Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Is He A Keeper? - NL East, 2010

Atlanta Braves

No-brainers
(none)

Keepers
  • Tommy Hanson, SP - He was an elite prospect, and he produced like one. There's always the concern of a sophomore slump, but Tim Lincecum proved that you can just win a Cy Young instead.
  • Brian McCann, C - He's not flashy, but he's productive and consistent. Let's just hope he doesn't catch whatever Russell Martin had last year.
Non-keepers
  • Matt Diaz, OF - If playing time were assured, this decision would be much more difficult.
  • Tim Hudson, SP - Age and health have him headed in the wrong direction. Don't even think about it.
  • Chipper Jones, 3B - Apparently age 37 is when Chipper finally hit a wall. A small bounce-back is possible, but you can't keep him.
  • Jair Jurrjens, SP - He had great ratios last year, but so did Randy Wolf, with the same strikeout rate. It's close, but for now, he's on the outside.
  • Nate McLouth, OF - He's a 20/20 threat, but on a Braves team without any real offensive lynchpin, you can't count on run production.

Florida Marlins

No-brainers
  • Hanley Ramirez, SS
Keepers
  • Josh Johnson, SP - He finally put together the kind of season we were all expecting after his breakthrough 2006 performance. Expect more of the same.
Non-keepers
  • Emilio Bonifacio, SS/3B - One game into the 2009 season, Bonifacio was a superstar. Now, not so much.
  • Jorge Cantu, 1B/3B - He's got RBIs and position flexibility, but he's not a plus in homers, speed, or average.
  • Chris Coghlan, OF - I wish I could say yes, because he used to live in my house. But in the outfield, he's essentially David DeJesus.
  • Dan Uggla, 2B - The one exception would be if you're assembling a team designed to punt batting average. On that team, Uggla is a star.

New York Mets


No-brainers
  • Jason Bay, OF
  • Jose Reyes, SS
  • Johan Santana, SP
  • David Wright, 3B
Keepers
(none)

Non-keepers
  • Francisco Rodriguez, RP - You can foresee solid production, but K-Rod has just been a good closer the past two years, and you can't keep a closer who isn't great.
  • Carlos Beltran, OF - He's supremely talented and a great contributor when healthy, but it's sounding more and more like he's going to miss extensive time.

Philadelphia Phillies


No-brainers

  • Ryan Howard, 1B
  • Chase Utley, 2B
  • Roy Halladay, SP
Keepers
  • Cole Hamels, SP - His 2009 was a step backwards, but I have faith in the talent.
  • Jimmy Rollins, SS - His .250 average in 2009 seems an aberration, which means you can count on top 25 production again in '10.
  • Shane Victorino, OF - Across the board solid performance, and the lineup is still going to be great.
  • Jayson Werth, OF - Surprisingly close to a no-brainer, but since his explosion was fairly quiet, figured I ought to explain: 36 HR, 99 RBI, 98 R, 20 SB. Got it?
Non-keepers
  • J.A. Happ, SP - I like everything about Happ except that he's very average in Citizens Bank Park. It's a tough park, but you can't bench a keeper for half of his starts.
  • Raul Ibanez, OF - Had he not missed time, Ibanez would've likely finished with 100+ RBI for the fourth straight season. But I have trouble trusting a 37-year-old bopper, even in this lineup.

Washington Nationals


No-brainers
  • Ryan Zimmerman, 3B
Keepers
  • Adam Dunn, 1B - There's value in reliability, and Dunn has had at least 38 HR and 92 RBI in each of the past six seasons. Plus, you can partner him with Uggla if you're punting AVG and get 70 HR and 180 RBI from 1B and 2B (yes, Nick, I'm talking to you).
Non-keepers
  • Stephen Strasburg, SP - Not yet.

1 comment:

Nick said...

Well I'm happy that you addressed me directly in your post. My nipples are hard.

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