Offseason Summary
With Spring Training almost over I figure I’ll give a run down of some of the key off-season moves that will have an impact on this upcoming season. Johan Santana, Erik Bedard, and Dan Haren are the pitchers I will highlight along with Andrew Jones, Nick Swisher, and Torii Hunter, the hitters.
I’ll start with the pitching. If you were alive this past off-season you know that Johan Santana was traded. The Mets went from contenders to paper champs with one move. Santana not only moves from the AL to the NL and will therefore face weaker offensive teams, but he also moves to a team that can provide lots of run support. Look for Santana to top 20 wins this season and contribute an ERA under 3.00. Santana struggled at the end of last year, but do not buy into that conspiracy like theory. This guy was the best pitcher in baseball the previous 3 seasons and that was against the better competition in the AL he will be a stud once again. Sorry NL starters you are already a step back in the Cy Young voting.
Dan Haren is another guy moving from the AL to NL. This guy had ace like numbers in the AL last year so it’s safe to say that his numbers will continue with the move. Also he goes from a losing team in Oakland to a team who might be favored to win their division. Look for him to end up around 17 or 18 wins, and a very respectable low 3’s ERA. The fact that he’ll be in the #2 slot in the Diamondbacks rotation will help a bit too. Webb will take a lot of pressure off of him, he is a very safe bet.
Erik Bedard’s big fantasy impact will come from the fact that he moved from a great hitter’s park to a great pitcher’s park. Also he moves from the lowly Orioles to the division contending Mariners. I am among the belief that the Mariners were overachievers last season but adding Bedard should allow them to repeat the same type of record. Bedard was in the Cy Young race last year until he got injured and is now arguably the best fantasy starter in the AL. If Seattle can hit more, Bedard could win 18 games this year.
The hitters should not help as much as the pitchers that I mention, however these guys will make a nice contribution. Andruw Jones has to bounce back from that horrible batting average last season and is moving to a better hitter’s park. Look for a return to 30+ HR and a batting average above .250 this season. In that lineup he should be a shoe in for 100 RBI as well.
Nick Swisher is a guy who hit the jack pot fantasy wise. This guy is moving to the AL’s version of Coors field. Swisher could very well hit 40+ HR. It will come with a very questionable batting average and may turn into a Adam Dunn like hitter. You should be able to snag Swisher in a much later round than you would Dunn.
Torii Hunter has a career season last year and some people might tell you he is in store for a return to Earth. I’ll tell you something slightly different. With Hunter’s move to Anaheim (yea that’s right, I said it ANAHEIM), he will be under the control of Mike Scocia. Scocia got Mike Napoli 5 steals last season, and should be able to get Hunter a good 25 steals this season. I’d say Hunter is a 25/30 threat this season. He will be batting in a prime position in the lineup to drive in runs. Even though he will bat in likely the 4 or 5 hole, with the way the Angels are put together, anybody that can run, will run to put themselves into scoring position so that they can play small ball and move runners across the plate. Hunter is not likely to have an average close to .300 but should not dip below a .275 mark. This is another outfielder you might be able to buy low on early in the season before people see how much he will run or how nice he will play in that system.
Reader Questions:
Hi,
My draft is on this Sunday & it is an American League ONLY draft. You have been of much help in the past & I was wondering if you could again help me out AGAIN? Could you give me a list of 10 players that will have an impact this year in fantasy baseball that will not be on a opening day roster?
Thanks, Jay
Well my topic for next week was going to be rookies who will make an impact on the up coming season. This question will undoubtedly cover some of the guys I was going to discuss in next week’s article but, I will give a little preview to next week and leave a list. I will discuss in further detail next week.
Colby Rasmus – cf - stl
Nick Adenhart – sp – laa
Andy LaRoche – 3b – lad [currently injured so he probably won’t start the season as the starter]
Jeff Niemann – sp - tb
Clayton Kershaw – sp – lad
Chris Perez – rp – stl [he might be on opening day roster but hunch says they want him to work on control in minors]
Wladimier Balentien – of – sea
Well, this is about half of what you asked for, however I didn’t want to give away too much into next week’s article. Hard to list guys who won’t be on opening day rosters, but those are guys that I don’t think will be. Or if they are, they will not have a starting job to begin the season.
I’ll start with the pitching. If you were alive this past off-season you know that Johan Santana was traded. The Mets went from contenders to paper champs with one move. Santana not only moves from the AL to the NL and will therefore face weaker offensive teams, but he also moves to a team that can provide lots of run support. Look for Santana to top 20 wins this season and contribute an ERA under 3.00. Santana struggled at the end of last year, but do not buy into that conspiracy like theory. This guy was the best pitcher in baseball the previous 3 seasons and that was against the better competition in the AL he will be a stud once again. Sorry NL starters you are already a step back in the Cy Young voting.
Dan Haren is another guy moving from the AL to NL. This guy had ace like numbers in the AL last year so it’s safe to say that his numbers will continue with the move. Also he goes from a losing team in Oakland to a team who might be favored to win their division. Look for him to end up around 17 or 18 wins, and a very respectable low 3’s ERA. The fact that he’ll be in the #2 slot in the Diamondbacks rotation will help a bit too. Webb will take a lot of pressure off of him, he is a very safe bet.
Erik Bedard’s big fantasy impact will come from the fact that he moved from a great hitter’s park to a great pitcher’s park. Also he moves from the lowly Orioles to the division contending Mariners. I am among the belief that the Mariners were overachievers last season but adding Bedard should allow them to repeat the same type of record. Bedard was in the Cy Young race last year until he got injured and is now arguably the best fantasy starter in the AL. If Seattle can hit more, Bedard could win 18 games this year.
The hitters should not help as much as the pitchers that I mention, however these guys will make a nice contribution. Andruw Jones has to bounce back from that horrible batting average last season and is moving to a better hitter’s park. Look for a return to 30+ HR and a batting average above .250 this season. In that lineup he should be a shoe in for 100 RBI as well.
Nick Swisher is a guy who hit the jack pot fantasy wise. This guy is moving to the AL’s version of Coors field. Swisher could very well hit 40+ HR. It will come with a very questionable batting average and may turn into a Adam Dunn like hitter. You should be able to snag Swisher in a much later round than you would Dunn.
Torii Hunter has a career season last year and some people might tell you he is in store for a return to Earth. I’ll tell you something slightly different. With Hunter’s move to Anaheim (yea that’s right, I said it ANAHEIM), he will be under the control of Mike Scocia. Scocia got Mike Napoli 5 steals last season, and should be able to get Hunter a good 25 steals this season. I’d say Hunter is a 25/30 threat this season. He will be batting in a prime position in the lineup to drive in runs. Even though he will bat in likely the 4 or 5 hole, with the way the Angels are put together, anybody that can run, will run to put themselves into scoring position so that they can play small ball and move runners across the plate. Hunter is not likely to have an average close to .300 but should not dip below a .275 mark. This is another outfielder you might be able to buy low on early in the season before people see how much he will run or how nice he will play in that system.
Reader Questions:
Hi,
My draft is on this Sunday & it is an American League ONLY draft. You have been of much help in the past & I was wondering if you could again help me out AGAIN? Could you give me a list of 10 players that will have an impact this year in fantasy baseball that will not be on a opening day roster?
Thanks, Jay
Well my topic for next week was going to be rookies who will make an impact on the up coming season. This question will undoubtedly cover some of the guys I was going to discuss in next week’s article but, I will give a little preview to next week and leave a list. I will discuss in further detail next week.
Colby Rasmus – cf - stl
Nick Adenhart – sp – laa
Andy LaRoche – 3b – lad [currently injured so he probably won’t start the season as the starter]
Jeff Niemann – sp - tb
Clayton Kershaw – sp – lad
Chris Perez – rp – stl [he might be on opening day roster but hunch says they want him to work on control in minors]
Wladimier Balentien – of – sea
Well, this is about half of what you asked for, however I didn’t want to give away too much into next week’s article. Hard to list guys who won’t be on opening day rosters, but those are guys that I don’t think will be. Or if they are, they will not have a starting job to begin the season.
