Team: CBS Sports.com (Scott White)
Year in League - 2nd
Previous Finish - 4th
Projected 2010 Finish (Sportsline Projections): 4th (tie)
The Roster
Catchers: Jason Castro $1, Yorvit Torrealba $1.
Corner Infield: Garrett Jones $14, Troy Glaus $7, Scott Rolen $5.
Middle Infield: Troy Tulowitzki $42, Dan Uggla $26, Everth Cabrera $17.
Outfield: Shane Victorino $26, Andre Ethier $30, Adam Dunn $27, Conor Jackson $5, Elijah Dukes $3, Jermaine Dye $1.
Pitchers: Billy Wagner $16, Anibal Sanchez $6, Tim Hudson $10, Randy Wolf $13, Brett Myers $5, Doug Davis $1, Jason Marquis $1, Jason Hammel $2, Ross Ohlendorf $1.
Reserves: Pedro Alvarez, Felipe Paulino, Kyle McClellan, Jody Gerut, Willie Harris, Wladimir Balentien, Rusty Ryal.
Hitting/Pitching Split: $205/$55
Categorical Strengths: Home runs, RBI, runs, wins, strikeouts.
Categorical Weaknesses: Batting average, saves, ERA, WHIP.
There has been a shift among a few experts toward eschewing spending money on pitchers and throwing 75% or more of their auction dollars into pitching. Scott White of CBS Sports definitely took this approach this year, spending 79% of his money on offense. The problem with the results here is that he didn't walk away with a dominant team in all of the offensive categories. His potential power is certainly impressive. Dunn, Uggla, Tulo, Ethier and Jones are all potential 30+ HR candidates, and there's enough wattage here to make up for guys like Castro, Torrealba and likely American Leaguer Dye. The problem is that his average is very soft and guys like Dunn and Uggla could keep him in the basement here.
White also appears to be a strong believer in production up the middle, but all three of his middle infielders look like overpays. If your plan is to spend a lot on offense, overpaying is fine, but there were plenty of other plays that might have made more sense than paying $85 for players who probably will produce $60-65 worth of stats. There are a handful of potential bargains elsewhere (Rolen, Glaus, Jackson), but not enough to make up for the players up the middle. If I target a $200+ offense, I want balance across all four or five categories.
The pitching staff is a typical 5x5 attempt to rack up a bunch of wins and strikeouts and hope for the best elsewhere. There are a lot of grinders here, though, who don't strike me as pitchers with a lot of upside. There's nothing wrong with Davis, Marquis, and Hammel, but these aren't guys I see suddenly breaking through and earning $15+ in a breakout year. Of course, pitchers are unpredictable enough that I could be wrong, but these guys are players who move the chains but may struggle in ERA/WHIP. Wagner is problematic for this team. At $16, he's a fairly risky closer in 5x5; he needs to pitch a full season at the age of 38 to get enough whiffs to earn back that $16. It could happen, but I wouldn't bet on it.
White needs some trades to push this team up, but I don't see any obvious moves that make a lot of sense. It's nearly impossible to trade into batting average if you have enough drags on the category producing elsewhere. Dumping Victorino and Cabrera and getting out of the speed game might make some sense, but I don't see either one of them - especially Cabrera - grabbing an ace in return who would be a significant upgrade on Wolf. Maybe Victorino for a second closer would be the ticket and then pulling and praying that the pitching puts White in the middle of the pack. I'm not sure this would work either, but hoping for luck in batting average and ERA/WHIP with this team as it's assembled seems to be asking for a little much.
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