Sportsline N.L. Results - The Fantasy Man.com

Team: TheFantasyMan.com (Mike Kuchera)
Year in League - 2
Finish: 9th.
Projected 2010 Finish (Sportsline Projections): 3rd.
The Roster
Catchers: Brian McCann $25, Miguel Olivo $2, Jeff Clement $4.

Corner Infield: David Wright $34, Martin Prado $13, Jorge Cantu $18.

Middle Infield: Jose Reyes $36, Cristian Guzman $1, Freddy Sanchez $1.

Outfield: Nyjer Morgan $21, Will Venable $3, Kosuke Fukudome $1, Ben Francisco $1, Todd Frazier $1.

Pitchers: Clayton Kershaw $20, Trevor Hoffman $19, Brandon Webb $20, Edwin Jackson $14, Joe Blanton $8, Matt Capps $9, Bronson Arroyo $4, Oliver Perez $3, Chris Young $2.

Reserves: Delwyn Young, Mike Adams, Ryan Roberts, Phillipe Aumont, Reed Johnson, Luke Gregorson, Greg Dobbs.

Hitting/Pitching Split: $161/$99

Categorical Strengths: Steals, batting average, strikeouts.
Categorical Weaknesses: Home runs, runs batted in.

Unless you maximize your value at every position, it is very difficult to buy a complete offense if you spend less than $175. Sure enough, Mike Kuchera of TheFantasyMan.com wound up with a top flight team in speed and batting average but light on power. He does have some of the "move-the-chains" guys I like such as Guzman and Sanchez (at great prices) but also has a lot of holes or potential holes. His outfield in particular is weak on the back end with Francisco and Frazier, and while Fukudome and Venable might be steals at those prices, there's enough variability and fluidity in their teams' situations that they could wind up in platoon roles or on the bench. Kuchera's team could still do what I did in the A.L. last year and compete in HR/RBI if things break right and he moves aggressively in-season.

On the pitching side, Kuchera projects out as a middle-of-the-road team in every category except strikeouts. He's got seven starters and two closers, so he should be strong in whiffs. The dilemma is that it's extremely unlikely that all seven of these pitchers are going to pan out. Blanton's a solid citizen; everyone else has varying degrees of upside or downside that could turn Kuchera's team into a top pitching team or a bottom-tier one. The middle-of-the-pack projection works for me in that it is almost an average of both possibilities. At a combined $9, I do like the upside that Arroyo/Perez/Young have at those prices. You can also reserve active Major Leaguers in this league, so this is a win/win for Kuchera as far as that goes.

This team needs a trade or two, but looks more solid coming out of the auction than I gave it credit for at a glance. I think Kuchera's going to be competitive, and if Webb is healthy and effective will be up in the top three at the end of the season...at least.