Preseason Double Stuffs sends: SP Steven Wright (FA)
Who’s Your Haddy? sends: 1B John Jaso ($1)
Jordan’s thoughts: Steven Wright is a 31 year old starting pitcher who has shown flashes of being useful mixed with a whole lot of reasons to explain why he does not get drafted in a 480 player draft. So he gets picked up in free agency. As we all should know with slightly-below-average pitchers their values fluctuate up and down like the mood swings of a love sick teenager.
Wright has made four starts. He’s averaging 36.38 points per start. It is April, it is early, and this has some incredible potential value. Wright has been a tier 1 starter over four starts. He could continue this all season, it could go on for a half season, or for another start or two. The potential value is real.
So Wright gets flipped for John Jaso. The former catcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates now at first base has been worth quite a bit himself. 6.12 points per game would likely see him end up in the top 20 hitters in the league. He’s walking more than he strikes out and hits with some power. He has been incredibly consistent.
So two really hot players who a month ago were basically worth nothing, get flipped and they potentially could both be really valuable. Or a month from now they’re both back on the waiver wire. Baseball is hard to predict.
Andrew’s thoughts: I fundamentally like John Jaso as a player and do not like Steven Wright as a player, so…
Thus far, everything about Wright’s season screams fluke to me. His FIP is almost a full point better than his career average. He’s striking out almost two more hitters per nine innings. His HR/9 is 0.77 points below his career’s rate.
Maybe what we’re witnessing is a breakout. It’s totally possible. But I doubt it.
Jaso, meanwhile, is just doing what he does. His OBP and wOBA are up slightly from his career norms, but just slightly. He’s striking out way less than normal, but NL pitchers will probably adjust and start getting more K’s from him. Whatever. He’s a career .362 OBP guy. As a first baseman, he offers sub-par power, but he’s a fantastic fit as a UTIL in our league.
I usually lean pitcher, but I want Jaso here. It’s not an unfair deal though.