Here we go again. The keeper deadline cannot come soon enough. When I promised to start up the Jargon for baseball, I thought, How hard could it be?
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| Well, would you look at that. The National League just got stronger once again. By my count, 14 of the top 18 starting pitchers in MLB (according to ESPN player ratings) are in the JLB's National League. Seven of the top 10 catchers are in the NL. Six of the top 10 first basemen are in NL (Not counting Posey who was also ranked at catcher). Eight of the top 14 third basemen are in the NL, a ninth is on the FA list. Six of the top 10 left fielders are in the NL, and the Gamblers own two of the four in the AL. Six of the top 10 center fielders are in the NL. Seven of the top 10 right fielders are in the NL. Second base and shortstop are the only positions where the AL has the upper hand. |
And that's a shame because I need to see a doctor.
This offseason of trading has also left me with a rash and a bald spot where I continue to scratch my head.
The Jerk made me lose a decent amount of hair the other day, and now, I'm left clawing out some more after Big League Choo handed Choo Choo train tickets to Felix Hernandez and Alex Wood.
In return, he gets Sonny Gray, a pitcher who I do like, but doesn't make this deal a winner for him.
First of all, can I say that I'm a little upset that I didn't save the Game of Trades reference for this article when a King was traded?
I need to pull a George Costanza and go back and try it again — Well, the Jerkstore called, and they're running out of you!
Anyway, I digress. For ERA, this is a killer deal. He gains players number 29 and 30 this offseason (something like that, I may be exaggerating the total a little, but I can't be off by much), and two days from now, he'll pick 17 from those 30 acquisitions and send the other 13 to the draft pool.
I joke about the number of players acquired, but if he was going to acquire two more — I mean, hell, what's two more at this point? — he picked the right two in King Felix and Wood.
First, Felix is a sure-fire ace. He is top-five fantasy without a doubt. And yes, his velo was down last year, but his numbers were not. He still struck out 216, went 12-10 on a bad team and put up a 3.04 ERA with a 1.13 WHIP. Add a little offense in 2014 and a decent closer, and King Felix will get close to his ESPN projections, making it worth it for ERA.
But then, you add in Alex Wood, who I've heard some great things about after his 3-3 season with 77 strikeouts and a 3.13 ERA in 77.2 innings pitched, and this deal heavily shifts in favor of ERA.
Gray had similar numbers in 64.0 innings pitched, so to me, Wood for Gray is a wash.
So that means, Choo gave up Felix so he could gain back the original first-round pick — he now has two — and move up with three other picks. With all the trades made, Choo ends up with two first round picks, a late second, no third, one fourth, and two fifths.
Basically, he will select Choorratically throughout the draft.
And positioning isn't too much of a big deal at the start, as long as you plan accordingly. As mentioned numerous times, you can get great players anywhere in the draft; you just have to draft them at the right time.
ERA and Cheesesteaks just proved you can get great players before the draft, too. ERA drops back a few spots here and there, but looking forward, he'll take that for a few more good years of Felix — that's the plan.
Then again, after this offseason, I have no clue what the plan is for these two compulsive traders.
For ERA, this deal makes sense. He put on his Frank Wren cap and got right to work. The Braves saw Medlen go down and less than 48 hours later, they were signing Ervin Santana. Medlen goes down for ERA, and less than 48 hours later, he's working the "phones" to get a deal done.
Choo will claim victory with this deal today, but when Felix finishes in the top-five in Cy Young voting, he will sit down at his desk — or table, iron throne, or whatever he sits at to make these insane deals — and think, "Man, I could have Max Scherzer and King Felix. Instead, I have Sonny Gray and Johnny Cueto."
Choo on that.
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