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I love it when this happens. A friend of mine texted me an offer he received.

He would receive: Chipper Jones/3b & Daniel Murphy/of

for: Josh Hamilton/of & Melvin Mora/3b

On ESPN, preseason, Josh Hamilton was ranked 18th, and he was #10 on Mock Draft Central’s ADP (average draft position, which I thoroughly enjoy attending to). Chipper Jones was ranked 49th on ESPN, and had a ADP of 49 as well – pretty consistent. As per my own (new) rankings (http://www.majorleagueblogging.com/major-league-baseball/new-fb-rankings/), I have Chipper currently at #74 because of injury concerns and Josh Hamilton at #14.

Daniel Murphy vs. Melvin Mora is an argument as well. I like Daniel Murphy a lot this year batting 2nd for the Mets, but Melvin Mora at 3b will still but up decent rbi numbers with a batting avg that won’t hurt. I don’t think people realize he went 77r-23hr-104rbi-3b-.285avg last year. Melvin Mora also has Brian Roberts, Adam Jones, Nick Markakis batting in front of him, which is very nice, when he gets back from the DL early-mid May.

Up to this point, Chipper has gone: 8r-1hr-4rbi-0sb-.316avg. I’ve already seen Chipper Jones miss 5 games since April 15th (9 days ago).

Josh Hamilton has gone: 7r-2hr-10rbi-2sb-.246avg. Even if Hamilton misses a few games, and isn’t as good as last year, he should still go 90r-29hr-110rbi-9sb-.295/.300avg, while Chipper performs to about 85r-22hr-85rbi-3sb-.325/.333avg. I’ll take 5-10 more Runs; 7-10 more Homeruns; 20-25 more RBI’s; and 5 more Stolen Bases from Josh Hamilton, plus I’d rather have Melvin Mora than Daniel Murphy, once he’s back from the DL.

Now I’m not sure what 3b/Corner Infielder there are on waivers for my friend, but chances are i’ll pick up someone while Mora is out.

Feel free to use this post as a trade thread. I’d love to answer your questions/give you suggestions for or against your trade offers out there. Give me some background though – who’s on waivers/what your team needs are – keeper league, etc.

Good Morning and Happy Easter & After-Passover to you all. I hope you all got to read my last post: NL East Projections/Previews. I’ll be blogging mostly about the NL East in General, The New York Mets along with site creator Jeff Gross, as well as Fantasy Baseball – projections you may want, strategies, sleepers, and more. Feel free to ask questions, comment, or criticize. My next post will be about Free Agent Strategy – mainly if there are waiver move restrictions like most of my leagues had for me because of my activity. That will come tomorrow afternoon, Monday April 13th. In addition, I’ll have something funny for your philadelphia phillies fans regarding their famous restaurant across the street from their stadium.

My name is Daniel Schwartz, and I currently live in Minnesota. So I like to think I’m omniscient when it comes to the Mets, the NL East, and the Minnesota Twins, but I am an extremely passionate baseball fan, and a fantasy baseball guru. Again, feel free to ask me whatever you want regarding baseball – whether it be the Mets, the NL East, the Twins, and Fantasy baseball – along with our fellow Major League Team Specific Bloggers.

C- Pablo Sandoval

Many wonder if his power stroke displayed in the spring will carry over to the regular season.  With catcher eligibility in many leagues and hitting in the heart of the order, I’m a firm believer in his power and think he could well exceed his projections.

1B- Joey Votto

With an OPS of about 1.000 in the second half of 2008, he shows all capabilities of making the elite jump.  His plate discipline looks promising and he has a fulfilling power/speed combo.  Expect a .300 Avg, 24-27 homeruns, and 10 steals.

2B- Ian Stewart

This guy brings a plethora of fantasy upside that screams Chase Utley from 2005.  He can do a little bit of everything and is currently projected to get 400-500 ABs.  He’ll soon be eligible at three different positions and there are just too many possibilities that could make him an everyday player between Helton’s injury-plagued history, an imminent Atkins trade, or Barmes/Smith underperforming.  It wouldn’t take an enormous amount of luck for the 23 year old to supply similar value from the 2B spot to B. Phillips or A. Ramirez.

3B- Alex Gordon

He lowered his strikeout total in 2008 and showed a power increase in the second half.  If his offseason regiment successfully assists him in figuring out southpaws and boosting his fly ball rate, we’re looking at a ceiling of 28-30 homeruns with a .280 average.

SS- Stephen Drew

A second half comparable to Hanley Ramirez where he had a .950 OPS makes him a rarity at middle infield.  Batting third for the Dbacks in 2009, expect solid numbers across the board with a few steals this time.

OF- Corey Hart

He’s almost a lock for another 20/20 season, with 30/30 still in reach.  Hart is slugging at about a .800 clip this spring, which statistician John Dewan would say is a useful future indicator.

OF- Nelson Cruz

Right now he is projected to bat cleanup for the Rangers against southpaws and 5th against righties.  Either spot is incredibly conducive for RBIs in Texas.  After seeing him continue his September dominance in the spring, expect a 27/15 type of year for Cruz.

OF- Adam Jones

With a full major league season under his belt, this year we’ll see his real power.  I’d say 20/20 is feasible for Jones.

SP- Kevin Slowey

He dominates with control, walking just 24 batters over 160.1 innings in 2008.  His strikeout rate won’t kill you, and it’s way up this spring.  He could be the ace of the staff come July.

SP- Johnny Cueto

Even Edinson Volquez said Cueto was better.  Cueto’s major league K rate and minor league peripherals are in support of this.

SP- Clayton Kershaw

Month by month his walk rate improved last year while fanning 

almost a batter per inning.  He’s still only 21 and very raw but could still make the leap this year.

SP- Jonathan Sanchez

Being known for his ability to make hitters miss, a Kazmir-like breakout awaits him if he lowers his walk total this year or the next.  Guess what, his K/BB ratio in the spring is 15:2.

RP- Frank Francisco

If he stays healthy he’ll get plenty of strikeouts and saves, while he has no remote threats that could seize the job.

RP- Chris Ray

Expect him to take Sherrill’s job by the end of April.  Sherrill has even stated publicly that he doesn’t mind Ray closing after his less than dominant spring.  And one more thing, Ray’s velocity in the spring is reportedly higher than it was pre-surgery.

As I watched Yahoo! Fantasy Baseball’s “Expert” Predictions today, I was thinking to myself: Who hired this “expert”?

Brad Evans claims that Daisuke Matsuzaka is not going to follow up on his

Worth Every Penny...

spectacular 2008 season, citing Daisuke’s high BA against and his walks. He claims that Matsuzaka got “lucky” last year. Last time I checked, the ability to pitch out of jams was skill, not luck.

It’s true that Matsuzaka doesn’t have superb stats, but he still is a very clutch pitcher. It seems like he pitches better out of the stretch than the windup, so he may want to speed his slow windup up a little to get more results with the bases empty.

Don’t forget that Matsuzaka was only in his second year last year and he is still adjusting to the Major Leagues. He was inconsistent in his rookie year, but he improved last year, and at his pace he should be completely dominant this year. So to any fantasy owners who want to follow Brad Evans’ advice: well, it’s your loss.

In other news, congrats to Martin Brodeur for winning his 552 NHL game and breaking Patrick Roy’s record of 551 wins on St. Patrick’s Marty’s Day.

Before talking about my beloved Stros, I just want to point anyone interested in Fantasy Baseball to http://myfantasysports.blogspot.com. It’s a blog I write detailing drafts, add/drops, and trades, for the many leagues I play in this year. If  you are curious about some real life auction draft results? I’ve done 4. Interested in how some Yahoo trades shake out? I’ve got you covered there too, so check it out!

Now that I’m done pimping the blog, let’s talk about the Astros. Houston is an absurdly bad 1-11 in Spring Training this year. One and Eleven! That is beyond terrible!!

Most of the problem comes from pitching, as is usually the case, but I feel as though management made a HUGE mistake letting Ty Wiggington go to Baltimore. Wigginton was practically guaranteed to hit 20 homeruns, have an average in the high 70s or maybe even low 80s, and just bring better offense all around. Sure he wasn’t the best defensive player, but he could play a vairety of positions, which gives a manager some flexibility and increases Wigginton’s value to the team.

He signed a two year deal with Baltimore for only $6 million. I have to think Houston could have easily paid that and a little extra to keep his bat in the lineup for 2 more years.

Right now the offense  looks downright cold. Berkman and Lee are the biggest threats, and Pence is bound to have a better year thatn 2008, but probably not as good as his rookie year in 2007, and Tejada is just not the player the Astros thought they were getting a few years ago.

It looks like it is going to be hard to be a Houston fan this season, I’m preparing for the heartbreak and disappointment already. I sure hope I get proved wrong.

I’m no fantasy baseball expert, but, let’s take a look at what I project for the 2009 Los Angeles Angels for you fantasy junkies.

Let’s start with the starting pitching. One of the most underrated pitchers in the game is SP John Lackey. He doesn’t get much recognition anywhere. He led the league in ERA in 2007, and pitched 224 innings that year. He’s averaging over 7 strikeouts per 9 innings in his career. Because he only started 24 games last year, he may be lower in some draft projections. Look for him, he’ll be a sleeper.

Ervin Santana, who spent time in the minor leagues during the 2007 season, had an All-Star 2008. The guy has so much upside. His blazing fastball and tight slider along with 214 k’s over 219 innings had him finishing with a 16-7 record. In 2006, his .241 BAA was second best in the AL to, yes, you guessed it, Johan Santana.

So, here’s what I think the pitchers statistics will look like for 2009.

John Lackey: 18 W – 7 L, 3.15 ERA, 200+ IP, 200+ K’s

Ervin Santana: 17 W – 8 L, 3.30 ERA, 200+ IP, 220+ K’s

Joe Saunders: 15 W – 10 L, 3.75 ERA, 180+ IP, 125+ K’s

Jered Weaver: 15 W – 11 L, 4.00+ ERA, 180+ IP, 200+ K’s

Dustin Moseley/Nick Adenhardt (combined): 13 W – 10 L, 4.50 ERA, 125+ IP, 100+ K’s

Vlad is looking healthier than ever as he enters the 2009 season.

As for hitters…..

3B Chone Figgins - .280 AVG, 5 HR, 50 RBI, 100+ R, 50+ SB

DH/OF Bobby Abreu – .300 AVG, 20 HR, 100 RBI, 100 R, 20 SB

DH/OF Vladimir Guerrero – .300 AVG, 25-30 HR, 125 RBI, 80 R, 5 SB

CF Torii Hunter – .275 AVG, 25 HR, 80 RBI, 90 R, 20 SB

DH/OF Juan Rivera – .280 AVG, 20 HR, 80 RBI, 70 R, 10 SB

1B Kendry Morales – .275 AVG, 15 HR, 70 RBI, 70 R, 10 SB

C Mike Napoli – .255 AVG, 35 HR, 80 RBI, 60 R, 15 SB

2B Howie Kendrick – .325 AVG, 10 HR, 60 RBI, 70 R, 25 SB

SS Erick Aybar – .270 AVG, 10 HR, 50 RBI, 60 R, 30 SB

To some, these may be biased. But, as a true Angels fan, I if anyone, know what these players are capable of. And it’s not too far fetched to see these guys achieve these numbers.

Hello All,

Guess What? We had an overwhelming response to our fantasy baseball Exclusive author opportunity. We received 21 Emails from applicants in only 3.5 Hours!

Stay tuned for the first post about one of America’s favorite passtimes..Fantasy Baseball

Happy Blogging,
Jeff

Hello All,

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All we ask is that you post semi-frequently and keep our growing community informed on the newest fantasy baseball news and happenings! 

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