Eric Mack over at CBS Sportsline gave me the go ahead to start putting up results for the A.L.-only, 5x5 Sportsline expert league auction that was held yesterday.
There are a few ways I could do this. Team by team is one way. However, the reserve phase of the auction won't be held until Monday, so I might wait until next week to look at every team in context of the reserve draft.
Instead, I thought I'd look at players by position. I'll start with the catchers.
CREAM OF THE CROP
Victor Martinez $30
This price jumps out at me as rather expensive. V-Mart hasn't earned over $25 in the 5x5 format, and I'm not sure he ever will get too far past that with no speed, unless he jacks 35-40 HR one of these years. It's possible he might. I just wouldn't bet on it.
SKIMMING THE CREAM
Joe Mauer $23, Jorge Posada $22
Mauer and Posada went to the same team. I think these prices are a little high, especially for Posada. But they're not too far out of line, and there's something to be said for getting guaranteed production from both of your catcher spots.
THE GRIZZLED VETS
Kenji Johjima $15, Ramon Hernandez $12, A.J. Pierzynski $10, Ivan Rodriguez $9, Jason Varitek $9.
The prices varied a little bit, but these guys more or less went around the numbers I had them at on my sheet. I wound up with Varitek, a buy I like compared to the rest of this group. Some might frown at Hernandez, but he's a good risk: even if he only puts up 350 AB or so, he's generally been a double-digit earner prior to last year. I was tempted to say $10 on Pudge, but he's starting to look like a batting average play and little else. He's got a lot of wear and tear on his body and I doubt he'll bounce back.
THE YOUNGSTERS
Kurt Suzuki $12, Jarrod Saltalamacchia $11, Mike Napoli $8, Dioner Navarro $7
I think both the Suzuki and Navarro prices are high, but not so far out of line that I question teams chasing the upside at this position. Salty at $11 is a decent enough risk. He's got 20 HR/80 RBI potential, albeit as a BA risk. I called him out in the first round thinking he'd suck more money off of the table, since the experts typically chase the rookies. I thought wrong.
Napoli's also a BA risk, but he's got power and even a little speed.
THE OTHER STARTERS
Gregg Zaun $4, John Buck $3
I had a max bid of $3 at the end, was targeting Buck, and got him. He's an ugly play because of what's sure to be a poor batting average, but I have to hope that he hits closer to .240 than .220 and hope that the power is there again; I can live with 15 HR from a $3 catcher even if everything else stinks. Zaun is always a guy who goes for $1 and earns $6-10; the fact that he went for $4 doesn't make him expensive, but you do like to get profit from these types of players.
THE CRAPSHOOT
Jamie Burke $2, Gerald Laird $2, Kelly Shoppach $2, Rod Barajas $1, Rob Bowen $1, Jeff Clement $1, Jeff Mathis $1, Miguel Olivo $1, Mike Redmond $1, Curtis Thigpen $1.
Notice that owners are reluctant to spend their money on highly regarded rookies at this position. I thought for sure someone would grab Taylor Teagarden for $1 just because he's a big name, but no one did. Teams generally went for the safe back-ups here, hoping for 100-200 AB that won't kill them. I like most of these players at these prices, but I don't see anyone here who jumps out at me as a steal. That's the nature of catchers; the best $1 picks last year only earned $4-5. Generally, these guys don't turn a huge profit.
Jeff Clement, incidentally, doesn't qualify at catcher in leagues that use MLB games-played-by-position only. He was a DH four times and a 3B once for the Mariners in 2007. In my A.L., that makes him a DH.
2 comments:
As I said on Alex's site, I am a big proponent of two starting catchers, with one at least one being a good catcher. That puts you in front of most teams in RBI and Runs and allows you to gamble with your 5th OF and DH positions.
I really like your combo of Varitek and Buck at their prices, because they should give you as many if not more HR than the combo of Mauer and Posada, while competing with them in RBI and Runs for much less money. Since one team bought up two highly priced catchers you will have that much more of a lead in the R categories without really spending that much compared to most teams at that position.
It seems like an odd market in catching. Not what I would call a Stage 3 league. Prices were too high on quite a few- Victor, Posada, Kurt Suzuki, Salty, and Navarro (all Stage 2 plays, IMO) and too low on others - Varitek, Pudge, and Buck.
Mike,
I'd be interested to see what the AL closers went for in your next article. I haven't had a closer in 5 years, but I may this year and I'd like to see how they worked out.
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