3B in New York is Upside Down
David Wright’s lengthy DL stint highlights this week’s edition.
Before I get started, just a quick note to remind you to tune in to hear Rick Wolf and me on Colton and the Wolfman on SiriusXM fantasy sports radio (Sirius 210 XM 87) in our new time slot Tuesday nights from 10pm-Midnight ET. And as an added bonus, for those of you interested in fantasy football, the Wolfman and I will be drafting in the SXM host league from 2-5pm ET on Tuesday.
Ok, now back to business . . .
David Wright: According to reports, David Wright likely will miss 3-5 weeks with the hamstring injury that landed him on the DL. Thus, best case scenario is he returns in September for a team well out of contention. Justin Turner should play 3B for the Mets and is a weak replacement at best. Those in NL only leagues will just have to grin and bear it and hope Wright is out only 3 weeks. However, for those Wright owners in mixed leagues, why not speculate on another NY 3B who is may appeal his likely suspension and be eligible to play early next week? I am not in any way commenting on the legal or moral issues involved. That is way beyond the scope of this supposed to be fun article. I am just saying that a low FAAB bid Sunday is low risk high reward (and yes, I am talking about ARod not Jayson Nix – though I am a Nix fan).
Brad Peacock: Brad Peacock looked pretty good in his start today. In 7 innings of work the Houston hurler gave up just 4 hits and mowed down 10. Is this a fluke? I say no. Peacock is just 25, had success at AAA this year -- 2.73 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 76/22 K/BB ratio in 79 innings (13 starts) in the PCL. Moreover, he did have some success in his brief audition in Washington in 2011. It will not cost you a lot to land Peacock but if you do, you could be strutting around proud of your shrewd buy (yeah, corny but I couldn’t resist). Gamble here if you need pitching.
B.J. Upton: B.J. Upton went 1-5 with a BB and SB in his return from the DL. Those who need to make a move up the standings in their league should gamble on Upton. Yes, he is frustrating to own. Yes, we preach avoiding guys on new teams who sign big contracts. However, Upton has a history of big time power and speed numbers late in the season. I say a repeat of that trend is likely. Also, he has been unlucky this year. His career BABIP is .321. This year it has been a paltry .247. Buy low while you still can – the correction is coming.
Kole Calhoun: Kole Calhoun went 4-6 and hit his first major league home run Friday. He then homered again Saturday. Since being called up, Calhoun has impressed with a ridiculous .409 average and 1162 OPS. Is this real? Well he will not hit .400 and he will not hit a HR every 11 AB. However, he was hitting .354 before his call-up. Yes it was the PCL but .354 is still .354. The Angels will play Calhoun often in the next month. If you need an offensive boost, invest.
Delmon Young: Delmon Young went 3-4 with a dinger on Friday. Overall, Young has been better than people think. In 262 AB, Young has 8 HR, 31 RBI and a .267 batting average. None of that is spectacular but there is value there compared to what he will probably cost. Plus, there is real upside as Young is just 27, has a substantial pedigree and is playing for a new contract. I would not be surprised to see Delmon have a big last two months just as he did with Detroit in 2011.
Kendrys Morales: Speaking of players playing for their next contract, Kendrys Morales went 4-4 with a home run, two RBI and two runs scored Friday against the Orioles. That performance is par for the course with Morales over the last 30 days. In that time, he has hit .358 with 8 HR and 21 RBI. Morales is a very good hitter who has been slowed by that freak injury celebrating a HR. He is healthy now, in a contract year and crushing the ball. Buy!
Doug Fister: Doug Fister pitched like we have come to expect, winning his 10th of year by White Sox to one run on seven hits over eight innings. In fact, he has been great in last four starts with a 0.86 ERA and 1.00 WHIP in 28 innings. This is the third year in a row Fister has posted an ERA around 3.50 or lower and a WHIP under 1.20. There is no reason to think he will all of a sudden stop being consistent and productive. He will likely cost less than he will produce so call his owner and make a deal if you need pitching.
And last and but not least, this from the Baron of the Bottom of the Page -- Schultz says: “The Major League Baseball trading deadline usually correlates with the trading deadline of most roto-baseball leagues (if it doesn't, it should). Where draft/auction day is customarily the greatest day of the roto-season, the day of the trading deadline is usually the worst. One of the things rarely talked about in the discussion of rotisserie baseball is the deleterious effect that dumping owners can have on the rest of a league. Come the trading deadline, sometimes the best you can hope for is that the deadline deals just don't ruin the league.
Dumping owners usually fall into two categories: shrewd owners that smartly assess their tradable assets, properly value them, seek out a compatible team and make a mutually beneficial deal and shortsighted owners that simply seek to acquire assets cheaper than the ones they currently own. Owners in the first group usually contend for next year's roto-title; those in the second tend to repeat their vicious circle in the future while greatly angering the rest of their league in the process.
In the same way that no universal manner exists for dealing with the guy in every league that consistently foists insulting trade offers, there's no commonly accepted method for dealing with the dumper with no conscience. The laissez-faire nature of this game surely gives every owner the right to employ whatever strategy they wish to capture a roto-title but what to do when the strategy proves objectively horrible. Since it's unfair to make the Commissioner decide the merits and propriety of each trade, a trading review system where each league owner gets to cast their vote tends to mollify most grumbling owners. A properly crafted system lets people register their objections and each league can determine how many objections are needed to nullify a trade. This has its own set of problems though as the owner that makes dubious trades of their own would be quite hypocritical in criticizing others and others may simply voice capricious objections.
My favorite rule implementation is that a dumping team must keep one or more of the players they acquire in any dump deal. I suspect you would see many fewer A Rod for Longoria trades if the dumping team had to keep the highest paid player in baseball for 2014.”
Response: Yeah, I hear ya Schultzie. I hate the dump trade rules. In fact I prefer re-draft leagues with prizes for things like best second half, etc. to keep teams motivated.
