Johnny Cueto Fever

King of Queens · Post by **King of Queens** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 3:45 pm

Who's got the fever for the flavor of the Cueto?

In all my years of fantasy/rotisserie baseball, I cannot remember a player's pre-draft value shooting up as much as Cueto's has in the past 10 days.

Consider:

(1) I did a satellite on March 6th and was able to get Cueto in the 28th round.

(2) In another satellite on March 6th, Cueto wasn't even drafted

(3) He went all over the place in main event leagues yesterday, but mostly was taken before the break at the end of Round 20.

(4) In last night's Saturday Super League, I took him in the 16th round.

(5) In both the Sunday Super League and the NY/Chi Ultimate Draft, he went in the 15th round.

(6) Worth repeating: he went UNDRAFTED in a satellite just 10 days ago.

Are we all just looking for the next great thing, or can this possibly be more than just hype?

Quack · Post by **Quack** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 3:51 pm

I will say it did not help that ESPN did a story on him specifically late Friday night/early Saturday AM on SportsCenter

The Mighty Men · Post by **The Mighty Men** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 3:52 pm

Originally posted by King of Queens:

Who's got the fever for the flavor of the Cueto?

In all my years of fantasy/rotisserie baseball, I cannot remember a player's pre-draft value shooting up as much as Cueto's has in the past 10 days.

Consider:

(1) I did a satellite on March 6th and was able to get Cueto in the 28th round.

(2) In another satellite on March 6th, Cueto wasn't even drafted

(3) He went all over the place in main event leagues yesterday, but mostly was taken before the break at the end of Round 20.

(4) In last night's Saturday Super League, I took him in the 16th round.

(5) In both the Sunday Super League and the NY/Chi Ultimate Draft, he went in the 15th round.

(6) Worth repeating: he went UNDRAFTED in a satellite just 10 days ago.

Are we all just looking for the next great thing, or can this possibly be more than just hype? The 15th round is crazy. At that price, he better win at least 12 games. And this is coming from a guy who got him in both the main and the mixed auction.

bjoak · Post by **bjoak** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 3:58 pm

What about Milledge who had to be the biggest mover on the adp's, something like 20, 15, 13. I took him at 11 just to continue the progression!

Gordon Gekko · Post by **Gordon Gekko** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 3:58 pm

Originally posted by The Mighty Men:

The 15th round is crazy. At that price, he better win at least 12 games. And this is coming from a guy who got him in both the main and the mixed auction. If greinke wasn't there, there is no pitcher I have ranked higher than cueto. I've been on this cat since jan/feb. Too bad for me, he has been too good and it ramped his purchase price very high. I got him in the 29th round about a week ago in a satellite league.

King of Queens · Post by **King of Queens** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 4:00 pm

Originally posted by bjoak:

What about Milledge who had to be the biggest mover on the adp's, something like 20, 15, 13. I took him at 11 just to continue the progression! There's another thread coming for him.

Gordon Gekko · Post by **Gordon Gekko** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 4:01 pm

Originally posted by bjoak:

What about Milledge who had to be the biggest mover on the adp's, something like 20, 15, 13. I took him at 11 just to continue the progression! Just call it a hunch, but I think milledge will underperform a bit compared to an 11th round. What's your over/under on homers and sb for him?

[ March 16, 2008, 10:02 PM: Message edited by: Gordon Gekko ]

Spyhunter · Post by **Spyhunter** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 4:01 pm

KoQ, 16th round is pretty early. I am a little surprised you went for him that early. But if you are for him, then I am probably wrong and he should be <20. Personally, I see him as the perfect 20-23 round pick.

A few others like him:

Steve Pearce

Jarr Jurgens

Mark Hendrickson

bjoak · Post by **bjoak** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 4:03 pm

Originally posted by Gordon Gekko:

quote:Originally posted by bjoak:

What about Milledge who had to be the biggest mover on the adp's, something like 20, 15, 13. I took him at 11 just to continue the progression! Just call it a hunch, but I think milledge will underperform a bit compared to an 11th round. What's your over/under on hour and sb for him? [/QUOTE]22, 26 with a good average. He was easily the best player there if I'm right.

Gordon Gekko · Post by **Gordon Gekko** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 4:04 pm

Originally posted by Spyhunter:

KoQ, 16th round is pretty early. I am a little surprised you went for him that early. But if you are for him, then I am probably wrong and he should be Spy - I took cueto in the 18 in the main and 15 in the Super. Consider cueto a BEST buy at 21!

Gordon Gekko · Post by **Gordon Gekko** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 4:08 pm

Originally posted by bjoak:

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Gordon Gekko:

[qb] [QUOTE]Originally posted by bjoak:

[qb]]22, 26 with a good average. He was easily the best player there if I'm right. Is that his avg production or his upside projection? Both seem on the high side for me.

ALL-IN JD · Post by **ALL-IN JD** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 4:09 pm

Let's not hand out the rookie of the year just yet to Cueto. He is still a rookie pitcher in a very hitter friendly park. It is also only preseason that he is excelling at. That being said, he could still be solid, but he is far from money.

King of Queens · Post by **King of Queens** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 4:11 pm

The funny thing about Cueto is that everyone seems high on him; the only question was when to take him. One owner I spoke to today told me that they weren't going to take him when they did (17.13), but did so because they heard his name called in two other New York leagues. I was in the same league, and was thinking exactly the same thing.

It will be interesting to see the city-by-city results for Cueto. I have a feeling that the surrounding draft tables had an impact on where he was drafted -- I already have direct evidence that my league was affected.

[ March 16, 2008, 10:12 PM: Message edited by: King of Queens ]

Gordon Gekko · Post by **Gordon Gekko** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 4:13 pm

Jeff - consider the other pitchers going in the 15th round. Cueto is a good spec play there. It's not like you're missing out on santana or peavy! If I miss on my 18th round pick, so what.

ALL-IN JD · Post by **ALL-IN JD** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 4:15 pm

Mark, that is absolutely true but I think alot of owners who took him are at this point expecting him to explode out of the gates. I may be wrong but it sure feels like it. But as you said, to burn an 18th round pick on him is no big deal at all, I agree. Probably a better investment then my 10th round investment in some guy named Harden!

Gordon Gekko · Post by **Gordon Gekko** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 4:23 pm

Originally posted by fireballs:

Mark, that is absolutely true but I think alot of owners who took him are at this point expecting him to explode out of the gates. I may be wrong but it sure feels like it. But as you said, to burn an 18th round pick on him is no big deal at all, I agree. Probably a better investment then my 10th round investment in some guy named Harden! This is a KEY point. The later the round is, the less risky it is to bump up the players u like. Cueto's minor league numbers are stellar. The KEY for me valuing cueto so highly is the huge k/9 coupled with the very low bb rate and it carried over to the winter league and now spring training. If I'm wrong, I'm wrong, but I have the numbers to support my decision.

ALL-IN JD · Post by **ALL-IN JD** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 4:25 pm

Unfortunately those numbers dont always translate from AA/AAA to the majors.

Ryan C · Post by **Ryan C** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 4:29 pm

Guys are right about Cueto skyrocketing - I drafted in a March 6 Sat and was able to get him in Rd 30 - and it is obvious that my "sleeper" is out of the bag for my March 23rd draft. I also took Steven pearce in Rd 27 and it seems his stock is on the rise as well.

Gordon Gekko · Post by **Gordon Gekko** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 4:29 pm

Originally posted by fireballs:

Unfortunately those numbers dont always translate from AA/AAA to the majors. The recent "quotes" from MLB managers, scouts, etc...said that Cueto is the #1 starter on the reds right now. Better than harang! Of course I'm paraphrasing, but the quotes were something to that effect.

But yes, your point is taken. Cueto is a mystery at this point, but I like mysteries!

NorCalAtlFan · Post by **NorCalAtlFan** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 4:31 pm

Originally posted by Ryan Carey:

Guys are right about Cueto skyrocketing - I drafted in a March 6 Sat and was able to get him in Rd 30 - and it is obvious that my "sleeper" is out of the bag for my March 23rd draft. I also took Steven pearce in Rd 27 and it seems his stock is on the rise as well. No sh*t!! I got them both cheaply in my sat. But was only able to snag Pearce in the main.

Catch · Post by **Catch** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 6:08 pm

Let us CUETO owners (round 22, main event) hope he lives up to da hype.

Dirt Dogs · Post by **Dirt Dogs** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 6:13 pm

Cueto rd 19 here.

bjoak · Post by **bjoak** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 7:43 pm

I suppose I should love Cueto as he is the only rookie pitcher who doesn't have me bitching about his ability to get it over the plate, but I am concerned he gets it over the plate too often and up in the zone at that. I will need to at least see him pitch a game before I become assuaged about his ability to keep the ball in the GA park.

Jeff Erickson · Post by **Jeff Erickson** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 8:07 pm

I don't know everyone's usernames (so if Dirt Dogs is in my league, I'm probably not adding much) here, so this might be redundant. Cueto went at 19.7 in my league (Vegas 9) in the main, much to my chagrin - though I only have myself to blame. I opted for Parra at 19.3 instead, thinking I might yet get Cueto on the comeback. At least the Cueto owner in my league was pissed that he didn't get Parra, so there's that.

GOD Loves You · Post by **GOD Loves You** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 9:40 pm

Originally posted by Gordon Gekko:

quote:Originally posted by The Mighty Men:

The 15th round is crazy. At that price, he better win at least 12 games. And this is coming from a guy who got him in both the main and the mixed auction. If greinke wasn't there, there is no pitcher I have ranked higher than cueto. I've been on this cat since jan/feb. Too bad for me, he has been too good and it ramped his purchase price very high. I got him in the 29th round about a week ago in a satellite league. [/QUOTE]Yet you failed to choose him in your week #1 Q & A?

I guess some of us lowly satellite participants might know a little something about baseball.

BTW, Kent, if you read this.....I took an apple to the main event, but there wasn't anyone there to give it to so I ate it myself.

[ March 17, 2008, 03:43 AM: Message edited by: GOD Loves You ]