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I’m going to throw it out there:

Zack Greinke pitches a no hitter tonight (May 15th) against the Baltimore Orioles (at least another complete game shutout). Sorry in advance if it doesn’t happen.

Notes: What I tend to do heavily in my rankings, unlike all the other rankings, is group players together based on their position/projection/potential. For example, in round 8/bubble I grouped together 4 cl (Brad Lidge and Jon Broxton as well as Matt Capps and Heath Bell). Broxton has had a great start and Lidge has had a rough one, but by season’s end the stats should be about the same. I also grouped together 6 sp (Rich Harden, Joba Chamberlain, Adam Wainwright, Yovani Gallardo, Josh Johnson, and Erik Bedard). These are all great sp’s with ?’s though – inning/injury concerns. Of course, I have 3+ weeks of the season now to include in my rankings (upping Zach Greinke and Josh Johnson on my list, but honestly guys like Carlos Quentin and Matt Kemp I already thought should be ranked where I have them), but here, I posted my rankings followed by a notes section [In the notes section,  I’ve bolded the players that are in the referenced round]. Within the rankings, I bolded some guys I like and ranked higher than most others, and italicized others I didn’t like as much or ranked lower than others or have since been hurt.

Top 12/Round 1:

In 2009, I think Miguel Cabrera could break 37 homers and 127rbis he had last season. He’s already off to a hot start, batting .431 up to this point. With an increase in runs from 85 to about 100 and to me – a sure increase in batting average from .292 to about .315, I think Miguel Cabrera could be ranked above David Wright this year. Similarly, I see Ryan Braun breaking 40hr and 15sb. If his avg raises passed .300, and I think it will, he too, could surpass Wright because of the HR total, but obviously I would take Wright over both Miggy and Braun b/c of 3b eligibility – Is Miggy 3b eligible in your league though??? Chase Utley to me at 2b just beats out Ian Kinsler (2b) because of the RBI total. He’s healthy, and he’s already got 4hr and 2sb with 12r, 12rbi, and a .362avg. One guy who is absolutely on fire, and probably will stay that way if healthy for a full season, is 2b (position scarcity) Ian Kinsler. His line is already: 15r-5hr-16rbi-7sb-.381avg. Most projections call for about 25sb, but I didn’t see why he can’t break 30 (now 35) with a full season – 118r-26hr-84rbi-34sb-295avg anyone??? Like I said, I’d honestly rank him above Utley if it wasn’t for Utley’s rbis’s – and for that matter at 2b he could also be above Wright/3b, Miguel Cabrera/1b, and Ryan Bruan/of by year’s end. Kinsler had 23 and 26sb respectively in the past 2 seasons in 483ab’s and 518ab’s. With health, and in that lineup, he should approach 550ab’s, score a ton of runs, and should have a decent amount of rbi opportunities. Evan Longoria jumps into the first round again because of position scarcity (3b) over Josh Hamilton (of) and Mark Teixeira (1b). He’s already on fire batting 10r-5hr-16rbi-1sb-.386avg.

Round 2/Players 13-24:

There may be some surprises in round 2. Justin Morneau is so clutch, I just can’t rank him any lower. I think 27-30hr and 120rbi with 95r and 300+ avg is justified where I have him. Alex Rodriguez will miss time, but there’s no question he could still go 100-32-105-12-300. There is only 2 more sure thing 3b’s in Kevin Youkilis and Aramis Ramirez in the next 4 rounds (Chone Figgins, just there for speed and Chipper Jones is so injury prone I think he should be in round 7). The New-B’s here are Carlos Quentin (of) (who is already studding it up, and I have no idea why most projections were so low on him maybe batting avg. He’s got 7hr already); Matt Kemp (of) (don’t love his lineup spot, but still a great lineup with a lot more rbi opp’s and he’s such a great power-speed combo – already at 13r-3hr-14rbi-4sb-.362); Nick Markakis (of) (who would be first round material if he gets more than my projected 23-25hr and 9-12sb. He should hit 100-105r and 105-110rbi with a .307-.315avg.

Round 3/Players 25-36:

Tim Lincecum/Manny Ramirez/Dustin Pedroia/ BJ Upton are all still 2^nd round material to me depending on if you like drafting one ace very early in Lincecum or stolen bases in Upton or position scarcity in Pedroia. Kevin Youkilis somehow remains underrated (especially because he’s 3b eligible). He contributes greatly to 4 categories: about 100-105r; 27-30hr; 109-115rbi; 3sb-4sb; .305-.315avg. I just don’t love Matt Holliday outside of Coors and in Oakland, but his 95/25/95/15 potential is still 2^nd round material if that’s his line by season’s end. Aramis Ramirez could be ranked right before Kevin Youkilis or maybe early into round 4, but at 3b, I still love him in the Cubbies lineup.

Round 4/Players 37-48:

Ichiro Suzuki is sometimes ranked in the top 24, and his avg, runs, sb’s make him worth it there, but his lack of hr and rbi keep him down here for me. I’m usually doing fine with sb providers by now (say Kinsler/2b-27sb, Longoria/3b-11sb, Kemp/of-30sb) or (Wright/3b-18sb, Soriano/of-25sb, and Markakis/of-10sb) – that’s 68sb and 53sb respectively. If you end up with like: Howard/1b-1sb and Santana/sp, and Crawford (of) or Roberts (2b) are already off the board, than Ichiro can get bumped up if you think you’ll need the sb. I’d rather someone else and go for Shane Victorino/Jacoby Ellsbury in round 5 though. To me, Brian Roberts is Ichiro Suzuki at 2b, so Roberts is much more valuable to me. Some people still think Carl Crawford can approach 20hr in a season, and depending on his lineup spot he could knock in 85rbi, but in the 2-whole it looks like he should have a line of 90runs;10-12hr;70-75rbi;30-40sb;283-287avg, which will still justify this rank or even a little higher. I think by now he can be considered injury prone. I honestly think he has top third round potential, but every guy I have in round 3 just knocks him down to round 4. Brandon Phillips is great at 2b, and he’s a solid 4 stat contributor with a nice young lineup, but his average keeps him in round 4 to me. I like Cole Hamels and Brandon Webb here so long as they’re healthy because they symbolize the end of the 4 category top-notch fantasy aces (w,era,whip,k). Josh Beckett, Roy Oswalt, and Chad Billingsley are great, but Beckett’s era could be somewhat high as can Billingsley’s whip, and Oswalt looks to be slowing down a bit and striking out less batters although he was fantastic in the 2^nd half of last year. I like the 3 catchers: Victor Martinez, Brian McCann, and Russell Martin here. McCann’s eye is a worry and Martin’s starting off somewhat slow, but by season’s end I think they’ll be worth it here. If the latter 2 slip into round 5, fine.

Round 5/Players 49-60:

I usually have top power guys (David Ortiz/Carlos Pena), top speed guys (Rafael Furcal/Shane Victorino/Jacoby Ellsbury), or power-speed combos (Nate McLouth/Bobby Abreu/Corey Hart/ Carlos Granderson) as well as position scarcity (Geovany Soto/c; Rafael Furcal/ss; Alexei Ramirez/2b-ss) all in round 5. Soto is just too good to let drop for a catcher. I could see him being a 4^th rounder next year with another consistent year – similar to where McCann, Martin, and a healthy Victor Martinez are. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Victor Martinez, Brian McCann, Geovany Soto, Russell Martin, Joe Mauer, and Matt Wieters all go in round 4 next year. 12 players-6 catchers-1 round…Mark it (round 5 the latest).

Round 6/Players 61-72:

I love Joey Votto for his 7-10 sb and .290-300avg in addition to 24-28hr and 90-100rbi. I wouldn’t mind going with Robinson Cano here either at 2b in the Yankees lineup either. I love Cano slipping to round 7/8 because I think he can perform to the line of 90-95r;18-20hr;90-95rbi;4-5sb;.292-.302avg. Here, I like the 4 closers too: Mariano Rivera, Joe Nathan, Joakim Soria, and Francisco Rodriguez – all great 3 category pitchers with a good amount of k’s for relievers as well, however, personally I wait to draft closers and may look to draft 3 in a row, come round 13/14. Chad Billingsley is already showing why I have him ranked here with 4 wins and a 26:9 k:bb ratio, and a Dodger team that should be just as good for years to come. [Dodgers Lineup: Furcal-Hudson-Manny-Ethier-Loney-Kemp-Martin-Blake] – wow! If Billingsley keeps the whip down, he’ll jump to round 4/5 prior to Beckett and Oswalt. I don’t love Chone Figgins at 3b or Dan Uggla’s avg, but you can’t go wrong with Figgins’ sb’s and Uggla at 2b. Ryan Ludwick (already at 5hr and 16rbi, 1sb, and batting .370), after a great year last year, was way too underrated in this year’s drafts – the power and rbi’s should be there.

Round 7/Players 73-84:

Chipper Jones gets drafted much earlier, and at 3b, he’s so good, but he just doesn’t stay healthy enough for me to rank him higher. We should all know about Chris Davis’ potential by now (and flaws). Carlos Delgado could be Delgado of 2008-2^nd half or 2008-1^st half. I think he’ll go 33-35hr; 110-115rbi. Aubrey Huff was great again last year, and at 3b & 1b, I like him a lot with Brian Roberts, Adam Jones, and Nick Markakis in front of him. I like Garret Atkins enough to rank him in round 6 at 3b, but to me everyone above him as a little more potential/better power/better position scarcity ala Michael Young (ss;3b). Adam Dunn, Joe Mauer (c), and Andre Ethier are all solid options here as well. Dunn looks to be on a mission; I love Ethier batting clean-up in that Dodger’s lineup (and he should get you some sb’s with a nice avg.) I like James Shields and Zack Greinke (round 8 ) b/c each will have both good era’s and whip’s, where as the next few sp’s could have a high whip or era.

Round 8/9; Players 85-104:

Here, as you can see, I favor sp’s. I actually get my first ace in round 7 or 8 and then attempt to draft 3 or 4 in a row. Felix Hernandez and Scott Kazmir can have fairly high whips, while AJ Burnett can have a fairly high ERA, and as good as the next wave of SP’s are (Harden; Joba; Wainwright; EBedard; JJohnson; Gallardo), they all have question marks in some way (inning concerns, injury concerns, or not enough of a sample size). Derek Lee is in a solid lineup, but hit only 22 and 20 hr in the past 2 years. Without pop, and slowing down in sb as well, I can see him falling out of the top 9 rounds next year.

As I said in my notes section, I group players based on positioning/potential/and your statistical needs. I probably won’t rank the next 15 rounds only because I over/under-rate some players based on position, stats, and potential, and then I’d give away all my strategy.Feel free to question/criticize/comment.

Two years ago, a young lefty named Kason Gabbard was called up to replace an injured Curt Schilling. Gabbard had a great stint, culminating with a complete game shutout against the Kansas City Royals. He was traded to the Rangers along with prospect David Murphy for Eric Gagne. Despite a good few months in Texas and a similar 2008 season, he has been used in the minor leagues so far in 2009.

Gabbard was reacquiredby the Sox for cash considerations today, and will report to  the Red Sox’ Spring Training facility in Ft. Myers, FL. He will most likely start in the minors, but should the Sox need a replacement for Justin Masterson, who will take the rotation spot vacated by Daisuke Matsuzaka. If another starter is needed, Clay Bucholz would most likely be the first to fill the void. We can expect to see Gabbard no later than September.

After having a day-night doubleheader on Wednesday and a day off on Thursday, the Yankees will visit Fenway on Friday for a three game series. Jon Lester will face Joba Chamberlain.

The Royals had a very nice showing in their first game of the spring against the Texas Rangers. What impressed this writer most is the possibilities of an emergence of legitimate power in the KC lineup for 2009. Something that Royals fans have not enjoyed since, well ever honestly. The Royals connected for four homeruns in the game Mike Jacobs, Billy Butler, Miguel Olivo, and Mitch Maier all connected for long balls. If you’ve been reading my blogs, you’ll notice that I’m a big fan of the Royals young talent and that talent shone through on the first game of Cactus League Play 2009.

Other than the struggles of starting pitcher, Horacio Ramirez the Royals played an extremely solid ball game. Speaking of that young KC talent, in his first career Spring Training at bat Derrick Robinson did collect a hit, and score a run for the Royals. The afore mentioned Billy Butler connected for a tape measure solo shot, and finished the day going 2 for 3. Of course later on today there will be a rematch of these two teams, I’m looking forward to the game, and how these young upstart Royals come out of the gate. I know that these games don’t count for anything, but as a die hard fan these games mean everything.

Thanks,

Codes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

      What more can I say? It’s actually here the 2009 workouts are actually upon us, no more waiting for pitchers, and catchers to report, no more wondering what next young stud will be invited to Spring training it’s here. All 63 players showed up with the aspirations of making the Kansas City Royals 25 player squad com April. Great things that happened is that the top brass showed up with George Brett in tow, but honestly how could they not? The Royals this year are celebrating their 40th anniversary as being a part of Major League baseball, with 39 of those years having George Brett as a part.

Which I as a Royals fan look at as being a blessing and a curse, if you look through the Royals 40 year history as an outsider can you honestly name another great? Obviously many will say what about Bo? Bo knows Kansas City, not really Bo had the potential to be one of the greatest athletes any of us had ever seen but it was cut a little short of me calling him a Royal immortal, or even a baseball great. Right now I’m going to spit out some names that to the casual fan you may not know (YET!!!) but someday I believe they all have a chance of making a great name for themselves. Billy Butler, this kid has limitless potential at the plate, the downside is he reminds me a little of Edgar Martinez. Great hitter, Great pop, NO defense if anyone remembers playing video games as a kid like I did, they always had Edgar listed as a 3rd baseman. However I can count on 1 hand how many times I actually saw him playing there in an actual game. Butler will be one of those players who will hit between .285 and .315, he’ll have a ton of doubles, he’ll begin to hit between 25 and 40 homers, having 120 RBI a season great numbers, but if he wants to be remembered for more than 10 years after his retirement speech he’d better find a place to play during the defensive parts of the innings. Luke Hochevar, former no. 1 pick. This ball player has stardom written all over him. I think the sky’s the limit big pitcher who can bring it in the mid to upper nineties with absolutely disgusting off speed pitches. If within 5 -6 years this kid is not in the running (if not winning) the CY Young award I for one will be completely shocked, but let’s not forget this is K.C. we’re talking about the team that has a history of having our pitchers do great things (Just with other teams). I.e. David Cone, you all remember what he did for the Mets and Yankees don’t you, or even how Brett Saberhagen really flourished in the Big Apple also. Another star in the making is Centerfielder Derrick Robinson, this kid has been officially clocked as running the fastest 60 time in high school history, a 6.19 60 that’s faster than even Deion (Primetime) Sanders. If this kid were to make it on the Opening Day roster (he won’t) he’d be the fastest man in all of the MLB. He is however lacking in the offensive department, no real power to speak of but he has speed for days, months, heck even years. If his bat ever comes around he’ll be the prototypical lead off man and compete with the likes of Jose Reyes, and Carl Crawford for leader in stolen bases. I could go on and on about the talent that this team actually possesses, and their potential, but potential doesn’t mean anything. Especially to a fan like myself, we’ve had potential plenty of times before that didn’t pan out, or when it did pan out they were wearing a different uniform.

The one difference that I can see about today’s Royals that we have seen in the past is that we are growing our talent from within our farm system. Which is something that proves to be a valuable asset when it comes to assessing your front office and their eye for talent? Yeah, I admit it, I’d love to be the fan of a team with deep pockets, such as those teams from NY, or LA and cherry pick everyone’s talent, but does that really pay off in the end? It hasn’t fared to well for the Yankees the past 5 season’s the Mets have been a total disaster since adopting this theory of how to build a ball club. What I believe all fans of K.C. would like to see is just a competitive team day in and out, let’s try to get everyone’s cleat marks off our back and begin to fight back, I believe that this year is that year. Once again I’ll yell it from the mountain tops, IT’S HERE, IT’S HERE, SPRING TRAINING 2009 IS FINALLY HERE!!!!!!!!!

Codes!!!!!

Long gone are the Royals of the 80’s. No Brett Saberhagen won’t start opening day against the White sox on April 6th Bo Jackson won’t be scaling the walls, and George Brett also won’t be patrolling the outfield. Gone also are the days of the Royals being a perennial Doormat within the AL Central. These are not your father’s KC Royals.

These young upstart Royals may be the closest thing to real baseball that Kansas City has seen in a long time. Who will be the leader of these new royals you ask, none other than 9 year vet Gil Meche, Last season Meche lead the Royals pitching staff with 14 wins and an ERA of 3.98. Adding to that will once again be Zack Greinke, and former number 1 pick Luke Hochevar who showed real promise last September. Add that to a line-up that has veteran leaders, and future stars it’s a combination for success, or that’s what the Royals hope. Billy Butler is now entering his third season donning the blue and white and is a lock for stardom with his pure hitting skill and limitless power. Vets Coco Crisp, and Jose Guillen back to lead a solid outfield core, the Royals may push for a playoff spot or at very least R-E-S-P-E-C-T. This is what the Royals need to establish if they expect to lure any of the top free agents to join their squad when they expect to make a legitimate push for the pennant in 2011. I personally can’t wait for the season to start. Yes I will be making my annual trip to Surprise, AZ to get my first fix of Major League Baseball, so let’s sit back and enjoy the ride of what looks to be an exciting season of Kansas city Royals baseball.

Codes!!!!!