Top Ten Busts For 2013
Posted: Wed Jan 30, 2013 8:08 am
Time to put my ass on the line and make my list of 10 players who will not live up to their draft pick in 2013.
Last year, I was pretty good at this. I got Prince Fielder wrong and Addison Reed wrong, but the others were mostly spot on and my shock pick, Roy Halladay, was good.
Anyway, I'll name the 10 players. There won't be any Russell Martin types and most will be top 10 round picks.
10. Mike Napoli-
Napoli did something no free agent has ever done during the off season. He lost out on over 30 million bucks. The purpose to being a free agent is to make money, right?
But, Napoli in effect failed his physical (ever notice how Roto World never says a player 'failed their physical?'
Anyway, playing for now a paltry few million, Napoli is still being taken too high in drafts.
His drafters mollify themselves in saying he won't catch. Forgetting that he PHYSICALLY CANNOT!
He's not resting his hip to hit.
It all smells of this being the end for Napoli as a viable choice.
9. Elvis Andrus
We love the name. Andrus hits second in one of baseball's best lineups and in one of baseball's best parks to hit in.
Perfect right? Wrong.
Andrus can be taken 10 rounds later under the alias of Alcides Escobar.
Andrus has hit eight home runs in three years.
THAT, my friends, is a judy. An expensive judy since he's being taken in the top six rounds of most drafts.
We're paying for the batting position and park, and Andrus is not validating.
8. Jered Weaver
Weaver has been one of my favorite pitchers to draft over the last few years. Last year, there were chinks. A little loss of velocity. Little owwies. He still put up good numbers.
Our game draws a lot of parallels to poker. And we've got to throw in some good hands sometimes. Weaver looks good to a lot of drafters.
I'm folding.
7. Brett Lawrie
If you read this part of the Message Boards a lot, you knew this was coming.
Staying healthy has become a skill in baseball. We love seeing players bounce around the park making diving catches and lunging for every possible ball. Except when it's our fantasy player. I like my fantasy player to be like Prince Fielder, effortless. And I mean that as a fantasy compliment.
Lawrie is the kid running with scissors while playing with matches. He'll get hurt. And we'll get burned.
6. Carl Crawford
I believe he is the only one that'll make this list three years in a row. I like Crawford, I do. But, he's coming off Tommy John and playing for a National League team. He also has other issues that may manifest themselves.
Still, after virtually not playing for two years, he still seems to warrant being picked in the mid rounds.
The speed is the draw. But speed is cheap this year, cheaper than CC.
5. CC Sabathia
And speaking of CC...Sabathia has been one of my favorite pitchers oover the last few years. Jered Weaver's poker analogy fits Sabathia as well. And, I love Sabathia's agent too. Over the last 10 years, Sabathia, according to his agents releases, has lost more weight than he weighs now. 20-30 pounds every year. We know better.
Sabathia has an elbow owwie, and when big guys over the age of 30 start getting owwies, they usually multiply.
I'll pass.
4, Mark Teixeira
The only thing that saves Teixeira from being Adam Dunn Lite, is that he's a switch hitter. The shift has gotten into Teixeira's head. Last year he promised to bunt to beat the shift. The mere threat means it's in his head. He didn't follow through either as he had no bunt hits.
Teixeira is drafted for his past, his park, and his lineup. If he played for the Marlins, a fate I wouldn't wish on anybody, he would be drafted closer to Yonder Alonso.
But, he doesn't. He plays for the Yankees and for that reason, he'll be taken ahead of Konerko and Freeman, and I'll just wonder why.
3. Alex Rios
There's no reason.
He never gives us a reason in why he periodically plays well and then not.
I won't give him a reason either.
Rostering Rios is like that cat on your lap. Purring away, then slowly he stretches, turns towards you, and scratches your face all to hell.
No rhyme. No reason.
2. Aroldis Chapman
He's a Starter. He's a Closer. He's a Starter.
Pitchers are a lot like kickers in football. The more you leave them alone, the better off they seem to be.
I love Chapman's arm. I really do. And I know he wants to start.
Still, in this case, change is not good.
At worse, the dl.
At best, limited innings.
1. Bryce Harper
Harper is going to the first round with a bullet. He was excellent last year. And, he still hasn't even shown off the 35-45 homer power that he'll eventually be counted on for.
So, why is he my 'shocker pick' this year?
Harper is THE upside pick this year. But now, his downside is never spoken.
Cole Hamels hit him last year and he just turned and ran for first, then later stole home against him. It was a turning point for Harper. He reacted like somebody twice his age. That was last year.
He's known as being brash and a little bit of a hot head.
I think now that he has 'earned his bones' that it will manifest itself this year.
Worse, he still doesn't have it all figured out. Crafty lefties make him look silly. Watching him try to hit Andy Pettitte last year was like a salmon in a bear's mouth.
A lost cause.
He'll go through some slumping this year. The length of that slump is unknown.
But worse even yet is Harper's reckless abandon. He is the Brett Lawrie of outfielders. Throwing himself into dives on the warning track, into fences, and into teammates.
It's all fun to watch. And I'll be watching. It just won't be with him on my roster.
So there you have it. I'm sure yours are different.
Mine did not include Hunter Pence who I have never rostered.
Never feeling that Pence was deserving of the rounds he has been picked in. And this year, even down the drafting totem pole, I still have a hard time taking him.
Maybe I have an inner bias towards players that look dorkish. I don't know.
Last year, I was pretty good at this. I got Prince Fielder wrong and Addison Reed wrong, but the others were mostly spot on and my shock pick, Roy Halladay, was good.
Anyway, I'll name the 10 players. There won't be any Russell Martin types and most will be top 10 round picks.
10. Mike Napoli-
Napoli did something no free agent has ever done during the off season. He lost out on over 30 million bucks. The purpose to being a free agent is to make money, right?
But, Napoli in effect failed his physical (ever notice how Roto World never says a player 'failed their physical?'
Anyway, playing for now a paltry few million, Napoli is still being taken too high in drafts.
His drafters mollify themselves in saying he won't catch. Forgetting that he PHYSICALLY CANNOT!
He's not resting his hip to hit.
It all smells of this being the end for Napoli as a viable choice.
9. Elvis Andrus
We love the name. Andrus hits second in one of baseball's best lineups and in one of baseball's best parks to hit in.
Perfect right? Wrong.
Andrus can be taken 10 rounds later under the alias of Alcides Escobar.
Andrus has hit eight home runs in three years.
THAT, my friends, is a judy. An expensive judy since he's being taken in the top six rounds of most drafts.
We're paying for the batting position and park, and Andrus is not validating.
8. Jered Weaver
Weaver has been one of my favorite pitchers to draft over the last few years. Last year, there were chinks. A little loss of velocity. Little owwies. He still put up good numbers.
Our game draws a lot of parallels to poker. And we've got to throw in some good hands sometimes. Weaver looks good to a lot of drafters.
I'm folding.
7. Brett Lawrie
If you read this part of the Message Boards a lot, you knew this was coming.
Staying healthy has become a skill in baseball. We love seeing players bounce around the park making diving catches and lunging for every possible ball. Except when it's our fantasy player. I like my fantasy player to be like Prince Fielder, effortless. And I mean that as a fantasy compliment.
Lawrie is the kid running with scissors while playing with matches. He'll get hurt. And we'll get burned.
6. Carl Crawford
I believe he is the only one that'll make this list three years in a row. I like Crawford, I do. But, he's coming off Tommy John and playing for a National League team. He also has other issues that may manifest themselves.
Still, after virtually not playing for two years, he still seems to warrant being picked in the mid rounds.
The speed is the draw. But speed is cheap this year, cheaper than CC.
5. CC Sabathia
And speaking of CC...Sabathia has been one of my favorite pitchers oover the last few years. Jered Weaver's poker analogy fits Sabathia as well. And, I love Sabathia's agent too. Over the last 10 years, Sabathia, according to his agents releases, has lost more weight than he weighs now. 20-30 pounds every year. We know better.
Sabathia has an elbow owwie, and when big guys over the age of 30 start getting owwies, they usually multiply.
I'll pass.
4, Mark Teixeira
The only thing that saves Teixeira from being Adam Dunn Lite, is that he's a switch hitter. The shift has gotten into Teixeira's head. Last year he promised to bunt to beat the shift. The mere threat means it's in his head. He didn't follow through either as he had no bunt hits.
Teixeira is drafted for his past, his park, and his lineup. If he played for the Marlins, a fate I wouldn't wish on anybody, he would be drafted closer to Yonder Alonso.
But, he doesn't. He plays for the Yankees and for that reason, he'll be taken ahead of Konerko and Freeman, and I'll just wonder why.
3. Alex Rios
There's no reason.
He never gives us a reason in why he periodically plays well and then not.
I won't give him a reason either.
Rostering Rios is like that cat on your lap. Purring away, then slowly he stretches, turns towards you, and scratches your face all to hell.
No rhyme. No reason.
2. Aroldis Chapman
He's a Starter. He's a Closer. He's a Starter.
Pitchers are a lot like kickers in football. The more you leave them alone, the better off they seem to be.
I love Chapman's arm. I really do. And I know he wants to start.
Still, in this case, change is not good.
At worse, the dl.
At best, limited innings.
1. Bryce Harper
Harper is going to the first round with a bullet. He was excellent last year. And, he still hasn't even shown off the 35-45 homer power that he'll eventually be counted on for.
So, why is he my 'shocker pick' this year?
Harper is THE upside pick this year. But now, his downside is never spoken.
Cole Hamels hit him last year and he just turned and ran for first, then later stole home against him. It was a turning point for Harper. He reacted like somebody twice his age. That was last year.
He's known as being brash and a little bit of a hot head.
I think now that he has 'earned his bones' that it will manifest itself this year.
Worse, he still doesn't have it all figured out. Crafty lefties make him look silly. Watching him try to hit Andy Pettitte last year was like a salmon in a bear's mouth.
A lost cause.
He'll go through some slumping this year. The length of that slump is unknown.
But worse even yet is Harper's reckless abandon. He is the Brett Lawrie of outfielders. Throwing himself into dives on the warning track, into fences, and into teammates.
It's all fun to watch. And I'll be watching. It just won't be with him on my roster.
So there you have it. I'm sure yours are different.
Mine did not include Hunter Pence who I have never rostered.
Never feeling that Pence was deserving of the rounds he has been picked in. And this year, even down the drafting totem pole, I still have a hard time taking him.
Maybe I have an inner bias towards players that look dorkish. I don't know.