Crooked Pitch

If you haven’t been to Mock Draft Central and gotten in a few mock drafts, you need to do that. The data used today is taken from their ADP trend report, which I pulled this morning.

Over the last week here are the hitters that are seeing the biggest upward moves in their average draft position.

1. Rocco Baldelli | Boston Red Sox | +52.4% - With the announcement of Baldelli joining the Red Sox, Baldelli has risen more than any other player in baseball over the last week. His ADP was 420.84 and is now 276.08 placing him in the 23rd round.
2. Erick Aybar | Los Angeles Angels | +35.0% - I suppose that charging the mound with a bat in your hand is the path to fantasy relevance. Aybar moved into the 23rd round this week at 275.04 from 371.21 last week.
3. Nelson Cruz | Texas Rangers | +15.9% - A batting average of .330 with seven home runs in his limited 115 at-bats last season squarely placed Cruz on every sleeper list around. He’ll be a household name by the time your fantasy draft comes around, so don’t over pay. Last week his ADP was 180.62, but over this past week it’s risen to 155.86 putting Cruz in the 13th round.
4. Willy Taveras | Cincinnati Reds | +14.0% - Taveras is climbing this week because he found a new team. And the Reds have penciled him (and his 65+ potential stolen bases) in at the center field position. Taveras is now being taken in the 15th round (179.23 ADP) instead of the 17th round (204.31 ADP).
5. Chase Utley | Philadelphia Phillies | +13.2% - Utley’s been hovering in the 3rd round because of his injured right leg and uncertain return status to baseball. But when he announced that he’ll be ready by opening day, the ADP started to rise from 26.58 to 23.49. If Utley is ready by Opening Day, he’s a a bargain at the back of the 2nd round.

Other hitters of note that moved well this week: Grady Sizemore (+6.4%), Jacoby Ellsbury (+8.2%), Chris Davis (+11.5%) , Matt Wieters (+10.2%), Jayson Werth (+11%), Mike Napoli (+9.7%), Jose Lopez (+11.9%), Fred Lewis (+11.6%), Jason Kubel (+11.4%), Mark Ellis (+13.2%), and Matt Joyce (+13.2%)

Just wanted to make a short post today to highlight a guy who is becoming pretty useful in deeper leagues. Maicer Izturis got off to a rough start this year due to some bad luck on balls in play, but the skills he’s showing this season (and his SS/2B/3B eligibilty) make him a fantastic bench player in leagues where there isn’t a lot of value on the wire, especially with the glut of injuries that have struck middle infielders recently.

Let’s compare what Izturis is doing this year to a comparable middle infielder who is a starter in many leagues, Placido Polanco:

As an added bonus, Izturis has six stolen bases to Polanco’s two, and has a 78% success rate to Polanco’s 69%.

The Angels seem committed to getting Izturis playing time lately, as he’s started every game there since Howie Kendrick’s return. It’s doubtful he’ll be a 100% full-time player when Erick Aybar returns, but Maicer does have the hot hand lately, going 12 for his last 22 (and hitting .300 since May 1st) and has consistently hit in one of the top two spots in the Angels’ order. There’s not a ton of upside there, but like Polanco, it’s very likely he’ll give you a solid average and good run totals at a tough position, with the added bonuses of speed and versatility.