarthy, Minor, Nova, and Guerra on bench.

[sircharles032]

Today is the day! Make sure your Cards and Marlins are active!

[loverboy93]

My league has stats categories for batters as runs, SB's, HR's, RBI's, and avg but also scores based on BB, K, and OPS. In a league like this a player like Stubbs would murder you in two categories. Who are some undervalued hitter to target for the upcoming season given this scoring? Roto league btw.

[sircharles032]

My league has stats categories for batters as runs, SB's, HR's, RBI's, and avg but also scores based on BB, K, and OPS. In a league like this a player like Stubbs would murder you in two categories. Who are some undervalued hitter to target for the upcoming season given this scoring? Roto league btw.

In a league that counts OPS and BB then powerhitters are going to be extra valuable, especially the elite ones, as they take a lot more walks and obviously have higher slugging than anyone else.

Duda is a guy that has a good eye that hits late. And he doesn't strike out very often, either. I'd def. target him. I have Stubbs in a H2H league that counts Ks... I hope he doesn't strike out 200 times again. It was like 160 the year before that which is still high, but the common player strikes out like 120-130 times a year so that's not too terrible if he steals 40 bases for me...

Just go into your league and sort through all of the players. Your targets late will heavily depend on what you draft early... you'll have to mix and match to balance your team. Get some guys in mind and look up their adp and plan accordingly.

[TXguy33]

You have to take the good with the bad w/ Stubbs....ya he might hit below .250 and strike out a million times, but i'll take any player that could steal 40 bases and hit 20 dingers......there aren't many hitters that are undervalued that can contribute in all of those categories or they wouldn't be undervalued....

This has been the slowest week ever, BTW. I can't wait to watch the game tonight! I'm ready for a full days worth of games on Thursday too! Best time of the year is here!!!!

[Mj-drewfan32]

what u think of this trade he is offering me: him- putz for: p.sandoval or c granderson, or another trade Him:Anibal Sanchez for Me:Michael young

[ZailZ]

What do you guys think about the top prospects that will be called later this year that will big have impact on fb?

[ZailZ]

what u think of this trade he is offering me: him- putz for: p.sandoval or c granderson, or another trade Him:Anibal Sanchez for Me:Michael young

First trade makes no sense. Are you asking if he is offering you putz for Sandoval/Granderson? This shouldn't even be a question. Accept it and hopefully your league doesn't veto it. Second one, i would take Michael Young over Sanchez any day.

[Mj-drewfan32]

First trade makes no sense. Are you asking if he is offering you putz for Sandoval/Granderson? This shouldn't even be a question. Accept it and hopefully your league doesn't veto it. Second one, i would take Michael Young over Sanchez any day.

Yeah he is offering me Putz and i give Granderson or Sandoval my choice.

[ZailZ]

Yeah he is offering me Putz and i give Granderson or Sandoval my choice.

Reject, horrible offer.

[sircharles032]

Yeah he is offering me Putz and i give Granderson or Sandoval my choice.

Fuk no reject and refuse to negotiate with this scam artist ever again. Send him a nasty message back telling him to eat a dick or something... that's terrible.

[Mj-drewfan32]

Reject, horrible offer.

Fuk no reject and refuse to negotiate with this scam artist ever again. Send him a nasty message back telling him to eat a dick or something... that's terrible.

this is why i love u misc (no homo) i will be in on this thread for a while (fantasy baseball noob reporting in) reps will always be given. If am on spread, hope u understand brahs.

[sircharles032]

this is why i love u misc (no homo) i will be in on this thread for a while (fantasy baseball noob reporting in) reps will always be given. If am on spread, hope u understand brahs.

No worries about the reps.

How many teams are in your league? I may have seen it in another thread but I'm not sure.

Bottom line on closers - They contribute to one category and one category only, saves. They rarely get enough innings to make a dent in your era/whip or K totals. To trade them for a plus player at another position rarely makes sense in most leagues. Granderson is going to contribute a ton of Runs, Homers, and Stolen bases along with pretty solid RBI totals too. Same with Panda except he will give you average instead of stolen bases.

If you need closers then keep your eyes out all the time for people that pop up. Closers come and go every year. Last year I won a league and didn't have any closers on my roster that were originally drafted... and I won saves almost every week. Guys pop up all the time due to injuries or due to failures by the other closer. Do some research and you can figure out the guys that are likely to get a shot if you want to grab someone and hope for them to get a chance, otherwise you just have to be very proactive about getting these guys off the waiver wire.

[Mj-drewfan32]

No worries about the reps.

How many teams are in your league? I may have seen it in another thread but I'm not sure.

Bottom line on closers - They contribute to one category and one category only, saves. They rarely get enough innings to make a dent in your era/whip or K totals. To trade them for a plus player at another position rarely makes sense in most leagues. Granderson is going to contribute a ton of Runs, Homers, and Stolen bases along with pretty solid RBI totals too. Same with Panda except he will give you average instead of stolen bases.

If you need closers then keep your eyes out all the time for people that pop up. Closers come and go every year. Last year I won a league and didn't have any closers on my roster that were originally drafted... and I won saves almost every week. Guys pop up all the time due to injuries or due to failures by the other closer. Do some research and you can figure out the guys that are likely to get a shot if you want to grab someone and hope for them to get a chance, otherwise you just have to be very proactive about getting these guys off the waiver wire.

8 teams. and yeah will do. I just gotta do some research. thanks for the advice.

[89FoxBody]

See if Aceves is still available in your league, he will be closing for the Red Sox with Bailey on the DL. Greg Holland and Henry Rodriguez are good candidates as well.

[soundcheck]

Oh God I'm so in on this. 3nd year on my league (10 teams), finished 5th on the first year and last on last season. feelsbadman. Anyone want to rate my team? noob here.


C
Matt Wieters

1B
Eric Hosmer

2B
Brandon Phillips

3B
David Wright

SS
Troy Tulowitzki

OF
Justin Upton

OF
Hunter Pence

OF
Nelson Cruz

Util
Shane Victorino

BN
Ryan Roberts
(2B,3B)
BN
Brett Gardner
(OF)
BN
Gaby Sanchez
(1B)
BN
Jayson Werth
(OF)
BN
Kurt Suzuki
(C)
BN
Carlos Pena
(1B)

SP
Stephen Strasburg

SP
Madison Bumgarner

RP
Mariano Rivera

RP
Cory Luebke

P
Brandon Morrow

P
Francisco Liriano

P
Trevor Cahill

P
Sean Marshall

BN
Alexi Ogando
BN
Edinson Volquez
DL
Michael Pineda

As you can see, my pitching game could use some reinforcements and I think my OF's are pretty solid. I got offered James Shields for Nelson Cruz...should I do it? I had Cruz last season (he was one of my keepers) and I'm not too sold on him because of his injury history. Is this trade worth doing?

[89FoxBody]

Great offense, pitching has some upside but is suspect (as we discussed in the other thread). I'm assuming this is an 8-10 team league? With Upton and Tulo on the same team.

[soundcheck]

It's a 10 team league yes, and my league counts points by R, H, 2B, 3B, HR, RBI, SB, AVG, W, L, SHO, SV, R, K, & ERA on a weekly basis. Tulo was one of my keepers and I got Upton as the first pick of this year's draft.

How about Shields+Greg Holland/Alfredo Aceves for Cruz? I'm trying to up the trade from my other thread haha.

[89FoxBody]

I'd try to get Aceves over Holland. Holland is still in competition with Broxton while Valentine has said that Ace will be closing. He was very good last year and the Sox are a good team so he should have plenty of opportunities. Bailey is going to be out until at LEAST the ASB.

[soundcheck]

Fuaaarkkk thanks a lot brah!!