16 Responses to “The Fantasy Beat: Surviving the 3B Drop-Off”

1. By jon on Mar 24, 2012

   Hey Ray – I hope tout is going well. I like the look of your team so far!

   Who do you favor in a MI spot in a league that counts OPS & AVG: Yunel, Espinosa, A. Hill?

   My gut says Espy, especially since I think I can cover his AVG with Holliday, Youk, Hamilton, Mauer, Votto, Prado also on my team.

   Thoughts?

2. By Craig D on Mar 24, 2012

   Ray, wanted to get an experts take on whether this trade should have been vetoed… I’m playing a Yahoo money league this year, and the Yahoo Staff vetoed my trade.

   I was getting Mark Teixeira/Ervin Santana and giving up Paul Goldschmidt/Sergio Santos. I acknowledge I was getting the proven commodity in Teixeira, but this guy needed a closer and had multiple 1B’s. Goldschmidt is ranked in the top 100 by Yahoo. Trade vetos should be limited to collusion or heavily unfair trades. I think the Yahoo staff stuck it to me on this one.

3. By Ryan on Mar 24, 2012

   Ray,

   I was offered Beachy for F Freeman.

   I have Gaby Sanchez and Brandon Belt on my bench. Not uber-crazy about these two. I know you think Sanchez and Freeman are a wash to this point.

   Here’s my starting pitchers:
   Beckett, Marcum, M Moore, D Hudson, B Morrow, J Danks.

4. By Andrew on Mar 24, 2012

   Ray…where r u slotting Marshall now that madsen is out….I have valverde, santos, Nathan, farnsworth. Drop any for Marshall?

   Also shields vs gallardo?

   All my leagues are head to head
   Thanks….love the guide btw

5. By Ricky S on Mar 24, 2012

   Ray, the current MI I’m starting is Zack Cozart with the best free agent middle infielder being Marco Scutaro. Also, I’m starting Doug Fister. With that being said, would you trade Andrew McCutchen for Ben Zobrist and Yovani Gallardo. I also could then drop Cozart for Delmon Young or Willingham.

   So to make it clearer, I start:

   McCutchen
   Cozart
   Fister

   If I make the trade, I’d start:

   Delmon Young/Willingham
   Zobrist
   Gallardo

   Would you make the deal?

6. By Ray Flowers on Mar 25, 2012

   Jon – Thanks for the Tout Wars support.

   Espinosa is probably the most well rounded guy, but his AVG could be poor.
   Hill may have the most power, but his AVG could be poor.
   Escobar will likely kill the other two in AVG, but his OPS will likely lag.

   On balance, I’d go with Espinosa.

7. By Ray Flowers on Mar 25, 2012

   Craig D – What is this Yahoo Staff that vetoed your deal? What league are you in? Every lg I’ve ever done in Yahoo the voting on deals is just done by the guys/gals in the league.

   I think that leagues shouldn’t allow trading. It eliminates the issue.

   Your giving up a top-40 SP for a guy with one year of closing success. You could argue either side on this part of the deal.

   You CANNOT argue the other side. Tex is an elite option, and Goldschmidt hasn’t done anything at the big league level. If this is a keeper league than an argument could be made, but even then it would be rather flimsly if you ask me.

   I think it wasn’t a fair deal – you would have been crushing the other guy.

8. By Ray Flowers on Mar 25, 2012

   Ryan – I agree on Sanchez/Freeman basically being a wash. I’m a big fan of Beachy. Strong arm, all he needs is health this year. You have an impressive group of arms so you dont have to do this, but I’m leaning toward saying yes since you have 1B covered.

9. By Ray Flowers on Mar 25, 2012

   Andrew – Did you pick up a copy of the BBGuys Draft Guide? It’s been update to include Marshall as the Reds’ closer.

   http://baseballguys.com/category/2012-fantasy-draft-guide/

   How many teams are in your league, four? You already have four closers, really don’t need another one. Not a huge fan of Farnsworth though. I’d move on from him.

10. By Ray Flowers on Mar 25, 2012

    Ricky – I’m not a huge fan of Cozart. I’d rather have Scutaro.

    Your team certainly looks better after the deal. At the same time, you are losing the best player. Still, I think your getting a top-5 2B an a top-15 SP, so it’s pretty hard not to hit accept on that one.

11. By Reed on Mar 25, 2012

    Hey, Ray — what are your thoughts on the spring Lorenzo Cain is having? I know we aren’t supposed to pay a lot of attention to ST numbers, but it’s hard to ignore his. I’m thinking about Dropping Cespedes to pick up Cain. I’ve been trying to package Cespedes and a lesser SP to net a better SP, but not having any luck with that endeavor.

    It seems Cespedes’s value, like Cains I suppose, is purely speculative, so I guess the question is who’s going to hit the ground running in April to create trade value? Obviously not really something you can predict, but any hunches?

12. By Morgan on Mar 26, 2012

    Hey Ray, Would you trade Ryan Zimmerman and Dexter Fowler for King Felix? I also have Lawrie.

13. By Ric on Mar 26, 2012

    Ray,

    I am in a 16 team dynasty league. Trade Goldschmidt at $4 for K. Morales at $19?

    Thanks,

    Ric

14. By Ray Flowers on Mar 26, 2012

    Reed – I agree with the prevailing wisdom that often times spring training numbers mean little. What Cain is doing is impressive, and he is primed for a solid season. Could be a low double digit homer guy, but his average will likely be middling. He’ll need to run a lot to justify what everyone is spending on him right now. I’d rather have Cespedes, but both obviously have their issues.

15. By Ray Flowers on Mar 26, 2012

    Morgan – At the draft table I’d rather have Ryan Zimmerman, so I’m not jazzed about trading him for King Felix. Throwing in Fowler to the Zimmerman side to get Felix is clearly a no go for me.

16. By Ray Flowers on Mar 26, 2012

    Ric – Anyone who is spending $19 on Morales is delusional. Hold on to Goldschmidt at $4. Don’t forget, the last time Morales played in the big leagues was more than a year an a half ago. I’m not trading an up and comer who costs a fifth of Morales salary for him.