Midseason Review

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It was quite a half of fantasy baseball that was highlighted by a clear division between contenders and pretenders for most of the year, which has lead to some big time trades. One thing that is clear is owners like Casten, Russ, and Dave used their demise in 2011 to their advantage and have made plenty of noise in the first half, with Dave starting slow but ultimately entering the break only a half game out of a playoff spot. Meanwhile, the top three – Brandon, Jason, and yours truly – are separated by only one game, with Russ, Brian, and Dagan not far away. Those in sitting 8-14 in the standings have some work to do, but there’s still time. A lot can change in eight weeks and with some teams in line to get nice boosts from injured stars like Pierce (Ellsbury) and Chris (Halladay), there’s hope.

There is a way to balance a potential playoff run this year with ultimate hopes of contending in 2013 as proven by Casten’s team last year. With the lottery, the lower you are in the standings doesn’t really help ensure a high draft pick, so it’s important for everyone to stick with and update those rosters. Not to mention, MLB teams will be bringing up current minor leaguers who have the potential to help next year. The effort you prove most valuable in 2013.  There’s more money on the line than ever before, so it should be an interesting “second half.”

Power Rankings

1. Grumpy Munchkins – Record is still there despite the injuries and, with some quality trades, Brandon is on the way up and may stay. Cutch is quietly the most valuable fantasy player of the first half.
2. One Nut – Give Jason the nod here now that RHoward and Utley are back, but they will have to quickly prove whether they have enough left to help or if they’ll be worthless name on the roster of a team struggling for a playoff spot.
3. Montezumas Revenge – A lot will depend on the first half disappointments of CSantana, Hosmer, and JUpton, but the pitching is there to win half the games every week.
4. Ring – The ever dangerous Dagan is always right there and, though he needs to improve pitching, the offense is for real with Kemp back. A strong second half from Latos would be huge.
5. Clayton and King – A close fifth, Russ has the talent to be at the top of the list in a few weeks. He’s hit a rough patch with his pitching, but the names are there and Berkman and Crawford are back or close.
6. Cowhide Joyride – For a team that it seemed it was close to burying itself not long ago, Dave has risen from the doldrums thanks to some favorable matchups and resurgent play from his offense.
7. Moose is Loose – No one needed an all star break more than Brian. He has to hope the stop in action will keep his team from spiraling permanently and letting one of the pretenders back into this race.
8. Donkey Punchers – Chris said he’s given up, but his roster says otherwise. I don’t think it’s the right move for him with the guys he has. If he does give up, you have to expect he’d get quite a bit in exchange for that pitching staff, but he has the talent to make a run.
9. Keepin it Real – While he announced he was out of it, Pierce hasn’t really acted like he was out of it, going 16-3 the past two weeks. He’s got a tough schedule and a deep hole to dig out of, but he has the roster (with Ellsbury) to do it.
10. Angry Pirates – Kyle is looking ahead for sure, but that doesn’t mean he won’t compete. The Giancarlo injury hurts, but he’s got other youngins that could make some noise.
11. Urban Achievers – Dan has proven to be one of the most active owners this year in spite of his struggles, and has displayed trashpicking prowess. Hoepfully he can turn that into some value for 2012. In the mean time, he has a team of Craigs Ruizes and Altuves that can give opposing contenders fits.
12. Prestige – Lars had a tough go of it this year. His successes (Lynn, Hammel, Edwin) have been more than offset by his failures (HKendrick, DHudson, Romero, Longo injury, Trumbo trade). I was surprised he was willing to trade one of his better keepers in Price, but I’m sure he’s not done dealing, so we could see some big improvements.
13. Billy – If he had just a wee bit of pitching, he would be a lot higher than 50 games out as his offense continues to produce with guys like Willingham, AHill, and CDavis all having excellent years. Still, the season is a loss and Troy really needs to capitalize on the guys he has because there’s guys worth a pick or two.
14. Anal – Tough go of it for Andrew, lowlighted by the Konerko/CWilson trade. He’s got two 7ths and two 8ths, but his keepers aren’t impressive after Verlander and Strasburg (Bourn, Morse, Bonafacio? WMyers? PAlvarez?), so there’s something to shoot for in the second half.

Top Free Agent Pickups

Includes those drafted, but then foolishly dropped

1. OF Alfonso Soriano (Yahoo! rank: 96^th overall), Cowhide
2. OF Josh Reddick (50), Cowhide
3. RP Fernando Rodney (32), Moose
4. C Carlos Ruiz (49), Urban
5. SP Jason Hammel (118), Prestige
6. SS Trevor Plouffe (145), Ring
7. SP Wade Miley (68), Clayton
8. OF Colby Rasmus (74), Montezumas
9. 3B Will Middlebrooks (243), One Nut
10. C AJ Pierzynski (82), Ring
11. RP Tyler Clippard (77), One Nut
12. RP Rafael Soriano (105), Prestige
13. OF Bryan LaHair (213), Urban
14. 3B Chris Davis (165), Billy
15. RP Ernesto Frieri (72), Cowhide
16. 1B Adam LaRoche (125), Anal
17. SS Kyle Seager (140), Moose
18. SP Jarrod Parker (158), Montezumas
19. RP Santiago Casilla (122), Montezumas
20. 2B Neil Walker (109), Anal
21. C Jarrod Saltalamacchia (188), Prestige
22. RP Ryan Cook (87), Montezumas
23. RP Casey Janssen (119), One Nut
24. OF Dayan Viciedo (181), Donkey
25. RP Alfredo Aceves (167), Prestige

Top Trades

For one team, anyway

1. One Nut – PKonerko, CWilson, 14^th from Urban for Bonifacio, HAlvarez, 8^th
2. Montezumas – IDesmond, CSale, 17^th, 19^th from Angry for 13^th, 16^th
3. Angry – MTrumbo, CBuhholz, 12^th from Prestige for BGardner, NFeliz, 14^th
4. Moose – EJackson, 17^th from Cowhide for GBalfour, 15^th
5. Montezumas – ArRamirez from Billy for KDrabek, AHarang
6. Anal – 7^th, ESantana from Moose for DHaren, 24^th
7. Keepin – ARios, YDarvish, 9^th from Cowhide for AChapman, 12^th
8. One Nut – JBeckett, 18^th for OInfante, 22^nd
9. Billy – JParker, JSchafer from Montezumas for THudson
10. Billy – JReddick, CHeadley, JMotte from Cowhide for ARodriguez, IKennedy, KMorales

Best Draft Picks

Takes into account when they were drafted, position scarcity, as well as keeperability. Subsequent moves also impacted ranking, so traded or dropped guys (like Trumbo, Sale, ASoriano, Reddick, JParker and Desmond) who did not return considerable value (Dickey and Chapman, for instance, both brought good return in trade) are not listed.

1. OF Mike Trout (16^th), Clayton
2. SP James McDonald (23^rd), Montezuma’s
3. OF Adam Dunn (11^th), Grumpy
4. 3B Edwin Encarnacion (17^th), Prestige
5. 2B Jason Kipnis (15^th), Clayton
6. SP RA Dickey (15^th), Keepin
7. SP Matt Cain (7^th), Donkey
8. OF Adam Jones (8^th), One Nut
9. SP Jake Peavy (21^st), Montezuma’s
10. C Yadier Molina (21^st), One Nut
11. 3B Mike Moustakas (10^th), Urban
12. SP Lance Lynn (23^rd), Prestige
13. OF Josh Willingham (21^st), Billy
14. SS Jed Lowrie (23^rd), Donkey
15. OF Melky Cabrera (10^th), One Nut
16. OF Carlos Beltran (8^th), Moose
17. RP Aroldis Chapman (22^nd), Keepin
18. SP Chris Capuano (20^th), Montezuma’s
19. 2B Aaron Hill (21^st), Billy
20. SP Madison Bumgarner (8^th), Cowhide
21. 1B Paul Goldschmidt (10^th), Ring
22. SP Kyle Lohse (23^rd), One Nut
23. OF Alejando De Aza (17^th), Clayton
24. 3B David Freese (10^th), Clayton
25. SP Johan Santana (11^th), Cowhide

Best and Worst – Round by Round

This gives credit where credit is, in most cases, due. So I didn’t hold you responsible for dropping the player or trading if you did. You get credit for recognizing the talent. Your lack of faith, however, means it may be more painful than not to see them on the list (may want to skip Round 11, Dave). Injuries largely did not factor in unless there was a pre-existing injury (RHoward, VMart, Pineda, etc) that should’ve lessened your expectations.

Round 7

BEST           

Matt Cain - Donkey Punchers

C.J. Wilson - Anal Hershiser

Madison Bumgarner - Cowhide Joyride

WORST           

Daniel Hudson - Prestige

Mark Reynolds - Urban Achievers

Howie Kendrick - Prestige

Round 8

BEST

Adam Jones - One Nut Wonders

Carlos Beltran - Moose is Loose!

Andre Ethier - Donkey Punchers

WORST           

Alex Avila - Clayton

Ricky Romero - Prestige

Michael Pineda - Montezuma's

           

Round 9

BEST           

Billy Butler - Moose is Loose!

Brandon Morrow - GRUMPY

Jordan Zimmermann - Clayton

WORST           

Ichiro Suzuki - Moose is Loose!

Jimmy Rollins - One Nut Wonders

Ike Davis - Donkey Punchers

Round 10

BEST           

Mike Moustakas - Urban Achievers

Paul Goldschmidt - Ring of Fire

Melky Cabrera - One Nut Wonders

WORST           

Logan Morrison - Donkey Punchers

Ubaldo Jimenez - Moose is Loose!

Jeff Francoeur - BILLY CHAPEL

Round 11

BEST           

Adam Dunn - GRUMPY

Colby Rasmus - Cowhide Joyride

Alex Rios - Cowhide Joyride

WORST           

Ryan Howard - One Nut Wonders

John Axford - BILLY CHAPEL

Jemile Weeks - Donkey Punchers

Round 12

BEST           

Johnny Cueto - Ring of Fire

Ryan Dempster - Donkey Punchers

Joel Hanrahan - GRUMPY

WORST           

Adam Lind - Cowhide Joyride

Mike Minor - Clayton

Francisco Liriano - Cowhide Joyride

           

Round 13

BEST           

Martin Prado - Angry

Kenley Jansen - Cowhide Joyride

Colby Lewis - Montezuma's

WORST           

Heath Bell - Angry

Coco Crisp - Moose is Loose!

Alexei Ramirez - Ring of Fire

Round 14

BEST           

Austin Jackson - Cowhide Joyride

Chase Headley - Cowhide Joyride

Brandon McCarthy - Donkey Punchers

WORST           

Jair Jurrjens - BILLY CHAPEL

Ryan Raburn - Urban Achievers

Jordan Walden - Ring of Fire

Round 15

BEST           

R.A. Dickey - Keepin

Jason Kipnis - Clayton

Mark Trumbo - Prestige

WORST           

Jhoulys Chacin - Urban Achievers

Carlos Marmol - Prestige

Jhonny Peralta - Keepin

Round 16

BEST           

Mike Trout - Clayton

Lucas Duda - Angry

Chris Perez - One Nut Wonders

WORST           

Peter Bourjos - Anal Hershiser

Erick Aybar - Anal Hershiser

Daniel Bard - Angry

           

Round 17

BEST           

Chris Sale - Angry

Edwin Encarnacion - Prestige

Josh Willingham - BILLY CHAPEL

WORST           

Julio Teheran - Angry

Wilson Ramos - Anal Hershiser

Ryan Roberts - Anal Hershiser

           

Round 18

BEST           

Ian Desmond - Angry

Jim Johnson - Prestige

Edinson Volquez - Donkey Punchers

WORST           

Victor Martinez - Moose is Loose!

Gaby Sanchez - Angry

Yonder Alonso - Angry

           

Round 19

BEST           

Alfonso Soriano - Urban Achievers

Carlos Zambrano - Keepin

Vance Worley - Donkey Punchers

WORST           

Javier Vázquez - Anal Hershiser

Randy Wolf - BILLY CHAPEL

Brad Peacock - Angry

Round 20

BEST           

Chris Capuano - Montezuma's

A.J. Burnett - Urban Achievers

Justin Morneau - Moose is Loose!

WORST           

Josh Collmenter - Donkey Punchers

Devin Mesoraco - Angry

Miguel Olivo - Urban Achievers

           

Round 21

BEST           

Jake Peavy - Montezuma's

Jason Kubel - Montezuma's

Yadier Molina - One Nut Wonders

WORST           

Geovany Soto - Ring of Fire

Ty Wigginton - Anal Hershiser

Brian Matusz - Donkey Punchers

           

Round 22

BEST           

Josh Reddick - Urban Achievers

Aroldis Chapman - Keepin

Marco Scutaro - Montezuma

WORST           

Mike Carp - One Nut Wonders

Fernando Salas - BILLY CHAPEL

Greg Holland - Prestige

Round 23

BEST           

James McDonald - Montezuma's

Lance Lynn - Prestige

Jed Lowrie - Donkey Punchers

WORST           

Juan Rivera - BILLY CHAPEL

Jon Jay - Anal Hershiser

Sean Rodriguez - Keepin

           

Round 24

BEST           

Bryan LaHair - Prestige

Jarrod Parker - Donkey Punchers

Ryan Doumit - Ring of Fire

WORST           

Brent Morel - Ring of Fire

Alex Presley - BILLY CHAPEL

Jim Thome - BILLY CHAPEL