(Mis)Categorizations....It's A Word!

[DOUGHBOYS]

Let's look at baseball teams by division and their surprising leaders in categories....
We'll take a division each day....
Today, the A.L. East.....

Baltimore-
While all eyes were on Manny Machado and Chris Davis, Mark Trumbo took center stage, looked at NFBC drafters, and gave them the middle finger.
Trumbo leads Baltimore in home runs and rbi.
None of us saw that coming.
Oh sure, Trumbo owners will say they did.
Liars.
He was that guy picked up when thinking to ourselves, "Oh crap! I need power, screw average!"

Boston-
David Price is overdrafted. Face it.
And he will be next year too. We love our strike outs. Some drafters follow the strike outs, hoping for other categories to fall in place. While drafters are looking at the swings and misses, hitters are looking at the contact. Price is getting hit hard when not missing bats.
Still, if interested, Price will again be available in the third round of drafts next year.
In the meantime, Steven Wright has given up half the home runs (8, 16) and allows an earned run every three innings (3.12) not one every two innings like Price (4.51).

New York-
Carlos Beltran leads the Yankees in just about every category. A surprise in itself. Most of us thought of Beltran as an old man prone to breaking a hip.
Truth be told, I still do.
A shout out to Didi Gregorius.
Besides wearing a girls name well, he has a .296/44/11/43/5 line.
If taking defense into the equation, Didi (I always think of Didi Conn from 'Grease') has been the Yankees best player this year.

Tampa Bay-
Chris Archer, Matt Moore, Jake Odorizzi, Drew Smyly....
WeLOVE these guys!
And they'll still get taken too high next year too.
Why?
Because we LOVE these guys!
We love our Tampa pitchers, right?
Then it may surprise you to learn that the leader in Wins for Tampa Bay is Erasmo Ramirez !

Toronto-
I had to dig for this one.
I could go on about Aaron Sanchez, but his only competition was overdrafted Marcus Stroman.
JA Happ has also had a great year.
But it's more challenging going against the Toroto hitters.
Toronto has big hitters.
Donaldson, Bautista, Tulo, Encarnacion, Saunders.
They have to lead in everything, right?
What if I told you somebody has more at bats then all these fellas?
Yep, Kevin Pillar, without leading off much, has more at bats.
This is because pitchers finesse their way 'round those four while making sure not to walk the others.
Pillar (389) has more at bats than Encarnacion (374), his closest competition.

[headhunters]

is it me or is beltrans head getting bigger each day and looking more and more like bonds?

[DOUGHBOYS]

Chicago White Sox-
Todd Frazier leads the Sox in home runs. This isn't surprising. But, going into the season, the Sox were going to have two of the most powerful corners in baseball. And there is 40 home runs between Frazier and Jose Abreu. The problem being that Frazier is shouldering the load with 29.
Modern day Cubans under perform when getting to the States. I don't know why. For the last couple of years, Jose Fernandez the pitching exception, Abreu the offensive one. Abreu though, has gone from a .300 hitter with 36, then 30, and now 11 home runs this year with a .276 batting average.
Hawk Harrelson can exclaim how nicely he does his 'woodwork' all he wants. In fantasy circles, he has the home runs of Didi Gregorius. And that, that is not good.
I believe Abreu's year drops him down to the fourth or fifth or even sixth round in drafts for the coming year.

Cleveland Indians-
Guess who leads the Indians in doubles.
Nope, not Lindor.
Not Napoli.
Not Santana.
Not Kipnis.
The fella who leads the Indians in doubles is Jose Ramirez. Quietly, Ramirez has become a valuable cog for the Indians.
A .288 batting average and a knack to stick his nose in most Indians rallies makes him important for a team with no true superstar.
For the Sabrmetric crowd, he has 30 walks and only 37 strike outs.
For the fantasy bunch, he can play just about everywhere and provides speed.
Ramirez was an afterthought in drafts last year.
More than that in the coming year.

Detroit Tigers-
The story here is not who leads in a category, but who is second.
Innings pitched.
Care to hazard a guess in who is second on the Tigers staff in innings pitched?
It's Mike Pelfrey.
Any team that has Mike Pelfrey second in innings pitched, are not going to contend.
Mike Pelfrey has a 1.75 WHIP.
Almost two base runners an inning!
For 110 innings!
He is still pitching because the Tigers gave him a two year contract.
That's the only reason.
He can't even be classified as an 'innings eater'.
How bad is Pelfrey?
Pelfrey is the most hittable pitcher in baseball giving up 148 hits. At the same time, among qualified pitchers, he has the least strike outs with 48.
100 more hits allowed than strike outs.
Over the last three years, this has only happened three times.
Pelfrey this year.
Mark Buehrle last year.
And...yikes...Pelfrey last year.
The Tigers should just admit their mistake and move on.
Oh, one more thing...if Pelfrey continues to qualify, this will also be the second year in a row that he will have the least strike outs among all qualified pitchers.
He hasn't fooled anybody except Tigers Management.

Kansas City Royals-
Only three teams in baseball have scored less than the Royals. All reside in the National League East.
The Mets, the Phils, and the Braves.
Only two teams have less home runs than the Royals.
Both, National League East teams.
The Marlins and the Braves.
With these putrid offensive numbers, the Royals really needed their pitching to come through for them.
They haven't.
It was supposed to be a good staff ed lby Ventura, Volquez, and Kennedy.
None of those fellas have exemplified themselves this year.
Instead, it's Danny Duffy who has done the heavy lifting. Duffy is the only Royals starter with an E.R.A. (3.22)south of 4.00
With 110 k's in 100 innings and a WHIP of 1.08, Duffy has left the other KC starters in the dust.
Duffy's injury past will probably play on drafters minds next year.
That will probably be soft peddled though as drafters look at his k/9 ratio.

Minnesota Twins-
I could go on about Eduardo Nunez and his great year from nowhere, but that's too easy.
Let's look at Twins pitching.
They have a surprise leader in just about every category.
Ricky Nolasco leads them in innings pitched.
That's not a nice thing to say about any team.
With a 6.12 E.R.A., Tyler Duffey leads the Twins in Wins with five.
FIVE!
And who leads them in Saves?
Not Glenn Perkins.
Not Kevin Jepsen,
Brandon Kintzler.
Raise your hand if he was a thought among your 50 choices for your DC team.
The Twins pitching is as bad as 'Grease 2'. And just as hard to watch.
And they had to send their best prospect, Jose Berrios, down for not being as good as the starters currently fielded.
There are three pitching staffs in baseball with E.R.A's over 4.85
The Rockies, the Twins, and the Reds.
The Rockies and Reds can use their ball parks as an excuse.
Twins pitchers will not be a thought till after the 20th round next year.

[Bronx Yankees]

Chicago White Sox-

I believe Abreu's year drops him down to the fourth or fifth or even sixth round in drafts for the coming year.


Care to hazard a guess in who is second on the Tigers staff in innings pitched?
It's Mike Pelfrey.
Any team that has Mike Pelfrey second in innings pitched, are not going to contend.
Mike Pelfrey has a 1.75 WHIP.
Almost two base runners an inning!
For 110 innings!
He is still pitching because the Tigers gave him a two year contract.
That's the only reason.
He can't even be classified as an 'innings eater'.
How bad is Pelfrey?
Pelfrey is the most hittable pitcher in baseball giving up 148 hits. At the same time, among qualified pitchers, he has the least strike outs with 48.
100 more hits allowed than strike outs.
Over the last three years, this has only happened three times.
Pelfrey this year.
Mark Buehrle last year.
And...yikes...Pelfrey last year.
The Tigers should just admit their mistake and move on.
Oh, one more thing...if Pelfrey continues to qualify, this will also be the second year in a row that he will have the least strike outs among all qualified pitchers.
He hasn't fooled anybody except Tigers Management.


And they had to send their best prospect, Jose Berrios, down for not being as good as the starters currently fielded.
There are three pitching staffs in baseball with E.R.A's over 4.85
The Rockies, the Twins, and the Reds.
The Rockies and Reds can use their ball parks as an excuse.
Twins pitchers will not be a thought till after the 20th round next year.

Nice post, Dan. Three quick responses.

1. Unless he turns things around and shows real signs of life, I think Abreu should not go before the 6th round, and possibly later, next year. That being said, folks will remember '14 and to a lesser extent '15 and he'll be over-drafted by folks sure that the power and .300 will be coming back. From what I've seen, I'm not convinced.

2. Mike Pelfrey is the reason why I think more serious fantasy players should be working in teams' front offices. Who among the better players in the NFBC would have supported the Pelfrey signing? Answer: absolutely no one. While I recognize that there are differences between "real" baseball and fantasy, every now and then I see examples of why certain front offices could stand a lesson or two from fantasy players. Exhibit No. 1 is Mike Pelfrey.

As an aside, I hate the term "innings eater." Yes, Pelfrey often stays healthy (it is no coincidence that opposing players often get healthy when Pelfrey is pitching). A starting pitcher that is physically able to pitch 150-200 innings only is of value if they are good innings. If the pitcher sucks, what good is it if he stays healthy? I mean, isn't more poorly-pitched innings a bad thing? When did a lot of crappy innings become a valuable commodity?

Fantasy players rely on a lot of statistics, and the all-important "eye test" to evaluate pitchers. I really would like to know what the Tigers relied on in deciding to give Pelfrey $16 million over two years.

3. If the Twins bring Berrios back up, I can see him going before the 20th round next year. He seems to be regaining his dominant form in the minors. Not sure what the Twins are waiting for to bring him back up. Let's see what he can do back in the majors. (I hope for the Twins sake he succeeds his next time up, because at some point folks may start wondering why such highly regarded prospects like Buxton and Berrios do so much better in the minors than the majors.)

Mike

[DOUGHBOYS]

Mike, you seem as eager to draft again as I!

I believe that a lot of folks will remember the 'old' Abreu and reach out in the fifth or sixth rounds for him.
He hasn't completely tanked. He just seems to have gone a little bit 'contact happy' with his swing.
First basemen are weak this year overall.
Abreu has certainly done his part there.

Berrios draft position is yet to be determined.
A lot will depend on what happens when he is brought back up this year. He had a deer in the headlights look about him against Major League hitters.
We'll see if he gets over that.

I can't wait to see where all the shortstops go.
It seems each of all 15 teams will get a shortstop with a lot of upside.
Sorting them out, that should be an intriguing process!

[DOUGHBOYS]

Houston Astros-
The offense has kind of gone to form.
Jose Altuve ripping it up.
Correa leading rbi guy.
Springer leading home run hitter.
What about pitching?
Dallas Keuchel has gone from Cy Young to Sigh Young.
Raise your hand if you thought Doug Fister would not only lead the Astros in Wins (which could be lucky), but also E.R.A.!?
Fister is just not that good.
Fister is just the best of a staff who has not been that good this year.
The Astro's are winning like the Rockies win, outslugging teams.

Los Angeles Angels-
Before the season, Mike Trout owners were unsure where Trout's head was when it came to the stolen base.
Had Trout lost interest in stolen bases?
Was his body getting too big?
Did he not want to piss off Pujols, who doesn't like moving runners?
Trout has answered those questions with 17 stolen bases.
The problem being that Trout now lacks a little bit in the power categories.
Only tied with Pujols for the team lead in homers and is 13 rbi behind King Albert.
Trout is still having a great year.
Still, his owners have to be surprised that Trout only leads his teammates in Runs and Stolen Bases.

Oakland A's-
The A's are noted for having a great pitchers park.
Foul territory seems to be as large as fair.
It was part of the reason in which Sonny Gray was taken so highly in NFBC drafts.
It didn't help.
SOMEBODY SHIP IN MORE FOUL TERRITORY FOR SONNY!
AND MOVE THE FENCES BACK TOO!
You see, Sonny Gray leads the pitching staff in nothing....except home runs given.
The A's best qualified pitcher is Kendall Graveman with a 4.15 E.R.A. and that's not a nice thing to say about any team.
They do have Rich Hill. Brilliant. When he pitches.
The problem with injury prone pitchers is that it takes them a month to get over a blister.
Our kids put up less fuss.
The A's are a team known for its great pitching in the past.
The present is bleak.

Seattle Mariners-
Felix Hernandez has struck out 58 batters this year. 58!
I know, I know, he has had his injuries but the guy has thrown 75 innings.
Not even a 7 in 9 ratio.
I believe that King Felix takes a huge hit in drafts for the coming year.
Guess who leads the Mariners in strike outs then?
Nope, not Iwakuma.
Nope, not Paxton.
Nope, not Walker.
It's Nathan Karns.
Ugh.
Just for fun...
Felix, 58 k's in 75 innings.
Edwin Diaz, 44 k's in 22 innings.

Texas Rangers-
Nobody but nobody excels in dl time like Josh Hamilton. I just wanted to give cred where credit is due. This is a piece about unforeseen leaders, I just want it to be known that no unknown will ever outhurt Josh Hamilton!

Texas was easy going into the season, right?
Prince Fielder and Adrian Beltre were going to lead in home runs.
Elvis Andrus in stolen bases.
Easy.
Then, Texas signed a player that no other team seemed to want.
A player who turned down multi millions and ended up with 'just' millions.
Ian Desmond.
Desmond has more taters than Fielder or Beltre .
More Steals than Andrus.
Desmond has carried the Rangers on his back.
Desmond is Rudolph to Fielder's Santa.
He's leading them in every roto category save being two rbi behind Beltre.
Without him, the Rangers would be, the Strangers.