Top 10 A.L. FA Hitters 2009
| # | Player | $ | AP | SW | BABG | FAAB | 2008 |
| 1 | Scott Podsednik | $23 | $1 | $15 | $6 | ||
| 2 | Adam Kennedy | $19 | $1 | $6 | $9 | ||
| 3 | Gordon Beckham | $13 | R1 | ML | |||
| 4 | Nolan Reimold | $13 | $12 | ||||
| 5 | Ryan Raburn | $12 | $1F | $3 | |||
| 6 | Julio Borbon | $11 | $2 | ||||
| 7 | Josh Anderson | $9 | $7 | $2 | $8 | ||
| 8 | Jayson Nix | $7 | $1 | $1 | -$2 | ||
| 9 | Randy Ruiz | $7 | $6 | $1 | |||
| 10 | Cliff Pennington | $7 | R3 | $10 | $2 | ||
| Average | $12 | $1 | $0 | $5 | $3 |
These are the 10 best hitters that all three expert leagues (CBS Sports, LABR, and Tout Wars) all elected to take a pass on last spring. Since they weren't purchased, there is no average salary column. BABG is my non-expert A.L. league. Salaries are listed if the player was auctioned or frozen (F), and the FAAB prices are also from BABG.
Compared to 2008, this is a pretty limp list. The absence of any big names coming over from the National League via trade has something to do with that. Beckham is the only big-time prospect here (though Borbon ranked 48th on John Sickels' Top 50 hitters entering last year).
Re-treads Podsednik and Kennedy are the guys who obviously jump out here: players whose careers looked like they were over - or at least entering another phase - who came through in a huge way for their owners. But Nix, Rayburn, Ruiz and even Pennington could all be viewed as re-treads as well: guys who once had higher expectations, failed, and had been all but forgotten entering this year.
The free loot in the N.L. was definitely better.
Top 10 N.L. FA Hitters 2009
| # | Player | $ | AP | SW | LIBL | FAAB | 2008 |
| 1 | Chris Coghlan | $21 | ML | ||||
| 2 | Garrett Jones | $17 | $12 | ||||
| 3 | Matt Holliday | $16 | $100 | $38 | |||
| 4 | Casey McGehee | $16 | $1 | $7 | -$0 | ||
| 5 | Angel Pagan | $16 | R3 | $2 | $1 | $3 | |
| 6 | Juan Uribe | $15 | R3 | $1 | $5 | ||
| 7 | Gerardo Parra | $14 | R4 | ML | |||
| 8 | Everth Cabrera | $14 | $1 | ||||
| 9 | Craig Counsell | $11 | R3 | $1 | -$0 | ||
| 10 | Gary Sheffield | $10 | $5 | $18 | $12 | ||
| Average | $15 | $1 | $0 | $14 | $6 |
However, Holliday was the only import to make a big splash over on the other side of the pond.
This group skews younger, but there isn't even a Beckham here who was considered a big-time prospect who arrived earlier than the market anticipated. Coghlan wasn't in Sickels' Top 50 and neither was Parra. Cabrera's young, but was a Rule V pick who many assumed the Padres would bury on the bench all season long. The older guys here - Counsell, Uribe, and Sheffield - looked like they wouldn't have full time jobs and lucked into or earned more playing time as the season played out.
The random nature of FAAB is evident in both lists. Owners aren't speculating on how good someone is, but rather betting on playing time. Podsednik got an aggressive bid because it looked like he'd play. I don't think Ruiz's owner bid $6 because he thought that Ruiz would slug 10 HR and look like the second coming of Mark McGwire in 100+ AB but because it looked like Ruiz might get a shot.
These lists are always discouraging to look at because they emphasize the random nature of our game. We like to think that we can predict the season and that our bids will accurately do so. Every year, though, there's some free loot that most definitely disabuses us of this notion. Last year was no exception.
No comments:
Post a Comment