When you draft in a league several weeks before opening day, you are likely to make a decision based upon the data you have at hand. For example, Joey Devine was the Oakland Closer two weeks ago, now he is on the 60-Day DL, and Brad Ziegler is the man in Oakland. If you drafted Devine, hopefully you handcuffed him wirh Ziegler 5 to 10 rounds later. If not, you be needing a closer.
Or, perhaps you selected one of three players competing for the starting job on your favorite team, and the manager didn’t take the guy you thought to be the favorite to win the open competition. Ozzie Guillen once again will give many fantasy owners an ulcer. Brian Anderson clearly had the best spring training of the players competing for the starting centerfield job with the White Sox (Jerry Owens and Dewayne Wise were also in the running), but Guillen decided to gowith Dewayne Wise, because he didn’t want to force Chris Getz into the leadoff spot during his rookie campaign. I doubt Wise lasts past June in the role and Brian Anderson may become this year’s Quentin-Lite for the White Sox, but unless you have a lot ofspare reserve spots, most owners don’thave time to wait for Guileen to come to his senses…
Finally, you may have drafted an injured player who will miss the first few weeks of the season, and you may be looking for a player who can help your team out until your star returns.
I have several of these issues on my NFBC Main Event Team, so I thought I’d share my pre-season adjustments with the RotoRank faithful.
I purposedly planned my NFBC Draft so that all my reserves would be expendable. I didn’t want to have any attachments to any of them, since it could prevent you making the improvements you need to win a league or national title.
At the time of the draft on 3/21/2009, all of the following players were having great springs:
|
Rd |
Pick |
Pos |
Player Name |
Comments |
|
22 |
326 |
SP |
Happ, JA |
Looked like a lock for 5th slot in defending World Series Championship team, but that job went to Chan Ho Park. |
|
23 |
335 |
SP |
Hughes, Philip |
Had a great spring, but there were no unexpected injuries or performances for him to have a chance to win the 5th slot. He will be in Columbus until an injury strikes. |
|
27 |
395 |
OF |
Anderson, Brian N |
Don’t get me started n this one. This is my most painful cut, and it may come back to haunt me… |
|
28 |
416 |
OF |
Balentien, Wladimir |
Actually, he may see some playing time with Ichiro headed to DL, but I need pitching help now! |
|
29 |
425 |
CL |
Corcoran, Roy |
He had a good shot to get some saves, until he got blastedSEA decided that Morrow needed more time to build up his arm . |
|
30 |
446 |
CL |
Turnbow, Derrick |
He was pitching real well until I drafted him, now he is definitely behing CJ Wilson in the Closer line of succession. |
As of Opening Day on 4/5/2009, all of the players were expendable in my mind. I put in FA selections for each of the above, and I got the following players…
|
New Player Name |
Replaced Player Name |
Comments |
Chan Ho Park |
Happ, JA |
Park had a huge spring, and he is a good source of strikeouts, if he has really rediscovered his pitching motion. He won’t start in Week 1 though, because Coors can humble Hall of Famers… |
Jeff Suppan |
Hughes, Philip |
I will start him when he has favorable matchups. Week 1 is a 2 Start Week, but its against Lincecum and Dempster, so he will be on the bench… |
Jeff Mathis |
Anderson, Brian N |
I wanted a player who could fill in for Wieters until his call-up in June. Mathis had a great spring and Napoli is nicked up to begin 2009. |
Jeremy Affeldt |
Balentien, Wladimir |
Brian Wilson is nursing a very minor injury. Maybe Affeldt will get me a Save in Week 1. |
Todd Coffey |
Corcoran, Roy |
Long shot to get a save for Brewers, but he could get a vulture Win or two, until I find a better pitcher to take his place. |
CJ Wilson |
Turnbow, Derrick |
CJ Wilson was lights out in Spring, and he was Texas’ closer, before he got hurt in early 2008. I’ll keep him around until something better comes along, the same plan I had for Turnbow. |
I spent $61 of my $1000 Free Agent budget, so I didn’t have to spend a lot to get some serviceable replacements. I could have gotten a few of the players a little cheaper, but I am not going to complain. Dexter Fowler, who won a platton spot in Colorado Outfield went for $112, which could be a bargain if he eventually becomes the full-time starter and steals 30 bases.
A few people may be questioning why I went after Mathis to replace Weiters, when Greg Zaun (who is warming Weiters seat in Baltimore) is still available. Zaun has very little upside in HR or SB,and in the AL East, he may not be able to hit close to .300 anymore. Mathis is on the short end of a platoon in LA, but the Angels like to run and they are in a much weaker division. Mathis was actually the Angels best catching prospect until Napoli found a way to hit the long ball in every 10 to 15 at-bats…
If you are in smaller 10-team or 12-team leagues, a few of the following players who won starting jobs but may have gone undrafted are worth considering for your team:
2B Chris Getz CWS – He should get 20+ stolen bases and 80+ runs scored, if he keeps his job the whole year.
2B/3B Emilio Bonifaci FLA – He won the chance to play third base for Marlins. He has 20+ stolen base potential, if he can keep the job. He is naturally a second baseman, but Uggla has that locked up in Florida…
OF Jordan Schafer ATL – Won the centerfield job in Atlanta, and he has some speed and power. He hit a home run in the opening game, so he will likely be a hot commodity tomorrow!
SP Nick Adenhart LAA – He is one of the Angels top pitching prospects, so if he continues to pitch well, he will keep the 5th start position, once John Lackey, Ervin Santana, and Kelvim Escobar return to the rotation.
SP Jason McDonald LAD – He won the 5th spot in Dodgers rotation, and has a good chance to win 10+ games from the NL West favorites.
There are likely plenty of other players that can help your team, if you can find a way to take your emotions out of the decision. Remember, if you make a wrong move, you can usually undo it in the next week (unlike real General Managers); however, if you sit idle, then you may not get another opportunity to make the small adjustments needed to finish at the top of your league.
Good Luck and enjoy the 2009 Fantasy Baseball Season!