Archive for June, 2013

Second To None

Sunday, June 30th, 2013

Cougars outfielder Chris Davis

This article is brought to you by the number two. For the second straight year, second round draft picks are making a major impact on the balance of power in the league. Two teams, in particular, have struck it rich in the second round. A year ago, the Mavericks pulled off one of the all time heists when they grabbed Mike Trout in the second round, and nearly won the league because of it. Because of the Trout thing, the Cougars second round pick of Gio Gonzalez was overlooked a bit. But all he did was lead the league in wins and finished fourth in the Cy Young voting. This year, the Mavericks and Cougars did it again, drafting MVP and Cy Young candidates in the second round. The Cougars picked outfielder Chris Davis with the 13th pick in the draft and the Mavericks acquired starting pitcher Matt Harvey with the 18th pick.

Everyone thought last year was the breakout year for Chris Davis, when he finally reached his potential as a big time power hitter. But his 2012 wasn’t anything compared to what he is doing this year. He currently leads the league with 30 home runs, an incredible total before the end of June in the post-steroids era. He is six clear of the next highest home run total. His 79 RBI trails only Miguel Cabrera and his .333 batting average ranks fourth. Another incredible season by Cabrera is the only thing keeping Davis from being the clear MVP favorite.

Davis was a highly touted prospect and was a first round draft pick by the Mavericks in 2009. But he was a huge disappointment for them and was cut at the end of his DTBL rookie season. The Choppers took a chance on him in the fourth round the following year, but released him two months into the season. He didn’t make it back onto a DTBL roster until the Naturals signed him as a free agent last season. He proceeded to have a breakout season, hitting 28 home runs for the Naturals, nearly tripling his previous DTBL career total.

There is an obvious similarity between the Gonzalez and Davis selections by the Cougars. Neither were DTBL rookies and their previous teams would probably like a re-do on their decisions not to keep them. In the case of Davis, the Naturals were in a tough spot because of their surplus of quality hitters. Davis was classified as a first baseman last year (and almost certainly will be again next year), but moved to the outfield this year. Usually, such a position switch would increase a player’s value. But the Naturals had another guy making the opposite switch (Allen Craig), so the Davis position move wasn’t a major issue. The Naturals still have a loaded offense though, so the loss of Davis hasn’t been as crippling as you might have otherwise expected.

Matt Harvey has already become a “must watch” pitcher, in just his second season in the big leagues. He has been completely dominant in virtually every start this season. He leads the league in ERA (2.00) and WHIP (0.85) and trails only fellow DTBL rookie Yu Darvish in strike outs (132). If he is able to keep that WHIP number where it is, it would be the third best single season value in league history and the best since 2000. It’s only a weak Mets offense and bullpen that is keeping his win total down at just seven. Just like Trout did a year ago, it is Harvey who is most responsible for the Mavericks being right in the thick of the championship race, currently in second place and just 5 1/2 points out of first.

After several years of mediocre results from their surplus of early draft picks, the Mavericks have really struck gold the last two years. Last year it was Trout and Stephen Strasburg. This year it is Harvey and Manny Machado. While Trout was a bit of a surprise pick last year, one that every other DTBL team regrets allowing to happen, Harvey was very much on the radar for several teams. I know for a fact that Harvey would not have made it out of the second round had the Mavericks passed on him. But he was still the sixth starting pitcher to go, so there are obviously a few teams regretting their decisions again this year.

Davis and Harvey aren’t the only second round picks who are having great years. Carlos Gomez is having a huge year for the Demigods. Jeff Samardzija is pitching very well for the Jackalope, and is helping make up for what is looking like one of the all time first round busts for the Jackalope in Danny Espinosa. Glen Perkins has been one of the best closers in baseball, rewarding the Naturals for their second round pick.

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A Terrific Trio of Tigers

Thursday, June 6th, 2013

Kings pitcher Max Scherzer

This season marks the 10th anniversary of Kevin’s Kings most recent DTBL Championship.  They are attempting to cap off the celebration this year by becoming the first franchise to win a fifth league title.  They are the current front-runners, holding a nine point lead over the Mavericks.  The primary reason for their lead is a dominant pitching staff led by three Detroit Tigers teammates:  Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer and Anibal Sanchez.

It can be a dangerous proposition to put all of your proverbial eggs in a single MLB team’s basket, but that is largely what the Kings are doing.  With three fifths of their rotation consisting of Tigers pitchers, the Kings could have been doomed if this Tigers squad seriously underachieved.  While Detroit is not running away with anything, their hitting and pitching have largely lived up to expectations, rewarding the Kings along the way.  The Verlander, Scherzer and Sanchez trio has been especially dominant.

These three pitchers are having great seasons, with each of them contributing very similar numbers.  All three are on the league leaderboard in strike outs, averaging more than a strike out per inning.  They all have at least six wins with ERAs of 3.70 or better and very solid WHIPs.  Together, they have helped boost the Kings to the top of the league in wins and near the top in the other pitching categories as well.  Each took a different path to get to this point of their career with the Kings, however.

Verlander has been the ace of the Kings staff, and one of the top pitchers in the league, ever since the Kings selected him in the third round of the 2009 draft.  This year, he has been solid, but not spectacular.  In fact, he probably has the worst numbers of this Tigers trio.  Scherzer and Sanchez both have better ERAs and WHIPs and even have more strike outs than Verlander to this point.  But still, Verlander’s 87 strike outs and seven wins are nothing to sneeze at.  He’s the safest bet to keep up the current pace for a full season since he’s done it four straight years.  He has had a minimum of 17 wins and 219 strike outs in every season with the Kings.  He is second, behind Randy Johnson, in franchise history in ERA, WHIP and strike outs.

Scherzer has been one of the best pitchers in baseball this season.  He won his eighth game of the year this afternoon, tying him for most in the league.  His impressive 0.89 WHIP is second best, as is his strike out total which reached the 100 mark this afternoon.  He’s been fairly unlucky to have an ERA over 3 (3.24) when looking at the rest of his numbers.  But he’s on pace to set career bests in all four relevant categories.  Scherzer was acquired in a trade with the Jackalope back in 2010.  At the time, he was stuck on the bench for a Jackalope squad that had one of the strongest rotations in league history.  Now he’s playing a leading role for the first place Kings.  He has been a solid strike out contributor for quite some time, but this year is the first time he’s put it all together for a significant stretch.  But his hot streak really started in the second half of last season.  His turnaround from a rough start was a key factor in the Kings near miss of the ’12 championship.

Sanchez is the big surprise of this group.  He’s been a solid, but not spectacular player for several years.  But his inconsistency has led him to be shuffled in and out of the lineup since the Kings signed him as a free agent in 2011.  The potential has always been there though, which is why the Kings have continued to retain his services despite being a part time player for them prior to this season.  He won just seven games for the Kings a year ago, but is already at six this year.  His 2.65 ERA and 1.09 WHIP are way better than his career marks.  And 98 strike outs in 78 innings blows away anything he has done before.  So if there is one candidate most likely to come down to earth, it would be Sanchez.  He’s in a much better situation than in previous years though.  He pitches for a very good offensive squad in a great pitcher’s ballpark.  If he can continue to pitch as he has so far this season, he will be a pretty impressive third option for both the Tigers and Kings.

The Kings will need these three guys to continue to lead their staff because they got some bad news yesterday regarding another member of their rotation.  Jake Peavy has a broken rib and will miss at least 4-6 weeks.  It was Peavy who was expected to be the Kings number three guy behind Verlander and Scherzer.  But Sanchez has grabbed that spot and will try to lessen the blow of the loss of Peavy.

Gators and Naturals Make a Deal

In other (belated) league news, the Naturals and Gators completed this year’s first regular season trade a few weeks ago.  The Naturals dealt outfielder Starling Marte and their 8th round pick in 2014 to the Gators for relief pitcher Greg Holland and a 6th round pick.  The Naturals were in desperate need of a closer following the spring training loss of Jason Motte and a subsequent injury to Chris Perez (who has some interesting legal issues hanging over him now too).  Holland has been perfect for the Naturals so far, earning three saves with a spotless ERA.  Meanwhile, Marte figures to be another important piece in the Gators rebuilding process.  He has hit a rough patch since joining the Gators and is currently in their minors, but this trade was more about the future.  The Gators have a vastly improved offense following a few years of historic ineptitude with the bats.  Eventually, Marte should fit in nicely with the other good, young players the Gators have acquired in the last 12 months.

The big story in baseball this week is ESPN’s report that MLB is seeking to suspend 20+ players, including some of the game’s biggest stars, in the wake of the Biogenesis PED investigation.  However, I don’t think this is worth discussing in any great detail until actual suspensions are handed out.  Call me a skeptic, but unless there is hard evidence beyond Tony Bosch’s personal testimony, I think MLB will have a hard time dolling out lengthy bans.  Bosch is simply not a credible witness.  But we’ll wait and see what other evidence is provided.  Stay tuned.

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