Fantasy baseball team?

Question

rate my team 1-10

c-Brian MCann .307 12hr 38 rbi

1b-Joey Votto .270 11hr 36rbi

2b-Dustin Pedroia .260 4hr 29 rbi 6 sb

3b-Joe Crede .280 14hr 41 rbi

ss-Ryan Theriot .311 1hr 18rbi 13 sb

of-Pat Burrell .284 18hr 44rbi

of-Nate McLouth .298 14hr 46 rbi

of-Ryan Braun .290 17hr 51rbi

utiltity-David Wright .272 12hr 49rbi

pitchers

Jake peavy

Joe saunders

matt capps

carlos marmol

dan haren

roy halladay

jon rauch

zack greinke

Answer 1

I'm only going to mention your "weak" players.  

Dustin Pedroia, is a concern because he has a weak bat in terms of run-production and is only on pace to steal 14 bases.  However, he is on pace to score 90 plus runs despite the low on-base %.  Plus, there's no other good 2B out there so you're kind of stuck with him.

Ryan Theriot is another weak hitter in terms of power and in my fantasy points, head-2-head league, he really isn't putting up big numbers, even with the stolen bases.  He's best position on a real baseball team is utility infielder and the Cubs might persue a big-name SS to put him back on the bench (as a Cub fan, I'm just speculating  :).  However, until that happesn, his high batting average, stolen bases, and the fact that he usually hits 2nd in a powerful Cubs lineup makes him a great SS (on pace to score close to 100 runs) to have in fantasy baseball.  

Pat Burrell's batting average hasn't been this high since 2005 and this season marks only the third time his batting avg has been above .280 since 2000 (his rookie year).  There's a good chance his batting average does dip down to .260 and he might still strike out 140 times this season, but the high home run totals and RBIs is the reason Burrell is on your club and there's a very good chance he can touch up the 40 HRs and 100 RBIs this season.  

Nate McLouth, I have marked him down as a "fluke" and has come down a bit since his torrid 1st quarter of the season.  The reason to doubt this guy is because he's never had much success in the minor leagues.  He did hit for a lot of doubles (which for a major leaguer, those usually turn into homeruns), but he seemed to always struggle to get an OPS of .850+ in the minors.  However, what I failed to realized was his good contact rate.  He walks as many times as he strikes out and is a good reason why he's been so good this year.  This tells me that he doesn't swing at a lot of bad pitches.  Those are encouraging signs that he might be the real deal after all, but I would be very cautious of the guy.  

Joe Saunders is a guy who's always had a mediocre K:BB ratio and this year is no different.  The reason for his success is that I have to believe that he's getting lucky.  Pitchers with bad K:BB ratios usually give up a lot of hits, but he is pitching for a solid defense in Anaheim, but his hit rate (or H/9) is usually at 9+ and beyond.  I would cut this second rate pitcher the moment he begins to slump and it looks like he's finally hitting rock bottom.  In his last three starts, his K:BB rate has been good (a little too good even for Joe Saunders), but he's giving up 11.88 H/9, his ERA is at a  dangerous 7.56, his WHIP is at an unacceptable 1.56 and has given up 6 homers in 16.7 innings.  His days are numbered if they haven't been already.  

The only knock on Zack Greinke is that he pitches for a bad team, but at least his strikeout rate is at a cool 6.48 and in his last three starts, it's at an even 7.  He does have trouble with walks as evident by his last three starts, but his ytd BB/9 is only at 3.10.  Plus Greinke has the minor league track record to dominate guys as seen by his performance in the minors and in his rookie season with the Royals in 2004.  However, just like Saunders, he's been giving up a lot of hits of late (9+H/9 in his last three starts), but I would be more patient with Greinke than with Saunders.  Saunders plays for a winning team, but usually ends up with a .500 record.  Greinke has the peripherals to have a .500 record on a bad team.  That should tell you something.  

Final Rating-- 8.6/10

Felipe

http://www.ultimatefantasysite.com

Join Us For The First Ultimate Fantasy Sports Show Live! June 24, 8pm CST!!!  To Learn more, visit the website above.