Week 2 (but really still week 1) Roster Moves

So by some quirk of the scheduling Gods (or because of MLB's pure money grab decision to start the season 139 days early in Australia...number of days is approximate only), we get to enjoy 2 weeks of week 1.

There were no trades this week as I assume that we were all waiting to see which of our star players would end up on the DL before doing anything useful.  We will check in on those guys in a separate post.

But first, we will make an exception to give a special message to someone Tom knew for far too little time!

Hochevar finds out he only gets 1 week with Lionel.

RP Luke Hochevar - Les Moles - Rather than let Luke ride the pine, looking for ways to avoid the wandering hands of Lionel Richie, the awkward glances from across the dugout or the strange "coinidences" in the locker room, Tom decided to cut ties and send Luke back to the scrap heap, cold and alone.  You will be missed Luke.



Now, on to the guys we actually spent money on.  One note - Somehow MWP got Austin Jackson for $0.  I went back to week 1 and JJ Hoover was also $0.  Apparently the game lets you pick up guys for free, but I don't think that should be ok.  I will post something on the league page about this, but moving forward there will be no $0 pick ups.  If someone is picked up for $0, I will manually adjust their budget down $5 and will consider that player a $5 player.  Second offense will be $10, third offense will result in a team roster being frozen.


2b/3b Anthony Rendon - $5 - Bob's AutoTrackers - Rendon had a huge opening day (HR, 4 RBIs) and has a solid minor league track record.  He likely didn't need to cost $5 but he is a solid player with multiple position eligibility. 

RP Sean Doolittle - $2 - Bob's AutoTrackers - Doolittle is in his 3rd year and has posted solid rate stats and about a K per inning over that time.  RPs are notoriously difficult to predict from one season to the next because of their small sample sizes, but Doolittle is a nice option pitching in Oakland.  Bob has now spent 40% of his FAAB in 2 weeks.

C AJ Pierzynski - $4 - Dusty's Nustys -  Hey everybody! Dusty will have an actual catcher for the first time when week 3 begins on April 7th.  The Pierzynski pick up keeps Dusty's trend of going after everyone with ties to the early 2000s Twins.  I'm surprised that Torri Hunter and Jacque Jones are still available.

SP Ubaldo Jimenez - $3 - You Can Call Me Al - Four years ago (2010) Jimenez was one of the best pitchers in the game and seemed to have a stellar career laid out in front of him.  Arm issues sapped his once ridiculous velocity and turned him into a mediocre pitcher seemingly overnight.  He rebounded a bit last year and is a decent investment at $3.  If he regains his form, it'll be a nice bargain.  If he falls flat, its only a minimal investment.

RP Cody Allen - $2 - Dusty's Nustys - I'm not gonna lie.  Despite watching a decent amount of baseball, I had to look up who Cody Allen was.  Turns out, Allen has a pretty impressive strike out rate but has some control issues and seems to give up an abnormally high number of hits for someone who strikes out so many.  If he can hit the zone and miss a few bats, he looks like he could be a pretty solid pitcher.  Also, I did not find anything definitively saying that Cody Allen is not the illegitimate bastard son of Jared Allen or Tim Allen, so theres that.



RP Neftali Feliz - $1 - Backyard All Stars - Here is another high upside, low risk pick up.  Feliz burst onto the scene in 2009 giving up 13 hits in 31 innings.  he was spectacular again in 2010, but then arm issues surfaced and have sapped Feliz of much of his strikeout upside.  Opponents still have difficulty squaring up his pitches, but his walk rate has increased in each of the last 2 seasons.  If he can regain the pop on his fastball this could be a steal, but he was already sent to the minors as his velocity was down this spring.

SP Corey Kluber - $1 - Merry Tyler's Moors - Kluber is a pitcher who doesnt strikeout a ton of batters, but he doesnt walk many either.  For his career, he strikes out nearly 4 batters for every 1 that he walks.  That ratio keeps his WHIP low even though he gives up more than a hit an inning.  For $1, why not?

RP Drew Smyly - $1 - Merry Tyler's Moors - Wow...another reliever who strikes guys out and doesnt give up many hits.  Stop the presses.  There seems to be a number of this type of player.  It makes sense that these guys cost only $1.

OF Gregory Polanco - $1 - Merry Tyler's Moors - Finally, someone worth talking about.  Polanco is the #24 prospect in baseball accordign to Baseball Prospectus.  His speed combined with average power and decent walk rate project him as a top of the order table setter for the Buccos.  When he reaches the show, he will give the Pirates a starting OF made up entirely of CF caliber players (McCutcheon, Starling Marte).  Polanco should be up later this year, making this a potential keeper steal.

Zach and Tyler discussed their repsective pick ups of
Pirate farmhands.  I'm not sure which one is Zach
and which one is Tyler.

SP Jameson Tallion - $1 - The Zach Attack - I imagine the conversation went like this:
Tyler- "Hey Zach."
Zach- "Hey Tyler."
Tyler- "I'm going to pick up Polanco, the guy from the Pirates farm system."
Zach- "So...since we're brothers, I should probably pick up a Pirate too.  I think it'll be Tallion."
Tyler- "Cool.  I'll tell mom that we finally did something together."
Zach- "Dont you tell mom. I'll cut you."
-scene-
Tallion is the "other" top 3 pick that the Pirates are counting on to become rotation staples (Gerritt Cole is the other).  Tallion has the stuff to be a fantasy ace, but has run into some minor arm issues in the past several months.  I actually contemplated making the add this week with Tallion as well, but couldnt figure out who I wanted to drop.  This is a potential team altering pick up at $1.

SP Taijuan Walker - $1 - MBAS - Instead of Tallion, I settled on Walker. Walker had a cup of coffee last year, throwing 15 innings across 3 games while allowing 15 baserunners and striking out 12.   He is Baseball Prospectus's #8 prospect heading into this year and has a spot waiting for in the Mariners rotation when he comes off the DL at the end of April. 

RP Brian Wilson - $0 - MWP Masters - Lying in bed, just like....  The beard isnt nearly as feared as he once was.  Wilson is another of the faceless, nameless mass of RPs who strike guys out and dont give up a ton of runs.  I will refer to this concept from now one as "Project Mayhem."  Members of Project Mayhem have no name.