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2010 Auction Results

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I know it’s prime fantasy football time as we approach Thanksgiving, aka Turkey Day, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t knee deep in baseball right now. I know, I know, it might seem weird to think that we are going baseball at this time of year, but that’s the name of the game when it comes to magazines (you can read a bit more about this situation in What an Odd Life). To that end, we had a 15-team auction, NFBC style, with 23 starting spots (14 hitters, nine pitchers with no reserves). If you want to see how the entire draft played out you will have to buy the magazine when it hits the newsstands in the middle of December, but here are a few thoughts on my team.

1- I rostered Jimmy Rollins and Derek Jeter at shortstop and middle infield for a total of $49 of my $260 dollar salary. Considering the paucity of top level talent at shortstop, I thought that it was a great idea to not only fill my middle infield spot with Jeter, an amazingly consistent force, but also to in essence “steal” a stud shortstop from another squad. Good luck rolling with Ryan Theriot.

2- I grabbed a couple of guys, on the cheap, who clearly have a shot at returning some nice value in 2010.

Corey Hart ($10) – Wait a second, didn’t Hart go 20/20 in back-to-back seasons before last years struggles? Given that he is just one year removed from said 20/20 work, and that he will only be 27 years old on opening day, I’d have to say that my Fanball co-workers missed the boat here. He may never have that truly monumental effort with his lack of plate discipline, but there is at least a 50/50 shot that he returns at least $15 in 2010, and I wouldn’t be surprised if that number approached $20.

Johnny Damon ($10) – I guess everyone must have been staring at a hottie on the television when Damon’s name came up. Perhaps the guys are worried how his production could fall if he isn’t hitting at the top of the Yankees order in that great hitters’ park, but come on now. He has no upside, and will be 36 next season, but the guy has scored 90+ runs in 12-straight years and in each of the last 14 seasons he has appeared in at least 140 games – the third longest streak in the history of baseball. A safe pick if there is such a thing.

Johnny Peralta ($5) – Third base is really, really shallow this season. This isn’t a huge upside selection if you look at his ’09 numbers (.254-11-83), that is until you realize that he socked 44 homers with 161 RBI in 2007-08. He has the added bonus of qualifying at shortstop (41 games) and third base (105). Considering how late I grabbed him (my 20th pick I believe), I don’t think there is any reason to view this as anything other than a fine selection.

Vladimir Guerrero ($6) – It’s like no one realizes that he hit .295 with 15 homers in just 383 ABs. Give him 550 ABs and we are talking about a pace that would have led to a .295 average and 22 homers. If healthy, I really don’t see a reason he can’t go .300-20, though you do have to remember he only qualifies at DH.

Francisco Liriano ($2) – I know he will never again be the wunderkind who went 12-3 with a 2.16 ERA and a 10.71 K/9 mark in 2006 prior to his elbow surgery, but he could easily quintuple the cost here, and that makes him a bargain basement buy with considerable upside.

So there are my thoughts on my first 2010 baseball auction, even though we still have a month and a half left in the 2009 season.

By Ray Flowers

Cry Baby Cry

We all can whine about the plight of our teams. I’m sure you all have a story about how you missed on the guy you wanted to draft by one selection, or the guy you drafted seems to think that the aim of the game is to swing and miss rather than ripping line drives all over the field. I get it, believe me. So I’m gonna let the tears flow today and let you know how upset I’ve become with a few of the guys I have selected for my various fantasy baseball teams in 2009.

Mike Aviles: I certainly didn’t think he was going to hit .325 again, but .183? Currently on the DL with a strained right forearm, Aviles will only need to go 20 for his next 20 to raise his average up to .300 when he returns. I feel that’s doable – you?

Grant Balfour: Last year 1.54 ERA and a 12.65 K/9. This year, 5.48 ERA and a 8.61 K/9. A regression was coming, but to half of last year’s value?

Chris Davis: Twelve home runs is great. A .194 batting average, not so much. He could set a record for futility as well as he is whiffing 46.7% of the time. That’s right, he already has 77 Ks this season in 165 ABs, or more strikeouts that Albert Pujols has had in any of the last seven seasons.

Joey Devine: The potential closer a year after posting a 0.59 ERA and a 0.83 WHIP, Devine didn’t throw a single regular season pitch before being sent to the DL and ultimately requiring elbow surgery costing him the entire season. Thanks Joey, not like I was counting on you for 30 saves or anything.

Rafael Furcal: Glad you had him in your top-5 at shortstop now that he is hitting .253 with one home run and three steals?

Corey Hart: What happened to that breakout campaign? After back-to-back 20/20 seasons he is barely on pace to go 20/10, though he is almost certain to set a career high in Ks with 50 in 48 games, almost halfway to last year’s worst of 109 in 157 games.

Howie Kendrick: The man can hit .300 in his sleep. He must be in a coma since he is batting .225.

Brandon Morrow: The Mariners’ reliever has a strong 8.22 K/9 mark. Oops. That’s his walks per nine inning mark. How amazingly putrid is that? By the way, his K/9 mark is 10.57.

Ricky Nolasco: So bad he was demoted to the minors where he has dominated in two starts. He has been exceedingly unlucky as his BABIP is astronomical at .402, but that doesn’t help to wick away the tears after he has posted a 9.07 ERA and a 1.81 WHIP through nine starts.

Alexei Ramirez: How had has he been this year? Despite the fact that he is batting .329 over his last 70 at-bats, the man is still hitting just .253 on the year. He is on pace for 30 steals, but the 10 home run pace is pretty awful for a guy who hit 21 last year in just 480 at-bats.

Alex Rios: Is he ever going to put it all together? His career best numbers across the board are .302-24-85-114-32. Currently he is on pace to hit about .275-22-80-80-12.

Jimmy Rollins: Hitting just .230 on the year, Rollins has only three home runs giving him 14 taters in his last 769 at-bats dating back to the start of 2008. Will you finally believe now that his 30 home run season of 2007 was a fluke?

Andy Sonnanstine: Luckily for him I drafted Nolasco or he would be feeling a lot more of my wrath for going 3-5 with a 7.66 ERA and a 1.78 WHIP.

Rickie Weeks: Out for the year with wrist surgery. What could have been considering he was on pace to hit more than 30 home runs with about 100 RBI and 100 runs.

Chris Young: 25/25 as a rookie. 20/10 as a second year player. On pace for 10/10 as a third year player. Flipping great.

By Ray Flowers

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