Midseason Fantasy Position Rankings
In case you missed our Midseason Fantasy Position Rankings, here are links to each of our rankings published thus far. Our Consensus Shortstop rankings published on Tuesday morning, and we follow that with our Outfielder rankings on Thursday and our Starting Pitcher rankings on Friday.
- 2013 Midseason Position Rankings: Shortstop
- 2013 Midseason Position Rankings: Third Base
- 2013 Midseason Position Rankings: Second Base
- 2013 Midseason Position Rankings: First Base
- 2013 Midseason Position Rankings: Catcher
Fake Teams Podcast, Episode 20: Who says "Drat"?
Zack and Andrew hosted episode 20 of the Fake Teams podcast on Sunday night, and discussed the call ups of Jonathan Villar and Junior Lake, compared Jason Kipnis and Dustin Pedroia along with their analysis of the Fake Teams Consensus Second Base Rankings.
You can listen to the podcast via MP3 and ITunes:
Dear Mr. Fantasy Podcast
I made an appearance on the Dear Mr. Fantasy podcast on Monday night hosted by Chris McBrien and The Fantasy Doctor. We discussed lots of players on the podcast including Giancarlo Stanton vs Byron Buxton in a dynasty league, Felix Hernandez vs Madison Bumgarner, and many other players. I even defended my ranking of Brian McCann as my 2nd ranked fantasy catcher for the rest of the season.
You can listen to the Dear Mr. Fantasy podcast here.
Devin Mesoraco; Showing signs of growth at the plate
When drafting young catchers, especially in keeper leagues, patience is a must. Not many catchers can burst onto the major league scene and hit like Buster Posey, even if they were the best catching prospect in baseball the year before. The reasons are many, but one of the big ones is the that catchers have so much to learn besides hitting. They need to learn the tendencies of each pitcher on their staff, they need to learn the tendencies of every hitter on the opposing team, and be the "quarterback" on the field.
Reds catcher Devin Mesoraco disappointed Reds fans and fantasy owners last season, but is starting to show some of his potential at the plate. On Tuesday, Mesoraco went 3-4 with a HR and 3 RBI in the Reds 9-3 win over the Giants. Mesoraco has homered in two straight games now and is now hitting .261-.329-.410 with 6 HRs, 10 doubles, 19 runs and 26 RBI in 188 at bats this season. In July, he is hitting .366 with a .422 OBP, 2 HRs and 7 RBI in 41 at bats. Is this the turning point for Mesoraco? Time will tell.
For more on Mesoraco, and the Reds, make sure you check out Red Reporter, SB Nation's Reds fan site.
Christian Yelich impresses in major league debut
The Marlins called up top prospect Christian Yelich yesterday, and he quieted his critics (me) by going 3-4 with 2 RBI in his major league debut vs the Rockies. Yelich batted second in the Marlins lineup and played left field, while outfield prospect Jake Marisnick plated center field and batted sixth. Yelich has some pop, but I wouldn't expect much from him in the power department, but I do expect him to hit pretty well (he is off to a good start) and steal some bags as well.
For more on the Yelich debut, make sure you check out Fish Stripes, SB Nation's Marlins fan site.
Round'em Up
Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval has been a big disappointment this season, for Giants fans as well as his fantasy owners. Sandoval is hitting just .263-.313-.394 with 9 HRs, 32 runs and 46 RBI in 82 games thus far. He is on pace for just 15 HRs and 75 RBI which will hurt his fantasy value heading into 2014. He will need to go on a hot streak over the last two+ months to improve his value by the end of the season,
Pirates starter Gerrit Cole showed off some of his potential last night, as he limited the Nationals to just one run on just two hits, a walk and four strikeouts in the Pirates 5-1 win. Cole needed just 92 pitches to get through seven innings, moved his record to 5-3 with a 3.51 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and a 29-10 strikeout to walk rate in 48.2 innings in his 8 starts since his call up.
I have to say i am pleasantly surprised with the power we have seen from Dodgers first baseman Adrian Gonzalez this season. AGonz went 2-4 with a HR, walk, 3 runs and 3 RBI in the Dodgers come from behind 10-9 win over the Blue Jays last night. Gonzalez is now hitting .300-.354-.483 with 15 HRs, 45 runs and 62 RBI this season. He is on pace for 25 HRs and 100+ RBI, with an improved power stroke this season.
I recently traded Rangers prospect Jurickson Profar ($5 salary this season, $10 next season) for a $15 Glen Perkins in my AL only keeper league. I was desperate for some saves, and felt Profar was the right price to pay. Plus, I am beginning to feel that Profar may be a better baseball player than fantasy player. I know it is too soon to judge, but he is hitting just .238-.315-.340 with 3 HRs, 12 runs, 11 RBI and zero stolen bases in three attempts in 147 at bats this season. Profar has alot to offer for fantasy owners, but I am playing for this season, and had enough offense that I could deal him for a category of need.
Did I give up too much for Perkins?
More from Fake Teams:
- Risers and Fallers for Week 16: Mark Melancon, Colby Rasmus and Others
- Marlins Call Ups: Christian Yelich and Jake Marisnick
- Roto Roundup: Ryan Braun, Matt Garza, Christian Yelich and Others
- Buyer or Seller? What Kind of Trade Partner Are You?
- 2013 Midseason Position Rankings: Shortstop
- Fantasy Fallout: Garza Trade Fantasy Impact
- Ryan Braun screws his fantasy owners