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Florida Marlins
Josh Johnson's New Ligament Works
Check out this blog post from Marlins beat writer Juan C. Rodriguez. It seems that Josh Johnson is throwing several mph faster post-Tommy John than he was before. He gave up three runs in five innings in his first start back last night. He also whiffed six and walked no one.
All the experts and injury gurus will tell you to avoid Johnson this year, and that's a logical stance. But in mixed leagues with deep benches and unlimited transactions...you don't need to be so discerning. Just make the move, maybe bench him for a few starts if you feel conservative. At any rate, Johnson is a quality sleeper for '09.
2008 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers: Mike Jacobs
I am digging the idea of Marlins first baseman Mike Jacobs as a solid sleeper this year. I have the 27 year-old hitting .268-21-73-63-2 in 486 ABs, just a $0.30 value.
- It's not hard to see Jacobs in the $6-8 range this year. If he got 550 ABs, couldn't he do .270-25-90-75-3? He finished '07 with nine homers in the season's final two months.
- A couple of points from Ron Shandler's book: Jacobs hit more flyballs and improved against lefties last year. .530 OPS against lefties in '06; .819 in '07.
- Jacobs should bat third for the Marlins. The lineup still has solid hitters in Hanley Ramirez, Jeremy Hermida, Josh Willingham, and Dan Uggla. Even Jorge Cantu could be respectable.
- Jacobs was undrafted in many leagues, so what do you have to lose?
Hanley's Stock Falls Slightly
This may not matter this year. But new Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez wants to see Hanley Ramirez exchange steals for homers in the long term.
Regarding whether Ramirez would steal 50 again, Gonzalez said, "We'll see." I have Ramirez swiping 44, but given Gonzalez's philosophy it wouldn't be a shock to see him swipe less than 40.
This probably doesn't change your draft strategy, but if you were on the fence over Reyes vs. Hanley vs. Wright maybe it helps you decide.
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