Tag: Matt Wieters

Trade: TBD | We Talk Fantasy Sports

TBD sends: C Matt Wieters ($13), RP Brad Brach ($5)
We Talk Fantasy Sports sends: 2017 3rd Round Pick

Andrew’s thoughts: I had lukewarm interest in Matt Wieters all off-season but only because I assumed TBD was definitely cutting him (so he could be had for cheap) and because the catcher position sucks so much. He intrigued me as a back-up option. I just couldn’t bring myself to dump anything for him and never imagined actually keeping him at $13. He’s hurt too much and hasn’t been good or efficient at the plate since 2014. Meh.

Having said that, I do like this deal for WTFS. Bryan Reynolds is an interesting prospect and I like him, but in his best case scenario, he’s not going to arrive in the majors until mid-to-late 2018 and it’s not super difficult to find productive outfielders. In other words, not having a guy like Reynolds does nothing to hurt WTFS, whereas Wieters might be a league average catcher? I sound down on him, but he did finish as the 13th  highest scoring catcher last year.

For TBD, it’s fine too, because as I said I assume they were dumping Wieters. This way, they get a prospect they like instead. Good deal for both sides.

Hustle’s thoughts: Keith seemed like he really wanted a starting catcher heading into the draft (and everyone seems to know Squids isn’t trading one of his 3). Keith has Travis D’Arnaud (22) and Kurt Suzuki (5), but this trade signals to me that he isn’t keeping either of them. Is Wieters the best value out of the bunch? I’d say if he gets a full time catcher at bats for whoever he signs with, probably. That being said, that’s no sure thing, he’s not that great, and he gets hurt a lot. He’s also likely going to worse ballpark than Camden. If everything clicks right for Wieters and he stays healthy, it’s a decent grab.

Brad Brach for $5 is about market rate for a good non closing reliever. It’s a fine piece. A 70+ IP 10 + k/9 guy over the last 2 years. Keith already has a $14 pair of Ken Giles and Craig Kimbrel, so maybe this trade signals he wants to go cheaper on RP or these are the 3 he’s marching into 2017 with.

TBD gets a 3rd rounder which they used to choose giants OF Bryan Reynolds. I’ve been told by Bailey I’m allowed to gush over Reynolds because he has him in Dy-Nasty (which I will add is the least creative name for a Dynasty league possible). Reynolds is 22 and mashed in rookie ball last year. I’m personally weary of most Giants hitters because of the park, and they seem to have a lot of OF prospects at the moment. That being said, the Giants are probably going to have some OF openings. I have about 20-30 names on my list of players I’m looking to draft and Reynolds isn’t on it. That’s pretty meaningless at this point, because you draft who you want.

One could argue TBD could have probably waited a bit to make this pick, but they really didn’t pay much to get it. PREDICTION: TBD and Squids make a trade involving a catcher within a year.

Nobody really gave up anything of great value to declare a winner of this trade. Maybe Keith could have gotten a few bucks out of the deal considering Joe traded up from a 4th rounder to a 3rd for 4 bucks earlier this round.

Now I know why Jordan/Bailey moan about writing over trades as I see that I have compiled 400 words on Matt Wieters and Bryan Reynolds. Shit, it’s my turn to pick in the draft.

Trade: Rocky Mtn Oysters | TBD

Rocky Mtn Oysters sends: C Russell Martin ($18), 2018 1st Round Draft Pick
TBD sends: SP Hyun-Jin Ryu ($7)

Andrew’s thoughts: I think Martin-for-Ryu straight up is justifiable. Since acquiring Martin on June 14, he has scored a total of 64.1 points (9.16 pts/game) while being in Dusty’s starting lineup seven times. He had a .373 wOBA in June. That’s terrific production for a catcher. But Dusty’s just 4-8 overall, likely won’t make the playoffs, and has a hugely expensive pitching staff. So selling off a catcher he wasn’t likely going to be able to keep for an inexpensive pitcher isn’t awful. Of course, having to start Sandy Leon (lifetime .263 wOBA; .524 wOBA in 35 PAs this year though!) going forward is going to suck, probably.

Ryu at $7 seems like a great gamble to me. He’s got a fantastic track record. His career FIP is 2.97, xFIP is 3.27, he gives up a paltry 0.60 homers per nine, and strikes out 7.66 per nine innings. He’s pretty close to being a viable ace of staff and at worse is a SP2. He also hasn’t pitched since 2014, though he’s throwing rehab starts now, so there’s a ton of risk here. I’m not sure that his odds of returning to form are better than his odds of being a middling starter due simply to the effect of injury. But given Dusty has a ton of expensive pitchers and likely won’t be able to keep them all, I like the dice roll.

TBD didn’t really need a catcher, per say, since they have Matt Wieters there. But Wieters gets a lot of regular rest because of the brittle, almost tissue paper-like composition of his bones, tendons, and muscles, and so Martin provides a great option when Wieters rests. And with a rotation headed by Madison Bumgarner, Corey Kluber, Jacob deGrom, and Steven Wright, there would seem to be a bit less reward to having Ryu to offset the risk than there might be for some other teams. Though, like the Oysters, keeping those pitchers beyond this year could be a tight fit and having Ryu as a cheaper alternative could have been a helpful fallback.

My only real beef with this trade is punting the top-16 pick in 2018. Granted, that is two drafts away and anyone you pick is likely to be two or more years from hitting the majors (so you’re looking at an asset maybe four years off?), but still. A second or even a third rounder was probably enough to plug any perceived gap here between pitcher and catcher. Maybe two bucks at auction next year covers it. I mean, I would totally trade a first round pick for a $7 Ryu, but I think I want to see him come back and string together a few good starts first. Yeah, now may be the last opportunity to get your foot in the door on him (if he comes back and pitches to his career averages, he’s suddenly a super commodity), but it could just as easily be the calm before the storm.

Dusty has also now exhausted all his first and second round picks in 2017 and 2018, and has previously sold off all of his worthwhile prospects. This is a system headed by… Touki Toussaint? Maybe he can sell off some parts as the season winds down to replenish, but it really feels like a buyer’s market to me. Logically, yeah, you should get a haul for one of his pricey pitchers if he doesn’t think he can finagle the cap to keep. But there hasn’t been much trade action at all, which suggests to me teams have become more hesitant to pay multiple big time assets for upgrades.

2016 Auction Review – TBD

TBD

tbd

Is their team name to be determined, or does TBD stand for something else? We may never know. Anyway during the auction draft do you know that moment when you are kind of poking around looking at the other team to see where they’re at. TBD looks great looking at that list top down. Until you go down. They punted pitchers so hard that I had to take several looks. There’s a lot here to discuss, probably the most fun roster to look at.

Hitters – Outstanding

Yep, I had to give it to someone. 1-10 the hitters here are just outstanding. Now, Matt Wieters had not been flagged for a wuss injury again at the time of the draft so we will pretend he’s okay. Warning, fantasy all-star list incoming: Eric Hosmer, Jose Altuve, Kris Bryant, Corey Seager, Troy Tulowitzki, David Peralta, JD Martinez, Miguel Sano, phew. Power, walks, contact, everything. The floor with this line up is so damn high that its impossible to ignore. If you have to nitpick, I can say that I don’t love Pillar in centerfield, but I have a feeling that will be solved at some point. Perhaps Pillar turns into a fantasy starter. Either way, I also don’t love spending $100 on short stops, but it looks like it could work out well here. There’s a chance that Sano ends up finding a position which helps this line up even more.

Pitchers – Whoops

Oh Christ. Really? I mean Phil Hughes is probably the most reliable starter here. Every other guy in that long list of eleven pitchers is someone I’m starting and praying each time. That’s a lot of prayers. Lets imagine that we are in a bar and talking with a buddy who knows enough about sports to not be a complete dumb ass and you are going over roster? Andrew Heaney… Yeah he could be good this year. Jimmy Nelson, yeah he seems like he could be good this year. Edinson Volquez, I mean he’s probably alright. Hyun-jin Ryu, he’s still pitching? Oh he’s recovering from injury? Is he healthy? Well I guess if he’s healthy he’s probably good. Jonathan Gray, well when he’s not pitching in Colorado. You see where I’m going here? I’m not sure Derek Holland, Jorge Lopez, Hector Santiago, Wily Peralta, and Chris Heston are recognizable to your bar buddy so we won’t ask. I’m afraid that if TBD got three above average starters from this group, it would have to be considered a raging success, and that’s not good enough. Maybe there is something in the bullpen…Well TBD drafted three relievers I guess.

Depth – Uh-oh

Well, first off, those four right fielders only qualify for right field. Two of them are rookies. Tulo has to be slotted for the utility slot so his short stop advantage gets washed away. Enrique Hernandez covers a lot of spots, but he does not start daily for the Dodgers. I like Chris Carter, but not enough. The pitching depth doesn’t exist. There’s plenty of bullets to grab depth on this roster, but right now it is ugly as sin.

Why 2016 would be bad… 

Thigns are ugly if any less than two starting pitchers are viable from the group. If they don’t find three regular SPs, TBD’s season is over. If Kris Bryant isn’t worth $75, or if both short stops fail to be transcendent hitters. The season is just over. They went all in on the hitters, I love them, but they have to show up. There is a real threat for this pitching staff to score below 100 points on a weekly basis. Considering a good weekly score should be above 500 or 600. That’s way to much to ask of any line up.

Why 2016 would be good… 

Luck will happen here, before April seven or eight of the starters show their competency and have reliable roles. TBD then is able to trade one of them to someone else desperate for pitching and get a nice piece. TBD then is also able to cut the others to pick up depth elsewhere. Meanwhile Seager and Tulo end up being top 30 hitters overall. Kris Bryant challenges for MVP because of his bat. The hitters can hit the ceiling easily enough, just a matter of the pitchers climbing from the mud.