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As mentioned in an earlier post, the KC Royals and the Florida Marlins have swapped players. First baseman Mike Jacobs is joining the Royals and relief pitcher Leo Nunez is on his way to Miami. Let’s now look at the Nunez side of this deal.

Nunez will join the bullpen as a set-up guy, most likely. His ERA was good in Kansas City in 2008 at 2.98 over 48.1 innings. But his strikeout total (26) and strikeout to walk ratio (26:15) don’t particularly lend well to being promted to the closers role, which is currently held by Kevin Gregg. Or is it Matt Lindstrom?

No matter if it’s Gregg or Lindstrom who enters 2009 as the Marlins closer, consider Nunez the third in line, at best. He’ll be a source for holds (if your league uses that category) and that’s about it.

Immediately making changes in the off-season, the KC Royals and the Florida Marlins swap players. First baseman Mike Jacobs is joining the Royals and relief pitcher Leo Nunez is on his way to Miami.

Jacobs hit 32 home runs and drove in 93 in 2008 for the Marlins but the fantasy goodness stops there. He only batted .247 and had a very low 67 runs. His run total is low because this guy never seems to get on base, which is proven by his .299 on-base percentage.

Expect Jacobs to split time between DH and first base, which leaves this question. What do the Royals do with Ryan Shealy and Billy Butler now that there is a third person to take up at-bats?

Second base prospect Drew Sutton spent the entire 2008 season in Double-A Corpus Christi for the Astros hitting fairly well. His slash stats were .317/.408/.523 and he hit 39 doubles, 20 home runs, and knocked in 69 in 520 at-bats. But, it’s his sick 41 at-bats in the Arizona Fall League that are causing folks to think about Sutton as an addition to the Astros big club in 2009.

In 41 at-bats at the AFL, Sutton is batting .463/.579/.927 (read:1.506 OPS), has five doubles, four home runs and 14 RBI. He’s impressing Astros brass with his plate discipline and glove work, and his AFL manager feels he’s hitting himself onto the Astros club in 2009.

Said Scottsdale manager Shane Turner, “He’s shown more power that you’d think would come out of that body. He has a pretty good idea of the strike zone.”

Turner said Sutton also has impressed on defense. Because Astros outfielder Brian Bogusevic missed time early in the season because of a tweaked hamstring, Sutton was asked to play in the outfield. He played four games in center, four at third and three at short.

“It’s a hard thing when you move around as much as he does,” Turner said. “But his bat is going to find a position for him. When you make a mistake to him, he’s not going to miss it.”

Sutton is a natural second baseman, but he did play shortstop and third base in 2008. If he continues on this torrid pace, the Astros could give him a chance to win the third base job in Spring Training. These are all big ifs, but Sutton should be on your radar from this point forward.

Well, I wouldn’t go that far, but Melvin over at The Sacrifice Bunt has posted some interesting drawings of possible changes being made to Petco Park. It seems as if the right field wall is moving in.

Adrian Gonzalez owners are rejoicing. Jake Peavy owners… not so much.

The Colorado Rockies have announced to the baseball world that they will entertain offers for fantasy stud Matt Holliday. Instead of allowing Holliday to play the final season of his contract in Colorado and then test the free agent waters, the Rockies want to see what they can get for the outfielder.

The question remains, would leaving the hitter’s haven of Coors Field hurt Matt Holliday’s fantasy value?

In 2008 Holliday hit .332 with 15 home runs at home, and .308 with ten home runs on the road. While those aren’t huge differences, his road numbers would almost certainly not allow him to be a first round pick. To further prove that point, look at his slash stats and how they relate to his RBI production. At home, Holliday averages .332/.413/.584 and drove in 59 runs. But, on the road his averages were .308/.405/.486 with only 29 RBI. That almost 100 point reduction in slugging percentage seemed to take its toll on his RBI total.

It’s even worse in you look at his career home/road splits.

• Home - .357/.423/.645 with 84 home runs and 307 RBI in 1353 at-bats
• Away - .280/.348/.455 with 44 home runs and 176 RBI in 1303 at-bats

Here are the fantasy baseball rankings for the top ten closers for the 2008 season. I will also list the predictions from the pre-season at the bottom of this post for comparison.

1. Francisco Rodriguez, Los Angeles Angels - Set a Major league record with 62 saves, but saw his strikeouts drop by 15%, his WHIP go up and his batting average against go up. Fantasy owners couldn’t have cared less. 2 Wins | 62 Saves | 77 K’s | 2.24 ERA | 1.29 WHIP
2. Joakim Soria, Kansas City Royals - A Kansas City closer making this list??? Who would have thunk it??? Soria was dominant from day one. You could even argue that Soria was more dominant than Rodriguez. 2 Wins | 42 Saves | 66 K’s | 1.60 ERA | 0.86 WHIP
3. Brad Lidge, Philadelphia Phillies - Lidge has re-emerged as a top notch closer. 2 Wins | 41 Saves | 92 K’s | 1.95 ERA | 1.23 WHIP
4. Joe Nathan, Minnesota Twins - With the departure of Johan Santana many thought that Nathan’s save total would drop. It didn’t. 1 Win | 39 Saves | 74 K’s | 1.33 ERA | 0.90 WHIP
5. Mariano “Not Juan” Rivera, New York Yankees - Rivera isn’t the elite closer he used to be, but he’s still extremely good. Those six wins are nice too. Especially since he only blew one save. 6 Wins | 39 Saves | 77 K’s | 1.40 ERA | 0.67 WHIP
6. Jonathan Papelbon, Boston Red Sox - Papelbon brought his save total up and really boosted his strikeout to walk ratio (5.60 in 2007 to 9.625 (77:8) in 2008). But his ERA also went up as did his number of blown saves. 5 Wins | 41 Saves | 77 K’s | 2.34 ERA | 0.95 WHIP
7. Jose Valverde, Houston Astros - Valverde ranks second on the saves list, but his ERA hurt his fantasy value some. he also had seven blown saves. 6 Wins | 44 Saves | 83 K’s | 3.37 ERA | 1.83 WHIP
8. Kerry Wood, Chicago Cubs - The smooth transition to the closer role was exactly what the Cubs needed. Now for Wood to become an elite closer his ERA will need to come down a bit. 5 Wins | 34 Saves | 84 K’s | 3.26 ERA | 1.09 WHIP
9. Francisco Cordero, Cincinnati Reds - Cordero has the the second highest WHIP of anyone on this list and his ERA isn’t one of an elite closer. But, he’s getting it done most of the time, and that was good enough for #9 here. 5 Wins | 34 Saves | 78 K’s | 3.33 ERA | 1.41 WHIP
10. B.J. Ryan, Toronto Blue Jays - He’s not nearly the pitcher he was before Tommy John surgery, but he’s no slouch either. 2 Wins | 32 Saves | 58 K’s | 2.95 ERA | 1.28 WHIP

2008 American League Fantasy Baseball Closer Rankings (Pre-Season)

1. Jonathan Papelbon | Boston Red Sox
2. Joe Nathan | Minnesota Twins
3. J.J. Putz | Seattle Mariners
4. Francisco Rodriguez | Los Angeles Angels
5. Bobby Jenks | Chicago White Sox
6. Mariano Rivera | New York Yankees
7. Huston Street | Oakland Athletics
8. Joakim Soria | Kansas City Royals
9. Todd Jones | Detroit Tigers
10. Troy Percival | Tampa Bay Rays
11. Joe Borowski | Cleveland Indians
12. C.J. Wilson | Texas Rangers
13. Jeremy Accardo | Toronto Blue Jays
14. Jamie Walker | Baltimore Orioles

2008 National League Fantasy Baseball Closer Rankings (Pre-Season)

1. Takashi Saito | Los Angeles Dodgers
2. Jose Valverde | Houston Astros
3. Francisco Cordero | Cincinnati Reds
4. Billy Wagner | New York Mets
5. Trevor Hoffman | San Diego Padres
6. Chad Cordero | Washington Nationals
7. Manuel Corpas | Colorado Rockies
8. Jason Isringhausen | St. Louis Cardinals
9. Brad Lidge | Philadelphia Phillies
10. Rafael Soriano | Atlanta Braves
11. Brandon Lyon | Arizona Diamonbacks
12. Kevin Gregg | Florida Marlins
13. Kerry Wood | Chicago Cubs
14. Eric Gagne | Milwaukee Brewers
15. Brian Wilson | San Francisco Giants
16. Matt Capps | Pittsburgh Pirates

Here are two notes about catching prospects from Arizona Fall League action.

• Baltimore’s top prospect Matt Wieters is following up a 2008 minor league season, where he hit a combined 27 home runs and batted .355 in Advanced-A and Double-A, with a good showing in the Arizona Fall League. In 33 at-bats he’s .333/.463/.455 with two doubles, a triple, and five RBI. He’s also throwing out catchers at a pleasing rate and started at catcher for the National Rising Stars in the recent Rising Stars Showcase.
• Atlanta prospect Tyler Flowers had Braves fans whispering his name last Spring Training as he previewed his power potential. He didn’t make the big club, but he did belt 17 home runs for Advanced-A Myrtle Beach. He’s showing off again this off-season in the AFL as he’s hit five home runs in nine games and is batting .467/.543/1.100.