The votes have been counted and the rosters are set for the 19th annual DTBL All-Star Game. The game will take place sometime next week, but the official date and time are TBD. The Demigods will be the host club. Jay will mange the American Division and I will call the shots for the National Division. Jay and I were responsible for breaking any ties in the final vote results and we picked the 23rd man for our respective teams. Without further ado, here are the 2012 DTBL All-Stars:
American Division
Starters:
Pitcher – Matt Cain, Naturals
Catcher – Carlos Ruiz, Gators
First Base – Miguel Cabrera, Naturals
Second Base – Ian Kinsler, Moonshiners
Third Base – David Wright, Moonshiners
Shortstop – Asdrubal Cabrera, Naturals
Outfield – Jose Bautista, Choppers
Outfield – Andrew McCutchen, Naturals
Outfield – Ryan Braun, Jackalope
Reserves:
Catcher – Yadier Molina, Choppers
First Base – Mark Trumbo, Choppers
Third Base – Adrian Beltre, Choppers
Shortstop – Elvis Andrus, Jackalope
Outfield – Curtis Granderson, Choppers
Outfield – Giancarlo Stanton, Jackalope
Pitcher – Zack Greinke, Naturals
Pitcher – David Price, Naturals
Pitcher – C.J. Wilson, Choppers
Pitcher – Jered Weaver, Moonshiners
Relief Pitcher – Jim Johnson, Jackalope
Relief Pitcher – Craig Kimbrel, Choppers
Relief Pitcher – Chris Perez, Naturals
Relief Pitcher – Chris Sale, Choppers
National Division
Starters:
Pitcher – Justin Verlander, Kings
Catcher – Buster Posey, Demigods
First Base – David Ortiz, Demigods
Second Base – Robinson Cano, Kings
Third Base – Edwin Encarnacion, Mavericks
Shortstop – Starlin Castro, Mavericks
Outfield – Carlos Beltran, Kings
Outfield – Josh Hamilton, Cougars
Outfield – Carlos Gonzalez, Kings
Reserves:
Catcher – A.J. Pierzynski, Cougars
First Base – Adam Dunn, Mavericks
Second Base – Jason Kipnis, Cougars
Outfield – Adam Jones, Mavericks
Outfield – Mike Trout, Mavericks
Outfield – Matt Holliday, Darkhorses
Pitcher – Gio Gonzalez, Cougars
Pitcher – Stephen Strasburg, Mavericks
Pitcher – Cole Hamels, Demigods
Pitcher – Madison Bumgarner, Cougars
Relief Pitcher – Joel Hanrahan, Cougars
Relief Pitcher – Kenley Jansen, Mavericks
Relief Pitcher – Joe Nathan, Demigods
Relief Pitcher – Jonathan Papelbon, Kings
All-Stars per team:
8 – Choppers
7 – Mavericks, Naturals
6 – Cougars
5 – Kings
4 – Demigods, Jackalope
3 – Moonshiners
1 – Darkhorses, Gators
Adrian Beltre and Matt Holliday were the 23rd players selected for each division. I chose Holliday to make sure the Darkhorses were represented on the roster. There are some interesting names NOT on the list above, namely NL MVP candidate Joey Votto and a pair of Dodgers: Matt Kemp and Clayton Kershaw. The Choppers lead the way with eight All-Stars. Interestingly, the league’s top two teams right now (Jackalope and Moonshiners) only have four and three All-Stars respectively. On the other end of the standings, the bottom two teams (Darkhorses and Gators) only have one All-Star each. One interesting voting fact is that all four National Division relief pitchers were chosen unanimously. Click here to view the full voting results. Much more All-Star Game info will be coming soon.
We’re only in the last week of June, but I’m ready to declare that we have quite a pennant race brewing. At no point has any team in the league asserted its dominance, thus leaving us with a situation where seven out of the ten teams are in a very good position to win the championship. Those seven teams are all within 10 points of first place, with the top five separated by just four points. Somehow, the Mavericks have managed to hold the top spot most of the year, but it has been by the thinnest of margins at most times, including today when they are just 1/2 point clear of the Jackalope.
As we near the half way point of the season, I’m going to take a quick look at each of the ten teams, highlighting some of the key stories for each team. I will start with the three teams who are not currently in the thick of the race and then work my way up to the top of the standings.
Darkhorses
Only a year and a half removed from four consecutive championships, it would be fair to say things have gone downhill since then. While last year was a shocking disappointment for the Darkhorses, this season has been an absolute nightmare. Injuries have been the story of the league this season, but no team has had their season completely ruined by injuries like the Darkhorses. They sit in last place with just 18.5 points, so they are in serious jeopardy of breaking the league’s all time low water mark of 20 points since the league expanded to 10 teams in 1998. If you look at their roster, there is no way they should be this bad. Besides the injuries, incredibly disappointing seasons from Adrian Gonzalez and Tim Lincecum haven’t helped either. If those guys can turn it around and Chris Carpenter, Jacoby Ellsbury and Brett Gardner return soon, maybe they can gain a little momentum and avoid a historically bad season.
Gators
Still a work in progress, and not really a threat this year, but things are looking up for the Gators. Their ridiculously bad offense from ’11 has improved a bit and their pitching staff is respectable. But there is still a lot of work to do. Their huge pre-draft trade with the Mavericks hasn’t really worked out. Nelson Cruz has been so-so and Mark Reynolds has provided virtually nothing. They could have used those picks to improve in other areas, but what’s done is done. The first draft pick they did make, Melky Cabrera in round three, has been a huge surprise, currently third in the league with a .355 average. The Gators appear to be headed for another high draft slot next season. With some exciting young players coming into the league again next year, maybe they will have an opportunity to grab one of them.
Demigods
The third team not currently in the title race is the Demigods. At the beginning of the year, they looked like a team ready to make a run at the championship. But like the Darkhorses, the Demigods have been sabotaged by injuries. One in particular: Matt Kemp. In April, Kemp appeared to be a shoe-in for his second straight DTBL MVP award and a possible Triple Crown. But since then, he has missed the better part of the last two months. Who knows what he will provide when he returns? But a healthy Kemp and Evan Longoria could get the Demigods back into contention.
Cougars
Although they are only in seventh place, this is the best Cougars team in a long time. They are just 9.5 points behind the Mavericks and could get even closer if a couple of their pitchers turn things around. Josh Hamilton has carried the offense, despite slowing down a bit of late. Jason Kipnis has been one of the biggest steals of the draft, providing big time power and speed at a weak second base position. Many were surprised when the Cougars passed on Stephen Strasburg with the first pick of the draft. That may not have been a wise decision, but the Cougars made up for it by grabbing his Nationals teammate Gio Gonzalez in the second round. Gonzalez’s numbers are pretty similar to Strasburg’s and you have to figure the Cougars would not have taken Gonzalez if they had gone with Strasburg in round one.
Choppers
The transformation of the Choppers has been quite remarkable. Last year they were all offense with a questionable pitching staff. This year, it is just the opposite. They are second in the league with 40 pitching points, but only have 20 batting points. One player is mostly responsible for the pitching turnaround: Chris Sale. Over the years, many teams have benefited from an extra starting pitcher in a relief pitching slot. But normally, that pitcher doesn’t put up All-Star caliber stats like Sale is doing this year. He’s keeping together a staff whose starting rotation is bandaged up with a bunch of free agent signings to fill in for other injured starters. The injuries to the Choppers rotation could be a huge problem in the upcoming weeks/months. But there is certainly reason to believe the offense will pick it up. Jose Bautista is heating up, now in a tie for the league lead in home runs. He could help the Choppers pick up some offensive points to move even closer to first place.
Kings
It is hard to say that a team four points out of first has been a huge disappointment, but to some degree, I think that can be said about the Kings. The pitching staff has been atrocious as a whole. They are ninth in the league in ERA and near the bottom in WHIP and wins too. Justin Verlander needs some help. Recently, the Kings have done a poor job of rotating their extra starting pitchers into the lineup. In the last eight days, they missed out on a one hit shutout by Ervin Santana and seven great innings from Edwin Jackson last night. If they could ever start picking the right five starting pitchers for a given week, they could be on to something. For the most part, the offense has been great, leading the league in batting points. But the lack of production from two Nationals, Ryan Zimmerman and Michael Morse, has been troubling. The Kings are still in pretty good shape despite being in fifth place though.
Naturals
Much of what I wrote about the Choppers also applies to the Naturals. They have transformed from an offensive juggernaut with a mediocre pitching staff to a team with a disappointing offense and the best pitching staff in the league. Matt Cain, Zack Greinke and David Price have been outstanding for the Naturals rotation. Jordan Zimmermann would be right there too if he would ever get run support and win some games. The Naturals have to be considered one of the most dangerous teams heading into the second half because you have to figure their offense will improve. Having said that, the recent injury to Troy Tulowitzki could be extremely costly. He’s expected to miss the next 6-8 weeks and they don’t have an obvious candidate to pick up the slack.
Moonshiners
The Moonshiners are perhaps the league’s most intriguing team right now. They have suffered some very costly injuries to their pitching staff, with the most devastating one coming this past week when Brandon Beachy was lost for the season with a torn UCL. Beachy was leading the league in ERA and had a sub 1.00 WHIP. But one free agent signing may have saved their season. Since joining the Moonshiners a month ago, R.A. Dickey has not allowed an earned run. Read that again. Dickey has a 0.00 ERA, 0.495 WHIP, four wins and 42 strike outs in just 34.1 innings with the Moonshiners. The 37 year old knuckleballer has been the league’s best story this year and may have a huge say in determining if the Moonshiners can win their first DTBL championship.
Jackalope
It really can’t get any tighter at the top of the standings. As of today, the defending champions sit one half point behind the Mavericks. Batting points: 35.5 for the Mavericks, 35.0 for the Jackalope. Pitching points: both have 33. So both teams are holding their own in batting and pitching. The Jackalope got off to a bit of a slow start, but ever since their two biggest stars, Albert Pujols and Ryan Braun, have started to heat up, so has this team. I think they have to be considered the favorites at this point, especially if they are able to get anything out of Ryan Howard in the second half. Their dominating rotation from last year hasn’t been quite the same this season. But Felix Hernandez has been better of late, Cliff Lee will eventually win a game and Roy Halladay should provide he boost when he gets healthy. As long as they keep it close, I like their chances down the stretch.
Mavericks
This has been a pretty remarkable season for the Mavericks, following two consecutive eighth place finishes. Despite the incredible tightness of the race, they have managed to hold onto first place most of the year. Their strategy of stockpiling draft picks is paying off. Their pre-draft trade with the Gators may alter the course of this league for years to come. The two players they acquired with the draft picks they received in that trade: Stephen Strasburg and Mike Trout. Strasburg leads the league in strike outs and is not far behind in ERA, WHIP and wins too. What the Nationals decide to do with him when he reaches that magical 160 IP mark could have a dramatic impact on this league. I’ll probably write about this more when that date gets closer because I have a strong opinion on the matter. Meanwhile, I’ll be honest, I thought Trout was a bit of a gamble in the early second round because I wasn’t so sure the Angels would be able to make room for him this season. Boy was I wrong. He is hitting .351 and will probably be leading the league in stolen bases before June is over. If Adam Dunn, Edwin Encarnacion and Adam Jones keep hitting home runs at their current rates, the Mavericks are going to be tough to catch, despite all the teams nipping on their heels.
It’s almost getting to the point where no hitters aren’t even worth discussing, and perfect games aren’t terribly rare either. But nonetheless, Natruals right hander Matt Cain pitched the 22nd perfect game in MLB history last night, arguably one of the most dominating pitching performances of all time. In addition to not allowing a base runner, Cain also struck out a career high 14 hitters during the Giants 10-0 victory over the Astros. The 14 strike outs matched Sandy Koufax for the most K’s in a perfect game.
Using Bill James’ Game Score statistic, Cain’s outing was tied for the second best pitched game of all time, trailing only Kerry Wood’s 1 hit, 20 strike out game in 1998. By the way, Wood’s game was also against the Astros, but a lineup that featured a couple possible future Hall of Famers. The same cannot be said of the Astros lineup last night. But that should not diminish Cain’s accomplishment.
While there have only been 22 perfect games in MLB history, five of them have occurred in the past four seasons, including two this year. Cain is the first DTBL player to do it this year tough since Phil Humber is not on the league roster. The last DTBL perfect game before last night belonged to Roy Halladay in May of 2010.
The history of perfect games is quite fascinating. There had been a gap of 34 years without one before Don Larsen threw a perfect game in the 1956 World Series. Then there was another 13 year drought between 1968 and 1981. 13 of the 22 have occurred in the past 32 years and nine since this league was formed in 1993. There have been a lot of theories as to why they have been so frequent in recent years. Some are fairly obvious: there are a lot more teams, and therefore more games played than there were in the first half of the 20th century. The end of the steroid era has led to better pitching numbers across the board in the last half dozen years or so. One theory I like is more about the increase in no hitters than perfect games: it could have a lot to do with the diminished focus on batting average as a significant stat. Strike outs are way up in the current era. It stands to reason that with fewer balls being put into play, fewer hits will fall in. But this is only a partial explanation since the MLB-wide batting average is not even close to historical lows. Whatever the reasons may be, perfect games are still extremely impressive achievements.
With his outing last night, Cain moved into the DTBL lead in WHIP with a miniscule 0.853 mark. Although he’s not likely to keep it there all season, only two DTBL players have finished a full season with a lower WHIP. His 2.18 ERA, eight wins and 96 strike outs are all in the top three of the league as well. Cain has been a solid performer for the Naturals since 2007. His highest ERA was a very respectable 3.57 in his DTBL rookie season (’07). Yet wins have been hard to come by, mostly due to the Giants anemic offense in recent years. Cain has never reached the 15 win mark, though he seems to be a pretty good bet to do it this year since he’s already more than half way there. He leads the Naturals in all pitching categories except for saves, so he deserves most of the credit for their league high 41 pitching points. The Naturals are currently in fourth place, but just eight points out of first. Their batting/pitching numbers are almost reversed from last year when it was their hitting that led them to a second place finish.
Cain was only one of several pitchers who put up extremely impressive numbers on Wednesday night. The Cardinals’ Lance Lynn matched Cain’s strike out total of 14, allowing three hits in 7+ scoreless innings. And R.A. Dickey nearly made it two no hitters in one night. He allowed just one infield hit in a complete game. The Mets are appealing to try to get the scoring of the one hit changed to an error, but I would be absolutely shocked if the appeal is upheld. Dickey has been an amazing story all year. Last night, he broke the Mets team record for consecutive scoreless innings before allowing an unearned run in the ninth. But since the Moonshiners signed him as a free agent a few weeks ago, he is yet to allow an earned run in 25 1/3 innings. He has won 10 games this year (three with the Moonshiners).
Finally, following my last blog post a few weeks ago, there were a few comments about possible rule changes for next season. I decided to start a Forum thread to get a discussion going. If you haven’t read it yet, please check it out and provide any feedback you may have.
Memorial Day is usually a good point in the season to take stock in how the baseball season is going and examine where it may be headed. As usual, there are hitters and pitchers who are vastly exceeding expectations, and have done so for long enough to make you think it may not be a fluke. Some of those players are helping to put their DTBL teams at or near the top of the standings. However, there seems to be a much bigger factor in determining a team’s success (or lack there of) this season: injuries.
Almost daily, there is another key player going down to an injury, whether it be a minor day-to-day issue, or one that has the player headed to season ending surgery. We’ve had torn ACLs, torn UCLs, sprained knees, torn hamstrings, broken hands, blurred vision, chronic illness, you name it. It started in spring training when two closers were lost for the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery (Naturals’ Joakim Soria, Jackalope Ryan Madson). Two DTBL first round draft picks are yet to play a game this season (Kings’ Michael Morse, Choppers’ Michael Pineda). It is never a good sign when two of the most mentioned names in baseball are Tommy John and Dr. James Andrews.
Even the previously indestructible players are falling victim to this plague. The surest thing in baseball, Choppers’ Mariano Rivera, tore his ACL while shagging fly balls. And just yesterday, the always reliable Roy Halladay (Jackalope) was lost for 6-8 weeks due to a lat strain. Halladay wasn’t the only ace to go down yesterday either. Jered Weaver (Moonshiners) was pulled from his start in the first inning with a back problem. Fellow Moonshiner starting pitcher Ted Lilly hit the DL as well, as did red hot Kings catcher Jonathan LuCroy who suffered the freakiest injury of the season, breaking his hand due to a falling suitcase in a hotel room.
In those last two paragraphs, I named nine different players, and that didn’t even begin to scratch the surface. Every DTBL team has been affected, some more than others. I probably need to take a closer look at each roster to see if this is still the case, but prior to this most recent string of injuries, there were three teams in particular who had been absolutely decimated: the Darkhorses, Choppers and Demigods. All three are around the double digit mark in total number of players who have spent time on the DL, including some very critical losses. I suspect the Moonshiners are moving close to this list as well after losing 40% of their rotation yesterday. The Darkhorses injury problems were so bad, for a while they were fielding a major league roster with at least three disabled players. The Choppers and Demigods minors are/were filled with virtually nothing but injured players.
The Mavericks have been in first place virtually the entire season. In large part, that is because they had been the healthiest team in the league. Until about a week ago, their only injured player was 12th round draft pick, and projected bench player, Lorenzo Cain. But now the Mavericks have joined the rest of the league after having lost Neftali Feliz and Austin Jackson. Still, they are in better shape than most. With the exception of two pre-season injuries (Madson and Ryan Howard), the Jackalope had been relatively healthy as well, which helped guide them past the Mavericks for a couple days last week. But now this Halladay injury could be a major problem for the defending champions.
On a positive note, these injuries have certainly restrained any one team from running out to a huge lead, keeping most of the league very much in the mix. Half of the league is within 10 points of first place and two others are within 20. So if any of these teams can get relatively healthy, there are plenty of points to be gained. But that “healthy” term seems inconceivable for some teams at this point.
It was suggested to me by one league member that we look into adding additional DL slot(s) to our rosters in the future. I am not necessarily opposed to this idea, but keep in mind that such a change would require a number of other adjustments as well, like the total number of players on the league roster and maybe a change to the free agent signing limit too. This is a conversation I’m willing to have though if the consensus is that change is needed. Obviously, no change will be made for this season though. In the mean time, hopefully some of this madness will come to an end and we’ll be able to determine a champion based on player performance rather than healthy body tallies.
Hopefully my next article will be about player(s) who are actually contributing to their DTBL squads!
On Tuesday night, Cougars outfielder Josh Hamilton became the 16th player in Major League Baseball history to hit four home runs in a game. For good measure, he added a double and went 5 for 5 as the Rangers crushed the Orioles 10-3 at Camden Yards in Baltimore. As much attention as perfect games receive, including Phil Humber’s last month, the four home run game has been a rarer feat. No player had done it since Carlos Delgado late in the 2003 season. Hamilton is the fourth DTBL player to do it, joining Delgado (Darkhorses), Shawn Green (Darkhorses, 2002) and Mike Cameron (Kings, 2002). Hamilton’s 18 total bases set a new American League record and was just one shy of the MLB record (Green).
Hamilton has been on a tear all season. He hit his league leading 15th home run tonight in his first game since the historic night. Add the one he hit on Monday night and that is six in the series in Baltimore. Entering today, he had a comfortable lead in RBIs (36) and batting average (.406) too. So, approaching the 1/4 mark of the season, he is leading all three of the Triple Crown categories. Hamilton and defending league MVP Matt Kemp have been the two most dominating offensive player this season by a wide margin.
Josh Hamilton has been carrying a much improved Cougars offense this season. They lead the DTBL in RBIs and are second in home runs. Last year, they finished in ninth and eighth in those categories. Overall, they find themselves in seventh place, but closely bunched with about half the league.
A 2008 second round draft pick by the Cougars, Hamilton has 111 DTBL career home runs with a very impressive .316 average. Interestingly, he reached a minor DTBL career milestone on Tuesday night, passing the 400 RBI mark. Even numbered years have been especially impressive for Hamilton. He hit 32 home runs and drove in 130 in his DTBL rookie campaign of ’08. Then in 2010, he cruised to the batting title, hitting at a .361 clip. 2012 is looking like another special even numbered year for Hamilton.
I had a blog post all planned out for this week in which I intended to detail the extent in which injuries are decimating the league as a whole, and a couple teams in particular. But Hamilton’s historic achievement will push that article to a later date. I have a feeling it will still be relevant in another week or two.
AVG: B … HR: A … R: A … RBI: A … SB: B … W: D … ERA: B … WHIP: A … K: C … SV: C
Marc’s favorite draft pick: Carlos Beltran, Round 3 – rebounded nicely last season; great value in what was the 19th round
Kevin’s favorite draft pick: Carlos Beltran, Round 3 – improved hitter’s situation, in terms of home ballpark and supporting cast gives a boost to a guy already coming off a good bounce-back year.
Overview: Once the cream of the DTBL crop, the Kings are poised to return not only to DTBL relevance, but to prominence. Just like OOTP, the projection systems love them some Kings.
While pitching carried the Kings in 2011, the projection systems rate the Kings as the best offense in the league, with top scores in the HR, RBI and R categories. The Kings focused on offense most of the first half of the draft with power-hitting Michael Morse, Coors Field native Michael Cuddyer and Beltran, who has found some protection in the order with St. Louis.
AVG: C … HR: A … R: C … RBI: B … SB: B … W: A … ERA: F … WHIP: F … K: B … SV: A
Marc’s favorite draft pick: Sean Marshall, Round 12 – Mr. Irrelevant could be a gem with the injury to Ryan Madson
Jay’s favorite draft picks: Mike Moustakas, Round 3 / Paul Goldschmidt, Round 4 – A pair to tidy up the corners as well as provide some pop while Ryan Howard nurses his Achilles.
Overview: The Jackalope broke through last year from being a team with a great SP staff to simply a great team. The addition of Mike Stanton provided a much-needed power boost to move the Jackalope to the fourth-best offense and top overall team in the league in 2011.
The 2012 Jackalope are ready to pick up where the 2011 squad left off. Howie Kendrick (Round 1) and Chris Young (Round 2) were among the best veteran DTBL players in the draft pool. By drafting every RP with ties to the Reds, the Jackalope ensured they will get any save opportunity to emerge from the Queen City – unless the Red lose, of course.
Darkhorses
Projected Finish: Second
2011 Finish: Seventh
AVG: A … HR: D … R: B … RBI: C … SB: A … W: B … ERA: A … WHIP: C … K: C … SV: A
Marc’s favorite draft pick: Zack Cozart, Round 10 – seemed like a lot of publications were down on him following surgery on his non-throwing arm
Dave’s favorite draft pick: Matt Moore, Round 1 – An expected ace who could help drive the Darkhorses’ SP staff back to prominence; Moore and Strasburg stood a tier above the rest of the SP pool
Overview: After four consecutive DTBL titles (including one tie), the Darkhorses finally took a step back in 2011.
Other than in the first round, the 2012 draft saw the Darkhorses follow their regular blueprint of drafting more established players rather than splurging on DTBL rookies. Among the rookies drafted by the D’horses, Jordan Walden entered the year looking like one of the top up-and-coming firemen in the league.
(note: Injuries have taken a serious toll on the Darkhorses already this year, with the losses of Jacoby Ellsbury, Chris Carpenter and Brian Wilson)
The first month of the season is coming close to being in the books – yet I still haven’t finished all these team “previews.” It seems pretty ridiculous to write team blurbs at this point, so I’ll post the remaining draft grades along with favorite picks
Moonshiners
Projected Finish: Seventh
2011 Finish: Third
AVG: C .. HR: A … R: A … RBI: A … SB: D … W: F … ERA: F … WHIP: F … K: D … SV: C
Marc’s favorite draft pick: Emilio Bonifacio, Round 5 – Had a great 2011, qualifies at SS and his name is fun to say!
Mike’s favorite draft pick: David Freese, Round 6 – World Series MVP has had trouble staying healthy, but he was one of the more solid hitters at a thin 3B
Naturals
Projected Finish: Sixth
2011 Finish: Second
AVG: A … HR: C … R: C … RBI: C … SB: C … W: F … ERA: C … WHIP: D … K: C … SV: C
Marc’s favorite draft pick: Nick Markakis, Round 4 – I refuse to believe that his power will not break through … some day
Nick’s favorite draft pick: Jesus Montero, Round 1 – expected to put up 1B-type numbers from the C position
Demigods
Projected Finish: Fourth
2011 Finish: Fifth
AVG: A … HR: B … R: B … RBI: B … SB: C … W: D … ERA: A … WHIP: A … K: F … SV: C
Marc’s favorite draft pick: Bud Norris, Round 12 – wildcard flier, could collect a lot of Ks
Dom’s favorite draft pick: Freddie Freeman, Round 1 – Seemed somewhat similar to Eric Hosmer, but wasn’t getting near as much hype
The projections systems have the bottom of the DTBL standings in 2012 looking pretty much the same as in 2011. The Mavericks, Cougars and Gators are projected to place eighth, ninth and tenth, respectively
Marc’s favorite draft pick: Brett Lawrie, Round 1 – the top player on my draft board
Kelly’s favorite draft pick: Brett Lawrie, Round 1 – expected to go 20/20 already this season
Overview: After tying for last place in 2011 and collecting just 12 batting points, the Cougars started 2012 by drafting a player in Lawrie who could help in all five offensive categories. The 2011 Cougars’ offense took quite a hit from the disappointing season by Adam Dunn, for whom the Cougars gave up a first-round pick to acquire, and Grady Sizemore finally wore out his welcome six seasons after being the no. 1 overall pick
However, pitching was an even bigger problem area last year, so the Cougars took two SPs and an RP in the next three rounds to go with their core of Madison Bumgarner and Daniel Hudson. The selection of Gio Gonzalez came a round after I expected the Cougars to add a pitcher from D.C. Perhaps the move to the NL and yet another change of scenery will help Gio lower his walk rate. If not, maybe White Sox GM Kenny Williams can trade for him just to trade him away for the third time.
Marc’s favorite draft pick: Derek Holland, Round 9 – free fell in the draft. Talented lefty in good position to pile up wins
Greg’s favorite draft pick: N/A
Overview: A year after posting the lowest batting point total in the history of the DTBL as a 10-team league, the Gators spent their first six draft picks attempting to bolster their hitting. The Gators traded the no. 2 and no. 12 picks in the draft to the Mavericks for power hitting Nelson Cruz and Mark Reynolds. Hitting was such a priority for the Gators coming into this season that they added just two pitchers – Greg Holland and Derek Holland – in the entire draft.
The Gators could benefit greatly if Kendrys Morales returns to being the hitter he was three seasons ago when he hit 11 home runs in 193 at-bats for the Gators before beginning a run of injuries upon reaching home plate in that 193rd at bat.
Marc’s favorite draft pick: Adam Dunn, Round 6 – I keep telling myself that 2011 had to be a fluke
Overview: Back-to-back eighth-place finishes prompted the Mavericks to accept a full rebuilding plan that involved trading two of their oldest players in Nelson Cruz and Mark Reynolds for draft picks that became highly touted SP Stephen Strasburg and OF Mike Trout. Drafting Trout 12th overall when it already was pretty much a sure thing he was starting the season in the minors was a clear sign that the Mavs were all in on going young.
The Mavs have six players on their roster who were taken in the first round over the past three drafts. If players such as Matt Wieters (10 Dft #1) and Jayson Heyward (11 Dft #1) can become the players they looked to be heading into their DTBL rookie seasons, the stale Mavs offense of 2011 could see solid improvement.
Charlie’s favorite draft pick: Chris Sale, RP, Round 6 – Charlie has made a habit of drafting RP-eligible players who will start in the current year (Phil Hughes/C.J. Wilson in 2010, Tim Stauffer in 2011), and tall, skinny Sale could put up numbers better than any of them in those years
Overview: The Choppers offense broke through in 2011 in a major way with outstanding seasons from Jose Bautista, Curtis Granderson and free agent pickup Alex Gordon, but outside of SVs and Ks, their pitching staff didn’t pull its weight.
By taking SPs with three of their first four picks (Michael Pineda, Matt Garza and Morrow) as well as a starter with RP eligibility (Sale), the Choppers addressed their biggest need. However, the first-round selection of Michael Pineda was my least favorite of the three. Pineda had a good rookie year in Seattle, a pitchers haven, but he was shipped to the Yankees this year and will have to throw in New Yankee Stadium, where his 44.8 percent fly ball rate could lead to a spike in his 0.95 HR per 9 IP rate.
The Choppers are putting a fair amount of faith in Mark Trumbo getting enough ABs to warrant being their only full-time 1B. However, if the Giants ever give Brandon Belt a real shot and he succeeds, he could prove to have been a great eighth-round pick this year.
It was surprising to see the projection systems rank the Choppers’ offense in the middle of the DTBL pack. However, a strong set of OFs could make up for a more ordinary group of infielders.
Choppers dscx- Projected Finish: Fifth 2011 Finish: Sixth AVG: D
HR: B
R: C
RBI: C
SB: C
W: B
ERA: B
WHIP:B
K: A
SV: B Marc’s favorite draft pick: Brandon Morrow, SP, Round 4 – solid 200 K contributor
Charlie’s favorite draft pick: Chris Sale, RP, Round 6 – Charlie has made a habit of drafting RP-eligible players who will start in the current year (Phil Hughes/C.J. Wilson in 2010, Tim Stauffer in 2011), and tall, skinny Sale could put up numbers better than any of them in those years
Overview: The Choppers offense broke through in 2011 in a major way with outstanding seasons from Jose Bautista, Curtis Granderson and free agent pickup Alex Gordon, but outside of SVs and Ks, their pitching staff didn’t pull its weight.
By taking SPs with three of their first four picks (Michael Pineda, Matt Garza and Morrow) as well as a starter with RP eligibility (Sale), the Choppers addressed their biggest need. However, the first-round selection of Michael Pineda was my least favorite of the three. Pineda had a good rookie year in Seattle, a pitchers haven, but he was shipped to the Yankees this year and will have to throw in New Yankee Stadium, where his 44.8 percent fly ball rate could lead to a spike in his 0.95 HR per 9 IP rate.
The Choppers are putting a fair amount of faith in Mark Trumbo getting enough ABs to warrant being their only full-time 1B. However, if the Giants ever give Brandon Belt a real shot and he succeeds, he could prove to have been a great eighth-round pick this year.
It was surprising to see the projection systems rank the Choppers’ offense in the middle of the DTBL pack. However, a strong set of OFs could make up for a more ordinary group of infielders.
Charlie’s favorite draft pick: Chris Sale, Round 6 – Charlie has made a habit of drafting RP-eligible players who will start in the current year (Phil Hughes/C.J. Wilson in 2010, Tim Stauffer in 2011), and tall, skinny Sale could put up numbers better than any of them in those years
Overview: The Choppers offense broke through in 2011 in a major way with outstanding seasons from Jose Bautista, Curtis Granderson and Alex Gordon, but outside of SVs and Ks, their pitching staff didn’t pull its weight.
By taking SPs with three of their first four picks as well as a starter with RP eligibility (Sale), the Choppers addressed their biggest need. However, the first-round selection of Michael Pineda was one of the picks I didn’t like. Pineda had a good rookie year in Seattle, a pitchers haven, but he was shipped to the Yankees this year and will have to throw in New Yankee Stadium, where fly balls turn to home runs.
The Choppers are putting a fair amount of faith in Mark Trumbo getting enough ABs to warrant being their only full-time 1B. However, if the Giants ever give Brandon Belt a real shot and he succeeds, he could prove to have been a great eighth-round pick this year. The projection systems are down on the Choppers offense this year
The projections systems have the bottom of the DTBL standings in 2012 looking pretty much the same as in 2011. The Mavericks, Cougars and Gators are projected to place eighth, ninth and tenth, respectively