Q: I can get Bobby Crosby for
a highly touted prospect in Chad Billingsley. My IF is weak with
Melvin Mora, Pedro Feliz, Clint Barmes, Jose Vidro, and Khalil
Greene. Is that a good deal for me?
- Mark
A: Right now Crosby is putting up good numbers for a shortstop - four home runs, 11 runs and 14 RBI - especially considering he missed a handful of games after that freak injury on opening day. While he’s probably an upgrade over Barmes, Greene will put up similar, if not better numbers over the course of the season.
Of course, this depends on the settings of your league. If all your players are in a generic IF position rather than SS and 3B, I’d rather have Crosby over someone like Feliz. He’s doing alright this year, but I wouldn’t expect much more than 15-20 home runs, 75-80 RBI and a .250 average. That could be where Crosby ends up, but he certainly has the potential to be better than that.
Of the three shortstops listed, I’d put Crosby and Greene on a level field with Barmes slightly behind.
Q: In a league that counts OBP instead of AVG,
do I trade Jason Giambi, Hideki Matsui and Jake Peavy for Jim
Thome, Andrew Jones and Mike Mussina?
- Kevin
A: This really depends on what your pitching situation is like as well as some other categories. Here’s each batter’s lifetime OBP:
Giambi - .416
Matsui - 369
Thome - .409
Jones - .343
Based on that alone, it looks like you’re getting a raw deal. Giambi is at a Bondsian .533 OBP right now and while it’s still early, I can see it hovering around .500 for the rest of the season because of that Yankees lineup. However, if you’re hurting for power, there’s no doubt that Thome and Jones will provide you with more homers and possibly more RBIs.
The stickler of the deal is the pitching swap. Peavy is obviously superior to Mussina and you should make sure you’re helping yourself out in every category possible if you’re going to give up a potential Cy Young winner.
Q: Seattle Mariners manager Mike Hargrove has re-thought his closer-by-committee
approach and installed RP J.J. Putz as the closer for the time
being. Should I pick him up?
- Tom
A: The short answer - yes. If you’ve got room, it won’t hurt to grab him. My thought all along was that Rafael Soriano would take over and I still think he’ll get plenty of opportunities. This is probably more of Hargrove riding who’s hot right now.
Eddie Guardado most likely will not be returning to the ninth inning anytime soon unless both Putz and Soriano blow their chances. By the end of the season, I could see 20-25 saves split up between the two relief pitchers and maybe Jake Woods and George Sherrill.
Q: I was told that Pujols is tradable today by
his owner, and I have more than enough to grab him. The guy is
VERY short on pitching, so I offered John Smoltz and Carl Crawford
for Pujols. Good deal?
- Andy
A: I don’t know why people are bailing on Pujols already because he’s had some back pain. In one of my leagues someone has a trade up with Pujols for Jim Thome and John Smoltz.
Anyway, Pujols has played through injuries the last two seasons with his foot, which is just as persistent as back pain. If you have the extra players to deal for Pujols I don’t see why you wouldn’t want a top 3 fantasy player. You’ll lose lots of steals, but Pujols could still swipe 10-15 which is helpful. Any time you can add someone like Pujols or A-Rod, it’s worth it.
Q: Which starter do I pick up?
John Koronka
Corey Lidle
Claudio Vargas
Paul Byrd
Scott Baker
Ryan Madson
Juan Cruz
Jamie Moyer
Jae Seo
Aaron Sele
- Mike
A: I’d say it’s a toss-up between Lidle and Byrd. I’ve been very impressed with Lidle’s K:BB ratio of 38/6, but batters are hitting .280 off of him and he pitches most in Citizen’s Bank Park. Byrd has had a rough last few outings, but I’m not giving up on him yet. Cleveland’s got a solid offense that works well behind him and he’ll turn things around soon enough.
I’d rank them in this order:
Corey Lidle
Paul Byrd
Jamie Moyer
Jae Seo
John Koronka
Scott Baker
Claudio Vargas
Ryan Madson
Juan Cruz
Don’t bite on Koronka yet. He’s a rookie and major league batters are just seeing him for the first time. Playing in Texas won’t help him either.
Q: Who are the top 5 holds guys from here on
out? After looking at some of the early advice, it looks like
Justin Duchscherer, Juan Rincon, Braden Looper, Brandon Lyon,
and Kyle Farnsworth are available. Who should I pick up?
- Vic
A: If this is a holds league, I’m surprised
these guys are available. Of them all, Duchscherer will be your
best bet. The A’s are more apt to play close games than
someone like the Yankees and he’s a solid all-around RP.
Not to mention, he may pick up a few vulture save opportunities
as the season wears on as well.
