Fantasy Baseball 2016

I could definitely use another starter. I've got Sale, Liriano, Severino and Hector Santiago, right now, with Heaney (who I'm not expecting much from anymore) and McCullers on the DL. I'm hoping for Julio Urias to get called up sometime in the not-so-distant future.

The more I look at it, not sure I match up well with this guy for a trade. My OF is probably where I'm strongest, with Carlos Gomez (who isn't hitting for shit), Cespedes, Conforto, Granderson (yes, I have the entire Mets OF - Granderson was a waiver pickup) and Zobrist for three spots. But he's pretty solid in the OF with Betts, CarGo and Stanton (he's got no depth, but his starters are as good as or better than anybody's). He's desperate for a catcher since Schwarber went down. I've got Lucroy and Grandal, but he's not going to give up Harvey for either of those guys (Lucroy isn't hitting and Grandal can't stay healthy). He's also desperate for saves, which I can give him once Chapman and Boxberger come off the shelf (I've also got Robertson, Ziegler and Jeffress), but again, I doubt he gives up Harvey for a reliever.

He loves to make trades, but I'm not sure I see one that makes sense for both teams.

 

And, of course, Sean Manaea, the Oakland pitching prospect I've had my eye one, gets called up to start Friday and gets picked up before I can snag him. If he's available in your leagues, he's worth a look.

 

He was already taken in my league. A bit of a surprise to see him up this early, but he could make an impact, too.

 

I had read that he would likely be the next big prospect to get called up, but I hadn't pulled the trigger yet because I didn't think it would be this soon.

 

If it makes you feel any better about missing out on the youngsters, Berrios has been a little shaky in his debut tonight.

 

That actually does make me feel better since a guy who owns Berrios in one league knew I liked him and offered him to me today for Conforto. I said no since Conforto is already a top-20 OF (as it stands now), but I'd do Granderson, who will hit 22-25 HRs this year. He said I was on crack, yada, yada. I didn't think it was an outrageous offer, considering we know what Granderson is, while we have no idea what Berrios is right now.

Time to go talk a little smack.

 

Harvey looked pretty damn good tonight, which also probably nixes any bargain hunting for him. He was hitting 95-97 on the gun, so velocity is good, and he struck out seven.

 

What's up with Odubel Herrera? He's tearing it up, he's 24 and, yet, he's owned in only about half of Yahoo leagues. I don't know much about him other than that he's scored more points thus far this season than about half my team.

 

I don't think he was ever expected to do much, but the kid keeps getting better. He's got good speed and a little pop and he has improved his patience this season. I've got him on both of my teams.

 

I'm debating dropping Lucas Duda ($13) or Prince Fielder ($11) for Herrera. Someone dropped Pujols ($31), so I dropped McCann ($39) and picked him up (I slotted Travis D'Arnaud into the C slot for now, hoping he comes off the DL soon). Now I'm rotating Duda, Fielder and A-Rod ($6) at the DH spot, so I feel like Herrera ($5) might give me some value and depth in the OF (and DH if needed) along with a little more payroll flexibility. I'm also terrified that Duda (who is always streaky) or Fielder will end up with 350 points this season, while Herrera comes back to Earth and ends up around 260, which I think is his projection.

 

Herrera also finished strong in 2015, so he could just be a good player. Maybe he's playing a bit over his head right now, but I wouldn't be surprised if he remained useful.

Those are tougher calls. In my league, I had open roster spots due to players going on the DL. He cost me $4 in one, which was an easy call, and the other league isn't salary-based.

That said, I'd take the risk. Duda is going to be great in streaks, but he disappears a lot and Fielder is in decline. He is a very different kind of player, but I wouldn't be shocked to see him come close to either of those guys in value this season.

 

I tend to agree, particularly on Duda. Duda can carry your team for a week or two at a time, but he can also post consecutive negative weeks. In a head-to-head league, he's total feast or famine.

Fielder is on the decline, but he was last year, too, and he still ended up scoring over 400 points in my league. If I get 350 out of him at $11, I'm doing pretty well.