Crooked Pitch

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Here is the list of fantasy catchers who play in the American League Central Division. You’ll only find players on this list that will or could make a fantasy impact in 2008.

1. Victor Martinez | Cleveland Indians
2. Joe Mauer | Minnesota Twins
3. Ivan Rodriguez | Detroit Tigers
4. A.J. Pierzynski | Chicago White Sox
5. John Buck | Kansas City Royals
6. Mike Redmond | Minnesota Twins
7. Kelly Shoppach | Cleveland Indians
8. Jose Morales | Minnesota Twins
9. Donny Lucy | Chicago White Sox
10. Vance Wilson | Detroit Tigers
11. Matt Tupman | Kansas City Royals
12. Toby Hall | Chicago White Sox
13. Mike Rabelo | Detroit Tigers

Update: The 2008 AL draft list has been posted on the 2008 fantasy baseball draft list page.

Todays pitch count is 8.

1. Backing up what I said yesterday, on two accounts, concerning the Atlanta Braves center field situation, Will of C-n-C states that Bobby Cox was very impressed with Jordan Schafer during his trip to the AFL and Braves brass think Schafer could be up roaming CF at “The Ted” by the All-Star break. That being said, the Braves probably won’t block Schafer’s upward mobility by signing a big time free agent this offseason (read: Josh Anderson temporarily fills in).
2. In Thursday’s SportsNation chat with Keith Law, Texas Rangers fans find out that Law is high on pitching prospects Kason Gabbard (”Gabbard’s a 4A guy”) and Eric Hurley (”Hurley’s a #2/3 type, fastball’s a little true, but he’s moved very quickly”) but thinks the Rangers are a few years away from recognizing their other big time pitching prospects Michael Main and Kasey Kiker (”Kiker and Main are possible 1/2 types… Kiker’s curveball is one of the best in the minors. So things are looking up, but it’s going to take another two to three years before the Rangers can harvest this talent.”).
3. The countdown of MiLB’s top 50 prospect list is complete now.
4. C-n-C also completes their list of the top 30 Atlanta Braves prospects.
5. The McCovey Chronicles takes some time to grade the SF Giants minor league depth at every position.
6. Mound Talk discusses the the top 10 Detroit Tigers prospects.
7. Friar Forecast lists the top 30 San Diego Padres prospects.
8. John Sickels posted his top 20 Houston Astros prospects.

I’m going to break down each position by league and division. After I am finished with all of that, I will then compile a complete draft list for you and move things around into many different formats to fulfill all your fantasy needs.

Let’s start with AL West catchers. The only players making this list are catchers with fantasy value or potential value for 2008.

1. Kenji Johjima | Seattle Mariners
2. Jarrod Saltalamacchia | Texas Rangers
3. Kurt Suzuki | Oakland Athletics
4. Mike Napoli | Los Angeles Angels
5. Gerald Laird | Texas Rangers
6. Jeff Mathis | Los Angeles Angels
7. Rob Bowen | Oakland Athletics
8. Jeff Clement | Seattle Mariners
9. Landon Powell | Oakland Athletics
10. Max Ramirez | Texas Rangers

Update: The 2008 AL draft list has been posted on the 2008 fantasy baseball draft list page.

For the past month the fantasy baseball world has been centered around Fall and Winter Leagues, MLB trades and talk of big league prospects. And don’t think that those three topics are going to fade away anytime soon, because they’re not. However, it is time to add another topic to the list. It’s time to start getting your draft lists ready for your 2008 drafts.

Sometime in February, or usually in March, hundreds of thousands (probably more) of fantasy baseball drafts take place. Most fantasy GM’s arm themselves with a few magazine publications as their “research staff” and head into the draft knowing they’ll dominate in 2008. And while those magazines are great, remember one thing. They are published sometime around the new year so thay can hit newsstands and bookstores by February. Some of the material might get dated.

The great thing about grabbing your player research online is that it’s fresh. I know that I am starting these draft lists early, but when those magazines are sitting on the shelves, I’ll be able to update my draft lists at any time. If a player switches leagues, I can immediately move him on the draft lists. If a player goes down with an injury or smacks a bajillion doubles in Spring Training, I can update the draft lists. Ain’t the internet cool?

By all means, still grab yourself three magazines at Barnes & Noble. I know I will. But also, come back here and keep up to date with my draft lists, or the lists at Roto Authority, at Fantasy Baseball Express at Fantasy Insider Online and a host of others. And even go a step further. Argue with me. Tell me why David Wright is a better fantasy third baseman than ARod (he’s not). If you argue with your fantasy magazine, people may look at you strange (I speak from experience). But, if you come argue with me, here at Crooked Pitch, you’ll at least get a few words in before I call you crazy. And best yet, I won’t even charge you $6.95. It’s all free here, baby!

So get ready! Over the next few days and weeks, the fantasy baseball draft lists will come rolling out. Enjoy… and yell!

Todays pitch count is 2.

1. Three extremely interesting items I found in ESPN Sportsnation’s 2:00 PM chat with Jim Callis on Wednesday. Speaking of Cincinnati Reds AAA stud Jay Bruce, “Bruce is the best prospect in the minors”. Callis also said that he would take Dodgers minor league pitcher Clayton Kershaw over any other pitcher in the minors. And finally, when asked who the 2008 opening day Atlanta Braves center fielder would be he replied, “Josh Anderson”.
2. Who knows who’s the front runner for nabbing Johan Santana in a trade. Until the deal is done, we’re all just speculating. Right? Well, a TwinCities.com sports columnist thinks that the Boston Red Sox may be the front runners right now. And more importantly, they may have found a way to get Santana without parting with Clay Buchholz or Jacoby Ellsbury.

Playing in the Arizona Fall League is an honor most major league prospects cherish and look forward to. Usually, it’s just prospects that are close to the big league level who get a shot to play in the AFL. And while the AFL isn’t quite as much of an audition as Spring Training is for securing a spot on the big league club, if you excel in Arizona you can increase your chances for promotion.

Here are five outfield prospects that opened the eyes of scouts in the AFL and might have unlocked the door to a promotion in 2008.

1. Caleb Stewart | New York Mets - Stewart had a very unique fall season playing for the Scottsdale Scorpions. He came barreling out of the gate with 4 home runs in his first 4 games. Then an oblique injury caused him to miss nearly two weeks of play. Upon his return he belted two more home runs to share the lead in AFL home runs with 6. His numbers in the AFL were .318/.400/.773 with 2 doubles, 6 home runs, 11 RBI and a 12:6 strikeout to walk ratio in 12 games and 44 at-bats. Those power numbers are impressive even with the limited playing time he received. Stewart popped 16 home runs for AA Binghamton in 2007 while hitting .252/.314/.400. He’s going to need big time spring numbers to go along with his AFL performance if he’s going to crack the already packed Mets OF.
2. Sam Fuld | Chicago Cubs - Fuld had some amazing slash stats in the AFL producing a line of .402/.429/.626 with 3 home runs, 11 doubles and 2 triples with 14 RBI and 10 stolen bases. Whew! Take a breath. That was one long sentence, but some pretty powerful numbers. Now that Jacque Jones, Craig Monroe and Cliff Floyd are no longer on the Cubs roster, there are two outfield spots available with 4 players competing for them. In addition to Fuld, Felix Pie, Matt Murton and Ronny Cedeno all hope to secure spots next to Alfonso Soriano guarding the ivy covered walls of Wrigley. Fuld “wowed” people in the AFL and needs to keep that up this spring and playing time a plenty will be his reward in 2008.
3. Nate Schierholtz | San Francisco Giants - Schierholtz bopped 16 home runs for AAA Fresno in 2007 while hitting .333/.365/.560 with 31 doubles and 10 stolen bases. He was called up late in the season and flourished there, as well, hitting .304/.316/.402. With his left handed bat and strong arm, Schierholtz has been called the Giants right fielder of the future. Well, if his performance during his 23 games and 89 at-bats in the Arizona Fall League has anything to say about it, the future may be now. Schierholtz hit 4 home runs and 8 doubles while posting slash stats of .348/.363/.596 in the AFL and will surely get many opportunities to earn playing time in the Giants ‘08 outfield.
4. Jordan Schafer | Atlanta Braves - Just for the record, let’s get the negatives out of the way first. Prior to 2007, Schafer struggled massively, never hitting above .240. However, 2007 was a breakout year, and remember he’s only 21 years old. Schafer hit .312/.374/.513 with 15 home runs and 49 doubles while splitting time between Hi A Myrtle Beach and Lo A Rome. He also stole 23 bases. His AFL experience lent more evidence that Schafer was ready for a promotion. In 105 AFL at-bats Schafer hit .324/.395/.429 with a home run and 6 doubles with 10 stolen bases. Many are asking to see Jordan Schafer replace free agent Andruw Jones for the beginning of the 2008 season. However, Schafer’s path may be blocked, temporarily, by Josh Anderson, who the Braves acquired in a recent trade from Houston. Schafer should see MLB time in 2008. Spring training could reveal just how soon he’s going to make it.
5. Andrew McCutchen | Pittsburgh Pirates - McCutchen did fine as a 20 year old in AA Altoona and even raised his numbers during his short promotion to AAA Indianapolis. His complete minor league line read as .265/.329/.388 with 24 doubles, 11 home runs and 21 stolen bases in 2007. His batting average and on-base percentage rose while playing in the AFL where he hit .286/.381/.378 with 5 doubles and 8 stolen bases in 98 at-bats. Even more encouraging is that his 12:14 strikeout to walk ratio was much better than the 94:48 K:BB ratio he posted in minor league action. Baseball America lists McCutchen as the top prospect in the Pirates organization and with his strong finish at AAA Indianapolis and the improvements he’s made in the AFL there is no reason he won’t enter Spring Training as a candidate for an Pirates outfield spot in 2008.

Today’s pitch count is 6.

1. Brian Anderson, the Chicago White Sox 2003 first round draft pick, isn’t worried about whether or not he’s going to play winter ball. He’s solely focused on playing big league baseball in 2008. Maybe he should be less hung-up on whether or not the Sox are going to sign a free agent outfielder and get his butt down to Mexico and get the extra at-bats he missed in 2007.
2. Billy Wagner thinks that the loss of Tom Glavine and Paul Lo Duca combined with the off-season moves of the Braves and Phillies have made the New York Mets a 3rd place squad in the NL East.
3. MLBTrade Rumors reported a “zero verification” trade rumor that involved the Twins sending Justin Morneau to the Angels for Ervin Santana and Casey Kotchman. I was so appalled when I read this that I had to visit the original source of the rumor. I smiled when I saw that the original poster had already taken this rumor off of his blog. I guess Tim was 100% correct about the “zero verification” tag he placed on this rumor. Relax Twins faithful! The only way the Twins pull the trigger on this trade is if they can sneak Ervin Santana over to the Yanks instead of Johan Santana.
4. Chop-n-Change is continuing with their Atlanta Braves top 30 prospects series with prospects ranked from #10 to #6.
5. South Side Sox released their community prospect list announcing the top 9 White Sox prospects.
6. Citing “reliable sources”, DRaysBay announces that Boof Bonser is headed to Tampa.