AL-Only

Prospect Prospectin': AL-Only Edition

Talent Will Only Get You Profar

Jurickson Profar

The jury’s still out on Jurickson. Ron Washington told Buster Olney that Profar would be a good hitter “eventually,” and after all, the kid is only 20 years old. Baseball’s #1 prospect is currently splitting time at second base with Leury Garcia, but that doesn’t mean he shouldn’t be scooped up everywhere. He’s the top prospect for a reason, and has a good a chance as anyone to "pull a Trout” this year. There’s also a good chance he gets sent back down in a week once Kinsler comes back. Kinsler has been playing like an all-star, Andrus just signed a whopper of a contract, Moreland is hitting the cover off the ball, and obviously Beltre isn’t going anywhere. There’s simply no place for Profar right now, but I still think you should scoop him up just in case he goes bonkers and Washington simply can’t bench him. It’s possible, right?

Odorizzi Does It

Jake Odorizzi

Odorizzi took a couple innings to get into a groove against the Blue Jays during his first start of 2013. But eventually he settled down and sat down 9 out of the last 10 batters he faced in a scoreless 3rd through 5th. But the bottom line is this: no one handles their young pitchers like the Rays. Last year they led the majors with a 3.19 team ERA, and set a record for starting 764 consecutive starters under 30 over the last 5 seasons. Yes, Faustberto Carmondez has looked pretty good this year, but it’s only a matter of time before Odorizzi or Chris Archer replace him. I’d grab both of these guys in as many leagues as you can, because down the line whoever gets the job will be startable almost every time out. Odorizzi has two starts next week, and the first one is against the Marlins. Even I could pitch against the Marlins and last a few innings, so you should start Odorizzi with confidence.

Ying-Yang Twins

Samuel Deduno

Okay, so he’s not technically a prospect, but he hasn’t seen much major league action. Even though we were all hoping to get a peek at Kyle Gibson, Deduno was the one who got the call to start Friday against the Tigers. He’s never really dominated at any level, but the Twins are hoping that his performance at the World Baseball Classic this year -- 17:5 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 13 IP, and a great performance in the Dominican victory over Puerto Rico in the championship game -- is an indication that maybe he’s turned a corner.

Kyle Gibson

No, Gibson didn’t get the call. But the top-50 prospect will be up eventually and could be a real asset to your squad. At 6'6", Gibson is an intimidating presence on the mound, and has been extremely effective pounding the bottom of the zone and inducing a ton of ground balls, and has even developed a plus changeup. Gibson will probably never be an ace, but at 24 doesn’t have a ton left to prove in the minors, and playing in that ballpark in that division, could definitely be used as a spot starter later this season.

Duck, Duck, Gose

Anthony Gose

The good news? You can probably spend negative $5 of your FAAB to acquire Gose. The bad news? He could be a cheap source of steals, and that’s about it.

Special NL-Only Bonus

Anthony Rendon

The Nats have Rendon playing 2nd base in the minors as of yesterday. This means bad things for Danny Espinosa, who has likely been battling through injury  all season and is struggling to the tune of .159/.188/.290. But Rendon has continued raking in the minors after being sent down, and this move to second base could mean an imminent promotion. In the immortal words of Jim Carrey in Dumb and Dumber, "Pick 'em up!"

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Only For You

Here at RotoAuthority, the finest free fantasy site around, we focus on serpentine, mixed league drafts. We are also extremely good looking. This morning, I took grainy photos of myself in the mirror with my white iPhone to post on Match.com! We know how to live, and we also know that some of you nerds are too nerdy even for mixed leagues. You play in Only leagues, the Himalaya of nerddom. From your obvallate mountain fortresses of telencephalon, you glare down at the impolitic fantasy populace, dazed within the labyrinthian mediocrity of mixed league involvement.

For you, then, you lithotrophic fantasy Leibniz, you Tenzing Norgay of sabermetric alpinism, I will hastily review this weekend past's AL and NL Only LABR auction drafts, playing favor to your teeming intellect and perhaps garnering a vaunted Facebook like. Might a five best, five worst gets for each suffice?

AL Only, 5 Best Gets:

Kevin Youkilis, $20. A healthy Youkilis, hitting cleanup for the Red Sox, playing a premium position. 3B is deeper in the AL, but this is an excellent buy. 

Kendrys Morales, $9. Morales has already begun running zig-zag cuts and will run the bases this week. Huge upside in this buy, and, at $9, not much downside. 

Josh Reddick, $7. All but guaranteed a full slate of ABs in the middle of the Athletics lineup, Reddick could easily go .270/15/75/75/5.

Philip Humber, $4. Humber's WHIP in 2011: 1.18. If he can manage a WHIP in the 1.20's in 2012, this bid is gold. 

Bartolo Colon, $2. Don't look now, but Colon posted a 3.60 SIERA in 164 innings in 2011. He'll be pitching in the friendly confines of O.co Coliseum, home of the 5th lowest HR park factor in 2011. 

AL Only, 5 Worst Gets:

Brandon Inge was not drafted. There are still reserve rounds, of course, but a player with Inge's pop and a good shot at 2B should go for at least $1, especially in the Tigers lineup. 

Nelson Cruz, $26. Cruz still has huge power potential, but he can't stay on the field. In an Only league, paying $26 for 450 ABs will sabotage your season.

Delmon Young, $21. Sure, Delmon will bat behind Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder, but he's a tease. Young's 2011 ISO was an anemic .120. With a career FB% of 33.6, HR/FB% of 9.2, and BB% of 4.2, I say blech. Either Alex Avila or Jhonny Peralta could easily end up in the five hole. 

Ricky Romero, $19. Romero is Philip Humber. Ricky lucked out with a 79.2 LOB% and .242 BABIP. Sure, he gets a lot of ground balls (54.7%), but that's about it. Romero is bound to regress.

Vernon Wells, $16. Wells could certainly rebound, and will obviously get playing time.  Wells is 33 and had a .248 OBP in 2011, however, and is too risky at this price. 

Scott Baker, $14. Baker is talented, but can't stay healthy. A dangerous play.

NL Only, 5 Best Gets:

J.D. Martinez, $14. Martinez raked in the minors and will be locked in to the three-hole. The Astros will likely be terrible again, but there is serious upside here. 

Alfonso Soriano, $10. There is plenty of pop left in Soriano's bat (.225 ISO in '11), and he could still threaten 30 HR. A .260/30/90/75 season is possible. 

Jordan Schafer, $5. Another Houston OF, Schafer could go 10/30. At $5, a bargain. Hit up the Astros for your NL Only discounts. 

Johan Santana, $5. No setbacks yet for Johan. Sign me up for $5. 

Chris Capuano, $3. Capuano quietly had an excellent 2011, posting an 8.13 K/9 and 3.60 SIERA. A steal at $3. 

NL Only, 5 Worst Gets:

David Wright, $30. Wright has been on tilt for the past three years. The power came back in 2010, but at the expense of a 10.3 SwStr%. Marred by injuries and the psychosomatic cesspool that is being the failed poster boy of a failed franchise, I'm staying away. The corner positions are extremely shallow in the NL, but I don't think this is a reason to overspend. Best to let others spend heavily on overpriced players and build depth and breadth. 

Starlin Castro, $28. Castro, like Elvis Andrus in the AL, is overvalued due to his youth and supposed upside. Castro does have a sweet swing, but that doesn't make him a great fantasy SS. He can't take a walk, isn't a good basestealer, and doesn't have much power. With Jose Reyes going for $29, this is a bad investment. 

Michael Cuddyer, $27. Not good. I understand that the deflated pitching market affected the entire draft, but this is too much. Roy Halladay went for $28. 

Martin Prado, $24. Also not good. 

Daniel Hudson, $17. Hudson is the NL's Ricky Romero. Overrated for no apparent reason, Hudson's SwStr% fell back to 7.7%. Especially in the context of this particular draft, $17 is too much for Hudson. 

POST ANALYSIS DISCLAIMER:

Auction drafts are expressly fluid, and thus retrospect price evaluation is suspect. Nonetheless, perhaps you Only leaguers now have a slightly enhanced market understanding as you engage in final preparations. Not that you'd need any help, Narcissus.  

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