Scott Elbert.
Called up by the Dodgers to replace the injured Cory Wade, Elbert is once again in the bullpen and not the rotation for the Dodgers. I simply assumed that he was working in the pen at Triple-A Albuquerque, but Elbert was starting for Double-A Chattanooga. He did give the Dodgers 2 2/3 IP out of the pen, so maybe he'll stick around as a long reliever. As one of their top prospects (at least according to Baseball Prospectus) it seems frivolous to bring him up to pitch long relief in a blowout in either direction. I'm not sure if he's a top prospect or not (John Sickels points to durability and command issues), but it would seem to me that a full summer in the minors would be better for a pitcher who is coming off of minor off-season shoulder surgery. Anyhoo, that's a long way to go for a guy who I'm recommending no bid on at this time. If you can stash him in a keeper league, go to $2-3 if you like to speculate, but my suspicion on Elbert is that a) his future is in the bullpen and b) other prospects are going to pass him by in this system.
Justin Maxwell.
John Sickels' book excerpt for Maxwell was posted here this winter, so I'll point you toward the master and his comments on Maxwell's potential as a baseball player. His 27 HR and 35 SB in A-ball in 2007 certainly made us Roto geeks all hot and bothered, but he missed most of last year with a broken wrist. I'm not quite as high as Sickels is on Maxwell, but I think Rotoworld is far too pessimistic about Maxwell's chances to win the centerfield job while Willie Harris is out. It's Willie Freakin' Harris, Rotoworld! There are no guarantees, but I think a few strong showings and Maxwell could be that darkhorse ROY candidate that Sickels anticipated in late January. I'd only go $3 in short-term leagues, but would extend that to $8-10 in keeper leagues. The Nationals recent shake-up means that business-as-usual is going to go out the window, and talented guys like Maxwell will at the very least get an opportunity. Or so one would hope.
Jo Jo Reyes.
In the last few years, the Braves seem to have fallen prey to rushing up a young pitcher well before he's ready, watching that pitcher take his lumps for 2-3 years, and then seeing their fans and their local media turn on the pitcher before they send him packing for a bag of wet sawdust. Kyle Davies was the last pitcher that they rushed to the show at an extremely young age, allowed to fail for 2 1/2 years, and then shipped to Kansas City. Now it's Reyes' turn. I don't think Reyes' ceiling is as high as Davies was, but he is a legitimate second-tier prospect who is being jerked around by the big club. One bad outing against Pittsburgh and you can already hear the fan/media drumbeat for Tommy Hanson. The bottom line is that Reyes is 24 years old and it already looks like he needs a change of scenery. He might not materialize into a major league pitcher, but he needs to go somewhere where he'll get an honest chance to show what he can do. My bid is $2, tops. I don't think Reyes is ever going to be a factor in Atlanta, mainly because that already seems to be the party line.
2 comments:
Can you explain the Supplemental? We don't have one in our league, and I am intrigued. What is the premise of Supplemental?
When I started doing these FAAB write-ups in 2007, some readers pointed out that their leagues don't have farm systems and guys like Jo-Jo Reyes and Scott Elbert are typically bid upon in their leagues. So I started writing this column, where I speculated how much guys like this would go for in deep leagues like the ones I've played in if we had no farm systems and all of these guys were available via FAAB.
Sorry if I steered you wrong, Anonymous, and made you think that my league had figured out some new cool wrinkle on the rules!
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