[h=2]AL EAST PREVIEWS[/h]<!-- /post-header-inner section-inner --> <!-- /post-header section -->
Orioles: Look very similar to last years team. Not much has changed. I do expect a much better year from Jones.
Even with their big bats and stadium they still were 12th in Runs.
Red Sox: No Ortiz but now Sale. I don’t see any glaring weaknesses. Top to bottom a solid lineup, a very VERY good Bullpen. Rotation with Sale, Price, Porcello, Pomeranz and Wright should keep them in a lot of games. Do you see any weaknesses?
Yankees: Team with a world class BP and a lot of questions!!!
Chapman and Betances alone makes this team dangerous. Any lead after 7 innings will be golden. Rotation is shaky, not sure what to expect. Could be sneaky good if Sabathia and Severino come through but that is a big IF. Green is a little shaky too. Offense is not bad but I would prefer a little more power. Who can we count on to hit more than 25 HR’s? I would not be surprised if no one hit over 22….
This team is still in rebounding mode and have a lot of prospects in the minors now. This team will be dangerous in 2019, not so much right now. Anything over 82 wins would be a surprise for me.
Tampa:
Looking to bet unders with them. I know they are a good home run hitting team but they don’t have many high OBP% players and their rotation is pretty good. This team won’t do anything with the current roster, not enough offense and too many games vs Boston, Toronto and Balty. I do like their pitching, expecting a better year from Archer and 1-5 are all very capable. Good BP so this team can win games if they are close
Even with their big bats and stadium they still were 12th in Runs.
Red Sox: No Ortiz but now Sale. I don’t see any glaring weaknesses. Top to bottom a solid lineup, a very VERY good Bullpen. Rotation with Sale, Price, Porcello, Pomeranz and Wright should keep them in a lot of games. Do you see any weaknesses?
Yankees: Team with a world class BP and a lot of questions!!!
Chapman and Betances alone makes this team dangerous. Any lead after 7 innings will be golden. Rotation is shaky, not sure what to expect. Could be sneaky good if Sabathia and Severino come through but that is a big IF. Green is a little shaky too. Offense is not bad but I would prefer a little more power. Who can we count on to hit more than 25 HR’s? I would not be surprised if no one hit over 22….
This team is still in rebounding mode and have a lot of prospects in the minors now. This team will be dangerous in 2019, not so much right now. Anything over 82 wins would be a surprise for me.
Tampa:
Looking to bet unders with them. I know they are a good home run hitting team but they don’t have many high OBP% players and their rotation is pretty good. This team won’t do anything with the current roster, not enough offense and too many games vs Boston, Toronto and Balty. I do like their pitching, expecting a better year from Archer and 1-5 are all very capable. Good BP so this team can win games if they are close
[h=2]AL CENTRAL PREVIEWS[/h]<!-- /post-header-inner section-inner --> <!-- /post-header section --> White Sox:
No more Sale and now Quintana is the ACE. He has been durable, 200+ IP and ERA under 3.5 4 years straight. But the other guys in the rotation are VERY scary. Shields? He is a gas can, Rodon is very talented but very inconsistent. Giolito is too young to trust and Gonzalez is average. I do not like the rotation at all.
Lineup is decent. Frazier and Abreu can combine for 60+ HR’s, a lot of just a guys in lineup. Capable but nothing too much to scream about. Don’t like their defense much either. BP is a question mark too.
This team will be lucky to win 75.
Indians:
World Series contenders once again. Sneaky good lineup with Encarnacion added. If he hits 30+ HRs that will be huge for this team, lineup is very good at getting on base. Kluber Carrasco both ace caliber, Salazar, Bauer etc are solid low end rotation guys.
Team is solid on defense and is masterfully managed by Francona. Remember the Indians were very beat up last season. Still won 94. If healthy and EE can knock em out all year this team will be even more dangerous. Cleveland should win 95+
Tigers:
Pretty much the same team as last year. One year older though and with a lot of veterans.
Verlander very shaky ace, Fulmer should bounceback from the after ASB collapse. Zimmerman, Sanchez, Norris.. Very, very shaky rotation. Any of these rotation guys could give up 6+ ER’s and it would not surprise me.
Lineup is solid. defense pretty good. I will definitely be looking at overs with this team. Indians are the clear cut fave in this division so Tigers will need to get a WC bid to make it to the playoffs. If Verlander is more consistent, Fulmer pitches like a stud (very possible he’s only 24) and the bottom part of rotation at least saves face they might be able to string a surprise successful season but I doubt it. Not good enough to contend. Look for overs.
KC:
Team is quite a bit different but will still have the same personality. Let’s start with rotation, Duffy, Kennedy, Hammel, Karns, Wood are the epitome of a bend but don’t break rotation. KC has done it before, get the most out of their starters for 5 innings and then will with the BP. I am not sure Soria, Herrera and company will be as good for that. The rotation looks filled with 4ish ERA guys who will likely give up 2-4 runs every start. No more Davis, no more Ventura, no more Morales.
Lineup still looks capable
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I like this lineup. Cain was injured last year so he should have a big year. Top to bottom a pretty nice lineup.
KC can do some damage but improvement is needed in the rotation, BP to seriously contend. Maybe a prospect like Dozier will make the lineup unstoppable, maybe Straum or Staumont will make the rotation respectable. I have no strong opinions about what this team will do, we have seen them exceed expectations before.
Twins….
hmmm where do we start? Will Buxton, Berrios and Sano wake up and turn into the studs they were always projected to be? Mauer, Dozier, Polanco all are very capable hitters. If things work out, Twins lineup could be dangerous. Could is the key word and a lot of things would need to go right that didn’t last year.
Rotation is a complete mess. Santana is their ace, he pitched well in limited action but can he be trusted to pitch an ERA is the 3s? I doubt it.
Santiago sucks imo and he will be getting a lot of starts, he would be the 5th man on many rotations so seeing that he’s the projected #2 tells you all
you need to know about this rotation. Gibson is average at best, Hughes is the same. Berrios has shown signs of being a possible ace in the minors but
can he do it in MLB? There are some prospects that have huge potential. Mejia, Gonzalves etc. They are stacked with young prospects who have tremendous talent.
I am going to do a wait and see approach with this team. I might mess with overs considering their BP and rotation is less than stellar and they have a capable lineup. But I am not sure what to expect, they could surprise with big contributions from the young studs or they could be terrible. Who knows?
No more Sale and now Quintana is the ACE. He has been durable, 200+ IP and ERA under 3.5 4 years straight. But the other guys in the rotation are VERY scary. Shields? He is a gas can, Rodon is very talented but very inconsistent. Giolito is too young to trust and Gonzalez is average. I do not like the rotation at all.
Lineup is decent. Frazier and Abreu can combine for 60+ HR’s, a lot of just a guys in lineup. Capable but nothing too much to scream about. Don’t like their defense much either. BP is a question mark too.
This team will be lucky to win 75.
Indians:
World Series contenders once again. Sneaky good lineup with Encarnacion added. If he hits 30+ HRs that will be huge for this team, lineup is very good at getting on base. Kluber Carrasco both ace caliber, Salazar, Bauer etc are solid low end rotation guys.
Team is solid on defense and is masterfully managed by Francona. Remember the Indians were very beat up last season. Still won 94. If healthy and EE can knock em out all year this team will be even more dangerous. Cleveland should win 95+
Tigers:
Pretty much the same team as last year. One year older though and with a lot of veterans.
Verlander very shaky ace, Fulmer should bounceback from the after ASB collapse. Zimmerman, Sanchez, Norris.. Very, very shaky rotation. Any of these rotation guys could give up 6+ ER’s and it would not surprise me.
Lineup is solid. defense pretty good. I will definitely be looking at overs with this team. Indians are the clear cut fave in this division so Tigers will need to get a WC bid to make it to the playoffs. If Verlander is more consistent, Fulmer pitches like a stud (very possible he’s only 24) and the bottom part of rotation at least saves face they might be able to string a surprise successful season but I doubt it. Not good enough to contend. Look for overs.
KC:
Team is quite a bit different but will still have the same personality. Let’s start with rotation, Duffy, Kennedy, Hammel, Karns, Wood are the epitome of a bend but don’t break rotation. KC has done it before, get the most out of their starters for 5 innings and then will with the BP. I am not sure Soria, Herrera and company will be as good for that. The rotation looks filled with 4ish ERA guys who will likely give up 2-4 runs every start. No more Davis, no more Ventura, no more Morales.
Lineup still looks capable
| Player | POS | AB | R | HR | RBI | SB | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alcides Escobar | SS | 588 | 63 | 5 | 49 | 18 | 0.264 | 0.296 | 0.345 | 0.641 | 23 | 77 |
| 2 | Mike Moustakas | 3B | 545 | 65 | 23 | 75 | 1 | 0.259 | 0.318 | 0.446 | 0.764 | 39 | 72 |
| 3 | Lorenzo Cain | OF | 514 | 78 | 12 | 67 | 23 | 0.296 | 0.343 | 0.432 | 0.775 | 32 | 95 |
| 4 | Eric Hosmer | 1B | 568 | 79 | 19 | 90 | 5 | 0.276 | 0.334 | 0.433 | 0.767 | 48 | 103 |
| 5 | Jorge Soler | DH | 461 | 60 | 20 | 70 | 2 | 0.265 | 0.337 | 0.447 | 0.784 | 48 | 130 |
| 6 | Alex Gordon | OF | 505 | 68 | 19 | 57 | 8 | 0.248 | 0.332 | 0.410 | 0.742 | 54 | 127 |
| 7 | Salvador Perez | C | 495 | 52 | 19 | 63 | 0 | 0.253 | 0.284 | 0.422 | 0.706 | 17 | 90 |
| 8 | Brandon Moss | OF | 381 | 51 | 21 | 57 | 1 | 0.226 | 0.300 | 0.449 | 0.749 | 36 | 109 |
| 9 | Raul Mondesi | 2B | 370 | 50 | 9 | 43 | 32 | 0.222 | 0.266 | 0.368 | 0.634 | 21 | 112 |
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I like this lineup. Cain was injured last year so he should have a big year. Top to bottom a pretty nice lineup.
KC can do some damage but improvement is needed in the rotation, BP to seriously contend. Maybe a prospect like Dozier will make the lineup unstoppable, maybe Straum or Staumont will make the rotation respectable. I have no strong opinions about what this team will do, we have seen them exceed expectations before.
Twins….
hmmm where do we start? Will Buxton, Berrios and Sano wake up and turn into the studs they were always projected to be? Mauer, Dozier, Polanco all are very capable hitters. If things work out, Twins lineup could be dangerous. Could is the key word and a lot of things would need to go right that didn’t last year.
Rotation is a complete mess. Santana is their ace, he pitched well in limited action but can he be trusted to pitch an ERA is the 3s? I doubt it.
Santiago sucks imo and he will be getting a lot of starts, he would be the 5th man on many rotations so seeing that he’s the projected #2 tells you all
you need to know about this rotation. Gibson is average at best, Hughes is the same. Berrios has shown signs of being a possible ace in the minors but
can he do it in MLB? There are some prospects that have huge potential. Mejia, Gonzalves etc. They are stacked with young prospects who have tremendous talent.
I am going to do a wait and see approach with this team. I might mess with overs considering their BP and rotation is less than stellar and they have a capable lineup. But I am not sure what to expect, they could surprise with big contributions from the young studs or they could be terrible. Who knows?
Astros:
Obvious contender with potent lineup, good defense, capable rotation and underrated depth. Lineup will be dangerous as the top 5 hitters all should have OPS over .800 and the bottom of the lineup will be platooned according to the pitcher. I like the depth this team has, they picked up Beltran, McCann, Reddick, Aoki to give the lineup flexibility and for simple depth. Every night a solid lineup will be going for the Astros no matter who has the night off.
Projected Lineup
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Rotation wise I am very concerned with Kuechel who’s fastball lost velocity and who just wasn’t that good last year. His control is something to watch closely. McClluers is someone I like quite a bit and imo the real ace of the team. Rounding out the rotation is Morton, Fiers, McHugh. There are some young arms waiting for a chance too.
I love the overall depth this team has and they are an obvious world series contender. One concern would be their SP, they could lose a 5 game series easily because they don’t have a true dependable ace. This team will be winning a lot of games nonetheless.
Obvious contender with potent lineup, good defense, capable rotation and underrated depth. Lineup will be dangerous as the top 5 hitters all should have OPS over .800 and the bottom of the lineup will be platooned according to the pitcher. I like the depth this team has, they picked up Beltran, McCann, Reddick, Aoki to give the lineup flexibility and for simple depth. Every night a solid lineup will be going for the Astros no matter who has the night off.
Projected Lineup
| Player | POS | AB | R | HR | RBI | SB | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | George Springer | OF | 605 | 103 | 28 | 76 | 13 | 0.263 | 0.348 | 0.460 | 0.808 | 70 | 151 |
| 2 | Alex Bregman | 3B | 581 | 95 | 26 | 84 | 9 | 0.267 | 0.336 | 0.482 | 0.818 | 56 | 94 |
| 3 | Jose Altuve | 2B | 609 | 92 | 17 | 76 | 35 | 0.319 | 0.366 | 0.481 | 0.847 | 41 | 57 |
| 4 | Carlos Correa | SS | 582 | 77 | 24 | 99 | 16 | 0.275 | 0.347 | 0.469 | 0.816 | 62 | 117 |
| 5 | Carlos Beltran | DH | 474 | 60 | 22 | 73 | 1 | 0.281 | 0.329 | 0.483 | 0.812 | 33 | 80 |
| 6 | Brian McCann | C | 432 | 57 | 22 | 70 | 0 | 0.236 | 0.313 | 0.419 | 0.732 | 42 | 80 |
| 7 | Josh Reddick | OF | 438 | 57 | 14 | 52 | 7 | 0.272 | 0.327 | 0.427 | 0.754 | 36 | 57 |
| 8 | Yulieski Gurriel | 1B | 428 | 53 | 13 | 54 | 5 | 0.262 | 0.316 | 0.409 | 0.725 | 31 | 76 |
| 9 | Norichika Aoki | OF | 305 | 42 | 3 | 22 | 9 | 0.289 | 0.347 | 0.387 | 0.734 | 23 | 28 |
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Rotation wise I am very concerned with Kuechel who’s fastball lost velocity and who just wasn’t that good last year. His control is something to watch closely. McClluers is someone I like quite a bit and imo the real ace of the team. Rounding out the rotation is Morton, Fiers, McHugh. There are some young arms waiting for a chance too.
I love the overall depth this team has and they are an obvious world series contender. One concern would be their SP, they could lose a 5 game series easily because they don’t have a true dependable ace. This team will be winning a lot of games nonetheless.
Rangers
2016 at a glance
Record: 95-67 (1st in AL West)
Hitting: 7th (4.72 R/G)
Pitching: 22nd (4.37 ERA)
lets look at their lineup
Projected Lineup
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This is one of the better lineups in MLB. Top to bottom it's solid. This doesn't even include Loney who is capable of hitting .300 in this park. Rua and Profar aren't bad either. One thing I will mention is that this lineup has some key players that are getting up there in age, Beltre, Napoli and that is a bit of a concern but both guys should be solid when they are on the field. Texas will have no problem scoring runs whatsoever,
Let's look at the rotation.
Darvish and Hamels make up a very good 1-2 punch and combined with the offense will make it tough to bet against when these two are pitching. Perez, Cashner, Ross, Griffin are huge question marks. This is where the success of the team will rely on, how the 3-4-5 pitchers do for this team. You can say that for almost any team but this team is even more so. If Texas is in the race and make a move to get a SP or two this team can contend. With this current rotation I am not sure if they can contend.
BP looks pretty good to me. I think they could outperform expectations..
This will be an interesting team. If they ended up with 79 wins I wouldn't be shocked, if they won 95 again I wouldn't be shocked. They overachieved last year, no doubt but good teams find ways to win and people lost a lot of money fading them thinking they were not for real. The same mistake could be made again.
2016 at a glance
Record: 95-67 (1st in AL West)
Hitting: 7th (4.72 R/G)
Pitching: 22nd (4.37 ERA)
lets look at their lineup
Projected Lineup
| Player | POS | AB | R | HR | RBI | SB | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carlos Gomez | OF | 485 | 63 | 15 | 61 | 21 | 0.249 | 0.308 | 0.408 | 0.716 | 33 | 125 |
| 2 | Shin-Soo Choo | OF | 400 | 61 | 15 | 49 | 6 | 0.263 | 0.353 | 0.430 | 0.783 | 46 | 91 |
| 3 | Adrian Beltre | 3B | 535 | 80 | 24 | 87 | 1 | 0.301 | 0.353 | 0.499 | 0.852 | 40 | 57 |
| 4 | Mike Napoli | 1B | 463 | 67 | 25 | 73 | 4 | 0.238 | 0.326 | 0.447 | 0.773 | 58 | 131 |
| 5 | Rougned Odor | 2B | 586 | 79 | 27 | 83 | 11 | 0.268 | 0.303 | 0.481 | 0.784 | 22 | 114 |
| 6 | Jonathan Lucroy | C | 479 | 64 | 17 | 68 | 4 | 0.286 | 0.346 | 0.463 | 0.809 | 43 | 77 |
| 7 | Nomar Mazara | OF | 549 | 65 | 22 | 70 | 0 | 0.271 | 0.322 | 0.428 | 0.750 | 38 | 107 |
| 8 | Elvis Andrus | SS | 570 | 74 | 7 | 64 | 26 | 0.279 | 0.331 | 0.389 | 0.720 | 43 | 71 |
| 9 | Joey Gallo | DH | 325 | 54 | 19 | 49 | 3 | 0.203 | 0.305 | 0.440 | 0.745 | 45 | 135 |
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This is one of the better lineups in MLB. Top to bottom it's solid. This doesn't even include Loney who is capable of hitting .300 in this park. Rua and Profar aren't bad either. One thing I will mention is that this lineup has some key players that are getting up there in age, Beltre, Napoli and that is a bit of a concern but both guys should be solid when they are on the field. Texas will have no problem scoring runs whatsoever,
Let's look at the rotation.
Darvish and Hamels make up a very good 1-2 punch and combined with the offense will make it tough to bet against when these two are pitching. Perez, Cashner, Ross, Griffin are huge question marks. This is where the success of the team will rely on, how the 3-4-5 pitchers do for this team. You can say that for almost any team but this team is even more so. If Texas is in the race and make a move to get a SP or two this team can contend. With this current rotation I am not sure if they can contend.
BP looks pretty good to me. I think they could outperform expectations..
This will be an interesting team. If they ended up with 79 wins I wouldn't be shocked, if they won 95 again I wouldn't be shocked. They overachieved last year, no doubt but good teams find ways to win and people lost a lot of money fading them thinking they were not for real. The same mistake could be made again.
Angels:
Extremely unreliable rotation. Projected Rotation
Projected Rotation
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That is a very ugly rotation imo. On any given night they might have the lesser SP on the mound. Shoemaker has the talent but can you trust the guy to pitch the entire season? Never has pitched more than 160 in a season and he is a 1.3 WHIP guy so he allows a lot of baserunners. Remember this is their ace lol.
Then you have Nolasco who is a gas can, Skaggs with his 4ish ERA and non platoon pitching (lefties hit .299 vs him last 3 years)
I do like Garrett Richards. But who knows what to expect from him and he allows his fair share of baserunners too.
This entire rotation is a mess.
Projected Lineup
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lineup... Actually pretty damn good. Addition of Maybin makes this a very dangerous lineup. Especially 1-6.
I am a big fan of Bedrosian. Not sure he will be closing, but he could be lights out if given the chance. Street is very unreliable and doesn't strike anyone out but the Angels have a very good defense.
Shaky rotation, Questionable BP with upside, Lineup that is very dangerous 1-6.
No playoffs obviously with this rotation. Can see a lot of high scoring games. Overs.
Extremely unreliable rotation. Projected Rotation
Projected Rotation
| Player | POS | IP | W | L | ERA | WHIP | K | BB | SwStrike | Fastball | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Matt Shoemaker | SP | 165 | 9 | 9 | 3.71 | 1.22 | 147 | 35 | 13.1% | 91.5 mph |
| 2 | Ricky Nolasco | SP | 171 | 9 | 10 | 4.05 | 1.34 | 128 | 41 | 9.2% | 90.4 mph |
| 3 | Tyler Skaggs | SP | 138 | 8 | 7 | 3.39 | 1.25 | 131 | 48 | 8.1% | 92.8 mph |
| 4 | Garrett Richards | SP | 161 | 10 | 8 | 3.41 | 1.20 | 145 | 58 | 11.2% | 95.6 mph |
| 5 | Alex Meyer | SP | 125 | 6 | 8 | 3.96 | 1.36 | 133 | 61 | 8.8% | 95.2 mph |
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That is a very ugly rotation imo. On any given night they might have the lesser SP on the mound. Shoemaker has the talent but can you trust the guy to pitch the entire season? Never has pitched more than 160 in a season and he is a 1.3 WHIP guy so he allows a lot of baserunners. Remember this is their ace lol.
Then you have Nolasco who is a gas can, Skaggs with his 4ish ERA and non platoon pitching (lefties hit .299 vs him last 3 years)
I do like Garrett Richards. But who knows what to expect from him and he allows his fair share of baserunners too.
This entire rotation is a mess.
Projected Lineup
| Player | POS | AB | R | HR | RBI | SB | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yunel Escobar | 3B | 497 | 62 | 6 | 43 | 1 | 0.300 | 0.352 | 0.388 | 0.740 | 37 | 58 |
| 2 | Kole Calhoun | OF | 588 | 86 | 20 | 75 | 3 | 0.265 | 0.325 | 0.432 | 0.757 | 49 | 118 |
| 3 | Mike Trout | OF | 557 | 113 | 34 | 97 | 21 | 0.307 | 0.404 | 0.571 | 0.975 | 83 | 123 |
| 4 | Albert Pujols | DH | 525 | 69 | 29 | 95 | 4 | 0.261 | 0.315 | 0.465 | 0.780 | 39 | 58 |
| 5 | C.J. Cron | 1B | 550 | 62 | 22 | 85 | 4 | 0.267 | 0.309 | 0.449 | 0.758 | 28 | 104 |
| 6 | Cameron Maybin | OF | 436 | 66 | 6 | 50 | 18 | 0.273 | 0.335 | 0.378 | 0.713 | 39 | 80 |
| 7 | Danny Espinosa | 2B | 509 | 68 | 21 | 62 | 9 | 0.220 | 0.296 | 0.387 | 0.683 | 42 | 146 |
| 8 | Andrelton Simmons | SS | 521 | 53 | 5 | 48 | 8 | 0.269 | 0.312 | 0.349 | 0.661 | 31 | 44 |
| 9 | Martin Maldonado | C | 275 | 27 | 8 | 28 | 0 | 0.207 | 0.300 | 0.327 | 0.627 | 32 | 65 |
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lineup... Actually pretty damn good. Addition of Maybin makes this a very dangerous lineup. Especially 1-6.
I am a big fan of Bedrosian. Not sure he will be closing, but he could be lights out if given the chance. Street is very unreliable and doesn't strike anyone out but the Angels have a very good defense.
Shaky rotation, Questionable BP with upside, Lineup that is very dangerous 1-6.
No playoffs obviously with this rotation. Can see a lot of high scoring games. Overs.
Mariners Preview
The 1-5 portion of Seattle's lineup has the ability to be very dangerous. Dyson, Segura are speedy guys who hit pretty good averages and get on base. Can see Cano, Cruz and Seager getting their fair share of RBI chances. Decent chance Cano and Cruz if healthy could have almost 200 RBIs between them, that is 200 more runs than the Padres will score all season lol.. 6-9 of the lineup can use some work but overall i like the lineup. Valencia and Ruiz add some depth and options.
Projected Lineup
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Let's look at their rotation.
King Felix is 30 now, I feel like he's been around forever.
King
career stats of 3.18 ERA , 1.18 WHIP, 2.6 BB/9, 8.4 SO/9...
2016 stats of 3.88, 1.32 WHIP, 3.8 BB/9 7.2 SO/9
King is walking more and striking out less. Watch him closely early, I wouldn't bet on him until we know what is up.
Iwakuma, Paxton pretty good 2-3 punch. Paxton is solid but allows to many baserunners for my liking and I don't like his home/road splits.
Bottom of rotation is average at best. Miranda is ok, Smyly I like.
Projected Rotation
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Diaz will be solid as the closer 15.3SO/9 is what I like to see from a closer.
Cishek Vincent good solid arms.
Seattle has the ability to do some things no doubt. AL West is pretty stacked with SEA, HOU and TEX fighting. These teams will likely do a lot of beating each other which might lower their season win totals a bit so be careful. Seattle could use some help with bottom of lineup and rotation, if they are around in it around July expect those two things to be addressed. Some are calling for a bounceback from the King, I personally think an ERA in 4s is more likely. He is still an innings eater and will probably be value in fantasy baseball.
The 1-5 portion of Seattle's lineup has the ability to be very dangerous. Dyson, Segura are speedy guys who hit pretty good averages and get on base. Can see Cano, Cruz and Seager getting their fair share of RBI chances. Decent chance Cano and Cruz if healthy could have almost 200 RBIs between them, that is 200 more runs than the Padres will score all season lol.. 6-9 of the lineup can use some work but overall i like the lineup. Valencia and Ruiz add some depth and options.
Projected Lineup
| Player | POS | AB | R | HR | RBI | SB | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jarrod Dyson | OF | 378 | 59 | 2 | 32 | 44 | 0.267 | 0.327 | 0.368 | 0.695 | 29 | 53 |
| 2 | Jean Segura | SS | 575 | 82 | 11 | 55 | 27 | 0.283 | 0.323 | 0.407 | 0.730 | 26 | 84 |
| 3 | Robinson Cano | 2B | 592 | 87 | 27 | 85 | 2 | 0.297 | 0.347 | 0.495 | 0.842 | 41 | 83 |
| 4 | Nelson Cruz | DH | 563 | 88 | 41 | 96 | 3 | 0.290 | 0.353 | 0.556 | 0.909 | 51 | 133 |
| 5 | Kyle Seager | 3B | 584 | 82 | 27 | 87 | 4 | 0.272 | 0.339 | 0.476 | 0.815 | 53 | 92 |
| 6 | Mike Zunino | C | 328 | 37 | 17 | 48 | 0 | 0.216 | 0.287 | 0.415 | 0.702 | 25 | 100 |
| 7 | Dan Vogelbach | 1B | 332 | 49 | 14 | 60 | 0 | 0.259 | 0.358 | 0.440 | 0.798 | 50 | 69 |
| 8 | Leonys Martin | OF | 474 | 60 | 11 | 41 | 23 | 0.247 | 0.297 | 0.363 | 0.660 | 33 | 113 |
| 9 | Benjamin Gamel | OF | 308 | 46 | 4 | 29 | 10 | 0.276 | 0.326 | 0.383 | 0.709 | 23 | 64 |
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Let's look at their rotation.
King Felix is 30 now, I feel like he's been around forever.
King
career stats of 3.18 ERA , 1.18 WHIP, 2.6 BB/9, 8.4 SO/9...
2016 stats of 3.88, 1.32 WHIP, 3.8 BB/9 7.2 SO/9
King is walking more and striking out less. Watch him closely early, I wouldn't bet on him until we know what is up.
Iwakuma, Paxton pretty good 2-3 punch. Paxton is solid but allows to many baserunners for my liking and I don't like his home/road splits.
Bottom of rotation is average at best. Miranda is ok, Smyly I like.
Projected Rotation
| Player | POS | IP | W | L | ERA | WHIP | K | BB | SwStrike | Fastball | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Felix Hernandez | SP | 198 | 11 | 11 | 3.73 | 1.19 | 180 | 64 | 9.6% | 90.5 mph |
| 2 | Hisashi Iwakuma | SP | 171 | 9 | 10 | 3.89 | 1.21 | 135 | 33 | 7.8% | 87.8 mph |
| 3 | James Paxton | SP | 167 | 10 | 9 | 3.34 | 1.31 | 154 | 48 | 11.7% | 96.8 mph |
| 4 | Drew Smyly | SP | 155 | 7 | 11 | 4.24 | 1.24 | 151 | 44 | 10.5% | 90.2 mph |
| 5 | Ariel Miranda | SP | 110 | 5 | 8 | 4.34 | 1.54 | 92 | 48 | 8.3% | 92.6 mph |
| 6 | Yovani Gallardo | SP | 145 | 6 | 10 | 4.41 | 1.44 | 103 | 59 | 6.4% | 89.5 mph |
| 7 | Chris Heston | SP | 69 | 3 | 5 | 4.04 | 1.41 | 48 | 26 | 12.7% | 87.3 mph |
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Diaz will be solid as the closer 15.3SO/9 is what I like to see from a closer.
Cishek Vincent good solid arms.
Seattle has the ability to do some things no doubt. AL West is pretty stacked with SEA, HOU and TEX fighting. These teams will likely do a lot of beating each other which might lower their season win totals a bit so be careful. Seattle could use some help with bottom of lineup and rotation, if they are around in it around July expect those two things to be addressed. Some are calling for a bounceback from the King, I personally think an ERA in 4s is more likely. He is still an innings eater and will probably be value in fantasy baseball.
the division but there could be spots where this team could make you money. Remember even the worse teams win about 40% of their games.
The one label I'd give this team is crafty, they will be platooning a lot with their limited but deep roster. Let's look at their lineup...
[h=4]Projected Lineup[/h]
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Rajai will likely leadoff, but he doesn't get on base much. I would personally have him bat 2nd. Maybe start Joyce. This lineup is weak no doubt but it can be crafty with platoon situations, a lot of right, left handed hitters.
rotation
[h=4]Projected Rotation[/h]
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Sonny Gray 5.69 ERA last year limited innings. I think he will definitely bounce back and be the ace he once was. I do not trust anyone else in this lineup. I made a lot of money betting against Graveman last year and I plan on doing the same in 2017. He's the kind of pitcher I like to fade, low strikeout count 5.2 SO/9, allows a lot of baserunners. I think he got lucky last year. I am thinking 5ERA.
Wish Cotton was still with the Dodgers. We traded him for Reddick who I don't care for. He is the 2nd best pitcher on the team imo.
Bullpen should be average. Madsen will be ok, nothing major but nothing terrible.
This team has no star on it but it does have a lot of personality. I can see myself betting them +180 vs overrated teams with bad bullpens. They have 54 games vs TEX, HOU and SEA. Doubt they win more than 20 of those, if that. Tough schedule, low level talent but value in certain spots.
The one label I'd give this team is crafty, they will be platooning a lot with their limited but deep roster. Let's look at their lineup...
[h=4]Projected Lineup[/h]
| Player | POS | AB | R | HR | RBI | SB | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rajai Davis | OF | 429 | 68 | 10 | 44 | 34 | 0.256 | 0.304 | 0.401 | 0.705 | 26 | 86 |
| 2 | Stephen Vogt | C | 473 | 55 | 16 | 62 | 0 | 0.260 | 0.318 | 0.429 | 0.747 | 38 | 78 |
| 3 | Ryon Healy | DH | 473 | 69 | 20 | 73 | 1 | 0.279 | 0.320 | 0.486 | 0.806 | 28 | 104 |
| 4 | Khris Davis | OF | 567 | 83 | 39 | 97 | 4 | 0.245 | 0.304 | 0.506 | 0.810 | 43 | 150 |
| 5 | Matt Joyce | OF | 331 | 45 | 12 | 45 | 1 | 0.224 | 0.334 | 0.387 | 0.721 | 51 | 76 |
| 6 | Marcus Semien | SS | 555 | 68 | 21 | 62 | 10 | 0.243 | 0.298 | 0.416 | 0.714 | 43 | 126 |
| 7 | Trevor Plouffe | 3B | 468 | 58 | 17 | 70 | 2 | 0.254 | 0.308 | 0.429 | 0.737 | 34 | 88 |
| 8 | Yonder Alonso | 1B | 375 | 44 | 6 | 40 | 3 | 0.259 | 0.319 | 0.371 | 0.690 | 33 | 49 |
| 9 | Jed Lowrie | 2B | 503 | 56 | 8 | 48 | 1 | 0.252 | 0.313 | 0.356 | 0.669 | 43 | 82 |
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Rajai will likely leadoff, but he doesn't get on base much. I would personally have him bat 2nd. Maybe start Joyce. This lineup is weak no doubt but it can be crafty with platoon situations, a lot of right, left handed hitters.
rotation
[h=4]Projected Rotation[/h]
| Player | POS | IP | W | L | ERA | WHIP | K | BB | SwStrike | Fastball | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sonny Gray | SP | 199 | 11 | 11 | 3.84 | 1.25 | 162 | 64 | 8.0% | 92.7 mph |
| 2 | Sean Manaea | SP | 185 | 11 | 10 | 3.84 | 1.19 | 163 | 47 | 11.8% | 92.3 mph |
| 3 | Kendall Graveman | SP | 181 | 8 | 12 | 4.33 | 1.34 | 110 | 50 | 7.4% | 92.7 mph |
| 4 | Jharel Cotton | SP | 143 | 8 | 8 | 3.78 | 1.20 | 132 | 41 | 12.5% | 92.2 mph |
| 5 | Andrew Triggs | SP | 143 | 9 | 7 | 3.52 | 1.33 | 135 | 35 | 10.2% | 90.5 mph |
| 6 | Zachary Neal | SP | 55 | 3 | 3 | 4.09 | 1.16 | 23 | 6 | 9.1% | 89.8 mph |
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Sonny Gray 5.69 ERA last year limited innings. I think he will definitely bounce back and be the ace he once was. I do not trust anyone else in this lineup. I made a lot of money betting against Graveman last year and I plan on doing the same in 2017. He's the kind of pitcher I like to fade, low strikeout count 5.2 SO/9, allows a lot of baserunners. I think he got lucky last year. I am thinking 5ERA.
Wish Cotton was still with the Dodgers. We traded him for Reddick who I don't care for. He is the 2nd best pitcher on the team imo.
Bullpen should be average. Madsen will be ok, nothing major but nothing terrible.
This team has no star on it but it does have a lot of personality. I can see myself betting them +180 vs overrated teams with bad bullpens. They have 54 games vs TEX, HOU and SEA. Doubt they win more than 20 of those, if that. Tough schedule, low level talent but value in certain spots.
<!-- /post-meta --> 2016 at a glance
Record: 79-82 (3rd in NL East)
Hitting: 27th (4.07 R/G)
Pitching: 10th (4.05 ERA)
Arrivals
SP Edinson Volquez
SP Dan Straily
RP Brad Ziegler
The Marlins are a very talented team and could be sneaky good.
This is a very serviceable lineup from top to bottom. Gordon and Stanton are all star caliber players who could bounce back into big seasons, very talented players. A lot of solid core guys in the lineup so they should be ok.
Projected Rotation
| Player | POS | IP | W | L | ERA | WHIP | K | BB | SwStrike | Fastball | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wei-Yin Chen | SP | 197 | 10 | 12 | 4.16 | 1.25 | 156 | 40 | 9.1% | 90.7 mph |
| 2 | Tom Koehler | SP | 169 | 7 | 12 | 4.31 | 1.41 | 134 | 73 | 9.7% | 91.9 mph |
| 3 | Edinson Volquez | SP | 185 | 9 | 12 | 4.14 | 1.42 | 138 | 71 | 8.5% | 93.2 mph |
| 4 | Dan Straily | SP | 176 | 9 | 11 | 4.19 | 1.22 | 150 | 69 | 10.2% | 89.3 mph |
| 5 | Adam Conley | SP | 135 | 8 | 7 | 3.87 | 1.38 | 124 | 58 | 9.8% | 91.0 mph |
| 6 | Jeff Locke | SP | 122 | 5 | 9 | 4.35 | 1.45 | 81 | 42 | 8.4% | 91.5 mph |
| 7 | Justin Nicolino | SP | 85 | 4 | 6 | 4.34 | 1.33 | 37 | 18 | 4.9% | 89.2 mph |
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This rotation could be sneaky good. Straily made me a lot of money last season and if he transfers what he did last year then the Marlins have themselves a sneaky good rotation. Conley is someone I like as well and should be a #3 starter. Volquez is an innings eater and should be serviceable. Chen and Koehler are not ace but they are inning eaters who keep you in games. This rotation has potential to be good.
BULLPEN I like a lot. Ramos is very solid, Ziegler is a great setup guy and Berraclough is very VERY good.
So overall, lineup has potential to be very good, rotation has potential to be very good, bullpen should be lights out. This will be one of those teams who plays slightly above .500 all year and if they can make a run late they most definitely can find themselves in the wild card hunt. They aren’t going to compete with the big bad Nationals but they most definitely can be better than the Mets.
Should be an interesting year for the Marlins. A team you can make money on no doubt. Should win most games where they are ahead after 6, has a lineup that is capable of scoring 4+ runs a game. Rotation is not great but good enough. I like this team.
[h=4]Projected Lineup[/h]
| Player | POS | AB | R | HR | RBI | SB | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dee Gordon | 2B | 591 | 87 | 3 | 35 | 51 | 0.279 | 0.311 | 0.360 | 0.671 | 26 | 90 |
| 2 | Martin Prado | 3B | 540 | 61 | 9 | 66 | 2 | 0.296 | 0.345 | 0.411 | 0.756 | 37 | 63 |
| 3 | Christian Yelich | OF | 551 | 77 | 14 | 74 | 13 | 0.294 | 0.362 | 0.443 | 0.805 | 57 | 113 |
| 4 | Giancarlo Stanton | OF | 468 | 70 | 34 | 92 | 4 | 0.254 | 0.335 | 0.526 | 0.861 | 54 | 136 |
| 5 | Marcell Ozuna | OF | 568 | 70 | 20 | 72 | 1 | 0.264 | 0.313 | 0.431 | 0.744 | 38 | 121 |
| 6 | Justin Bour | 1B | 435 | 48 | 22 | 76 | 0 | 0.257 | 0.323 | 0.457 | 0.780 | 42 | 85 |
| 7 | J.T. Realmuto | C | 414 | 48 | 9 | 42 | 9 | 0.287 | 0.324 | 0.423 | 0.747 | 20 | 71 |
| 8 | Adeiny Hechavarria | SS | 555 | 59 | 4 | 45 | 4 | 0.256 | 0 |
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2016 at a glance
Record: 68-93 (5th in NL East)
Hitting: 28th (4.03 R/G)
Pitching: 25th (4.51 ERA)
Turner Field right center wall will be just 375 feet from home plate (it was 390 previously). Braves are in total rebuild mode but there might be some things to like.
The lineup isn't too bad. For a team rebuilding they have a pretty damn good lineup
Projected Lineup
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This isn't a top caliber lineup but it is not bad either. Bonifiacio, Susuki, Jace are some good depth guys off the bench. This is what you call a sneaky good lineup.
Freeman is a stud, Kemp is very inconsistent but when he's on he is top notch.
Rotation has some rejects
Projected Rotation
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Teheran is a stud, big fan of his. Colon is 44 years old and has to be taking some good pharmaceuticals. I have learned the hard way not to fade him. 3.44 ERA last season, 1.2 WHIP 170 innings. Every team in the league would pay HUGE money for that. I can't bet against the guy no matter how tempting it is.
Garcia is injury prone. Threw for 170 last year and for 4 years straight after that didn't pitch more than 129. Be careful drafting this guy. He walked more batters, struck out less. I will need to see some starts first.
Folty is young and could be a prime candidate for an ERA in the 3s. 25 years old could be finding himself.
Dickey, Wisler, Blair give the Braves depth in their rotation and they will probably need it. I strongly doubt the top 5 are pitching in August.
The BP this where the team falls apart.
Vizcaino has good stuff but he allows too many baserunners. Jim Johnson is a gas can who I wouldn't trust to change a lightbulb let alone a game. Nobody really wows me in this BP and I say beware in trusting these guys to win you games. We have all seen how important a BP actually is.
Braves pretty average basic team, they have a great roster considering the young talent they have on deck. For a total rebuild team they have done well. They will win their fair share of games and build for next season. Smith, Albies etc should be fully involved and if they can pick up a big FA by then we could see a playoff team. Until then it's under .500 for sure.
Record: 68-93 (5th in NL East)
Hitting: 28th (4.03 R/G)
Pitching: 25th (4.51 ERA)
Turner Field right center wall will be just 375 feet from home plate (it was 390 previously). Braves are in total rebuild mode but there might be some things to like.
The lineup isn't too bad. For a team rebuilding they have a pretty damn good lineup
Projected Lineup
| Player | POS | AB | R | HR | RBI | SB | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ender Inciarte | OF | 566 | 84 | 5 | 38 | 20 | 0.295 | 0.341 | 0.390 | 0.731 | 37 | 64 |
| 2 | Adonis Garcia | 3B | 544 | 67 | 18 | 73 | 4 | 0.278 | 0.313 | 0.436 | 0.749 | 21 | 91 |
| 3 | Freddie Freeman | 1B | 568 | 93 | 28 | 86 | 5 | 0.294 | 0.379 | 0.526 | 0.905 | 71 | 129 |
| 4 | Matt Kemp | OF | 538 | 75 | 26 | 92 | 5 | 0.268 | 0.310 | 0.476 | 0.786 | 33 | 125 |
| 5 | Brandon Phillips | 2B | 443 | 54 | 9 | 52 | 12 | 0.280 | 0.313 | 0.395 | 0.708 | 17 | 52 |
| 6 | Nick Markakis | OF | 505 | 59 | 8 | 58 | 1 | 0.277 | 0.345 | 0.384 | 0.729 | 51 | 68 |
| 7 | Dansby Swanson | SS | 520 | 76 | 11 | 64 | 9 | 0.256 | 0.319 | 0.383 | 0.702 | 44 | 114 |
| 8 | Tyler Flowers | C | 311 | 27 | 9 | 40 | 0 | 0.254 | 0.320 | 0.389 | 0.709 | 23 | 93 |
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This isn't a top caliber lineup but it is not bad either. Bonifiacio, Susuki, Jace are some good depth guys off the bench. This is what you call a sneaky good lineup.
Freeman is a stud, Kemp is very inconsistent but when he's on he is top notch.
Rotation has some rejects
Projected Rotation
| Player | POS | IP | W | L | ERA | WHIP | K | BB | SwStrike | Fastball | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Julio Teheran | SP | 202 | 11 | 11 | 3.74 | 1.14 | 175 | 54 | 10.3% | 90.9 mph |
| 2 | Bartolo Colon | SP | 170 | 9 | 10 | 3.81 | 1.22 | 118 | 25 | 5.5% | 87.9 mph |
| 3 | Jaime Garcia | SP | 140 | 8 | 7 | 3.86 | 1.26 | 117 | 41 | 9.2% | 90.5 mph |
| 4 | Mike Foltynewicz | SP | 160 | 7 | 11 | 4.28 | 1.38 | 142 | 54 | 10.0% | 95.2 mph |
| 5 | R.A. Dickey | SP | 145 | 5 | 11 | 4.53 | 1.28 | 101 | 49 | 10.6% | 82.3 mph |
| 6 | Matt Wisler | SP | 145 | 5 | 11 | 4.72 | 1.37 | 104 | 46 | 9.0% | 92.8 mph |
| 7 | Aaron Blair | SP | 70 | 2 | 6 | 4.63 | 1.64 | 54 | 33 | 10.0% | 90.9 mph |
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Teheran is a stud, big fan of his. Colon is 44 years old and has to be taking some good pharmaceuticals. I have learned the hard way not to fade him. 3.44 ERA last season, 1.2 WHIP 170 innings. Every team in the league would pay HUGE money for that. I can't bet against the guy no matter how tempting it is.
Garcia is injury prone. Threw for 170 last year and for 4 years straight after that didn't pitch more than 129. Be careful drafting this guy. He walked more batters, struck out less. I will need to see some starts first.
Folty is young and could be a prime candidate for an ERA in the 3s. 25 years old could be finding himself.
Dickey, Wisler, Blair give the Braves depth in their rotation and they will probably need it. I strongly doubt the top 5 are pitching in August.
The BP this where the team falls apart.
Vizcaino has good stuff but he allows too many baserunners. Jim Johnson is a gas can who I wouldn't trust to change a lightbulb let alone a game. Nobody really wows me in this BP and I say beware in trusting these guys to win you games. We have all seen how important a BP actually is.
Braves pretty average basic team, they have a great roster considering the young talent they have on deck. For a total rebuild team they have done well. They will win their fair share of games and build for next season. Smith, Albies etc should be fully involved and if they can pick up a big FA by then we could see a playoff team. Until then it's under .500 for sure.
