Gary Armida of Going9Baseball did a great job laying out the guidelines for practicing patience as the fantasy baseball season just gets underway.  He also does a wonderful job of reminding you to keep an eye out on the waiver wire.  While making a move this early isn’t highly advisable, it is important to see if other owners in your league may have hastily sent some one packing or if a hole on your team could be filled.  In taking a look at CBS Fantasy Sports Roster trends list, it seems as though pitching is more sought after than offense.  No real surprise there, but here are some names that are jumping up in ownership.  Depending on your league format, they may be worth a look. Continue Reading »

Thoughts on Starting and Relief Pitchers for 2013 Fantasy Baseball.

What more do you need than thoughts on third base, outfield, and a guess spot from ExpertLeagues.com’s Matt Tavormina!

We’ve talked in the past about following three year averages and trusting in veterans. It’s important to stick with the guys who have been providing fantasy value for more than just one year. Studying the trends of each player can be time consuming but can go a long way to helping you stick with those players who will give you the best value throughout the draft. The good owners will stick with the veterans who give them the best value at each draft spot, rather than reaching too early for someone they hope gives them a chance at a breakout player. The best owners will know when to cut ties with a veteran who has been one of the most reliable major leaguers and fantasy players.

Last season, Roy Halladay suffered through one of his worst campaigns in recent history. He finished the season with an ERA over 4 for the first time since 2004. And it isn’t like it was a 4.02 ERA. When 2012 was over, he had an ERA of 4.50 and a WHIP of 1.22. Due to a strain behind his right shoulder, he only made 25 starts. Much like on the positive side, one season does not make a trend. Two spring trainings and one season, is the beginnings of a trend.

Last spring, Halladay struggled with his control and his velocity. It was explained away with the typical preseason justifications. Halladay could turn it on when he wanted and he was working through some new grips on pitches and so on. Then he turned in the 2012 that he did.

Now we have to take a long, hard look at Halladay’s latest spring training start and see if the end is near for the Doc. On Tuesday, the righty gave up seven runs on six hits in just 2 2/3 innings. His velocity was clocked between just 84 and 88 mph. Those numbers just won’t cut it when the season rolls around. We saw similar issues last spring. He also walked four batters and hit another.

Much like one season doesn’t make a trend, one start doesn’t either, but all of these are facts of the past year and a half. I had looked at Halladay as a major bounce back candidate when pitchers and catchers reported. He has a great history and the injury seemed like the perfect reason for his down season. At the age of 35 though, it would seem that his time as a fantasy ace, and most likely a MLB ace, are coming to an end.

Halladay can no longer be considered a value pick in the early rounds of a draft. Keep an eye on his velocity as the spring moves forward and if he drops to the late single digit rounds, consider taking him if you expect him to rebound into the season. If you see these trends as the beginning of the downward spiral, then be very wary of Halladay and don’t trust him to provide his usual WHIP and ERA this season.

Click the link for the archive of our first show on Blog Talk Radio.

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/dan-strafford/2013/02/25/big-2-show

I just wanted to share my latest post to Going9Baseball.  It’s been a great pleasure to be able to start writing for the site and I look forward to being involved with their SiriusXM show!

Link

First base can be tougher to figure than you might expect.  The position becomes a landing spot for a variety of different position players who can’t cut it at their original spot.  It also is a position that is seen as a “resting” spot for aging veterans.  What you end up getting is a mix of players whose primary position is first and those who play just enough games there to be eligible at the position.  Either way, first base is typically a very deep position and one where some major stars of fantasy baseball sit.  You can look to first base as one of your primary early round targets, looking for the elite talent of Albert Pujols or Joey Votto, or you can wait on first base, and look towards the steady hand of Paul Konerko or promise of a young gun like Anthony Rizzo. Continue Reading »

Catchers can often be the most frustrating position to project in fantasy baseball.  Most teams rest their starter at least once a week, and a few, if not more, tend to split time evenly between two backstops.  To begin with evaluating your catching prospects, you should start by separating them out from the rest of your player pools.  Due to the split time and lower at bats, catchers values are skewed compared to the rest of the offensive players.  If you an owner who believes in position scarcity, you most likely believe Buster Posey is far and away one of the most valuable players in fantasy baseball.  But is Posey really worth a first or even a second round pick?  I don’t think so.  I think catchers need to be evaluated on their own, but valued honestly against the rest of the league. That’s the main reason I would leave Posey to the third round at the earliest.

Continue Reading »

Joe and Dan will be back in the saddle soon to preview the 2013 season.  Look for some news on where and when coming soon.