Milton Bradley $43. Other bids $40, $27, $22, $17, $17
I wrote up Bradley in a separate post last Tuesday since some readers said he was available in their leagues despite being on a major league DL. Bradley went close to the $50 I thought he'd go for. The surprise, to me at least, is that he was purchased by the 1st place team and not by someone in the middle of the pack who felt the need to roll the dice. I also find it interesting that half of this league simply choose not to even put a $1 bid down on him. I'm sure two or three teams were loaded up at OF/UT, but six?
Yusmerio Petit $6. Other bid $3
I'm not as down on Petit as Rotoworld is. He's only 22 years old, so he certainly has the potential to improve in the long-term. Short-term, I agree that Petit isn't a good play. He'll get bumped when Randy Johnson comes back, so you're not looking at a lot of starts for your FAAB bucks. The eight strikeouts today were great, but that hasn't been Petit's m.o. in either the majors or the minors so far this year. He is a risky play.
Matt Chico $4. Other bid $1
Chico was acquired by the Nationals last year, along with the wonderfully named Garrett Mock, for Livan Hernandez. He's been pretty mediocre so far this year, and his ceiling probably isn't higher than a #4 starter. He's profiled as a flyball pitcher so far, so at least he's in the right venue at RFK Stadium. Chico proponents believe that his breakout in the minors came last year at Double-A Tennessee prior to his trade to Washington, but his K/IP rate was actually lower in Tennessee, so his numbers there say fluke. I'd avoid Chico.
Jo-Jo Reyes $2. Other bid $1
A friend of mine in middle school once created a character called Jo-Jo The Midnight Clown, who was an oddball superhero who fought crime by night. I'm surprised it hasn't been picked up as a movie option yet. That's neither here nor there, but it's definitely one of those fun things your brain magically remembers at 1:20 in the morning. Anyway, Reyes has a great ceiling (he's only 22 years old), but shouldn't be on your roster during his on-the-job training. I think it's too soon for Reyes to be up and he will take his lumps if he stays up.
Joey Devine $1
Devine was great at Double-A this year, and probably earned a slot in the Braves bullpen. His value in Roto is limited, though, since he'll be pretty far back in line for saves and vulture wins. Not a bad long-term play, though, but middle relievers are hard to predict in terms of career trajectory.
Angel Pagan $1. Other bids $1, $1
Pagan's clearly Lou Pinella's favorite right now, and must be active in all N.L.-only leagues. He's not much of an option in real life, but could be a 15-20 player across 500 AB. Owning Pagan, though, is depressing. If he's playing, it means that the Cubs are squandering a spot in a major league starting line-up on a guy who looks like a fourth OF. That and they're letting Felix Pie rot on the bench or in the minors, depending on the Cubs' braintrust mood this week.
Randy Messinger $1
He picked up a cheap save on Friday, but don't be fooled. Brad Hennessey is the closer, and Messinger won't sniff the job even if Hennessey fails. Messinger's 2.16 ERA and 1.37 WHIP don't match, so it's easy to see a disastrous relief outing or two in Messinger's future, especially given his subpar K/IP rate.
Damion Easley $1
With Jose Valentin back in the fold, Easley is back on the bench. That's too bad: his 8 HR in 150 AB lead me to believe that Easley could hold some value as an infield super-sub. The problem with this scenario is that a Jose Reyes/David Wright left side of the infield doesn't lend itself easily to a plausible excuse to give Easley 250-300 AB as a swing man.
Mark Hendrickson $1
Back in the rotation after Hong-Chih Kuo went down with an injury, Hendrickson is a low-level replacement starting pitcher. You know you're going to get solid but unspectacular stats. Worth having as a fill-in, but don't get enamored by a hot two weeks...Hendrickson will tease you with one or two great outings and then go back to delivering the yeoman effort he's required to deliver by law.
Chad Qualls $1
He's been useful for the Astros and his Rotisserie teams, logging five wins and two saves in the first half. His WHIP is rather high, but given his K/BB and K/IP, this is counterintuitive. I like Qualls as a low-leverage middle reliever, but don't bid thinking closer.
Cory Sullivan $1
His .478 batting average in 23 AB is an inspiring story that will be made into a Hallmark Hall of Fame movie any day now, I'm certain of it. But Sullivan is still a back-up, showing zero power or speed, and simply won't be able to play his way into Colorado's plans at the age of 27.
Russ Springer $1
I thought this bid was a waste, but a tip of the hat for the great numbers Springer's put up so far. That's two solid years in a row, including 2006. I'd call his four wins a fluke, but a 2.90 ERA and a 1.03 WHIP look pretty solid based on the other peripherals. Bad luck should get to Springer, but I don't see why he can't be above average the rest of the way.
No comments:
Post a Comment