Time for another rousing edition of Like 'em, Love 'em,
Leave 'em. I want to address First Base with this round because...well, I have
noticed a certain anomalous situation I get myself into with mock drafts (last
year's real draft too for that matter.) Since First Base is usually a deep
position, I wait on my 1B. And wait. And wait. And wait.
And wait.
Literally, about the 20th 1B off the board. I load up on other positions and wait for Brandon Moss or Justin Morneau (yes, I second The Fantasy Man's thoughts on Morneau as well.)
If I have a late first round pick, I'll take a Pujols or
Votto or Fielder, and I'm not against taking an Adrian Gonzalez or Freddie
Freeman later on. Sometimes though, I value depth at other positions so much
that I wait for that gem.
That said, I'm interested to hear your thoughts, kind
reader, and tell me if I take too rosy a view on these latter-level options.
Keep in mind, these are with the mentality that I'm picking for a starting
position rather than depth.
Let's start with the two guys I mentioned and one other guy:
Brandon Moss, Justin Morneau, Lance Berkman
The early ADP has Berkman about 2-3 rounds behind the other
two. Despite that, I think Berkman is the easy pick here. The reason
being...he's DH'ing. In Texas. I mean...that is just beautiful. I could DH in
Texas and hit .200, so imagine what a competent, though aging hitter could do.
The bonus there, as I mentioned with the Catchers, as a DH, he has less risk of
getting injured.
Then it gets interesting...Moss is in Oakland and he ain't
Canseco or McGwire (controversies aside.) He isn't getting a lot of attention
outside of “Power Sleeper” title, but he hit .291 in about half a season and
still blasted 21 HR's. That said...if Morneau is healthy again, he's a safe bet
for a .280 average and 20+ HR. I can't say a guy with lingering concussion
issues is the “safer” pick, but I'm debating which guy could net me more in a
trade if I try to upgrade at 1B. If a week into the season, these guys are both
hitting .350 and have a couple homers (and let's say their teams are both
looking sharp,) do I get more in return for Morneau, who has the track record
of success, or Moss, who doesn't have the track record of concussions?
If I'm in this spot, I might draft Moss and take my chances
(largely because of some of the people I play against, they like the new
blood), but I'm putting the “Like” tag on Morneau. If a quietly consistent
player is good enough in that spot, I may just roll with him.
Next round:
Eric Hosmer, Ike Davis, Kendrys Morales
Morales becomes more and more interesting as the season
approaches. He was traded to Seattle (bad) where they are moving the fences in
(good), and now he may be sandwiched between Mike Morse and Jesus Montero
(pretty good). Not the worst place to be. Not the best either. Seattle will
still likely be a pitcher's park, but the lineup should help him do better than
we thought a few weeks ago.
Yet, I feel trepidation from many of you kind readers.
Morales is a guy I'm putting on the fence, I'll live without him if I don't get
him late, but I'll feel pretty good with him if I happen to draft him in the
last 1/3rd of the draft. Then there's Hosmer, who didn't have a
sophomore slump so much as a sophomore dump. This guy was very good for me when
I got into this undesirable position a couple years ago, and I can't think that
last year showed us who he is going to be as a pro. I'm a sucker for good
batting averages, so that helps his argument. Tough to say where he'll be in
the lineup though, so if I'm really looking for Runs over RBI's, I'm going to
be tentative about taking him.
And then there's Ike Davis, a good sleeper pick for his
power, but is he a guy you want to rely on if you get this low? I want a guy
who could be a Top 10 guy at this position, and I just don't know that Davis
has that in him. Injuries, batting average, RBIs, any of those could limit his
value very easily (although the RBIs should be okay, not great, just okay.) Not
to mention, I don't like their lineup as a whole.
So needless to say, if I don't have a 1B by this point, I
hate myself, but I think I'm going to say I “Love” Hosmer, I “Like” Morales,
and I'll “Leave” Davis. Hosmer is the only one I could make any argument for as
a potential Top 10 1B. I'm going Morales over Davis because an okay batting
average, with a little help from a good lineup, will find Runs and RBI's; I
don't need to hope they come along. I like Seattle's lineup much more than the
Mets'. I grant you, I'll need some faith either way regardless.
Next time, I'll hold a memorial service for the Fantasy
position of Second Base.
By David Bobke
No comments:
Post a Comment