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Today’s pitch count is 9.

1. There’s a position battle heating up at Texas Rangers camp. Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Gerald Laird will be fighting it out this spring for the starting catcher spot. Manager, Ron Washington says, “It’s going to be a healthy competition”.
2. Terry Francona isn’t sure who his starting center fielder will be, Coco Crisp or Jacoby Ellsbury.
3. Jason Jennings says that he is healthy and looking forward to competing for a Texas Ranger rotation spot.
4. More Texas Ranger’s news as upper management has declared C.J. Wilson as the front runner for the closer’s job.
5. Bengie Molina isn’t too sure about his new role as the San Francisco Giants cleanup hitter.
6. Pedro Martinez has always been a wonderful supplier of great quotes. Why should that stop with his feelings on pitching during the steroid era?
7. Hideo Nomo, you’re 39 years old, haven’t pitched in the big leagues in two years, and recently had elbow and shoulder sugery. Where do you think you can get a job in a starting rotation? Kansas City…
8. Scott Kazmir thinks that playing in October is a possibility for the Rays.
9. Jose Reyes spent his off-season in the Dominican training by running long distances. Reyes thinks he’ll be faster in 2008.

Versatility rocks!!!

A hitter who can play multiple positions is uber-valuable for a manager. What’s important for a fantasy GM is if that player qualifies for multiple positions. There are more than 50 hitters out there that have played in 15+ games at, at least, two positions, which qualifies them for both positions in most leagues. However, there are only five players who…

• Qualify at two or more positions
• Have the power to hit double digit home runs
• Have the speed to rack up double digits in stolen bases

Here they are, ranked by Average Draft Position supplied by Mock Draft Central.

1. B.J. Upton | Tampa Bay Rays | ADP: 22.92 (late 2nd round) | 2B/OF - Posted slash stats of .300/.384/.508 while launching 24 home runs and swiping 22 bases in 2007. But, a few of his other numbers (high strikeout rate of 32.5%, low contact rate of 68% and a very high BABIP of .399) lead me to believe that his numbers are inflated. You can still expect 18+ home runs and 25+ stolen bases in 2008.
2. Carlos Guillen | Detroit Tigers | ADP: 52.74 (early 5th round) | SS/1B - You don’t see the shortstop/first base combo too much, but when Edgar Renteria and Miguel Cabrera come to town and take over the left side of the infield, you’d best be able to play first base. Guillen hit 23 home runs last season and added 13 stolen bases while approaching .300. Expect something very similar in 2008, but don’t expect any future years with positional versatility like this. Guillen is locked at first base to stay.
3. Alex Gordon | Kansas City Royals | ADP: 145.06 (early 13th round) | 3B/1B - Gordon had some growing pains in his first MLB season as he only hit .247/.300/.411 with 15 home rus and 14 stolen bases. 2008 should be better as he could approach a 20/20 season.
4. Josh Fields | Chicago White Sox | ADP: 181.49 (early 16th round) | 3B/OF - Injuries forced Fields into MLB service earlier than most expected and boy did he shine. In only 373 at-bats he bopped 23 home runs. Fields also has some speed, although he didn’t show it in ‘07, as he stole 26 bases in 2006 at the AAA level. The White Sox are going to have to find 500+ at-bats for Fields in 2008, and if they do, good things will happen. Fields could hit 25 home runs and steal 10 bases if given every day playing time.
5. Felipe Lopez | Washington Nationals | ADP: 239.08 (late 20th round) | SS/2B - Many things are looking up for Felipe Lopez. The most important change may be the new hitter friendly ballpark the Nationals will play in this season. Lopez hit 9 home runs in 2007 and stole 24 bases, but the 2008 Felipe Lopez might well hit 13+ home runs and 30+ stolen bases. If he can bump his average up a bit, he’d be a virtual steal in the 20th round.

Today’s Pitch Count is 5.

1. We talked a few weeks back about Brandon Inge and his new role as a platoon player that even included some time at the catcher position. Well, now Jim Leyland thinks Inge will most likely be traded.
2. Josh Bard signed a new one year deal for $2.2375 million. The question remains is that money for a back-up catcher or will Bard be starting in front of Michael Barrett?
3. Barry Zito, not Matt Cain, will be the Oakland A’s opening day starting pitcher.
4. It’s still up in the air regarding Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher, Jason Schmidt, and his ability to be ready for opening day.
5. Baltimore Orioles manager, Dave Trembley, wants to give George Sherrill the first opportunity at replacing Chris Ray as the O’s closer.

Say it ain’t so…

Let me first preface this blog post by saying that neither the St. Louis Cardinals nor Albert Pujols himself have verified these rumors. I’m doing my best right now to get a definite answer, but any fantasy GM who is going into a draft soon with an early to middle pick in the first round needs to listen up. Listen up!!!

A few very prominent bloggers have posted stories about Albert Pujols and his health going into the 2008 season.

MLBnewsonline writes about Pujols,

“He was already voicing concern about his right elbow, which probably needs Tommy John surgery, and if that elbow (or the back or the hammies) give him significant trouble…he might not be able to battle through the pain again.”

Speculation is growing that Dominican slugger may miss significant portions or perhaps even all of the season, though it doesn’t seem to make sense that Pujols would have waited this late to make the decision to undergo invasive medical procedures had he not already committed to try to play in 2008.

Eric at Fake Teams writes,

The question fantasy players have to deal with is how much this report from a radio personality is new information and how much it just has its source in the Albert press conference. No fantasy player who has drafted Albert Pujols wants this to be new info because it means there 1st round pick in 2008 was just flushed down the toilet.

I’m not sure I’m on the bandwagon of believability yet, as this is shocking news. I find it hard to believe that Pujols would have waited until this close to Spring Training to decide to have surgery. I also think that Pujols saying that he wouldn’t play through elbow pain again in 2008 is a far cry from anyone announcing that he needs surgery and will miss the 2008 season. Lets not put the cart before the horse. I want facts and I want them now.

More to come…

There’s been lots and lots of talk about the role Joba Chamberlain would take for the Yankees in 2008. On the hunch that Chamberlain would move into the starting rotation, his stock rose. In fact, his Average Draft Position is 147.55 (12th round) with an earliest picked position of 97 (8th round). These high draft position numbers could change as the New York Post is reporting that Chamberlain will start the season as the New York Yankee set-up man.

The Yankees plan on leaving Chamberlain in the pen to start the season to keep his 2008 innings pitched at a manageable level. Then they can ease him into the starting rotation.

For those of you who drafted Joba in the middle rounds thinking he would be a starter… Sorry. His fantasy value drops dramatically with this news. No relief pitcher, without a closer’s job, is worth that high of a draft pick. And unless your league uses the holds category, Chamberlain is best left undrafted. Why?

Chamberlain is going to spend an undetermined amount of time at the beginning of the year as the 8th inning guy. Then the Yankees are going to ease him into a starters role. Expect some growing pains there. Once the relief role and the growing pains end, you’re most likely looking at the All-Star break. As good as Chamberlain might be (read: it’s still not a certainty he’ll overachieve as a starter), drafting him just for the 2nd half of the season isn’t the best draft strategy. Sign him once he hits the rotation, but not before.

Thanks to Mock Draft Central for the Average Draft Position figures!

• Update 2-12-2008 at 5:24 PM: The LoHud Yankees Blog stated that Brian Cashman wasn’t certain, yet, what Joba Chamberlain’s role will be for the ‘08 Yankees pitching staff.
• Update 2-13-2008 at 10:49 AM: Joba Chamberlain could also be sent to the minors to prepare for his changing role to the rotation. This time in the minors could last 3-4 weeks.

Over at The Cleveland Fan, Tony Lastoria wrote an article about Indians prospects that could help the big club in 2008. Only 2 of them have any real fantasy value, and even then a few things have to happen.

• Aaron Laffey is in the mix for the Indians final rotation spot. Keep an eye on this situation in Spring Training and if he makes the club as the #5 starter he could have some value as a late round guy in AL only leagues.
• Adam Miller is a fire-baller who needs to have a very good spring just to be considered for the big club in April. And even with a good spring, Miller probably won’t make the Opening Day roster. He had a very decent Arizona Fall League showing with 11 strikeouts in 13 innings pitched with only 3 walks.That being said, Miller isn’t draftable for the fantasy GM, but you should keep an eye on him as he has huge upside potential and will be up in 2008.

I just came across a three part series over at The Baseball Analysts authored by Rich Lederer. In these three posts he’s going to rank 75 players under the age of 25, but he’s doing it with a twist. He’s going to break them down by age. Furthermore, the methodology for his rankings are truly interesting.

The rankings are heavily weighted toward stats, age vs. level of play, and position. Tools and upside also played a part, as did opinions by Baseball America, Keith Law, and Kevin Goldstein, especially among younger prospects. Ultimately, the rankings are based on a discounted present value of the future returns (like they do in the financial world) of each player’s career. The closer the expected returns, the higher the value.

Anyone who plays in a keeper league should read these three posts (Only two of them have been published, so far)

• Rich Lederer’s 25 and 24 year olds list
• Rich Lederer’s 23 and 22 year olds list
• Rich Lederer’s 21 and 20 year olds list          Update: 2/13/2008 at 1:04 PM