Pitch or Ditch for Wednesday, May 4
CORY’S PICKS
Josh Tomlin has allowed 3 ER or less in each of his first five starts this year.
Blackburn @ Danks
Morrow @ Niemann
F. Garcia @ Scherzer
Big Erv @ Beckett – Beckett is back in the good graces
Arrieta @ Davies
Tomlin @ Cahill – Tomlin will cool off, but this is a favorable matchup
Wilson @ Pineda
An. Rodriguez @ Wood – both are risky now for different reasons
Zambrano @ Lilly
Correia @ Richard – two weak offenses in SD, PoD heaven!!
Marquis @ Worley
Estrada @ Hanson (Gm 1 of DH)
Greinke @ T. Hudson (Gm 2 of DH)
Lincecum @ Capuano – Capuano still intrigues me though…
Vazquez @ Carpenter
Chacin @ Enright
mlbtstufantasy411
Using PoD strategy, if we start 10 bats, 7 pitchers (2 RP required), and have 4 bench positions, how would you divide the bench spots?
Use required bats(make sure they are good ones) then use all 4 bench positions for pitchers? Or 2 and 2?
Just trying to get a better understanding. I drafted w/ PoD in mind and got good bats and didn’t pay a lot for pitching (except Lester…homer pick) but now I have 2 pretty good bats on bench and no PoD slot.
Advice?
Thanks as always,
Josh
Josh,
Yeah, there’s not a huge need for more than two bench hitters and when you play PoD, a lot of times you might want to keep a guy you picked up for an extra start or two so I’d probably go 3 pitchers/1 hitter. If you have solid hitters on your bench, maybe trade a bat for a closer, even if it’s a bat that’s in your starting lineup? That might be something worth considering.
Zach
I already have 3 closers…Mariano, Feliz, & Perez? 4 closers too many?
josh tomlin is still out there on my 12 team league should i go get him?
Luis,
Depends on who you would be cutting but I’m not sold yet on Tomlin as a viable option in 12-team mixed leagues. Still need to see a little more.
Zach
Zach how do you approach claiming the top prospects when they’re called up, and making sure you get them. Im awful at 3B in one league with Uribe stuck there atm because both E5 and Stewart had been worse, and I hear Lawrie and Moustakas are two 3Bmen raking down on the farm and not too long from getting the call. If I wait for them, when do you expect their calls to come, and how do you go about getting them before anyone else does (how far in advance do you pick them up).
Thanks
Big, Barry,
East End, England
BB,
I’m not averse to picking up either right now if you can afford the roster spot…maybe pick up one of the two if you want to go halfway. It sounds like Lawrie might be closer than Moustakas as the Toronto infield is somewhat of a mess at the moment, but I’d be very surprised if both are not up by mid-June.
Zach
Zach,
What’s your take on Matt Joyce? Is he for real or is he just hot right now?
Dmenz
Dmenz,
He’s just hot right now. There’s little in Joyce’s track record to suggest that he’s anything more than a platoon-level player, and though he’ll be getting more regular ABs this year, I’d be surprised if he produces enough to remain a worthy start in mixed leagues.
Zach
Hey Zach, thanks for the advise last week, I have decided to not trade Farnsworth for Vlad. Instead I have traded Gordon Beckham for Vlad. I have Aviles and Wigginton as other options. Did I make the right move? I needed a RBI and BA man.
Marc,
Personally, I wouldn’t have made the move as Beckham’s a slightly more valuable fantasy player than Vlad due largely to the position he plays, but it’s not by any means a bad move. Beckham has been a major disappointment so far so it’s not like he’s a sure thing either.
Zach
Who would you say are great SP or RP’s to target in a trade that consistantly post strong strikeout and Whip numbers?
gareth,
Look at the stats! You can even look at the preseason positional rankings to get an idea. The values of some guys have changed due to their performance during the season’s first month, but not a lot has changed.
Zach
Hey Zach,
Domonic Brown has been drop in my 12 Team Mixed Keeper league. I have #1 option on waiver priority. Would you use it to get him? Or shoudl i try to get him after the waiver period, or avoid for the moment?
Thanks,
MF
Zach,
I have to reformulate my question, or add one thing into consideration. Francisco Liriano was drop before the no no!
So Domonic y on waiver until the 5th and Liriano until the 6th of May. I have first priority NOW. What should i do?
My Pitchers: de la Rosa, Wilson, Ubaldo, Beachy, Shields, Marcum, Hellickson, Leake, Starsburg (DL).
My Batters: McCaan, Butler, Pedroia, A-Rod, S Drew, Prado, McCutchen, Hunter, R Martin (Util), and on the bench: David Murphy, Uribe, Panda (DL)
So who should i drop for this waiver options? I was thinking on Leake and Murphy or Uribe
Thanks,
MF
MF,
Yeah, I’d drop Leake for Liriano and pass on Brown. Sounds like Leake will be moved to the bullpen very shortly.
Zach
MF,
If it’s a straight keeper league where you keep, say, five guys, I’d pass. But if it’s a keeper that uses $ values or round values, I see no problem in using a #1 waiver, assuming of course that there are no other more appealing options on the wire.
Zach
Zach,
An owner in my league really wants Tulo bad. He has made me about 15 offers sinse the start of the season. the current one i dont know about. what do you think.
i give Tulo,Gardner,Panda
I get Miggy,C.Young (OF) P.Alvarez.
Panda was my first baseman when he went down, as i have arod at 3rd. Gaby is my backup 1st baseman right now.I know gaby isnt miggy but I dont know that i really need to switch them out bad enough to give up tulo. Is Young good enough to warrant doing the deal?
this is a keeper league with
R,H,HR,RBI,SB,BB,K,AVG,XBH as the categories.
Dmenz
Zach,
if i do the trade my lineup looks like this.
C-Martin 1B- Miggy 2B- Uggla 3B-Arod SS-Asdrubal IF-Kendrick
OF-Ichiro OF-BJ Upton OF- Young UT-Gaby
If i dont do the deal it looks like this
C-Martin 1B-Gaby 2B-Uggla 3B-Arod SS-Tulo IF-Kendrick
OF-Ichiro OF-BJ Upton OF-Gardner UT- Asdrubal
which one would you prefer?
Dmenz,
It’s an enticing offer but I think I’d pass. The package isn’t quite good enough to warrant giving up the best player in the deal and I’m a little down on Young right now. He still strikes out way too much (and Ks are a category here) and only has one steal so far! But I guess it’s hard to steal when you never get on base. I really thought that Young would take the next step forward this year and so far I’m very disappointed.
Zach
I was offered Michael Young for Konerko, Konerko has been good but I don’t know if he can keep it up. Thoughts on this trade?
Stephen,
Unless you really need Young’s 3B eligibility, I’d pass. Konerko might not match last season’s numbers but he’s off to a monster start and has been a very consistent performer for a long time now. Konerko and Young may put up similar stats in AVG and runs but it’s almost certain that Konerko will outproduce Young in HRs and RBIs.
Zach
Zach,
What do you think about this trade offer:
Give: Shields
Receive: Storen
This is 12 Mixed Keeper league……
My other 2 Closers are: Axford and Street
Thanks,
MF
MF,
I think you can do better than Storen for a guy who has been one of the best pitchers in baseball over the season’s first month. Aim a little higher.
Zach
Hey Zach,
Just traded Frenchie and Chris Coghlan for Roy Oswalt. The trade would go through on Saturday, the day Oswalt is supposed to start for the Phillies, so I keep the bats until then.
You think I got a good deal? I could cancel this trade and try to go for Matt Cain?
My rotation would be Lincecum, Greinke, Lee, Oswalt, Chacin, Big Erv, Danks, Moseley and McClellan, with Homer Bailey on the DL. My bats are Avila(C), Miguel Cabrera(1B), Weeks(2B), Bautista(3B), Yunel Escobar(SS), Ryan Roberts(OF), Granderson(OF), Zobrist(OF) and Kendrick, Kubel and Placido Polanco in my three Util spots with Nick Swisher on my bench. 12 team mixed Roto League. If I bring Bailey off the DL someone would have to go. But I’m trading away these 2 bats to make space for Feliz coming off the DL. I already let go of Matt Joyce to make space for Greinke.
Thanks.
Manny,
Yeah, I like that trade a lot but I also think you can definitely use an offensive upgrade. Your pitching would be insanely good and I feel that you’ll be able to afford the loss of one of those top three guys if you can acquire a stud hitter.
Zach
Are you guys impressed with Michael Pineda so far? We have nicknames like “Big Erv” and “Big Puma” in the league, how about “Big Show” for Pineda?
Speaking of Rookies – Which 3 pitchers do you see being in contention for ROY this year?