1. Josh Bard, C, Boston Red Sox- Bard was a late bloomer and didn't secure a starting job until he was 28, but once he did, he batted .305, with 14 homers, 44 doubles, 91 rbi and 189 hits in 620 at bats over his first two seasons starting for the Padres. If those 620 at bats were in a season instead of stretched over two (to keep him fresh and allow Barrett to play) then Bard would've been an All Star and regarded as one of the top 10 hitting catchers in the MLB. He's in Boston now, and playing his home games at Fenway--a tiny park, especially in comparison to the impossible-to-hit-in-Petco-Park. He's pretty good at squaring up on off speed pitches and mediocre fastballs, so the AL East may not be the greatest place for him to play, but as a line-drive hitter the Green Monster and that weird center field will allow him to slug close to .450 and put up some nice doubles numbers. His line will looks something like this 300 abs, .280-.295 ba, .350-.360 OBP, 6-8 homers, 15-25 doubles and a .430-.450 slugging percentage.
2.Russell Branyan, 1B/3B, Seattle Mariners- Branyan qualifies at both corner infield positions in most fantasy leagues and because of that he's way more valuable than he's been given credit for over his career. By debuting before Money Ball was released, Branyan was never able to catch on. Simply put, before Adam Dunns, Mark Reynolds, Ryan Howard, and Michael Stanton there was Russ Branyan-- a guy that could bat .250 but wallop 40 homers and walk 80 times. Not giving him a starting job was a crime and his career and ability was wasted. Striking out 200 times when you slug over .500 and get on base %35 of the time isn't a problem at all. He's no number two hitter, but sticking him between fifth and seventh in the order is pretty nice. In 766 games, about 4.7 full seasons, he has a .485 slugging percentage, hit 133 home runs, has 320 rbis and has walked 281 times. His season averages are 28 homers, 59 walks and 68 rbis, and if it wasn't for a bad 1999, 2003 and 2007, Branyan would average about 35 homers, 80 rbi and 65 walks.
3. Wilson Betemit, 1B/3B, Chicago White Sox- In Atlanta in 2005 Betemit hit .305 over a half season, and in 2006 he slugged .497 in the ATL over a third of a season. Off of the bench Betemit has slugged an impressive .438 over his career. Pinch hitting and coming off the bench cold make it hard to hit homers and raise your average but he's still manage to put up good numbers. Now that he's playing in US Cellular and may have a starting gig, he could hit 20-25 homers and drive in 60-80 runs. Think of a Ty Wigginton 2.
4. Franklin Gutierrez, CF, Seattle Mariners- Gutierrez has generally been viewed as a dissapointment thus far into his major league career. Once a sex-machine-prospect, Guttierez hasn't put up super numbers yet--but they haven't been all that bad either. Don't forget he's only 26 and he may very well break out with his starting job in Seattle this year. His career minor league stats are pretty nice. Through 2080 at bats--equating about 3.5 600 at bat seasons--he has a career .809 OPS, 66 homers and 75 stolen bases. In a 600 at bat season he's average 19 homers, 22 stolen bases and has a career .282 batting average. If he can do that in the minors then he's a damn good steal.
5. Dana Eveland, LHP, Oakland Athletics- Eveland put up very solid numbers in 2008--his first full season in the majors. Through 168 innings he struck out 118 and gave up only 10 home runs while he posted a 4.34 ERA. To me he looks a lot like the new Andy Pettitte. He isn't as big as Pettitte, but he's well built, and if he learns to get his breaking stuff over a little bit better he could easily put up Pettitte numbers year in and year out. His minors numbers suggest that this projection is very reasonable. In his MiLB career, Eveland had a sparkling 2.61 ERA and 427 strikeouts in 434 innings pitched. He's a steal.
6. Joe Mather, 3B/OF, St. Louis Cardinals- Mather was a low level prospect before his complete turnaround in 2007. He went from a future fourth or fifth outfielder like Bryan Anderson to freak'n Colby Rasmus-- belting 31 homers in 487 at bats in AA/AAA in 2007 and another 18 homers in 211 at bats in AAA in 2008. Now that Freese has been sent back to the MiLB camp and Glaus is a Mess, the Cardinals have handed the job to Mr. Mather. He may never be a star, but he could hit 20 homers and bat .250-.280. If he really catches on then he may be able to even hit 30 some day, but don't expect miracles from the former MiLB-filler.
7. Skip Schumaker, CF/2B, St. Louis Cardinals- Schumaker may not have a starting job in the OF anymore, but the Cardinals were so happy with his bat that they've insisted on converting him to a second basemen. So far the experiment has failed miserably, but if Schumaker stays dedicated to converting in spring training then he may very well be playing some second this spring. If he does, then his .300 batting average and 8-10 homers and 80 runs are looking pretty darn nice.
8. Nick Hundley, C, San Diego Padres- Hundley doesn't make great contact but he plays solid defense and hits for power.In 597 at bats in AA and AAA over the past two years Hundley has hit 32 homers, driven in 111 and walked 59 times. He'll never be a top hitting catcher but a baby Mike Napoli is never something to scoff at as a second catcher or even a starter when you're in a pinch. A .230-.260 batting average and 20 home runs is very possible over a full season for Hundley. He'll get a lot of at bats in San Diego as they simply don't have another option besides the old and lousy-hitting Brad Ausmus.
9. Ian Stewart, 3B, Colorado Rockies- It seems that the fantasy world has forgotten about Stewart and Baker almost completely. Finally in 2008 the Rox made room on the roster for the power-hitting prospect and he didn't dissapoint, hitting 10 homers and driving in 41 in 266 at bats. He has an insane .897 career OPS in the Minors, and clearly, just judging by that almost silly number, Ian Stewart has loads of potential. In a full season at third, Stewart could hit 25-30 homers, walk 60 times and bat between .260 and .280. Move over Bitch (Garrett Atkins).
10. Sean Rodriguez, 2B/SS, Anaheim Angels- Rodriguez has a shitty year in the majors last year, just barely hitting over .200. In 2007 and 2008 Rodriguez put up a .944 OPS and a 1.043 OPS in AA and AAA. He can also steal bases--stealing 95 in about 3.8 seasons. He has AROD power except he's Sea-Rod. If he can get a beat on those major league curveballs then you have a middle infielder that can hit 30 homers (maybe even 40), get on base 38% of the time and steal 30 bases yearly. Sounds good right? You fucking better believe it does Sally.
RHP Collin Balester, C JR Towles, CF Brett Gardner, DH/CI Jeff Larish, 1B Gaby Sanchez, 3B/2B Martin Prado, MI Brent Lillibridge, OF Brandon Moss, 2B Chris Getz,C Ivan Rodriguez,C Ryan Hanigan,C Dusty Ryan, 1B Travis Ishikawa, OF/CI/2B Mark Teahen.
Underrated Minors- SP Dellin Betances, OF Kellen Kulbacki, C Austin Romine, C Wilson Ramos, 1B Sean Doolittle, LHP Nick Hagadone, OF Josh Reddick, RP Humberto Sanchez, RP Brad Holt, RP Ethan Martin, MI Joaquin Arias, RHP Daniel Cortes, LHP Tyson Ross, SS Esmailyn Gonzalez, SS Chris Nelson, SS Hector Gomez, SS Reese Havens,LHP Sean O'Sullivan, LHP Jacob McGee, RHP Mitch Talbot.
No comments:
Post a Comment