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Mets Fantasy Outlook: Beltran et. al

Mar 5, 2010 By Eddie Vegas 1 Comment

In this final fantasy look at individual Met players, we will look at Carlos Beltran as well as if there are any other postions players that would be worth taking a look at. For those of you into fantasy, please look back at previous blogs as I have provided coverage on Bay, Francoeur, Wright, KRod, Santana, Reyes, Perez, Pelfrey, Maine and Niese earlier in the week.

Carlos Beltran is a perennial all star and is the poster boy for five tool players. He is a top outfielder and a usually drafted in the first two rounds of fantasy drafts. However, this season is different as CB will start the season on the disabled list. With this in mind Beltran is ranked 160 by Yahoo and on average is being drafted at 181. He is owned by 91% of fantasy leagues. At first, we heard Beltran would be out 30 to 40 games. On Mike’d up, Omar stated that if everything goes right for CB, he will be back in May or June.

This doesn’t sound very good to me, “if everything goes right….June.” You’re looking now at about half a season, not to mention when he does get back consider the first month to be his spring training. Beltran can be a .300 batter and put up 40 and 100 but over a half of season recovering from an injury how long should you wait to draft him?

Before I tell you what you should do about Beltran lets brainstorm if anyone else on the team should be considered. What names are even out there? Other starters include Murph, Castillo, Pagan and Barajas. The only player I see going in drafts would be Barajas. Anytime you can add a reciever who could add 20 and 70 to a starting lineup will be interesting to look at. Pagan could add some depth for a team, he can bat .300 and add triples and steals. Keep an eye on Murph as well, I doubt he’ll be drafted but if he can get off to a good start he could put up a good average and some RBI’s.

Prospects include Ike Davis, FMart and Thole. Who knows if any of these guys will earn a job, as they all are favored to start this season in the minors but keep an eye on them if they do earn a starting spot as these guys have big time upside.

My prediction: If Beltran is going 180, that means  he’s going around the 15th round. He definitely is worth stashing on your bench but I would make sure you have your starting lineup set before you consider drafting a guy who will be on your bench for a couple of months. He will hit when he comes back but probably will not get a chance to get more then 20 homers and 60 rbis. Grab him, but only if it makes sense for your team.

Everyone else? I don’t think anyone really should warrant a draft day selection unfortunately. Hopefully,  someone will get hot and prove me wrong. As a Met fan, I will certaintly keep my eye open and you can probably bet that after Murph’s first 3 for 4, I will pick him up. Best of luck this fantasy season and lets hope the Mets players not only have a great season team wise but also statisically.

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Mets Fantasy Outlook: Starting Pitching

Mar 4, 2010 By Eddie Vegas 2 Comments

In this fourth installment of Mets Fantasy Outlook, we are going to look at our other starting pitching options beyond Santana. If you have missed our fantasy blogs please check back to Sunday for Jose and Johan, Monday for DWRight and KRod and yesterday’s blog focused on Bay and Frenchie. Let’s see if anyone else is worth a risk in the fantasy world.

Mike Pelfrey-SP: As of today, the Mets are looking at Pelf as the number two starter, which is exactly what they did last year. Even though Mike was the number two, he did not pitch that way, but then again did anyone on this team? Mike has been hyped big time for awhile now and the Mets thought they finally gotten Mike to achieve his lofty expectations in the summer of 2008, when he was unbeatable. With Mike being a dominating pitcher it was expected he would dominate in 2009 but three words can explain his 09 season, Jody Gerut and the Yips. Mike was extremely inconsistent and quite frankly pretty crazy during the season. Pelf ended the season with a 10 and 12 record and a 5.02 ERA. If you are thinking about taking Pelf, then you are hoping he gets back to that 08 season where we finished with 13 W’s and a 3.78 ERA. It is also important to remember even though a big guy, Pelf rarely records big K totals. Pelf is ranked 344 by Yahoo Sports, which means he is ranked as the 89th best SP, he is also owned by 6% of owners.

Oliver Perez-SP: To me Ollie has the most up side, if he could just get his head on straight. We are hearing all the right things this spring training about him, but only time will tell if he is worth the risk. I feel that if right Ollie has the most chance to be a pure number 2 starter for this staff but that is a huge IF. Ollie is ranked 1,010 th in fantasy baseball and is only owned by 2% of teams. My buddy Jp also alerted me if I take Ollie, he will kick my @$$, only time will tell if I am threatened by that. Oliver’s army will consist of believers in his 15 win 2007 season and that his hard work over the offseason has paid off. Definitely keep an eye on his spring starts which were less then stellar last season. If right though Ollie can pick up big time K’s and big time points for your team.

John Maine-SP: Early spring training has Maine penciled in as the number 4 starter. Maine is different from Ollie and Pelf as he has not been a hyped up prospect in his career, he was actually a throw-in in a trade but has been the most consistent of the three. That of course is with the exception of Maine’s injury history. Maine has been injured for the majority of the last two seasons. Maine like Perez, also has 15 wins in 07 and of course pitched the best game of the year as he brought a no-no into the 8th inning on the next to last day of the season. Maine is actually ranked the highest out of today’s subjects at 276. Maine strikeouts alot but is known for his high pitch counts and having to leave games early. Maine is ranked at the 77th SP and is owned by 28% of Yahoo fantasy owners.

Jon Niese-SP: Niese is the favorite for the 5th starter spot and I hope he does earn the spot. He has shown some good stuff and I remember his game vs. the Braves in 08 where he looked like a big time pitcher. Niese earned some respect by Yahoo as he is ranked ahead of Pelf. He is ranked 329 and is the 85th overall SP. As long as we hear good things about him, it should be assumed he will by the 5th starter. A youngster with a lot of upside, he may be worth a shot.

My predictions: I’m going to group these guys together as they have alot of similiarities. If these guys are all healthy, they definitely have the ability to be big time starting pitchers. You also know that CitiField is a pitchers park and these guys should recieve offense with the addition of Bay. None of these guys should be looked as your pitching savior but definitely worth a look as your 5th or 6th starters. Maybe hide one on your bench ’til you see their first couple of starts. If these guys are around late, I can def see me adding one or two of these guys on my staff. I would tend to believe that 2 of the 4 of these guys will pan out this season, one probably gets hurt and one probably just gets a case of the Yips, who do you ask? Your guess is as good as mine!

Filed Under: 2010 Mets, Fantasy Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Mets Fantasy Outlook: Wright and K-Rod

Mar 1, 2010 By Eddie Vegas 1 Comment

This is the second installment of Mets Fantasy Outlook, yesterday I looked at two guys coming off injury plagued seasons. Today, I will group together two players with something in common. Frankie Rodriguez and David Wright, who both had the worst seasons of their careers.

As I mentioned yesterday, not too many people think the Mets are going to do much as a team this year. We’ve heard it all, too many holes, who’s going to pitch out of the pen, etc. However, there are many top players that fantasy owners cannot wait to acquire. Many of our Mets do have major question marks this season. Which plans to make this one of the most interesting fantasy draft seasons that I can remember.

My belief is that if you are in a fantasy league with mostly New Yorkers like I am, you can figure people will be willing to take a chance on someone who in other leagues may be drafted much, much later. Even with question marks attached I believe players like Wright, K-Rod, Santana, Reyes, and even Beltran will go much higher then their average draft values on Yahoo.com.

With all that being said, lets get to it and evaluate today’s subjects:

David Wright- 3B- David Wright is one of the most talented players in the game. In his first 4 full seasons, David has batted on average over .300 with 30 homers and 112 RBI’s over those 4 seasons. However, even with a torrid start average wise last season, David’s struggles were well chronically as he finished with a .307 average with 10 homers and 72 RBI’s. David missed several games after being struck in the head by a Matt Cain fastball. Whatever excuse you wanna use…depleted lineup, the CitiField psychological issues, but something obviously effected David. David has struggled with his numbers early in seasons before but it continued throughout a forgettable 2009. Even with that being said, Yahoo still projected David as the 10th best player in the game. Owners have picked up him with the 12.4 th pick in the draft so far. David has bulked up and worked intensely this season to prove 2009 was a fluke as he looks to get back to those 30 homer, 100 RBI numbers.

Francisco Rodriguez- CP- I don’t like to continue using excuses but I feel KROD is a pitcher who plays to the competition. KROD got off to an incredible run with the Mets last season but not only for the Mets but also for KROD, the season turned dramatically after Castillo’s error versus the Yanks. KROD seemed to lose interest as the Mets got further out of first. We also heard about his limited chances and how he is someone who likes to pitch everyday. So his value like Santana’s will increase if the Mets are competitive this season. If they pull an ’09 then there are many more closers that will stack up more saves then Frankie. KROD’s era was over 3 for the first time since ’03 and his saves were under 40 for the first time since ’04. Unlike others who think he has seen his best days, I feel Frankie is still a top of the line closer, the Mets just need to be a top of the line team for us to see his best. Yahoo has Frankie as the 11th best closer at 140 overall. Fantasy owners however are scooping him early as his average draft selection is at 111. Some people value closers more then others but any way you look at it KROD has got to be better then the 11th best closer in the game.

My prediction: David Wright: still a late first rounder to early second rounder. I think most drafts will have people taking Evan Longoria before Wright even if Wright is ranked ahead of Longoria. At 3B though, Wright will go fast New York draft or not. I think Wright will be protected much more this season. I think he will probably get off to his traditional slow start and will be trying to hard. The K’s from last season are definitely scary. I’m going to guess Wright ends up with a .300 average, 25 homers and about 100 Rib Eye Steaks. I think it is also important to see who bats fourth. If Wright is protected by Bay, I think Wright will do better. Some lineups I’ve seen have Wright followed by Murph or Frenchie. I think this would hurt Wright.

K-Rod: Closers can be a crazy animal, when one goes then everyone gets desperate and starts drafting all of the top guys. On average in a 12 man league, KROD is going in about the 10th round, so add in the NY bias and expect KROD to move in the 8th round. I would also expect KROD to be the 5th to 6th closer taken, regardless of rank. If people believe in the Mets this season, then they certaintly will believe in Frankie. I think the Mets do rebound, which means so does Frankie. I don’t expect Angel numbers but 42 saves and a 2.50 era are not too much to ask.

Tomorrow’s subjects: The new odd couple and perhaps my two favorite players: Jason Bay and Jeff “Frenchie” Francoeur.

Filed Under: 2010 Mets, Blogging, Fantasy Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Mets Fantasy Outlook: Jose and Johan

Feb 28, 2010 By Eddie Vegas 2 Comments

Over the next couple of days, I am going to take a look at different Mets players from a fantasy perspective, tonight’s installment will start off with two of the most talented players in the game, Jose Reyes and Johan Santana, who disappointed owners last year with injuries but appear to be undervalued this season, perhaps taking a risk on one or both of these guys will pay huge dividends for your team.

Most fans that are die hard enough to spend time reading blogs like this one are also big time into fantasy baseball. Hey, it gives us regular folk a chance at being the GM and manager of our very own club. Fantasy baseball, whether for pride or for money has become a very popular form of entertainment in this country. In my opinion, Fantasy baseball is the best sport for Fantasy. I love the everyday, hands-on grind that is the baseball season. Fantasy football, which you only need to follow once a week just doesn’t do it for me.

 Even though the critics think the Mets are going nowhere this season, they still have a ton of all star calibur players that are going to be highly desired in fantasy drafts. However, this season is going to be very interesting for fantasy drafts as there remain many questions with many of the traditionally high picks from the Met roster. Jose Reyes and Johan Santana are recovering from injuries, David Wright is coming off his worst season ever, Carlos Beltran is out for what is thought to be at least 40 games,  how is CitiField going to effect Jason Bay’s power numbers and is anyone else going to step up enough to warrant a starting position on someone’s fantasy roster.

Again, over the next coming days we will examine many of the Mets finest but let’s look at tonight’s subjects:

Jose Reyes- SS- Jose was ranked in the top 3 last season because of his all-around game. Triples, doubles, stolen bases, RBI’s, some power, Jose has it all. At least that is if he is healthy, and everything we have heard from Mets camp is that he is back and ready to go. Jose is pre-ranked number 48 by Yahoo his average draft selection is 44.6 by Yahoo. I have a feeling that in drafts with mostly New Yorkers, he will be drafted much earlier. 48th would put him the 4th round but my guess is as we get closer to opening day you should be likely to see him come off the board by the 2nd round. With his ability for SB’s and Triples, with the fact that he is a SS, will have you nervously waiting to see how long he will last.

Johan Santana- SP- Johan was another guy who was a first round pick last season. He even went first in our draft and was proving he was worth it early in the season but as he got injured, his owners paid the price. He definitely has the ability to be the best pitcher in baseball and bring home a Cy Young Award. Yahoo has him though as the 8th ranked starting pitcher. He is ranked 55th overall by Yahoo and is being drafted in the 50th spot as of today. Again, with alot of Met homers in your leagues and continuing to hear he is healthy, you can bet he will be gone quickly.

My prediction:

Reyes goes late 1st round to early 2nd round. I think he has a strong season, expect his SB numbers to decrease slightly as the Mets bat him 3rd and want to work his way back to where he has been. I think by the end of the season he will be a top ten player so the longer he lasts on draft night the bigger reward when he has a typical Jose Reyes season.

Santana goes mid to late 2nd round. I think a second year in CitiField will only help Santana’s numbers. As the outfield gets more comfortable with the park and he learns how to pitch there he can only become more dominant. Santana will not throw the CG’s that Halladay will and probably won’t have the K’s that Timmy Lincecum does but should have a great season. If the Mets can stay in the race he will only rise to the occasion more. That could mean more CG’s, but if the Mets are not close in September look for the Mets to rest him down the stretch meaning he will be more valuable if the Mets can win.

Tomorrow’s subjects: David Wright and Francisco Rodriguez, 2 guys looking to come back after their first ever down years.

Filed Under: 2010 Mets, Blogging, Breaking News, Fantasy Tagged With: , , , , , ,