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2010 MLB Preview: NL West

Anthony Stalter — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 01:00:54 +0000

In order to help get you ready for the MLB season, we’re doing division-by-division rankings with quick overviews on how each club could fair in 2010. Next to each team, you’ll also find a corresponding number written in parenthesis, which indicates where we believe that club falls in a league-wide power ranking. Be sure to check back throughout the next two weeks leading up to the season, as we will be updating our content daily. Enjoy.

Last up is the NL West.

1. Colorado Rockies (7)
Before I wax poetically about the youthful Rockies, I have an axe to grind about the television broadcasting crew of Drew Goodman, Jeff Huson and George Frazier. Those three form one of the most biased, nonobjective broadcasting teams in baseball history. I’m not kidding. The Rockies never get the same calls as their opponents do. The Rockies never get the national recognition like everyone else does. The Rockies are the greatest team to ever walk the planet and if they played a roster compiled of Jesus, Moses, God and the 12 apostles, Colorado should win 5-4 in extras nine times out of 10. If not, the Rockies beat themselves, because there’s no way Jesus and the gang were better. Don’t believe me? Just ask Goodman, Huson and Frazier. All right, now that that’s out of the way – the Rockies are a damn fine club and should leapfrog the Dodgers in the division this year. Their core – Troy Tulowitzki, Ian Stewart, Chris Iannetta, Dexter Fowler and Carlos Gonzalez – are all 27 years old or younger and that doesn’t include 26-year-old stud Ubaldo Jimenez, who is absolutely filthy when he’s on. Throw in key veterans like Todd Helton (a perennial .300 hitter) and Jeff Francis (who could win 15-plus games filling in for the departed Jason Marquis), and Colorado has the tools to make a deep run. The question is whether or not starters Francis and Jorge De La Rosa will keep their ERAs below 5.00 and the young offensive players can move forward in their development and not backwards. But outside of the ultra-annoying broadcast team, I love the Rockies from top to bottom this year and believe they can do some damage in 2010.

2. Los Angles Dodgers (12)
Dodger fans are probably thinking to themselves, “Hey clown face – nothing has changed. This is the same team that won 95 games last year, so what’s with this second place nonsense?” And they would be right to think that – I do have a clown face. But whether fans want to admit it or not, owner Frank McCourt’s divorce from wife and former CEO Jamie McCourt will have an affect on their club this season. In fact, it already has seeing as how the Dodgers’ spending was limited this winter. Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier, Clayton Kershaw, Chad Billingsley, Manny Ramirez and Casey Blake should keep L.A. competitive throughout the season and there’s likely to be a knock down, drag out fight between them and the Rockies for first place. But what happens when Kershaw, Billingsley, Vicente Padilla, Hiroki Kuroda and James McDonald start making trips to the DL? Ownership certainly isn’t going to spend money on replacements, so experienced players may have to step up and that usually spells trouble. Plus, if guys like Rafael Furcal, James Loney and Russell Martin don’t rekindle the magic they had earlier in their careers, Kemp, Ethier and Blake may find it harder to keep the club afloat by themselves. Don’t forget that Manny only hit .255 after taking a pitch off the wrist in late July last year, so his best days are likely behind him as well. Do the Dodgers boast the same roster as the one that was so successful last year? Yes, but the power has seemingly shifted in the division.

3. San Francisco Giants (15)
Watching the Giants on a nightly basis is like watching a unicorn, in all its mythical wonderment and greatness, frolic around an empty field for three hours, only to be intermittently beaten by some idiot caveman with a club. Only, the ironic thing is that the caveman doesn’t really know how to use the club, so he just flails at the unicorn for three hours until both of them tire out and collapse. San Fran’s pitching staff, in all its mythical wonderment and greatness, is outstanding, but its offense continues to be a cross between a used baby diaper and hot garbage. Reigning two-time Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum is the best pitcher in baseball and 25-year-old Matt Cain is a Cy Young-contender in the making. When his heads on right, Jonathan Sanchez can be equally frustrating to hitters and his ’09 second half (which included a no-hitter) suggests that he has a bright future. Barry Zito will never live up to his contract, but he was productive and reliable for the first time in a Giants’ uniform last year and fifth starter Todd Wellemeyer had a great spring. The problem is that GM Brian Sabean hasn’t a clue when it comes to positional talent. With exception of the fun-loving star-in-the-making Pablo Sandoval and future prospect Buster Posey, the Giants don’t have any hitters that will keep opposing pitchers up at night. The offseason additions of Mark DeRosa and Aubrey Huff, as well as the re-signings of Freddy Sanchez and Juan Uribe should help, but all four of those players are complementary pieces on a good team. On the Giants, they’ll all be counted on as key contributors, which is a problem. This club won 88 games last year – more than any team that didn’t make the postseason. Their starting pitching, Sandoval and their bullpen are rock solid, but if the G-Men hope to make the playoffs this year, then guys like Aaron Rowand, Bengie Molina, Edgar Renteria and Nate Schierholtz (who will finally have the opportunity to play full time) have to step up in a big way. We’ll see if Sabean did enough this offseason to give the Giants a shot.

4. Arizona Diamondbacks (19)
In Brandon Webb and Dan Haren, the D-Backs have an outstanding 1-2 punch at the top of their rotation but the problem is that Webb isn’t healthy. He hopes that his shoulder injury will heal soon and is targeting a late April return, but that might be a little optimistic. Edwin Jackson was a nice offseason pickup, but ‘Zona has to hope that he’ll pitch closer to his first half production of last year (2.52 ERA) and not his second half (5.02). If Webb returns quickly and Jackson pitches well, then the D-Backs have enough pitching to challenge anyone. But there’s a ton of question marks surrounding the rotation (outside of Haren obviously) entering the season. Offensively, youngsters Justin Upton and Mark Reynolds will supply plenty power, while the return of Conor Jackson and newly acquired Adam LaRoche should boost the offense as well. But the key might be outfielder Chris Young, who had a great September after being demoted to the minors earlier in the season to fix his swing. If his September production wasn’t an anomaly, then Arizona certainly has enough offense to compete for the Wild Card. I just don’t trust the pitching and for as good as the offense could be, the D-Backs have several hitters that struggle to get on base on a consistent basis. If Webb were healthy, I could envision this club finishing higher than this. But I don’t think they’ll get out of the gates strong and it could sink their season.

5. San Diego Padres (24)
For a team that was forced to cut costs, the Padres finished a respectable 75-87 last season. Adrian Gonzalez, Kyle Blanks, Chase Headley and Everth Cabrera comprise and solid offensive core, but the problem is that their starting pitching is beyond suspect after the club traded Jake Peavy to the White Sox last year. Mat Latos may soon assume the No. 1 role, but he his little big league experience and there’s just not an ace among Jon Garland, Kevin Correia and Clayton Richard. Those three can certainly eat innings, but none of them are the top of the rotation arm that the Padres need to replace Peavy. The bottom line is that the Pads could surprise this season, but if Gonzo is traded at the deadline like many expect, then San Diego will sink to the bottom of the NL West. And even if he isn’t dealt, the Padres might still fail to get out of the West basement due to their starting pitching (or lack their of).

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2010 Fantasy Baseball Preview: Catchers

Anthony Stalter — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 03:25:41 +0000

All 2010 Fantasy Articles | 2010 Position Rankings

If you’re like most guys, you hate shopping. You’ll wait until one of the sleeves is coming off your shirt before you even think about heading to the mall to buy new clothes. And even then, it takes your significant other to say, “Are you seriously going out in public like that?” before you actually turn the keys in the ignition and embark on one of the most annoying days of the year.

Once you’ve pinpointed where you want to shop, the clearance rack usually calls out to you like that 50-inch plasma at Best Buy. It draws you in and once you’ve selected six shirts for a grand total of $22.50, you’ve completed your clothes shopping for the year.

Drafting a catcher in fantasy baseball is sort of like when guys go shopping for clothes. Once you finally come to realization that you need them, shopping in the bargain bin (or the clearance rack, or whatever other analogy you prefer) isn’t a bad way to go.

Unless your opponents fall asleep on Joe Mauer and he drops in your draft, nabbing one of these seven catchers is a good way to fill category voids that were created in earlier rounds. By the end of the year, there probably won’t be a huge gap between one of these catchers and one of the top 3 (Mauer, Brian McCann and Victor Martinez) that your buddy just had to have. (He’s probably the same guy that likes dropping $100 on a new shirt and buys another once the color starts to fade.)

Matt Wieters, Orioles
There’s a good chance that you’ll miss out on Wieters because there will be someone in your league that has an infatuation with youngsters that have extreme upside and will take him a round or two early. That’s okay. But if he does happen to fall, grab him because 2010 might wind up being the 23-year-old’s breakout season. After hitting .259 in a little over a month before the All-Star break, Wieters finished his rookie season on a tear while hitting .288 with nine dingers and driving in 43 RBI in 96 games. In September, he hit .362 with three homers and drove in 14 RBI while hitting in the No. 3 spot of Baltimore’s improving lineup. Assuming his success at the end of the 2009 season carries over, Wieters is the one player in this group that is worth taking a round before you’re ready to select a catcher (assuming he’s still available, that is).

Miguel Montero, Diamondbacks
After taking over for the injured Chris Snyder in June, Montero had a breakout year in 2009. He hit .294 with 16 homers and drove in 59 RBI, all while finishing with an OPS of .832. Assuming last year wasn’t a fluke, Montero should top those numbers this season in a full-time role. Draft him with confidence in the later rounds.

Geovany Soto, Cubs
After he won the NL Rookie of the Year Award in 2008, Soto owners were burned last year when he suffered a bad sophomore slump (.218-11-47). But he dropped 40 pounds over the offseason by whipping himself into shape and is committed to rebounding in 2010. He should also be completely healthy after battling shoulder and oblique injuries last season, which no doubt affected his performance. Considering some people will take a pass on him based on his ’09 struggles, Soto could wind up being a late round steal.

Jorge Posada, Yankees
Owners will pass on Posada on draft day because of his age, which is fine. You’ll gladly take a starting catcher that should hit around .275 with 20-plus home runs, 80-plus RBI and score 60-plus runs. Granted, you’ll want to make sure you take a decent backup to pair with Posada (he won’t make it through a full season), but he’s still productive and he hits in a stacked lineup. You could do much worse on draft day.

Mike Napoli, Angels
Here’s the good: Napoli will probably hit upwards of .270 this season and smack around 20 home runs, which is solid for a catcher that you can selected in the late rounds. Here’s the bad: If he doesn’t improve his defense, he will lose playing time to Jeff Mathis, who played well in the ALCS last season. Napoli is still the starter, but it would be wise to nab another catcher to pair with him in case Mathis takes over the backstop duties at some point during the year.

Kurt Suzuki, A’s
In his second full season behind the dish in Oakland, Suzuki finished with career highs in home runs (15), RBI (88) and runs scored (74), all while hitting a respectable .274. If he finishes with similar numbers in 2010, you would have gotten quality output from your catcher position late in the draft. A bonus with Suzuki is that he could steal 10-plus bases this year given his speed.

Chris Iannetta, Rockies
The Dodgers’ Russell Martin and the Pirates’ Ryan Doumit could be mentioned here as well, but we’ll go with Iannetta based on Martin’s poor 2009 campaign and Doumit’s ceiling. While it’s true that Iannetta will have to beat out free agent addition Miguel Olivo this spring, he’s expected to emerge as the clear starter and improve on his .228 batting average and 16-home run season in ’09. Iannetta believes that a mechanical adjustment that he made last August will allow him to see the ball better in 2010 and if that’s the case, you can expect another 15-plus home run season and a higher batting average this year. If nothing else, Iannetta’s home run production should help an owner that failed to address that category in earlier rounds.

Below is our official ranking of catchers. You’ll see that there is plenty of depth after the top 3, including the players ranked after the ones we mentioned above.

1. Joe Mauer, MIN
2. Brian McCann, ATL
3. Victor Martinez, BOS
4. Matt Wieters, BAL
5. Miguel Montero, ARZ
6. Geovany Soto, CHC
7. Jorge Posada, NYY
8. Mike Napoli, LAA
9. Kurt Suzuki, OAK
10. Chris Iannetta, COL
11. Russell Martin, LAD
12. Ryan Doumit, PIT
13. Carlos Ruiz, PHI
14. Bengie Molina, SF
15. A.J. Pierzynski, CHW
16. Yadier Molina, STL
17. Ramon Hernandez, CIN
18. Jarrod Saltalamacchia, TEX
19. John Baker, FLA
20. Carlos Santana, CLE

2009 Fantasy Baseball Preview: Catchers

Anthony Stalter — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 00:00:34 +0000

All 2009 Fantasy Articles | 2009 Position Rankings

There’s an unwritten rule among intelligent fantasy football drafters that goes a little something like this: Don’t draft a quarterback before Round 5. That’s because unless you land Peyton Manning, there’s not a huge difference between the No. 2 rated quarterback and the No. 8.

A similar rule can be applied to catchers in fantasy baseball. Chances are if you selected Victor Martinez (the No. 1 rated catcher in most draft rankings in 2008) early in your draft last year, you punched a whole through one of your walls by the All-Star Break.

If you selected a guy like Joe Mauer in the fourth or fifth round, you probably were quite satisfied by his .328-9-85-98 production. But what if we told you that you could have had taken Bengie Molina much later and still wound up with .292-16-95-46 production out of your catcher spot? Sure, you would give up runs and sacrifice average, but you almost doubled your home runs and gave your RBI numbers a boost as well.

What we’re saying is – don’t overvalue the catcher position. Let someone else jump on Brian McCann’s potential or Russel Martin’s stolen base production while you’re concentrating on bolstering the other positions that don’t have the amount of depth that the backstops do.

As we pointed out, there just isn’t much of a difference at the end of the day between guys like Mauer and Molina. Plus, don’t forget that nowadays most teams like to keep their catchers as fresh as possible – especially the contenders.

So unless a stud drops into your lap in later rounds, take a look at the backstops below to address your catcher position. You can thank us later.

Bengie Molina, San Francisco Giants
Yes, Molina runs with about as much grace as a cement truck and he won’t cross the plate too many times, but his average usually hovers around .285 and he’ll hit 15-plus home runs. Batting cleanup also helps his RBI production and now that young Giants Fred Lewis and Pablo Sandoval are starting to develop, he should have even more opportunities to drive in runs. Consider yourself fortunate if you’re able to pluck Molina off the board late in your draft while addressing other positions in earlier rounds.

Ryan Doumit, Pittsburgh Pirates
Doumit is an injury risk, but he’s coming off a breakout 2008 season and at only 27, his ceiling his high. Considering he hit .318 with 15 home runs and 34 doubles last year, he would be an outstanding value late in the draft and although he’s still a bit of an unknown, Doumit nailed down the starting catcher position last year so you don’t have to worry about him splitting time (unless of course he goes into a tailspin in the first half of the season). Like Molina, Doumit will also bat either third or fourth in the lineup, which will give him plenty of opportunities to drive in runs.

Chris Iannetta, Colorado Rockies
Could this be Iannetta’s breakout year after blasting 18 home runs in 2008? He went from a sleeper last season to a bona fide top 10 starting catcher and his potential is awfully intriguing after he drove in 65 RBI and scored 50 runs in just 333 at bats last year. He only hit .264, but he certainly has the potential to sniff the .300-mark hitting at Coors.

Jorge Posada, New York Yankees
A lot of fantasy pundits are down on Posada this year after he had shoulder surgery last year, but even at 37 he still has a lot of value. He won’t play more than 125 games this year, but he should see some at bats at DH, especially with Hideki Matsui continuing to battle a bad knee. Posada hits in one of the best lineups in baseball and if he can stay healthy, he has the potential to hit well over .300 and chip in 15-plus home runs and 85-plus RBI.

Mike Napoli, Los Angeles Angels
Don’t expect much in the batting average department, but he has 20-plus home run potential and could have a breakout season in 2009 if he fixes the various holes in his swing. The only problem is that he’s a good bet to be a platoon player and if his average dips too much, his playing time could plummet. Still, he’s a candidate to drive in 70-plus runs, score 60-plus runs and even swipe anywhere from 8 to 10 bases this season.

Matt Wieters, Baltimore Orioles
Weiters is a potential sleeper and if you’re in a keeper league, he’s definitely worth a long look. He’s only 22 years old, but he posted a .355 batting average in two minor-league stops in 2008 and could be a tremendous steal late in your draft. Keep an eye on him in spring training because if he earns the starting catcher position in Baltimore, he’s unlikely to relinquish it.

Ramon Hernandez, Cincinnati Reds
Call this our bargain bin special. Hernandez hit 15 dingers last year in Baltimore, but jumps to a hitter’s park this season in Cincinnati. He probably won’t sniff .280 in the batting average department, but he’ll give you more than enough pop to keep you happy and you could always grab a young sleeper like Pablo Sandoval (who also qualifies as a first basemen) or a trusty vet like Yadier Molina later in the draft if you wind up pulling the trigger on Hernandez.

Below is our official ranking of catchers. You’ll see that there is plenty of depth after the top 5, including the guys ranked after the ones we went into detail above.

1. Brian McCann, ATL
2. Joe Mauer, MIN
3. Russell Martin, LAD
4. Geovany Soto, CHC
5. Victor Martinez, CLE
6. Bengie Molina, SF
7. Ryan Doumit, PIT
8. Chris Iannetta, COL
9. Jorge Posada, NYY
10. Mike Napoli, LAA
11. Matt Wieters, BAL
12. Ramon Hernandez, CIN
13. Jarrod Saltalmacchia, TEX
14. Kelly Shoppach, CLE
15. Jeff Clement, SEA
16. Gerald Laird, DET
17. A.J. Pierzynski, CHW
18. Kurt Suzuki, OAK
19. Yadier Molina, STL
20. Dioner Navarro, TB
21. Chris Snyder, ARZ
22. Brandon Inge, DET
23. Jason Varitek, BOS
24. Jesus Flores, WAS
25. Kenji Johjima, SEA