Could you rate my team from 1-10, and give me some pointers/tips and maybe what I should do with my team?

10 person league, head-to-head. I will tell you my team then list the good Free Agents. My strategy is to get good batting and get pitchers late (b/c you can always pick up quality pitchers), and to get lots of Sp's(lots of sps=lots of Ks, so just need Sp's with low era + many wins). I might lack a bit power, and i try to adress that. My Team:





C-K.Johjima


1b-P.Fielder


2b-H.Kendrick


3b-E.Encarnacion(Cin)


SS-J.Reyes


Of-M.Holliday


Of-J.Bay


Of-R.Baldelli


Util-T.Hafner


Util-R.Furcal


Bench-B.Hawpe





Sp-C.C.Sabathia


Sp-C.Young(SD)


Sp-R.Hill(CHC)


Sp-S.Olsen


Sp-J.Patterson


Sp-C.Hensley(SD)/J.Sowers(Cle)-not sure which to keep


Sp-A.J.Burnett


Rp-M.Rivera


Rp-B.Fuentes


Rp-J.Isringhausen


Sp/Rp-A.Wainwright(STL)


DL-E.Gagne





Good Free Agents:


A.Kearns(Was-OF)


K.Griffey(Cin-OF)


C.Jackson(Ari-1b)


C.Young(Ari-OF)


S.Drew(Ari-SS)


G.Anderson(LAA-OF)


A.Iwamura(TB-3b)


J.Edmonds(STL)





J.Zumaya(DET-RP)


C.Lee(Cle-RP)


J.Francis(Col-SP)


J.Maine(NYM-SP)


D.Turnbow(Mil-RP)


A.Reyes(STL-RP)


A.Loewen(BAL-SP)


Z.Duke-PIT

Could you rate my team from 1-10, and give me some pointers/tips and maybe what I should do with my team?
Pick up Edmonds, and Drew.





Wainwright is classified as a releiver but he's going to be a starter for St. Louis. He's a good sleeper pick! Great Pick!





Get rid of Hafner, Bay, and Sowers.





As for your other question keep Hensley because he can have a great year with lots of strikeouts!
Reply:well your team looks pretty good overall.





hitting: your right, you do lack just a lil bit of power. but you have holiday and hafner so they will get the bulk of your HR's. you might be in better shape if fielder has a steller year. you look good on steals and runs. so just keep an eye on guys like garret anderson and stephen drew. garret will post some good numbers and stephen is a rookie so he has some upside.





pitching: your pitching is good but you lack that top-notch guy. you might be able to get away with it with your platoon of "medicre pitchers" so you might be ok there. also i like your RP's.. you should be set there.





pick ups: like i said with the hitters, watch garret anderson and stephen drew. pitchers, of course you have to watch zumaya. as soon as todd jones goes down, the flamethrower will be in there. other then that i dont like much on your pitching waiver wire.





overall ill give your team an 8 outta 10.





good luck!!
Reply:7-8! Ok balance, but nothing stands out. Relief may be overkill. Lots of relief guy strategies can kill you. I lived that strategy a few times. LOL. Lower ERA. NOPE. Never worked out for me anyway. Injuries will get you.





---First off, I keep Hensley, not Sowers. He's primed to become a ace(esp. in SD) according to many.





---Izzy along with Gagne may be some good trade material. Both are falling out of the top 20 as relievers. Consider it even if it sounds suicidal. LOL Still strong w/o them.





---Wainwright may put up some big numbers as a setup building up to suceeding Izzy. Remember he had 4 saves in the playoffs in Izzy's absence? Can Iz make it?





---G. Anderson is supposed to primed for another big season as an OF. Remember him as a 30HR 100+RBI guy? Good pick-up to help a light hitting OF. Youre OF needs some pop somewhere. NOT Griff or AK!!!





---Encarnacion in Cincy? Good potential on a team that made little improvement. Think about finding another 3rd.





---Kendrick? Too soon to ride him as an everyday 2B w/o a safety net. you know a Ryan Freel type multi position guy is what i usually get just in case. Wigginton was who I used last year. He had 2b,3b,OF. I spelled injuries w/him and days off! If he's available again, check him out. He's still in TB where they have to play him. LOL. Gotta get #'s there, right?





---Johjima had a great rookie year, but watch for the sophomore slump. Put a flag on David Ross in Cincy. He hit 21 HR's in under 250 AB last year and with Larue gone may eat 500 AB this year. I know I said Cincy made no improvement and to look away from EE, but I think this is one exception. Hamilton in cincy as a rook if Griff stays down.Flag him to watch.





---Turbow was a disaster last year and will be a gain til he gains control of his offspeed stuff.





---Zumaya, wow. What a pitcher. Don't know what value he'd have on fantasy unless he gets the nod to closer though. Could hide him in case. He may get hot once some guys in your league find out he is the hardest thrower in MLB.





Not a bad team, but without some more power and run production that pitching staff can't pull you past those even match ups. I know you said that. LOL. Those are the thing I believe will make you more formidable.
Reply:I would start Brad Hawpe (22 HR's/84 RBI)over Rocco Baldelli (16 HR's/54 RBI), Hawpe last year broke out and he is playing in Colorado where HR's are hit on the regular, i have a feeling that Hawpe will hit about 25-28 while Baldelli will finish with his normal 13-15.





I would then start Travis Hafner (.308/42 HR/117 RBI) at 1B over Prince Fielder (.271/28 HR/81 RBI). Hafner has proven himself as one of the premiere offensive players in the game while Prince Fielder is still unproven and even if he has a good year it wont be nearly what Hafner will put up (an MVP candidate).





Your lineup is dangerous especially with 2 great pickups (IMO) in Howie Kendrick and Edwin Encarnacion. These are 2 young studs who are gonna have great seasons this year, probably hit 55-60 HR between the 2. Kenji Johjima is in his second year and last year he flashed signs of being a very good offensive catcher and should breakout even more this season. Matt Holliday and Jason Bay are 2 of the most underrated OF's (offensively) in the game and both should have great seasons quietly. Jose Reyes gives you speed, average, and surprisingly a little more power than ppl realize. 10-12 HR for a leadoff guy isnt bad at all.





Pitching: Good staff but not great unless AJ Burnett lives up to the hype (which he didnt last season). CC Sabathia is in the running for Cy Young and with the lineup behind him should reach 18 possibly 20 wins. AJ Burnett is good but he just hasnt been worth all the money. Chris Young was one of the surprises last season with SD and based on pure talent alone he will have a great career. Rich Hill is another young and talented pitcher and i expect him to have a breakout year this season and if the offense erupts like its supposed to he could win 15 games easily. I would keep Jeremy Sowers over Hensley. I like Hensley but Sowers is a beast and again has a great offense and defense playing alongside of him. John Patterson could be a hell of a pickup if he pitches like he did 2 seasons ago when he finished the season with an ERA of around 3.20. Your relief pitching has talent but i would ditch Jason Isringhausen, he is done for as a top reliever. Pick up Joel Zumaya, kid is a STUD and tops over 100 regularly. Plus he knows how to pitch which is a plus. Some of these things are wrong, like Adam Wainwright is def. gonna be a starter this season so i would def. have him in my top 5. Cliff Lee and AL Reyes are listed as RP but in reality they are very good SP. Cliff Lee is a hell of a pitcher and Al Reyes broke out last season helping lead what was deemed a "weak staff" to a WS last season. John Maine isnt a bad pickup either but i would wait, he has had flashes of greatness but see how he does in a full season first. Zach Duke is a stud even though he is playing for a horrible Pittsburgh team. If i were you i would go with these guys in this order:





CC Sabathia


Chris Young


Rich HIll


Cliff Lee


AJ Burnett


Adam Wainwright


Zach Duke


Jeremy Sowers


Al Reyes





Drop Olsen and Hensley for sure, maybe keep Patterson. Def. drop Isringhausen for Zumaya. I would get rid of Gagne for Derrick Turnbow. Gagne is to risky right now, already starting the season on the DL. Def. gotta make your closer Mariano Rivera.





The only FA worth picking up for offense is Ken Griffey Jr., id grab him for Baldelli if i were you. Griffey last season hit .300 with 30 bombs and about 90 RBI before going down, although he does get hurt often when he's in he is dangerous and actually throughout the last 2 years he's getting closer and closer to being healthy for an entire season. If you want power and RBI potential Griffey is much better than Baldelli.





As i see it right now, your team is about an 8.2, thats just b/c ur pitching staff is a little iffy with AJ Burnett and a bunch of youngsters and also your lineup is full of young players to, you never know what may happen they could turn into prodigy's or lose it forever.





Hope it helped, best of luck.