Team: Roto Experts.com (Ben Ice)
Year in League - 2nd with Roto Experts
Previous Finish - 11th.
Projected 2010 Finish (Sportsline Projections): 12th
The Roster
Catchers: Chris Snyder $3, Omir Santos $1.
Corner Infield: Mark Reynolds $33, Ryan Howard $43, Pablo Sandoval $33, Juan Francisco $2.
Middle Infield: Clint Barmes $14, Edgar Renteria $6, Ian Desmond $4.
Outfield: Manny Ramirez $25, Dexter Fowler $15, Fernando Martinez $4, Gerardo Parra $1, Michael Stanton $1.
Pitchers: Jonathan Broxton $27, Jeff Francis $5, Kyle Lohse $5, Matt Cain $23, Jorge de la Rosa $11, Pedro Martinez $1, Rich Hill $1, Tim Alderson $1, Jaime Garcia $1.
Reserves: Christian Friedrich, James McDonald, Aaron Poreda, LaTroy Hawkins, Matt Dominguez, Yonder Alonso, Kevin Pucetas.
Hitting/Pitching Split: $185/$75
Categorical Strengths: Home runs, RBI.
Categorical Weaknesses: Saves, Strikeouts, ERA, WHIP.
This is the last part in my series analyzing the results of the CBS Sports N.L. Analysts league draft. The auction hasn't seemed to generate as much interest as it did last year. I suspect in part this is because last year I spent over $100 on pitching and generated a flurry of comments with my controversial auction. This year, I went with the fairly conventional $175/$85 split and a fairly boring team of everyday players. Most teams in the league did this as well (with the exception of Eric Mack), and there was a pretty uniform lack of strategy across the board. The major differences on a team-by-team basis were whether or not teams pushed for $30+ stars or not.
Ben Ice of Roto Experts most definitely took the stars approach. He spent a whopping $109 three corner infielders. They earned a combined $96 last year, so it's not like Ice made too much of a stretch, but the problem is that Howard has zero upside at that price (unless he challenges Bonds' record this year) and Sandoval is going to have to hit .330 again AND add some power to get to $33.
The upside of Ice's offense is that he certainly did buy a team that will mash. The downside is that since he didn't diversify, it looks like that's all he bought. There are far too many back-ups/rookie fliers in his endgame, and while some of them could work out, it's unlikely that they all will. Renteria's the only everyday, move-the-chains type of player in this group. While it's OK to swing for the fences with one or two of your endgame picks, it's generally also good to get some guys who will provide some boring, run-of-the-mill production, especially since there are usually plenty of these types floating around in the end in CBS.
The pitching is thin, too. Cain at $23 is actually a fine price for an ace...and better than the $26 paid for Tommy Hanson or the $27 paid for Josh Johnson given Cain's past performance. But the rest of the staff doesn't look deep enough or talented enough to support Cain. de la Rosa's a decent 5x5 play for the whiffs at this price, but Francis coming off of injury and Lohse coming off a poor year both look dicey. The $1 starters are look risky, and while one may pan out it seems like a lot to ask all three to do so. Broxton's solid, but he was the highest priced closer on the board and for this team a cheaper option - or no closer - might have been better.
A lot would have to work for Roto Experts to parlay this team into a first division squad, and in late February it's hard to see.
1 comment:
Great series on the NL auctions. Maybe the reason there aren't as many comments, is that it seems like you built a solid and under-value team ($70 under value!). That's pretty hard to critique... A questions though:
Since no "1st" place team was in the projections, I'm assuming that's you? And although you broke down your player selection, you haven't broken down your categorial strengths and weaknesses, any chance you could comment on that?
Cheers!
Blair.
Post a Comment