Fantasy Baseball 2020 Running Thread

Is Vladimir Guerrero Jr just not that good? I have an opportunity to buy low on him, but I’m starting to wonder if he’s going to blossom into the hitter most people expect or if he’s going to continue to struggle.

It’s hard to make judgments during this weird season, but I thought he’d be better than this by now.

 

The one game I caught a glimpse of last month, he looked like he spent the winter attending an eating marathon.

 

Poor conditioning is definitely a big part of the problem. I actually tried to trade for him not long ago, but he's got a lot of work to do. He needs to improve his launch angle and get in better shape. I'm not sure if he will ever manage to do either of those things.

 

It is offseason trading time!

I've got a guy trying to get Gerrit Cole from me. Cole is expensive ($33), but still dominant. I am a little worried about waiting too long to trade him. My guess is nobody is going to offer me value for him at $38, which is what he would cost for 2022.

I was offered Carlos Correa ($8) and prospect J.J. Bleday ($3). I countered by asking for Jarred Kelenic ($1) and Correa. He wants another player in the deal. I gave him a list that includes Sean Murphy ($4), Josh Bell ($16), and Bobby Dalbec ($3).

My league allows eight major league keepers and five rookie-eligible keepers. Dalbec is still rookie-eligible. Murphy is not. I can't keep him, but I'd actually like to get him back in our auction this year.

My current veterans: LeManieu ($7), Cole ($33), Luis Castillo ($16), Ian Happ ($1), Josh Hader ($18), Yordan Alvarez ($6), Verdugo ($12), and Lux ($3)
Rookie-eligibles -Bobby Dalbec ($3), Sam Huff ($4), Ke'Bryan Hayes ($1), Austin Martin ($3), and Drew Waters ($3)

So does Cole and another player for Kelenic and Correa make sense?

 

I have no faith in Correa to stay healthy. He’s a fine player and worthy of consideration, but not for Cole unless your salary situation is dire.

 

Kelenic is a big draw for me as well, but I do see your point. To me, it would be Cole for Kelenic, Correa, and $24 in cap room.

 

Thanks again for the help on this one. I passed.

Got a new offer today. Cody Bellinger ($14) straight up for Gerrit Cole ($33). The shoulder injury makes me a little nervous and his numbers were down in 2020, but I'm not sure how much stock I put in 2020 numbers.

Edit: Still curious to see what others think, but I ended up taking it. I just couldn't pass on what was basically Bellinger and $19 of cap room for Cole.

 

Pretty good deal. In my league, I’d rather have the stud starting pitcher, but cap relief and an MVP are a very solid return.

 

With the Padres acquiring Yu and Snell, I now own 3/5 of their starting rotation (along with Paddack). I never like to have that many pitchers from one rotation, but I’m not sure I want to get rid of any of them, particularly since wins are so valuable in my league. Darvish is the most expensive one at $17 and might be worth exploring a trade, but he practically carried me to the title last year.

 

Yeah, that's the one part that has me doubting myself. Stud starting pitchers can be tough to come by, but I got caught up in the value.

 

Having too many hitters from the same team can be a problem, especially in leagues with daily transactions, but I don't really see that as an issue with starting pitchers. It might not be the worst idea to float Darvish out there just due to his age and injury history. Maybe somebody will blow your doors off with an offer, but I wouldn't move him unless that happens.

 

So now I have to sort out my keepers by Friday. I'm really stuck. I've got a couple of people kicking the tires on Ian Happ, but that would likely just bring in another bat to take his spot.

We are able to keep eight veterans and five rookies. Sadly, our cutoff for at-bats for rookies forces me to keep Gavin Lux as a veteran or not at all. For my veterans, I'm deciding which two to keep out of Alex Verdugo, Gavin Lux, Patrick Corbin, Sean Murphy, and David Fletcher. Nobody seems to appreciate Fletcher, but I've got him cheap ($2) and he saves me from scrambling for a shortstop. I'm not sure what to think of Murphy, who I really liked going into last season. I'm also wondering if I'm overrating Verdugo. Corbin is a bounce-back risk and not that cheap at $15.

For my rookie spots, I'm really trying to decide between Sam Huff and Nolan Jones. I know Jones is the better prospect, but Huff could help this season at a difficult position and Jones plays third base, where I've already got options. By the way, this is a two-catcher league, so that raises the value of Murphy and Huff a bit. Which would you rather keep?

Here are my veteran options:

Cody Bellinger ($14), D.J. LeManieu ($7), Luis Castillo ($16), Ian Happ ($1), Josh Hader ($18), Yordan Alvarez ($6), Alex Verdugo ($12), Gavin Lux ($6), Patrick Corbin ($15), Sean Murphy ($4), David Fletcher ($2)

My rookie options are as follows

Ke'Bryan Hayes ($1), Bobby Dalbec ($1), Austin Martin ($3), Drew Waters ($3), Sam Huff ($3), Nolan Jones ($1)

Thoughts?