Sleepers for 06

Manager Joined: Dec 22, 2004 Posts: 93

Josh Willingham- Can definetly hit but can he catch
or play the outfield?

Cory Sullivan- Not sure if he's a sleeper but can he
repeat his 2005 campaign?

Sean Burroughs- Will his career be revived in
Tampa?

J.J. Hardy- Can September '05 carry over to
April '06?

Posted: Sun Dec 18, 2005 10:51 am

No offense, but Sullivan's 2005 campaign was mediocre.

Manager Joined: Dec 22, 2004 Posts: 93

These are just sleepers. No All-Stars here.
Mediocre is what we're looking for here. Mediocrity out of a player that's been known as less than an average player.

Posted: Sun Dec 18, 2005 4:22 pm

Quote:

I'm surprised that of all the young pitchers out there you picked Hurley. Not a guy I've seen on too many lists. Plus he's coming up in Texas which has one of the worst pitchers' parks and no success at developing pitchers -- but I'm interested in hearing why you like him.

I like Hurley bc he is a 6ft4in RHP with good stuff -- he's big and throws hard. He is still in A ball though. He threw 155.1 innings last year and struck out 152 -- almost a k per inning (thats in 28 starts). He had a respectable, but high for a future all-star (IMO), era at the A level of 3.77. He went 12-6 in those 28 games. He gave up only 135 hits and 59 walks in those 155.1 innings (1.25 WHIP) -- only 11 of the 135 were HR's which is why i don't think the ballpark will hurt him as much (thats a HR every 12.27 hits) -- so assuming he gives up 9 hits a start (respectable) thats only 1.5 HR's every 2 starts..... thats good for a rookie and by the time he reaches the majors (at worst his debut will be in Sept. 07 and hell secure a spot in the rotation in 08 -- thats at worst ... at bes it will be Sept 06 and secure in 07) ... yes the ballpark will hurt but by the time he is a starter on the MLB level, the wind studies will be done and the ballpark will have fixed that problem - for the most part

Keep in mind the DVD's will be pitching with him so by 08 (at latest) the starting rotation should be:
C. Young
J. Danks
T. Diamond
E. Volquez
E. Hurley
-- no particular order --

Posted: Sun Dec 18, 2005 4:39 pm

drob320 wrote:

No offense, but Sullivan's 2005 campaign was mediocre.

You're right Roland, Sullivan will be mediocre if that is what you are looking for. He should be able to develop a little more power (with the help of Coors), but he won't be great.

I would just like to point out my unintentional pun.

Manager Joined: Dec 22, 2004 Posts: 93

I agree.

Posted: Mon Dec 19, 2005 7:00 am

roland1 wrote:

These are just sleepers. No All-Stars here.
Mediocre is what we're looking for here. Mediocrity out of a player that's been known as less than an average player.

Very good point, especially for deep leagues. Finding the guys at the end of the draft that outperform expectations can really tip the scale.

And auctions are often won with the $1-$5 sleepers that nobody wanted. In my Al-only auction league I got Eric Byrnes for $2 and BJ Ryan for $1 in 2004 and almost won the title with a team I didn't think would contend before the auction.

I think we all really need to do our homework on the pitchers in hopes of finding those starters that might give you 10 wins and an ERA of 4.00 or those bullpen vultures that could chip in several wins and saves and some tidy ERA/WHIP's.

Pitching is so unpredictable -- imagine if the guy who burned $29 or a 4th round pick on Mike Mussina or Curt Schilling had instead bought a hitter with that pick instead and then used his last pick to snag a guy like Duchscherer or Chacin...

Quote:

No offense, but Sullivan's 2005 campaign was mediocre

p.s. -- Sullivan sounds to me like a terrific guy you might be able to snag with your last pick or $1 in a deep league.

Manager Joined: Dec 22, 2004 Posts: 93

rosineater:

What pitchers do you like? I'm in a Scoresheet league and late in the draft, I love to pick up some pitchers that'll get me alot of innings with a low whip.
I'm not sure if your familiar with Scorsheet but the stats I look at are whip, ops, and defensive range.

Posted: Mon Dec 19, 2005 7:45 am

rosineater wrote:

I think we all really need to do our homework on the pitchers in hopes of finding those starters that might give you 10 wins and an ERA of 4.00 or those bullpen vultures that could chip in several wins and saves and some tidy ERA/WHIP's.

I agree entirely. For instance, last year my pitching staff was excellent from the start (Santana and Peavy), but I wasn't able to truly dominate until I nabbed Danny Haren and Paul Byrd a couple weeks into the year.

Posted: Mon Dec 19, 2005 7:52 am

One guy that I think could hold good value for the money is Josh Towers. Towers second half last year was absurd(2.91 era, whip slightly above 1) hes not gunna help u in k's, but hes a solid option to get draft day...

Posted: Mon Dec 19, 2005 7:57 am

Towers won't be very good next year. Just my opinion, but I watched most of his starts last year, and I don't think he is that good. Same goes for Chacin. I see McGowan and eventually Purcey or Romero being the 3rd or 4th starters starters in the Jays rotation.

Manager Joined: Dec 22, 2004 Posts: 93

I play in an NL only league and must say, my knowledge of the AL is very minute. I know only of the stars and the players that have switched leagues in the past two years. I am very familiar, in depth, with the NL.
So what guys are you looking at in the NL?

Posted: Mon Dec 19, 2005 3:06 pm

brainstorm wrote:

One guy that I think could hold good value for the money is Josh Towers. Towers second half last year was absurd(2.91 era, whip slightly above 1) hes not gunna help u in k's, but hes a solid option to get draft day...

Here's a thread where we talked about Towers earlier, and why I'm not wild about him:

http://rotochamps.com/ftopict-6678.html

Nothing wrong with slapping a buck or two on him, if he comes that cheap.

Posted: Mon Dec 19, 2005 3:20 pm

roland1 wrote:

rosineater:

What pitchers do you like? I'm in a Scoresheet league and late in the draft, I love to pick up some pitchers that'll get me alot of innings with a low whip.
I'm not sure if your familiar with Scorsheet but the stats I look at are whip, ops, and defensive range.

Well, I haven't made a projection set yet, and I'm not familiar with Scoresheet or it's scoring system, so that's a tough question. Also it depends on how many players you draft and how many teams, in order to determine the caliber of guys that might be available in the last rounds.

If WHIP is big and if rules permit I'd be looking at some of the better setup men and middle relievers. Their WHIPS will kick the butts of late-round starters.

Manager Joined: Dec 22, 2004 Posts: 93

Yes, that's basicly what I look at. Scot Linebrink and Luis Ayala. Any late round picks that may produce like these two in '06?