The 2021 Major League Baseball Player Chatter, News and Fantasy Thread

[stevenash]

Jesus

I'd say "The Machine" did just fine for himself with this baseball thing.

As the great Luis Tiant once said in a thick Latin accent "Baseball has been very very good to me"

[Bcatswin]

Yep, he has underwhelmed bigtime. My Padres were in trade talks for him a year or 2 ago and I wanted it to go through. I guess it was a blessing it fizzled out.

sure looks like it hopefully he can turn it around

[Stallion]

Pujols is a smart guy. He was a great hitter, and did it without steroids.

[BigSpoon]

Pujols has a 10 year 10 million dollar personal services contract with the Angles after he retires......

Nice gig after the playing career is done.

[Cross]

Pujols was a beast for so many years.

[jrgum3]

I'd say "The Machine" did just fine for himself with this baseball thing.

As the great Luis Tiant once said in a thick Latin accent "Baseball has been very very good to me"

Yep no kidding Pujols is basically set for life thanks to the contract he signed with the Angels.

[Otters27]

Yep no kidding Pujols is basically set for life thanks to the contract he signed with the Angels.

Man I had a gem mint RC of Albert. Sold it a long time ago for like $50

[EmpireMaker]

• Athletics catcher Sean Murphy is firmly on the mend after an offseason medical scare, Matt Kawahara writes for the San Francisco Chronicle. He discussed his recovery from a collapsed lung, noting that it was quite a bit more terrifying before medical professionals informed him that he could anticipate a relatively swift recovery. Murphy underwent an additional procedure to protect against a recurrence. Though he’s delayed to open spring camp, the top Oakland backstop says he’s “really optimistic” of being fully ramped up in time to get behind the dish on Opening Day. Murphy, 26, will look to establish himself as a first-tier MLB performer after mashing out a .237/.355/.491 slash through his first 200 plate appearances.
• Angels hurler/slugger Shohei Ohtani is under the microscope as he looks to get his pitching career back on track. As Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times reports on Twitter, Ohtani appears to be in a good place from a velocity perspective. The righty says he’s working comfortably in the mid-nineties in bullpen sessions and has touched 97 mph. When last we saw Ohtani in top form, during his brief but scintillating 2018 debut, he was averaging nearly 97 mph with his heater. The hopefully resurgent two-way player is also now toying with a changeup as he fine-tunes his arsenal.
• Dodgers superstar Cody Bellinger seems to be making a strong bounce back from offseason shoulder surgery, as Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register writes. Bellinger, who memorably dislocated the joint in an over-exuberant NLCS home run celebration, says he’s “way ahead” of the anticipated schedule for his recovery. Given his progress to this point, the 2019 MVP says he’s “100 percent” sure he’ll be ready to roll on Opening Day. That’s obviously quite welcome news for the Los Angeles powerhouse. While the Dodgers are perhaps baseball’s deepest team, there’s no replacing a player of Bellinger’s ability. And the club is facing its sternest intra-division test in some time in the form of a talent-laden Padres outfit.

[JAKEPEAVY21]

Yep no kidding Pujols is basically set for life thanks to the contract he signed with the Angels.

He has been pretty subpar with the Angels, awful contract.

[BigSpoon]

He has been pretty subpar with the Angels, awful contract.

Yeah, that contract has been terrible from the start.

[stevenash]

Here are some notable names ant their ADP draft movement.
My draft is 3/31 (one month) I always choose the last drafts available (for obvious reasons)
These moves are for the NFBC which is the National Fantasy Baseball Championship

There is no movement in the top five, all those hitters (Acuna, Tatis, Betts, Soto, and Trout) remain 1 through 5.
deGrom has moved one notch past Cole as the number one pitcher off the board (I liked deGrom over Cole all along)
deGrom is 6 overall, Cole 7.

Beiber still is the third pitcher off the board now has cracked the top 10 ((9th overall up from 12)
Trevor Bauer has been inching up the board since the LA deal.
Bauer is now 14th overall (up from 18, to 15, and now 14)

It's been years since I've seen three SP go in the first round, and Bauer is a high second round selection.
That's as of right now a lot can change in one month and usually does.

Other notes:
There are three SS's going in the first round (Tatis at #2 overall, Trea Turner at #8 overall, and Trevor Story at #12 overall)
There are five OF's (the aforementioned top four) Yelich is the fifth at 11 overall.

The only 3B is J-Ram, he's 10th overall
There are no 1B (Freeman was 11) but his stock has fallen out of the first round down to 14 overall.
Which is no shock, Freddie IMO is a second round pick, not a first.

The first 2B off the board is DJ and he's a consensus third round pick.
Hader is the first closer off, there are 20 other pitchers (all starters) rated over him, and is the 21st pitcher gone.

If you want an elite 2B, you better grab one very early in the draft.
SS position is deep this year, no need to panic if you can't get Tatis, Turner, or Story.
3B, like 2B is shallow up top, so is 1B.

There is a lot of good SP to be had.

I have right now Acuna and Tatis at 1 and 1A
I do have Trout at 3, not 5, than Soto and Betts at 4 and 4A

If they are gone if I had the 6 or 7 pick I will select deGrom or Cole.

I will select Giolito or Whit if available in the third round.
I'm still up in the air which way to go in the second round.

My strategy right now based on board movement is the first four rounds to go best available SP, best available OF, Whit or DJ at 2B, and the best power hitter available.

Power and starting pitching wins the NFBC most years but you can't neglect saves and speed.
If you don't have enough SB and saves expect to finish 4th or 5th in your league, and that doesn't cash.

Balance with power and SP wins cash.

[Cross]

Barry Zito contract was one of the bad ones as well.

[stevenash]

Barry Zito contract was one of the bad ones as well.

Mussina's NYY contract was one of the best in the past 20 years.

[Stallion]

Vernon Wells for the Jays.

[jrgum3]

He has been pretty subpar with the Angels, awful contract.

It was awful for the Angles that Pujols could never live up to the contract but good for Pujols that he was able to get that contract. The Angels are still paying for it all these years later which makes it one of the worst contracts in baseball history.

[JAKEPEAVY21]

Barry Zito contract was one of the bad ones as well.

Ya that was a bad one. Mike Hampton with the Rockies was another brutal one.

[Otters27]

Barry Zito contract was one of the bad ones as well.

I loved barry Zito s curve ball. Guy was a free spirited guy as well

[BigSpoon]

Chris Davis and Yoenis Cespedes contracts were bad ones recently.

[stevenash]

Jacob deGrom has moved up now to the overall #5 pick (ADP)
Mike Trout has moved down to #6.

Question fellas?

You have the #5 overall pick in the big boy NFBC championship league later this month.

You are on the clock.

Answer this question.
With the fifth overall pick Team Peavy (or whoever) selects.........

[Chi_archie]

Chris Davis and Yoenis Cespedes contracts were bad ones recently.

oh yeah

[EmpireMaker]

Despite myriad trade rumors that have centered on him over the past several months, Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant told reporters (including Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune) that he’s still open to a contract extension with the team. “I’ve always said I’ve been open and willing to hear what (the Cubs) say and take it with open arms and consider everything that’s thrown my way,” Bryant said. “I think I’ve communicated that to them.” Bryant is scheduled to become a free agent next winter, but in the meantime, he’ll make $19.5MM this season. It doesn’t seem any team has jumped at the chance of taking on that type of money for Bryant – even though he’s a former MVP who has typically held his own, he had a difficult 2020 campaign. Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer suggested earlier this month that he expects Bryant to open 2021 with the club.

• It may have taken longer than expected for the Twins to re-sign designated hitter Nelson Cruz, whom they inked to a one-year, $13MM guarantee earlier this month. The Twins believed they’d keep Cruz throughout the process, though, as president of baseball operations Derek Falvey told MLB Network Radio on Thursday that “we passed on some other players” who could have prevented them from bringing back Cruz. The identities of those players aren’t known, but the Twins would have been hard-pressed to upgrade at DH over Cruz, who slashed an incredible .308/.394/.626 with 57 home runs in 735 plate appearances with the team from 2019-20.
• The Royals’ Hanser Alberto only received a minor league deal during the winter, though it sounds as if he has a good chance to earn a spot on their season-opening roster. Manager Mike Matheny called the addition of Alberto a “sneaky good signing” earlier this week, Lynn Worthy of the Kansas City Star writes. Alberto spent the previous two seasons with the Orioles before joining the Royals. Alberto didn’t hit for much power or draw many walks in Baltimore, but he did see quite a bit of time at two infield positions (second and third) and make life difficult on left-handed pitchers, against whom he slashed .394/.411/.532 in 280 trips to the plate.
• The White Sox have hired Todd Steverson as a special assistant to executive vice president Ken Williams, James Fegan of The Athletic tweets. Steverson spent 2014-19 as the team’s hitting coach – a role he held with the Athletics’ Triple-A affiliate last season. He’ll focus on scouting in his new job with the White Sox, per Fegan.

[JAKEPEAVY21]

Jacob deGrom has moved up now to the overall #5 pick (ADP)
Mike Trout has moved down to #6.

Question fellas?

You have the #5 overall pick in the big boy NFBC championship league later this month.

You are on the clock.

Answer this question.
With the fifth overall pick Team Peavy (or whoever) selects.........

Who were the first 4 picks? Tatis, Acuna and?

I'd probably go with Trout, I usually don't like taking a pitcher with 1st round pick. Just a personal preference.

[stevenash]

Acuna and Tatis are going 1 and 1A
Mookie is going 3
Soto is going 4
deGrom now 5 up from 6
Trout 6 down from 5
Cole 7
Trea Turner 8
Bieber up to 9
J-Ram 10
Yelich 11
Story 12

That's the first round (for now)

This'll be shaken up 20 times over in the next month though.

[Stallion]

Trout for sure.

[Cross]

Please take Trout without a doubt.

[EmpireMaker]

• Shortstop Javier Baez once again made it clear Friday that he wants to remain with the Cubs, not depart in free agency next offseason, Patrick Mooney of The Athletic tweets. “Obviously, I want to stay here. I don’t want to play for another team,” Baez said, though the Cubs may lose the opportunity to extend the two-time All-Star if they don’t do so by the time the season begins. Baez stated he’ll “probably” put a deadline on talks in spring training. Barring a new deal, Baez could be one of several free-agent standouts at his position next winter, though he’s in need of a rebound after hitting a dismal .203/.238/.360 with 75 strikeouts against just seven walks in 235 plate appearances last year.
• One of Baez’s new teammates, outfielder Joc Pederson, told Russell Dorsey of the Chicago Sun-Times and other reporters that he turned down longer offers to join the Cubs. The former Dodger inked a one-year, $7MM guarantee with the Cubs because of the allure of playing every day. Pederson was a platoon player in Los Angeles, where the left-handed swinger batted .238/.349/.501 over 2,132 trips to the plate versus righties. On the other hand, he managed an ugly .191/.266/.310 line in 385 PA against southpaws.
• White Sox manager Tony La Russa confirmed Friday that righty Michael Kopech will open the season in the team’s bullpen, Bruce Levine of 670 The Score relays. The highly touted Kopech made his major league debut in 2018, throwing 14 1/3 innings, but he had to undergo Tommy John surgery in September of that year, and he hasn’t appeared in the bigs since. Kopech missed 2019 while recovering the procedure and then sat out last season because of COVID-19 concerns.

[jrgum3]

Jacob deGrom has moved up now to the overall #5 pick (ADP)
Mike Trout has moved down to #6.

Question fellas?

You have the #5 overall pick in the big boy NFBC championship league later this month.

You are on the clock.

Answer this question.
With the fifth overall pick Team Peavy (or whoever) selects.........

I'd take Trout no doubt about it and not think twice. I like Degrom but I just don't think I can pass up Trout in the first round for a pitcher unless your scoring system is heavily weighted towards pitching.

[stevenash]

Please take Trout without a doubt.

I'm targeting Trout (if I don't have the #1 or the #2 overall pick.)
And it I had the #1 pick I would probably flip flop back and forth between Tatis and Acuna 20 times.
I'd be better off with the #2 pick, whoever goes first (Acuna or Tatis) I'll gladly take what's not taken.

Now I have nothing against Mookie, I actually think he doesn't hit higher than .290 this year.
I think his ceiling is .290/30/90 with about 20 swipes.
Solid, yes? Worthy of a #3 overall? No.
Soto has more upside I believe than Mookie does this season.
Personally I think Soto is primed for a monster season.
The Zips projection for Soto are obscene.
Zips has Soto's slash line at .305/37/141
I can see .300. I can even see 37 taters.
But 141 RBI's? I put stock in the ZIPS and Steamer projections but wow!
You know who the last people to drive in 141 in a season?
It happened twice in 2009 by a couple of bell cows.
Prince Fielder and Ryan Howard each drove in 141 in 2009.
(They both run the 440 in 4 hours by the way)

Seriously, ZIPS thinks Soto can put up triple crown numbers in 2021.

https://www.fangraphs.com/players/juan-soto/20123/stats?position=OF

[JAKEPEAVY21]

Please take Trout without a doubt.

Hoping your Cubs are not scrubs.

[Chi_archie]

I'm targeting Trout (if I don't have the #1 or the #2 overall pick.)
And it I had the #1 pick I would probably flip flop back and forth between Tatis and Acuna 20 times.
I'd be better off with the #2 pick, whoever goes first (Acuna or Tatis) I'll gladly take what's not taken.

Now I have nothing against Mookie, I actually think he doesn't hit higher than .290 this year.
I think his ceiling is .290/30/90 with about 20 swipes.
Solid, yes? Worthy of a #3 overall? No.
Soto has more upside I believe than Mookie does this season.
Personally I think Soto is primed for a monster season.
The Zips projection for Soto are obscene.
Zips has Soto's slash line at .305/37/141
I can see .300. I can even see 37 taters.
But 141 RBI's? I put stock in the ZIPS and Steamer projections but wow!
You know who the last people to drive in 141 in a season?
It happened twice in 2009 by a couple of bell cows.
Prince Fielder and Ryan Howard each drove in 141 in 2009.
(They both run the 440 in 4 hours by the way)

Seriously, ZIPS thinks Soto can put up triple crown numbers in 2021.
https://www.fangraphs.com/players/ju...ts?position=OF

good luck

[stevenash]

good luck

Thanks.
Sorting out all the new studs from the old studs is painstaking.

[Cross]

Peavy spitting some nice rhymes up there. Gwynn for the Win.

[BigSpoon]

Balls out for Trout at #5

[Stallion]

Soto is a reach at #5. Your drafting not to lose that early.

[stevenash]

Soto is a reach at #5. Your drafting not to lose that early.

Major fantasy leagues are never won in the first round, but they sure can lose.
Draft safe and solid in round one and two,
Early rounds are not the time to get cute.
Drafts are usually won in rounds 10 through 20.

Like I am targeting Whit Merrifield, he's a mutil position player 2B, MI, OF, DH, so you can rotate him between the IF and OF if one of your other key players goes down on DL. Whit's going right behind DJ in the early fourth round, I will snatch him if I have a mid third round pick and not think twice about it.

First two rounds I am targeting Trout if he falls to me with a 4 or 5 pick, if I have say a 6 or 7 pick hopefully I can land a Cole or deGrom.
First three rounds my strategy is best available four or five tool hitter, best available 4 tool starter, than my infielder, hopefully a DJ or a Whit.