::Official 2012 Fantasy Baseball Thread::

[blackredxiiigoat]

Saw some fantasy baseball talk sprinkled throughout the MLB season thread, but as Opening Day nears I imagine fantasy questions will pick up.

Talk about top picks, waiver pick ups and who to watch for, advice on individual teams....

Maybe even an NT league?

Took over a team in a money keeper league, had the draft last weekend.

Kept Cano, J. Heyward, Ellsbury, Kershaw, Tommy Hanson, Daniel Hudson, J.J. Putz and Joel Hanrahan from last season.

Ended up with this...

*Edit* Picture wasn't working.

 

[champcruthik]

Good thread. Remember you were seeking advice for your keeper league a short while back. Picture isn't working for me though. 

 

[nonstoptalk]

Looking for managers for a 12 Team Mixed League Roto Auction drafting this Wednesday at 8pm CST. If anyone is interested please PM me for details...

 

[alleniversonfan01]

Thinking about getting into one this year. Never done Baseball. Whats more important, having a good core of pitchers of good hitters? And does fielding play a role at all in fantasy?

 

[diew its james]

Originally Posted by AllenIversonFan01

Thinking about getting into one this year. Never done Baseball. Whats more important, having a good core of pitchers of good hitters? And does fielding play a role at all in fantasy?

pitching is pretty deep this season so i would say good hitting is more important. fielding doesn't matter, they're all OF eligible players.

anyone have any sleepers this season?

if you had 1st pick who are you taking?

is it better to be picks 1-3, middle, or 10-12?

 

[champcruthik]

^ Lawrie and Hosmer will have monster seasons. Jennings and Gordon for SBs. I like Michael Young's versatility/position availability, plays the whole infield essentially. Yu and Moore should both have big seasons at SP. Josh Johnson, Luebke, and Hellickson are undervalued. Don't overpay for closers, as seen with Madson's unfortunate TJ surgery. Soria went down too. Wouldn't take a catcher early either when you can get someone like Ramos late. Prospects: Alonso, Reed, Viciedo, and Mesoraco. 
Everyone pickup Marshall if you haven't already by now. New Cincy closer. Value of Masset and Chapman goes up as well. Broxton is another good pickup as the new closer in KC. 

First pick should be Miggy in most leagues. I'd also consider Albert, Kemp, and maybe Braun. 

Matter of preference for pick placement/selection. I like to double up with either #1 overall or #12, but you must hit on both picks. 

 

[nonstoptalk]

Originally Posted by diew its james

Originally Posted by AllenIversonFan01

Thinking about getting into one this year. Never done Baseball. Whats more important, having a good core of pitchers of good hitters? And does fielding play a role at all in fantasy?

pitching is pretty deep this season so i would say good hitting is more important. fielding doesn't matter, they're all OF eligible players.

anyone have any sleepers this season?

if you had 1st pick who are you taking?

is it better to be picks 1-3, middle, or 10-12?

Some sleeper players I've been draftinganny Valencia,Mat Gamel,Lucas Duda,Dexter Fowler,Alex Rios (Bounce-back),Brandon Belt (If he can get at-bats),Mike Minor,Derek Holland,If I had the first pick this year I'd take Ryan Braun which is probably a lot different than most.As far as where I'd like to draft I think anywhere in the Top 5 this year is a good spot. I don't mind drafting at the turn either but it takes a different strategy so often people don't like it.And to comment on what AIFan01 asked... I agree with the answer that was given saying that hitters are more vauleable but it does sometimes depend on each individual leagues settings. EDIT: sorry about the spacing. Posting from iPhone and it's not letting me space my text properly.

 

[blackredxiiigoat]

Agreed on Miggy 1st overall, although Pujols is still a solid choice.

Broxton (and maybe Aaron Crow) are good pickups for saves in KC with Soria done.

Same for Marshall and Chapman. I think Chapman could dominate in a closer's role but CIN might be better off with him as a starter if Marshall can do a solid job at the end of the pen.

Here's the pic of my roster, not sure why it wasn't working before.

Opinions, advice? Maybe positions I should try to trade from, to upgrade other areas?

With 16 teams the league is pretty damn deep. Not much in the way of waiver help.

Somebody dropped Brad Peacock, submitted a claim to drop Freddy Garcia for him on Wednesday. I figure the potential reward outweighs the risk since Freddy probably won't duplicate last year's numbers.

 

[diew its james]

who would you rather take with a late(10-12) 1st rd pick: jacoby ellsbury, justin upton, carlos gonzalez, evan longoria? or maybe someone else?(assuming no one from the top 9 drops) and who would your 2nd rd early pick be?

 

[bean pie slanga]

Who is this year's Pineda?

Got a Yahoo draft tonight and no research done.

Anyone have a link to some 5x5 rankings?

 

[proshares]

Originally Posted by diew its james

who would you rather take with a late(10-12) 1st rd pick: jacoby ellsbury, justin upton, carlos gonzalez, evan longoria? or maybe someone else?(assuming no one from the top 9 drops) and who would your 2nd rd early pick be?

   Tough, I'd go Longo and try to grab one of the OF's on the wrap around.

 

[blackredxiiigoat]

^^ Based off personal preference, I would go with Carlos Gonzalez or Longoria. If you could nab both of them with your late 1st/early 2nd I think that's a GREAT combo.

Votto, Hanley, Adrian Gonzalez and Doc Halladay are all players I like that would fit those slots early on.

 

[physicx]

gonna do my first baseball league this year

prolly gonna suck doe

 

[champcruthik]

BlackRed, I like your squad a lot for 16 teams. Pitching, especially RP looks very strong. I'm very high on Hughes as your #4 starter potentially over Lohse and Leake if Girardi stays patient with Hughes and gives him a defined role in the rotation. Gamel, Duda, and Bonifacio have major upside and could pay huge dividends throughout the season. Your offense is hinging largely on Howard's successful return. If I were to nitpick, there's possibility for a stronger #4 starter and upgrade at 1B/3B. 
Diew, based on the players you named I'd go Upton, Ellsbury, CarGo, and Longoria in that order. I love Ellsbury but his power numbers will drop slightly. CarGo has injury concerns. Longoria has a bruised hand in ST and needs to get that average up from last season. Offensively I like Prince a lot for a second-round pick. Could put up huge numbers in Detroit with Miggy. Another sleeper for you guys is Brennan Boesch, like his value late. If you want to go pitching, Kershaw or Halladay are good picks second-round to start off your rotation. 

Bean Pie, off the top of my head, Henderson Alvarez and Mike Minor.

 

[blackredxiiigoat]

Champ,

Thanks a lot for the feed back, it's much appreciated.

 

[nonstoptalk]

Blackred... You seem pretty solid in steals but pretty light on power unless Duda and Gamel can combine for >45 and I don't see Ellsbury having the same power numbers. Top off your rotation looks really good. Not too high on Hanson with the injury issues but I think it's worth the risk since you have a legitimate stud in Kershaw. Love Leake as a sleeper. I don't much care for Hughes Or Garcia and only one is gonna make it onto that rotation. Some guys I'd look at that may still be available: Chris Capauno, Bartolo Colon, Randell Delgado maybe even Tommy Milone. I know it's a very deep league but those are few guys I would much rather have if available.

 

[oasis]

Let's do a NT league, and watch as my team goes undefeated. 

 

[blackredxiiigoat]

Nonstop,

Thanks for the input.

I'm waiting for Girardi to announce the rotation, hoping he announces Hughes made the cut so I can cut bait with Garcia. (Due to Hughes' upside, I'd feel a lot better about cutting Freddy than Phil).

Chris Cap, Colon and Milone are all taken but I'm gonna take a look at Randall Delgado.

 

[physicx]

if anyone is doing an NT league, yahoo or espn, hit me up

 

[frankl1001]

my team.. 10-team mixed, 5x5 h2h, QS instead of W's

C: Mauer (12th round, got him late, worth a shot)
1B: Votto (1st round, 6th pick, BOOM!)
2B: Pedroia (2)
3B: Sandoval (5)
SS: Yunel Escobar (FAAB $1)
MI: H. Kendrick (7, 84 runs last year hitting 2nd, this year, Pujols hits 3rd)
CI: Youk (

OF: Bruce (4, 30+ HRs)
OF: Stubbs (9, ugh 3 Reds on my team)
OF: C. Young (10, 20/20)
OF: L. Duda (20, sleeper, should rake)
Util: Prado (1
B: LoMo (16)
B: A. Jackson (21)
B: B. Boesch (23, sleeper, should rake)
B: P. Alvarez (25, late round flyer, probably dropping this fool)

P: Kershaw (3)
P: Sabathia (6)
P: Stras (11)
P: Latos (13)
P: Darvish (14)
P: Scherzer (15)
P: Pineda (17)
P: H. Bell (22)
B: J. Santana (24, late round flyer, why not?)


Thoughts? I'm trying to move Jay Bruce.. 3 Reds on my team...

 

[champcruthik]

No problem, BlackRed. Good luck with your keeper league, man. If you could somehow get Hosmer or Lawrie, you'd be set and on your way to a fantasy title. Smart to wait for Girardi's final announcement on the Yanks' ongoing rotation battle. Regardless I guarantee Garcia won't come close to replicating last season's numbers in any way, shape, or form. CC, Kuroda, Nova, Pineda, and Hughes should be the Opening Day rotation. Hughes' velocity has already been way up in comparison to last year's ST. Good sign, Joe just needs to be patient and good things will come from this kid. Also track Teheran along with Delgado from Atlanta. 
I'm down for another NT league if Pro, Venom, or anybody else wants to start one quickly. 10-12 teams. We'd certainly miss the first week of scoring unfortunately. 

 

[nonstoptalk]

Originally Posted by blackredxiiigoat

Nonstop,

Thanks for the input.

I'm waiting for Girardi to announce the rotation, hoping he announces Hughes made the cut so I can cut bait with Garcia. (Due to Hughes' upside, I'd feel a lot better about cutting Freddy than Phil).

Chris Cap, Colon and Milone are all taken but I'm gonna take a look at Randall Delgado.

I like Hughes too but I feel like he might be one of those guys who maybe needs to switch teams before we see his full potential. Love playing in deeper leagues though. I think it makes it a lot more interesting.

 

[blackredxiiigoat]

Do you guys think Corey Hart + Kyle Lohse for Adam Jones is too much for Jones, or about right?

I'm just not feeling Hart too much this year, think his production will take a step or 2 back mostly because of the loss of Fielder (I know Aramis Ramirez is there now) from the lineup but also with him getting a little older....

 

[bratz dos]

Someone say NT Fantasy league?

 

[champcruthik]

BlackRed, that's a very fair/good deal for you. Doubt the other manager bites though unless he really needs a #3/#4 starter in Lohse. Jones should have a top-20 season for OF.
Bratz, someone should start up another NT league on Yahoo (5x5). Seems like there's enough interest even if we miss the first week of scoring and draft ASAP. 
I love prospects despite the rare cases for significant fantasy production. Here's some young guns to watch/track: Rendon, Cozart, Arenado, Bauer, Parker, and Shelby Miller.