skyking162

Moving on up the ladder to second-to-last (projected by PECOTA/Rototimes, of course).

For the rest of the reviews, click here.

The Keepers

Jeremy Reed - $5; Nice price, let’s hope that funky wrist thing is over with.
Roy Halladay - $22; Is this the year Halladay makes 30+ starts again? I’m rooting for him.
Delmon Young - $6; Damon Hollins? Let Young play, already.
Francisco Liriano - $5; Scott Baker? Let Liriano play, already. Ok, so if he spends a year in long-relief, it’s probably the best thing for his long-term development and health, but if the Twins are in the race mid-year and Lohse is stinking up the Metrodome, it’s tempting to start him, isn’t it?
Dallas McPherson - $5; Could be big! Could be a dud.
Casey Kotchman - $1; Could be big!
Scott Kazmir - $6; I really like Kazmir to turn it up a notch this year.
Ervin Santana - $6; Not a fan, but others tell me he’s good. I’ll compromise to decently mediocre.

With Andrew’s keepers, PECOTA projected a total of $244 in value and Rototime projected $222 in value. The difference can be explained by Rototimes relative emphasis on power-hitters. As this team kept four pitchers and four young hitters, it’s about the worst you can do in Rototimes’ mind. I don’t agree, and feel while this group isn’t amazing, there’s a high chance for breakout years and next year looks even better. Some young guys will bust out with $15-$20 performances, but others will produce nothing. Overall a good set of keepers.

The Auction

Miguel Tejada - $38; Here’s the offensive stud this team needs, but it’s a steep price.
Brad Wilkerson - $23; I’m a big Wilkerson fan and think he should have gone for more than $23. Unfortunately I got scared off by his injury rumors. Stupid.
Javy Lopez - $19; One big year in the past four. Ex-catcher on the wrong side of his prime? Not a good gamble.
Mark Loretta - $17; Evidently somebody else thought Loretta would rebound big time this year. That’s putting your money where your… thoughts are?
Wily Mo Pena - $11; Only way Wily Mo plays enough to earn $11 is via an injury. If you’re a Red Sox fan, do you root for that to happen? Probably will, though. (Coco!)
Jason Bartlett - $9; I love this pick. Too bad the Twins are idiots.
Brandon Inge - $4; Never really liked Inge for some reason, but you can’t argue with $4. Under value.
Jose Molina - $2; A second catcher is required.
Carlos Pena - $1; Nice flier. I’d sign him to play for my team, and I think the Yankees would be better off with Pena at first, Giambi DHing and Bernie playing inspirational classical guitar music in the dugout.
Gary Matthews - $1; Who knows who’ll play in that Texas outfield.

Francisco Cordero - $26; The going price for saves, evidently.
Josh Beckett - $22; If healthy, Red Sox Nation will love this guy. If.
Keith Foulke - $19; I switched my car to synthetic oil for better performance and long-term health. I’m not sure it works the same way with human knees, though. Big money for a big risk. Early signs aren’t good.
Justin Verlander - $9; Here’s the type of pitcher this team needed to fill out it’s rotation with. Young, cheap, with good upside.
Guillermo Mota - $2; Insignificantly solid.

Going into the auction, this team needed to add some quality hitters and supplement the pitchers with a few more solid selections. Things went the other way, however, as Andrew ended up only spending 55% of his budget on hitting. (The next lowest was 62%.) PECOTA puts this team at a total value of $248 (good for fifth) but Rototimes kills him, projecting $194. Again, I lean more towards the PECOTA side of things. In order to finish in the top half, however, a bunch of the young players will have to play and play well. And some trades of pitching for hitting will need to happen.

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