National League East
For the second straight season, the “Jammermetric Scale” predicted the JimmyJam Slammers to win the division title.
This must be rigged, because it was the only division that the number-crunching method predicted incorrectly. The Outs are the reigning division champions, but after wrapping up his first division title in his first season in the JLB, the Outs fell in the first round of the playoffs to the Wild Card qualifying Slammers.
The Slammers continued on to win his second World Series title.
For the Outs, it was tough to watch.
Now, he has a chance at revenge, and the perfect revenge will be keeping the Slammers from going to the playoffs.
That’s something this whole division is going to do to each other. The best division by far in all of JLB, the NL East was the only division not to have a team with a losing record in 2011. Vandelay was close, clocking in at 210-210-60, but he was much better than his record suggests. He just had to deal with the Outs and Slammers all year.
The same will happen this year to all three. They’ll have to deal with each other. It’s clear in the division poll, which has the Slammers winning, but the slimmest of margins — two points over the Outs, who came in just three points ahead of Vandelay.
This will definitely be the division to watch again in 2012. They're all going to pick up big wins outside the division, and then they're going to battle like hell within the division.
1. JimmyJam Slammers
2011 Record/Finish: 236-195-73/Second in division, National League pennant, World Series Champion
Owner’s All-Time Record: 960-735-297 (.556)
The Slammers have never been happier with their roster, according to a source close to the front office.
And the difference from 2011 to 2012 is the front office is particularly happy with the offense, which got off to an extremely slow start last season.
Not this season, if all goes right.
Andrew McCutchen and Adam Jones are both young center fielders who have power and speed, and they’re going to bat around .280, drive in 80 runs and score close 90 runs. There’s great potential for there to be more than that, but we’ll stick to what is the universal projection.
Then there’s Hanley Ramirez, who is going to bat better than .300 and drive in 100 runs. Where are these projections coming from? Not ESPN. Ramirez’s poor 2011 season that was cut short due to injury has led to poor projections with many media outlets. Add in the offseason turmoil where he apparently, he was going to be unhappy with a switch to third base.
But wait. Enter Jose Reyes. Enter Ozzie Guillen. Enter fun.
Ramirez is having fun and he’s happy to be at third base. And I guarantee that we’ll see numbers similar to his 2009 season when he batted .342 with 101 runs and 106 RBIs.
Maybe I’m just sipping the Braun Kool-Aid that Parker is drinking, but I really think I’m right about Hanley. Or is it hope?
Hope is what I had for Eric Hosmer, who former Reds GM Jim Bowden believes is the next Joey Votto. He should know; he drafted Votto for the Reds. He said that Hosmer has a great chance at being an All-Star this year, and that’s saying something when you look at the other first basemen in the AL.
Another key for the Slammers could be Brandon Belt, who has a lot of potential and the Giants absolutely need to win the division this year.
The Slammers will continue to rely on pitching with some of the top pitchers in majors, but this was already discussed in the draft preview. The additions of Brandon Morrow and Colby Lewis will help greatly, and Jeremy Guthrie could be a potential breakout candidate, getting out of the AL East. Yeah, he’s pitching in Coors Field, but when you face the Padres, Giants, Diamondbacks and Dodgers more than anyone else, you’re looking much better than when you were facing the Yankees, Red Sox, Blue Jays and Rays 18 times each. In 19 Interleague starts, he had a 3.62 ERA. That’s much lower than his 4.19 career ERA and a 4.27 ERA against AL teams.
The Slammers also hope the AL East move to the NL will help A.J. Burnett, who should make his first start in May. Now if he could only get Brian Matusz to leave the AL East. The latter three pitchers are going to be key for the Slammers. If these picks pan out, he could be bringing home trophy number three.
2. You’re Freaking Out
2011 Record/Finish: 234-180-66/National League East Champion
Owner’s All-Time Record: 234-180-66 (.556)
There wasn’t much the Outs needed to do in the draft but it was clear that speed was a target. Adding Emilio Bonifacio, Dee Gordon and Cameron Maybin — projected 120 steals combined amongst the three — clearly show that the Outs are looking to gain an advantage in the speed categories (triples, SACs and SBs).
He also added a pair of big boppers in Michael Cuddyer and Adam Dunn. Cuddyer is going to be benefiting from the Coors Field effect — or at least he should — and call me crazy, but Dunn is definitely not done.
Last year was an awful season. And “awful” may not even cover it. He batted .159 in 415 at-bats, hitting a career-worst 11 homers (not counting the season where he hit eight in 44 games). Throw out last season and throw out the 44-game 2008 season, Dunn has hit 38 or more homers and driven in 100 or more RBIs six times since 2004.
I’d be willing to bet that he return to his 35-homer, 100-RBI form — which makes him a gem of a draft pick in the 11th round. I personally had him on my list, but I wasn’t going to take him that soon because I already have a full-time DH in Billy Butler, but Dunn is certainly worth the UTIL roster spot.
The Outs had some decent pitchers in his keeper column — Jon Lester, Mat Latos, Dan Haren and Matt Moore — so when he added the Athletics’ top starter Brandon McCarthy, he created a great five-man rotation.
He also added a pair of Brewers starters who are underrated, Randy Wolf and Shaun Marcum, who both collected 13 wins last season.
Outside of the top five, there are some questions, though.
Still, the Outs will have enough offense to win several batting categories, and the top five starters will certainly deliver some top-notch performances that will hand the Outs some huge double-digit wins in 2012, and put him in contention for a second straight division title.
3. Vandelay Industries
2011 Record/Finish: 210-210-60/Third in division
Owner’s All-Time Record: 464-387-133 (.576)
Third place? Really? That’s what the Jammermetric Scale came up with?
Is it crazy that the man the Scale is named after doesn’t believe it’s right?
Well, whatever, I’m going with it. My official prediction is that Vandelay is winning this division. I really don’t see how he doesn’t.
One, Buster Posey is back. That's really all I have to say. Look at his stats. Look at what he means to that lineup which I think will score a lot more runs than it did in 2011.
Two, Starlin Castro is going to battle Ichiro for the MLB lead in hits, and heading into 2013, fantasy magazines will list Castro as the No. 1 shortstop.
Three, Dustin Ackley is the second baseman I wish I didn’t let go two years ago — if only I knew then what I know now about Chase Utley. Ackley, as we saw in Game 1 of the season, is going to put up some big numbers this season. He’s got power. He’s got decent speed. He’s got the ability to make contact and hit around .300. He’s Chase Utley of four years ago and the Industries hope he just continues to hit like Utley and not degenerate like him. (Oh, it’s an upsetting subject for me.)
Back to the list.
Four, Giancarlo Stanton is going to be a 30 homer, 100-RBI hitter very soon, and possibly this season.
Five, Matt Kemp. Why did I wait so long to mention the man who should have won the National League MVP last year? (Shut up, Parker. You know it’s true.) Well, perhaps it’s because he’s a five-tool player? No, actually, I’m just looking up and down the lineup and writing all the reasons I like this team and it took me four players to see Matt Kemp. That may be appropriate though. Most of the nation seems to skip over him when you think about top-notch MLB hitters. He’s the best center fielder in the game and he’ll retain that title for years to come.
Six, Ryan Zimmerman. New contract, new look team with a new wave of confidence. Zimmerman will hit .280 and drive in 80/90 runs.
Seven, Kendrys Morales. I was so close to drafting him, but I already had three first basemen and I had to pay attention to a few other positions at the time. Still, he hung around for quite a bit in the draft, going in the eighth round. To me, that’s a little late.
Yes, there’s injury concerns, but since returning to the lineup in the spring, he’s 10-for-20 with two homers and four RBIs. That’s .500 if you don’t have a calculator. Yeah, it’s only 20 at-bats, but I guarantee that he’s going to keep this going and hit .300 during the regular season.
Eight, Carlos Santana. His averages are a little low, but you have to like the homers and the RBIs.
That’s eight reasons and I haven’t even touched pitching. Roy Halladay and Yovani Gallardo are two of the best pitchers you can have in baseball. Ricky Romero isn’t bad either, but I’m not putting him in the same sentence as the aforementioned starters. He's lucky. He gets to hang around in the same paragraph.
But, if there is one problem with Vandelay, it’s the rest of the pitching staff, which conjures up questions left and right.
Adam Wainright, can he overcome Tommy John? Mike Minor, can he finally show up for the Braves? Johan Santana, is his spring training turnaround for real? Can it continue into the season? And can it last? … All those questions apply to Francisco Liriano, too. And Wei-Yin Chen. Who the hell is Wei-Yin Chen? And what about Ryan Vogelsong? He hasn’t even begun pitching because of lower back issues and he will begin the season in Triple-A. Lastly, Bartolo Colon. He had a great opener, going eight innings of allowing one run, but it was against the Mariners. Can we expect that all season? I’m not even sure Vandelay thought it could happen in his season debut because he had him benched.
So, yeah. There are some questions there.
But I have to say, if two or three of those questionable pitchers turn in good seasons, Vandelay is in the playoff hunt. If four or more do, well, look out, Vandelay is going to get you.
National League West
The only thing different between 2011 and 2012 for the Chief Otto Parts is the team name. Last year, under the alias Ronald Duncan, he led the National League in wins and easily won his division by 46 games, the most in all of JLB.
It was simple. Too simple. And then, he had to play in the playoffs. Then everything fell apart in the NLCS against the Slammers.
But enough about that. It’s a new year and … well, let’s be honest. The Otto Parts are set up nicely to take the NL West again. His competitors, Team Suck and The Duchess, the League’s new owner, Craig Johnson, have several question marks.
Team Suck has many questions in the batting department, while Duchess has some injury and pitching issues.
Combine those two teams to form one single team and the Otto Parts have a problem. But that's not how it works.
Team Suck presents the biggest challenge, especially if the bats get going. But from my personal predictions — as well as the Jammermetric Scale prediction — Otto Parts will be the NL West King again in 2012.
1. Chief Otto Parts
2011 Record/Finish: 245-171-64/National League West Champion
Owner’s All-Time Record: 245-171-64 (.577)
The Otto Parts will own the power categories for sure. With just two of 17 batters on the team projected to hit single-digit home runs, the Otto Parts are in for a big season in the HR and RBI categories. Seven players are projected to hit 20 or more, and two — Miguel Cabrera and Troy Tulowitzki — have projections above 30.
In the words of one New York announcer, “See yah!”
Whereas the Otto Parts will own some of the power categories on a weekly basis, with that power comes (no, not great responsibility) strikeouts and lower averages. Cabrera and Tulo will hit above .300 and Hunter Pence will be right around the .300 mark, too, but the rest of the lineup should be between .260 and .280.
Otto Parts will likely split the batting categories with his opponents, so where the dominance will come in is in pitching.
The foursome of Felix Hernandez, Justin Verlander, Derek Holland and Ian Kennedy are going to be a dominant force. Add in draft pick Brandon Beachy, and I think we’re looking at a team that could roll in pitching category wins weekly — especially on the weeks where everything is lined up perfectly to give Verlander and King Felix multiple starts.
He's got some future pitchers and an even mix of relievers to help out, too.
The Duchess
2011 Record/Finish: 200-218-62/Second in National League West
Owner’s All-Time Record: 183-231-90 (.452)
Ah, the Noisy Basterds. Welcome back. A new team. A new league. Same old poor management I’m sure.
His first question before joining was, “How many Phillies are available in the draft?”
When the response was, “Well, I think Placido Polanco will be out there,” he groaned a bit.
And when the draft came, the only Phillie he grabbed was Jim Thome. … Maybe he’s over his Philly obsession. Too bad he didn’t have a pitcher obsession in the draft. He really could have used that.
He started out looking like he was going to address the issue, drafting Matt Garza with his No. 4 pick in the draft, but that was it. He added starters Scott Baker, Gavin Floyd and Homer Bailey, who are lucky to be on rosters. Baker was just placed on the DL.
So that means Sterling Archer (that’s what I’m going to call him — and if you don’t watch FX’s great show “Archer,” you won’t understand and shame on you) is going to run with starters Tim Lincecum, Matt Garza and John Danks, added with Ricky Nolasco and Jhoulys Chacin.
The first three, I need not discuss. They’re decent No. 1s and 2s in fantasy baseball. Nolasco is hot and cold, but when he’s hot, you want him on your team. And Chacin is young and still developing, and who knows at this point if he’s the real deal.
Still, I’d rather have that unknown than the mystery of Homer Bailey. A Texas hurler who has all this great stuff, but hasn’t been able to put it together. Mentally, he’s been a mess and it’s why you’ll see him throw that one three-hit complete-game shutout that makes you shout, “Finally, Bailey is ready.” Then, he’ll give up seven runs and be yanked in the middle of the second inning. Right, Parker?
One thing is for sure. With 11 bats on the bench, Archer is going to want to finger (phrasing) who he’s going to need during the season and ditch who he won’t, so he can grab himself some more pitchers.
There’s some interesting starters out there who may be worth having on the roster over guys like Skip Shumaker, Gordon Beckham and Chris Davis. … And maybe even Jim Thome.
3. Team Suck
2011 Record/Finish: 157-263-60/Second in National League West
Owner’s All-Time Record: 782-933-277 (.462)
Team Suck is in a similar situation as Duchess. So much hitting, not a lot of pitching. He made a move after the draft to add Matt Harrison, who definitely should have been drafted by someone, but instead, he was a waiver move to start the year, and I believe a good one, at that.
Prior to that addition, Team Suck had just six starting pitchers. Two of them are studs, Matt Cain and Zack Greinke. Yeah, I know Greinke hasn’t been the same since his Cy Young year with the Royals, but this could be the bounce back year. After years of avoiding it, Greinke finally added the cutter to his pitching repertoire and I expect it to bring great things for the right-hander.
In fact, I think he’ll be a prime candidate for the NL Cy Young.
Cain will also deliver quality numbers, but I don’t think he’ll be that high up on the Cy Young voting; mainly because I think his two teammates, Tim Lincecum and Madison Bumgarner, are going to be the Giants’ top Cy Young candidates in 2012.
Johnny Cueto could be in for a good season with the Reds, but that’s an up-in-the-air prediction. I personally have the Reds winning the division, so I imagine Cueto will get wins as a result. And as for the other starters, Tim Hudson and Ted Lilly are up there in age and battling injuries, and Josh Tomlin is still young and trying to put it together in the majors.
When it comes to closers, with three 35-plus save candidates — Joel Hanrahan, Carlos Marmol and Frank Francisco — Team Suck is set. If he can play the matchups right, he can win the ERA, WHIP, Walks and Losses categories, but the other categories where other teams can pile up the starts and pad the numbers (quality starts, wins and strikeouts) will be in jeopardy.
And that’s not a bad strategy, forfeiting a few categories to ensure wins in the others, but to make it work, Team Suck will need the offense to come through. He’s got a lot of choices, but there is one in particular I like a lot.
In left field, the Pirates’ Alex Presley is going to be amazing. I like this guy a lot and I think his ESPN projections are extremely low. I think he’ll be leading off or batting second for the Pirates and getting on base for guys like Andrew McCutchen, Casey McGehee and Pedro Alvarez to drive him in.
Suck expects to get good power numbers from Prince Fielder and Mark Reynolds, but I think the key in his team lies in Jimmy Rollins, Colby Rasmus and Lance Berkman.
First, Berkman has to be crazy beast he was last season. Second, Rollins needs to finally bounce back and hit .280/.285. No more of this .260 crap.
And Rasmus needs to arrive period. All the hype surrounding him boiled over into a bitter departure in St. Louis which cost him a World Series ring. Now he’s in Toronto where he still wasn’t playing well last season, and this could be his last chance to shine. Both the Blue Jays and Team Suck have center fielders waiting to come up and push his .250 bat out of the lineup.
A potential sleeper bat for Team Suck is Alejandro De Aza. I was tempted to keep him, but I just didn’t have the room for him on my roster, so naturally, I think this was a great pickup for Team Suck.
For the second straight season, the “Jammermetric Scale” predicted the JimmyJam Slammers to win the division title.
This must be rigged, because it was the only division that the number-crunching method predicted incorrectly. The Outs are the reigning division champions, but after wrapping up his first division title in his first season in the JLB, the Outs fell in the first round of the playoffs to the Wild Card qualifying Slammers.
The Slammers continued on to win his second World Series title.
For the Outs, it was tough to watch.
Now, he has a chance at revenge, and the perfect revenge will be keeping the Slammers from going to the playoffs.
That’s something this whole division is going to do to each other. The best division by far in all of JLB, the NL East was the only division not to have a team with a losing record in 2011. Vandelay was close, clocking in at 210-210-60, but he was much better than his record suggests. He just had to deal with the Outs and Slammers all year.
The same will happen this year to all three. They’ll have to deal with each other. It’s clear in the division poll, which has the Slammers winning, but the slimmest of margins — two points over the Outs, who came in just three points ahead of Vandelay.
This will definitely be the division to watch again in 2012. They're all going to pick up big wins outside the division, and then they're going to battle like hell within the division.
1. JimmyJam Slammers
2011 Record/Finish: 236-195-73/Second in division, National League pennant, World Series Champion
Owner’s All-Time Record: 960-735-297 (.556)
The Slammers have never been happier with their roster, according to a source close to the front office.
And the difference from 2011 to 2012 is the front office is particularly happy with the offense, which got off to an extremely slow start last season.
Not this season, if all goes right.
Andrew McCutchen and Adam Jones are both young center fielders who have power and speed, and they’re going to bat around .280, drive in 80 runs and score close 90 runs. There’s great potential for there to be more than that, but we’ll stick to what is the universal projection.
Then there’s Hanley Ramirez, who is going to bat better than .300 and drive in 100 runs. Where are these projections coming from? Not ESPN. Ramirez’s poor 2011 season that was cut short due to injury has led to poor projections with many media outlets. Add in the offseason turmoil where he apparently, he was going to be unhappy with a switch to third base.
But wait. Enter Jose Reyes. Enter Ozzie Guillen. Enter fun.
Ramirez is having fun and he’s happy to be at third base. And I guarantee that we’ll see numbers similar to his 2009 season when he batted .342 with 101 runs and 106 RBIs.
Maybe I’m just sipping the Braun Kool-Aid that Parker is drinking, but I really think I’m right about Hanley. Or is it hope?
Hope is what I had for Eric Hosmer, who former Reds GM Jim Bowden believes is the next Joey Votto. He should know; he drafted Votto for the Reds. He said that Hosmer has a great chance at being an All-Star this year, and that’s saying something when you look at the other first basemen in the AL.
Another key for the Slammers could be Brandon Belt, who has a lot of potential and the Giants absolutely need to win the division this year.
The Slammers will continue to rely on pitching with some of the top pitchers in majors, but this was already discussed in the draft preview. The additions of Brandon Morrow and Colby Lewis will help greatly, and Jeremy Guthrie could be a potential breakout candidate, getting out of the AL East. Yeah, he’s pitching in Coors Field, but when you face the Padres, Giants, Diamondbacks and Dodgers more than anyone else, you’re looking much better than when you were facing the Yankees, Red Sox, Blue Jays and Rays 18 times each. In 19 Interleague starts, he had a 3.62 ERA. That’s much lower than his 4.19 career ERA and a 4.27 ERA against AL teams.
The Slammers also hope the AL East move to the NL will help A.J. Burnett, who should make his first start in May. Now if he could only get Brian Matusz to leave the AL East. The latter three pitchers are going to be key for the Slammers. If these picks pan out, he could be bringing home trophy number three.
2. You’re Freaking Out
2011 Record/Finish: 234-180-66/National League East Champion
Owner’s All-Time Record: 234-180-66 (.556)
There wasn’t much the Outs needed to do in the draft but it was clear that speed was a target. Adding Emilio Bonifacio, Dee Gordon and Cameron Maybin — projected 120 steals combined amongst the three — clearly show that the Outs are looking to gain an advantage in the speed categories (triples, SACs and SBs).
He also added a pair of big boppers in Michael Cuddyer and Adam Dunn. Cuddyer is going to be benefiting from the Coors Field effect — or at least he should — and call me crazy, but Dunn is definitely not done.
Last year was an awful season. And “awful” may not even cover it. He batted .159 in 415 at-bats, hitting a career-worst 11 homers (not counting the season where he hit eight in 44 games). Throw out last season and throw out the 44-game 2008 season, Dunn has hit 38 or more homers and driven in 100 or more RBIs six times since 2004.
I’d be willing to bet that he return to his 35-homer, 100-RBI form — which makes him a gem of a draft pick in the 11th round. I personally had him on my list, but I wasn’t going to take him that soon because I already have a full-time DH in Billy Butler, but Dunn is certainly worth the UTIL roster spot.
The Outs had some decent pitchers in his keeper column — Jon Lester, Mat Latos, Dan Haren and Matt Moore — so when he added the Athletics’ top starter Brandon McCarthy, he created a great five-man rotation.
He also added a pair of Brewers starters who are underrated, Randy Wolf and Shaun Marcum, who both collected 13 wins last season.
Outside of the top five, there are some questions, though.
Still, the Outs will have enough offense to win several batting categories, and the top five starters will certainly deliver some top-notch performances that will hand the Outs some huge double-digit wins in 2012, and put him in contention for a second straight division title.
3. Vandelay Industries
2011 Record/Finish: 210-210-60/Third in division
Owner’s All-Time Record: 464-387-133 (.576)
Third place? Really? That’s what the Jammermetric Scale came up with?
Is it crazy that the man the Scale is named after doesn’t believe it’s right?
Well, whatever, I’m going with it. My official prediction is that Vandelay is winning this division. I really don’t see how he doesn’t.
One, Buster Posey is back. That's really all I have to say. Look at his stats. Look at what he means to that lineup which I think will score a lot more runs than it did in 2011.
Two, Starlin Castro is going to battle Ichiro for the MLB lead in hits, and heading into 2013, fantasy magazines will list Castro as the No. 1 shortstop.
Three, Dustin Ackley is the second baseman I wish I didn’t let go two years ago — if only I knew then what I know now about Chase Utley. Ackley, as we saw in Game 1 of the season, is going to put up some big numbers this season. He’s got power. He’s got decent speed. He’s got the ability to make contact and hit around .300. He’s Chase Utley of four years ago and the Industries hope he just continues to hit like Utley and not degenerate like him. (Oh, it’s an upsetting subject for me.)
Back to the list.
Four, Giancarlo Stanton is going to be a 30 homer, 100-RBI hitter very soon, and possibly this season.
Five, Matt Kemp. Why did I wait so long to mention the man who should have won the National League MVP last year? (Shut up, Parker. You know it’s true.) Well, perhaps it’s because he’s a five-tool player? No, actually, I’m just looking up and down the lineup and writing all the reasons I like this team and it took me four players to see Matt Kemp. That may be appropriate though. Most of the nation seems to skip over him when you think about top-notch MLB hitters. He’s the best center fielder in the game and he’ll retain that title for years to come.
Six, Ryan Zimmerman. New contract, new look team with a new wave of confidence. Zimmerman will hit .280 and drive in 80/90 runs.
Seven, Kendrys Morales. I was so close to drafting him, but I already had three first basemen and I had to pay attention to a few other positions at the time. Still, he hung around for quite a bit in the draft, going in the eighth round. To me, that’s a little late.
Yes, there’s injury concerns, but since returning to the lineup in the spring, he’s 10-for-20 with two homers and four RBIs. That’s .500 if you don’t have a calculator. Yeah, it’s only 20 at-bats, but I guarantee that he’s going to keep this going and hit .300 during the regular season.
Eight, Carlos Santana. His averages are a little low, but you have to like the homers and the RBIs.
That’s eight reasons and I haven’t even touched pitching. Roy Halladay and Yovani Gallardo are two of the best pitchers you can have in baseball. Ricky Romero isn’t bad either, but I’m not putting him in the same sentence as the aforementioned starters. He's lucky. He gets to hang around in the same paragraph.
But, if there is one problem with Vandelay, it’s the rest of the pitching staff, which conjures up questions left and right.
Adam Wainright, can he overcome Tommy John? Mike Minor, can he finally show up for the Braves? Johan Santana, is his spring training turnaround for real? Can it continue into the season? And can it last? … All those questions apply to Francisco Liriano, too. And Wei-Yin Chen. Who the hell is Wei-Yin Chen? And what about Ryan Vogelsong? He hasn’t even begun pitching because of lower back issues and he will begin the season in Triple-A. Lastly, Bartolo Colon. He had a great opener, going eight innings of allowing one run, but it was against the Mariners. Can we expect that all season? I’m not even sure Vandelay thought it could happen in his season debut because he had him benched.
So, yeah. There are some questions there.
But I have to say, if two or three of those questionable pitchers turn in good seasons, Vandelay is in the playoff hunt. If four or more do, well, look out, Vandelay is going to get you.
National League West
The only thing different between 2011 and 2012 for the Chief Otto Parts is the team name. Last year, under the alias Ronald Duncan, he led the National League in wins and easily won his division by 46 games, the most in all of JLB.
It was simple. Too simple. And then, he had to play in the playoffs. Then everything fell apart in the NLCS against the Slammers.
But enough about that. It’s a new year and … well, let’s be honest. The Otto Parts are set up nicely to take the NL West again. His competitors, Team Suck and The Duchess, the League’s new owner, Craig Johnson, have several question marks.
Team Suck has many questions in the batting department, while Duchess has some injury and pitching issues.
Combine those two teams to form one single team and the Otto Parts have a problem. But that's not how it works.
Team Suck presents the biggest challenge, especially if the bats get going. But from my personal predictions — as well as the Jammermetric Scale prediction — Otto Parts will be the NL West King again in 2012.
1. Chief Otto Parts
2011 Record/Finish: 245-171-64/National League West Champion
Owner’s All-Time Record: 245-171-64 (.577)
The Otto Parts will own the power categories for sure. With just two of 17 batters on the team projected to hit single-digit home runs, the Otto Parts are in for a big season in the HR and RBI categories. Seven players are projected to hit 20 or more, and two — Miguel Cabrera and Troy Tulowitzki — have projections above 30.
In the words of one New York announcer, “See yah!”
Whereas the Otto Parts will own some of the power categories on a weekly basis, with that power comes (no, not great responsibility) strikeouts and lower averages. Cabrera and Tulo will hit above .300 and Hunter Pence will be right around the .300 mark, too, but the rest of the lineup should be between .260 and .280.
Otto Parts will likely split the batting categories with his opponents, so where the dominance will come in is in pitching.
The foursome of Felix Hernandez, Justin Verlander, Derek Holland and Ian Kennedy are going to be a dominant force. Add in draft pick Brandon Beachy, and I think we’re looking at a team that could roll in pitching category wins weekly — especially on the weeks where everything is lined up perfectly to give Verlander and King Felix multiple starts.
He's got some future pitchers and an even mix of relievers to help out, too.
The Duchess
2011 Record/Finish: 200-218-62/Second in National League West
Owner’s All-Time Record: 183-231-90 (.452)
Ah, the Noisy Basterds. Welcome back. A new team. A new league. Same old poor management I’m sure.
His first question before joining was, “How many Phillies are available in the draft?”
When the response was, “Well, I think Placido Polanco will be out there,” he groaned a bit.
And when the draft came, the only Phillie he grabbed was Jim Thome. … Maybe he’s over his Philly obsession. Too bad he didn’t have a pitcher obsession in the draft. He really could have used that.
He started out looking like he was going to address the issue, drafting Matt Garza with his No. 4 pick in the draft, but that was it. He added starters Scott Baker, Gavin Floyd and Homer Bailey, who are lucky to be on rosters. Baker was just placed on the DL.
So that means Sterling Archer (that’s what I’m going to call him — and if you don’t watch FX’s great show “Archer,” you won’t understand and shame on you) is going to run with starters Tim Lincecum, Matt Garza and John Danks, added with Ricky Nolasco and Jhoulys Chacin.
The first three, I need not discuss. They’re decent No. 1s and 2s in fantasy baseball. Nolasco is hot and cold, but when he’s hot, you want him on your team. And Chacin is young and still developing, and who knows at this point if he’s the real deal.
Still, I’d rather have that unknown than the mystery of Homer Bailey. A Texas hurler who has all this great stuff, but hasn’t been able to put it together. Mentally, he’s been a mess and it’s why you’ll see him throw that one three-hit complete-game shutout that makes you shout, “Finally, Bailey is ready.” Then, he’ll give up seven runs and be yanked in the middle of the second inning. Right, Parker?
One thing is for sure. With 11 bats on the bench, Archer is going to want to finger (phrasing) who he’s going to need during the season and ditch who he won’t, so he can grab himself some more pitchers.
There’s some interesting starters out there who may be worth having on the roster over guys like Skip Shumaker, Gordon Beckham and Chris Davis. … And maybe even Jim Thome.
3. Team Suck
2011 Record/Finish: 157-263-60/Second in National League West
Owner’s All-Time Record: 782-933-277 (.462)
Team Suck is in a similar situation as Duchess. So much hitting, not a lot of pitching. He made a move after the draft to add Matt Harrison, who definitely should have been drafted by someone, but instead, he was a waiver move to start the year, and I believe a good one, at that.
Prior to that addition, Team Suck had just six starting pitchers. Two of them are studs, Matt Cain and Zack Greinke. Yeah, I know Greinke hasn’t been the same since his Cy Young year with the Royals, but this could be the bounce back year. After years of avoiding it, Greinke finally added the cutter to his pitching repertoire and I expect it to bring great things for the right-hander.
In fact, I think he’ll be a prime candidate for the NL Cy Young.
Cain will also deliver quality numbers, but I don’t think he’ll be that high up on the Cy Young voting; mainly because I think his two teammates, Tim Lincecum and Madison Bumgarner, are going to be the Giants’ top Cy Young candidates in 2012.
Johnny Cueto could be in for a good season with the Reds, but that’s an up-in-the-air prediction. I personally have the Reds winning the division, so I imagine Cueto will get wins as a result. And as for the other starters, Tim Hudson and Ted Lilly are up there in age and battling injuries, and Josh Tomlin is still young and trying to put it together in the majors.
When it comes to closers, with three 35-plus save candidates — Joel Hanrahan, Carlos Marmol and Frank Francisco — Team Suck is set. If he can play the matchups right, he can win the ERA, WHIP, Walks and Losses categories, but the other categories where other teams can pile up the starts and pad the numbers (quality starts, wins and strikeouts) will be in jeopardy.
And that’s not a bad strategy, forfeiting a few categories to ensure wins in the others, but to make it work, Team Suck will need the offense to come through. He’s got a lot of choices, but there is one in particular I like a lot.
In left field, the Pirates’ Alex Presley is going to be amazing. I like this guy a lot and I think his ESPN projections are extremely low. I think he’ll be leading off or batting second for the Pirates and getting on base for guys like Andrew McCutchen, Casey McGehee and Pedro Alvarez to drive him in.
Suck expects to get good power numbers from Prince Fielder and Mark Reynolds, but I think the key in his team lies in Jimmy Rollins, Colby Rasmus and Lance Berkman.
First, Berkman has to be crazy beast he was last season. Second, Rollins needs to finally bounce back and hit .280/.285. No more of this .260 crap.
And Rasmus needs to arrive period. All the hype surrounding him boiled over into a bitter departure in St. Louis which cost him a World Series ring. Now he’s in Toronto where he still wasn’t playing well last season, and this could be his last chance to shine. Both the Blue Jays and Team Suck have center fielders waiting to come up and push his .250 bat out of the lineup.
A potential sleeper bat for Team Suck is Alejandro De Aza. I was tempted to keep him, but I just didn’t have the room for him on my roster, so naturally, I think this was a great pickup for Team Suck.
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