After a slow start to the season, my team has rocketed into second place over the last week, thanks in no small part to Yu Darvish and Felix Hernandez. I've seen a drastic turnaround with my pitching staff and my batters have been tearing the cover off the ball (other than my top picks, which is another story entirely).
Adrian Gonzalez has really lifted my team, as have Michael Cuddyer and Rajai Davis, who has been hitting for a high average, in addition to swiping his usual bags. But my 2nd catcher, Devin Mesoraco, has really been on fire ever since he came off the DL. He's been hitting near .500 with plenty of pop to boot, and definitely has the pedigree to keep it going, having been one of the top prospects in baseball for a number of years prior to his arrival in the big leagues. And even though Ryan Zimmerman recently went down with an injury, Nolan Arenado, who I was lucky to claim off waivers last week, has done an admirable job filling in.
Oddly enough, Edwin Encarnacion still has yet to hit a HR, and Robinson Cano has only hit one, but I'm not too worried about either one of them. Granted, I don't really need to worry at the moment, given how well the rest of my offense is hitting the ball. But it should be a nice boost once they return to form.
I currently lead the league in batting average and runs, and am sitting in 2nd place in RBIs, HRs, WHIP and saves. Granted, we're just getting started, and the season is going to be a long slog, but the momentum in the early going is encouraging. So, without further ado, my current roster:
C - Yadier Molina, STL
C - Devin Mesoraco, CIN
1B - Edwin Encarnacion, TOR
2B - Robinson Cano, SEA
3B - Nolan Arenado, COL
SS - Ian Desmond, WSH
CI - Adrian Gonzalez, LAD
MI - Brandon Phillips, CIN
OF - Wil Myers, TB
OF - Michael Cuddyer, COL
OF - Coco Crisp, OAK
OF - Michael Bourn, CLE
OF - Rajai Davis, DET
UT - Anthony Rizzo, CHC
P - Yu Darvish, TEX
P - Felix Hernandez, SEA
P - Shelby Miller, STL
P - Hyun-Jin Ryu, LAD
P - Tyson Ross, SD
P - Joe Nathan, DET
P - Jonathan Papelbon, PHI
P - Grant Balfour, TB
P - Francisco Rodriguez, MIL
Bench - Mike Minor, ATL
Bench - Drew Hutchison, TOR
Bench - Alfredo Simon, CIN
Bench - Aaron Harang, ATL
Bench - Ryan Zimmerman, WSH
Bench - Shane Victorino, BOS
My transactions:
-Claimed Nolan Arenado (3B - COL) off waivers; dropped Erasmo Ramirez (SP - SEA)
With the recent injury to Ryan Zimmerman, I needed a replacement 3B, and Arenado became available right in the nick of time, so I put in a claim and was able to land him. And with the Erasmo experiment quickly going to hell in a handbasket, I did not hesitate to cut bait. However, I did shop around a bit and considered options like Juan Uribe (LAD), who has been on fire to start the season, Conor Gillaspie (CWS), who had been on fire, until this last week, and Marcus Semien (CWS), who has quite a bit of upside and offers an intriguing power/speed combo. But Arenado is a legit #2 3B, so it was an easy decision.
-Added Alfredo Simon (SP - CIN); dropped Charlie Morton (SP - PIT)
Like Erasmo Ramirez, the Charlie Morton experiment didn't last long either, as I bailed on him at the first sign of weakness. Granted, he does have quite a bit of potential (more than Ramirez), but the consistency is lacking. Whereas the opposite is true for Alfredo Simon. He's pretty much come out of nowhere to post a 0.85 ERA and 0.80 WHIP through his first 3 starts of the season. Will he keep it up? Obviously, not at that clip, but he does have more upside than most people think, given his success as a reliever last season. His run may be short-lived, however, as he stands to head back to the pen once Mat Latos returns from the DL, but I might as well jump on the bandwagon in the meantime.
-Added Tyson Ross (SP - SD); dropped Abraham Almonte (OF - SEA)
I was surprised to see Ross hit the wire, and even more surprised to see him go unclaimed. And given Almonte's recent drop off, adding him was a no-brainer. He could easily end the season as a top 50 pitcher, or higher, and has all-star potential... this season. Control can be a bit of an issue for him, but he's a power pitcher with the ability to K close to 1 batter per inning. So, unless he has a complete meltdown, I'll probably be hanging on to him for a while.
-Added Aaron Harang (SP - ATL); dropped Dillon Gee (SP - NYM)
Admittedly, this is a move I didn't see myself making in a thousand years, but there's no denying the Harangutan has figured something out in ATL. And, given the fact Gee went unclaimed in my league when I dropped him, I'm hoping I can get him back if these two reverse course. But Harang has simply been unbelievable to start the season, posting an incredible 0.70 ERA and 0.81 WHIP with 22 Ks over 25 IPs. And unlike Alfredo Simon, who is in a similar situation, Harang has done it before. Granted, he's been crap over the last five years or so, but he was pretty much an ace for a couple years there in Cincinnati, and far worse pitchers than him have undergone resurgences late in their careers, so I figure he's worth a shot. The worst thing that can happen is he reverts to his old, sub-par form, and Gee gets hot and added off the wire in the meantime. But I feel like it's a decent gamble. The risk isn't too high, but the reward could be pretty big.
-Added Drew Hutchison (SP - TOR); dropped Tyler Skaggs (SP - LAA)
These two are fairly evenly matched, but Hutchison's strikeout potential puts him over the top for me. So, he's been on my watchlist ever since he was dropped, and his strong, 9 K performance last night sealed the deal for me. With that being said, I do like Skaggs as well and think he could be in for a decent season, but he's much more pedestrian than Hutch, as far as Ks are concerned, and that is the one category my team is hurting in at the moment.
League Transactions:
-Added
Chris Colabello, 1B - MIN
Yangervis Solarte, 3B - NYY
Wade Miley, SP - ARI
Mark Teixeira, 1B - NYY
Shawn Kelley, RP - NYY
Justin Morneau, 1B - COL
Jhonny Peralta, SS - STL
David Carpenter, RP - ATL
Jordan Walden, RP - ATL
Lucas Duda, 1B - NYM
Alex Cobb, SP - TB
Luke Gregerson, RP - OAK
Sean Doolittle, RP - OAK
Mike Zunino, C - SEA
Josmil Pinto, C - MIN
Wily Peralta, SP - MIL
Mike Leake, SP - CIN
Martin Perez, SP - TEX
LaTroy Hawkins, RP - COL
Trevor Plouffe, 3B - MIN
Jesse Chavez, SP - OAK
Pedro Strop, RP - CHC
Scott Feldman, SP - HOU
Garrett Richards, SP - LAA
Marlon Byrd, OF - PHI
Dioner Navarro, C - TOR
Adam LaRoche, 1B - WSH
Brandon Morrow, SP - TOR
Michael Morse, OF - SF
--Dropped
Chris Carter, 1B - HOU
Jim Henderson, RP - MIL
Rex Brothers, RP - COL
Jake Odorizzi, SP - TB
James Loney, 1B - TB
Chris Owings, SS - ARI
Robbie Erlin, SP - SD
Tim Lincecum, SP - SF
Adeiny Hechavarria, MIA
David Phelps, SP - NYY
Dan Uggla, 2B - ATL
Alexander Guerrero, 2B - LAD
Josh Fields, RP - HOU
Colby Rasmus, OF - TOR
Matt Dominguez, 3B - HOU
Jason Kubel, OF - MIN
Javier Baez, SS - CHC
AJ Pierzynski, C - BOS
Avisail Garcia, OF - CWS
Rick Porcello, SP - DET
Jose Veras, RP - CHC
Colby Lewis, SP - TEX
Roenis Elias, SP - SEA
Brandon Crawford, SS - SF
Jason Hammel, SP - CHC
Jason Vargas, SP - KC
Matt Moore, SP - TB
Jed Lowrie, SS - OAK
Carlos Martinez, RP - STL
Nick Swisher, 1B - CLE
Mitch Moreland, 1B - TEX
Gonzalez Germen, RP - NYM
Casey Janssen, RP - TOR
My watch list (based on available free agents in my league):
C
-AJ Pierzynski, BOS
-Dioner Navarro, TOR
-Tyler Flowers, CWS
-Anthony Recker, NYM
-Derek Norris, OAK
-Hank Conger, LAA
-Alex Avila, DET
-Geovany Soto, TEX
1B
-Nick Swisher, CLE
-Mike Olt, CHC
-Ike Davis, PIT
-Mark Reynolds, MIL
-Adam Lind, TOR
-James Loney, TB
-Jon Singleton, HOU
-Kendrys Morales, FA
-Garrett Jones, MIA
2B
-Kelly Johnson, NYY
-Neil Walker, PIT
-Jurickson Profar, TEX
-Marcus Semien, CWS
-Omar Infante, KC
-Josh Rutledge, COL
-Nick Franklin, SEA
-Danny Espinosa, WSH
-Jonathan Schoop, BAL
-Gordon Beckham, CWS
-Tommy La Stella, ATL
-Alexander Guerrero, LAD
-Scooter Gennett, MIL
-Dan Uggla, ATL
-Jemile Weeks, BAL
3B
-Juan Uribe, LAD
-Conor Gillaspie, CWS
-Nick Castellanos, DET
-Mike Moustakas, KC
-Lonnie Chisenhall, CLE
-Chris Johnson, ATL
-Matt Dominguez, HOU
-Wilmer Flores, NYM
-David Freese, LAA
-Kevin Kouzmanoff, TEX
-Matt Davidson, CWS
-Miguel Sano, MIN
-Garin Cecchini, BOS
-Maikel Franco, PHI
SS
-Chris Owings, ARI
-Asdrubal Cabrera, CLE
-Jed Lowrie, OAK
-Erick Aybar, LAA
-Adeiny Hechavarria, MIA
-Stephen Drew, FA
-Javier Baez, CHC
-Brandon Crawford, SF
-Alcides Escobar, KC
-Pedro Florimon, MIN
-Jordy Mercer, PIT
-Zack Cozart, CIN
-Carlos Correa, HOU
OF
-Alejandro De Aza, CWS
-Will Venable, SD
-Lorenzo Cain, KC
-Oswaldo Arcia, MIN
-Matt Joyce, TB
-Josh Reddick, OAK
-Byron Buxton, MIN
-Cameron Maybin, SD
-Denard Span, WSH
-Junior Lake, CHC
-Jason Kubel, MIN
-Oscar Tavares, STL
-Nate Schierholtz, CHC
-Andre Ethier, LAD
-Corey Dickerson, COL
-Juan Lagares, NYM
-Andrew Lambo, PIT
-BJ Upton, ATL
-Josh Willingham, MIN
-Michael Choice, TEX
-Dayan Viciedo, CWS
-Jarrod Dyson, KC
-Ryan Ludwick, CIN
-Marcell Ozuna, MIA
-Michael Saunders, SEA
-Gregory Polanco, PIT
-Jake Marisnick, MIA
-Joc Pederson, LAD
-David Murphy, CLE
-Gerardo Parra, ARI
-Abraham Almonte, SEA
-Travis Snider, PIT
-Colby Rasmus, TOR
-Jackie Bradley Jr., BOS
-Craig Gentry, OAK
-JB Shuck, LAA
-Carlos Quentin, SD
SP
-Dillon Gee, NYM
-Jason Vargas, KC
-Juan Nicasio, COL
-Kyle Gibson, MIN
-Ian Kennedy, SD
-Jonathon Niese, NYM
-Ricky Nolasco, MIN
-Phil Hughes, MIN
-Tyler Skaggs, LAA
-AJ Griffin, OAK
-Jhoulys Chacin, COL
-Felix Doubront, BOS
-Hector Santiago, LAA
-Jordan Lyles, COL
-Wandy Rodriguez, PIT
-Erik Johnson, CWS
-Zach McAllsiter, CLE
-Edwin Jackson, CHC
-Jeremy Hellickson, TB
-Colby Lewis, TEX
-Tyler Chatwood, COL
-Kevin Gausman, BAL
-Noah Syndergaard, NYM
-Derek Holland, TEX
-Josh Beckett, LAD
-Tommy Milone, OAK
-Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez, PHI
-Robbie Erlin, SD
-Danny Duffy, KC
-Matt Harrison, TEX
-Jason Hammel, CHC
-Edinson Volquez, PIT
-Paul Maholm, LAD
-Jaime Garcia, STL
-Brett Oberholtzer, HOU
-Tom Koehler, MIA
-Robbie Ross, TEX
-Roenis Elias, SEA
-John Danks, CWS
-Rick Porcello, DET
-Trevor Bauer, CLE
-Charlie Morton, PIT
-Wei-Yin Chen, BAL
-Josh Collmenter, ARI
-Jake Odorizzi, TB
-Tanner Roark, WSH
-Tim Lincecum, SF
RP
-Carlos Martinez, STL
-Tyler Thornburg, MIL
-Hector Rondon, CHC
-Casey Janssen, TOR
-Gonzalez Germen, NYM
-Nate Jones, CWS
-Rex Brothers, COL
-Jim Henderson, MIL
-Danny Farquhar, SEA
-Tyler Clippard, WSH
-Josh Fields, HOU
-Anthony Bass, HOU
-Ryan Cook, OAK
-Alexi Ogando, TEX
-Neftali Feliz, TEX
-Zach Britton, BAL
-Jean Machi, SF
-Drew Storen, WSH
-Cody Allen, CLE
-Dan Otero, OAK
-JJ Putz, ARI
-Justin Grimm, CHC
+MLB
No comments:
Post a Comment