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Breakout player of the year?
Cubby
Posts: 2,096 ✭
in Sports Talk
Don't really follow the young ones, but I've heard promising things about Lastings Milledge, Conor Jackson, a couple of others.
BTW: Cubby=Cub Fan
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Cubby
Posts: 2,096 ✭
BTW: Cubby=Cub Fan
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For pitchers, I am looking for Ben Sheets of Milwaukee to solidify himself as one of the premiere pitchers in both leagues.
For position players, I am looking for Victor Martinez (C) for Cleveland to solidify himself as the best young catcher in the game. He had a great year last year, but I expect this year will be better.
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The guys I like this year are Tony Armas Jr. and Claudio Vargas. These guys should really step it up a notch and I believe they will be very late picks in fantasy pools yet have HUGE upside potential.
On the other hand Randy Johnson and Carl Pavano will be huge busts signed by the Yankees this year (Pavano will actually fair poorer than Mark Davis to be honest).
Jay
I feel very bad for you. You lost 2 teams this year...the Montreal Canadians and Expos.....sheesh!!!!
You on the other hand will have to settle with more ridicule and embarassment when your Yankees get whipped game after game after game by the Red Sox this year and barely hold onto 3rd place. What I will really enjoy though is watching the highest payrolled team in sports not even get into the post season this year, it makes the loss of my Expos tolerable. And I won't even go into when the owners (besides that idiot Steinbrenner), try to force a salary cap in baseball once it happens in hockey. I'd say at most you've got 3-5 years of cheering for your overpayed clowns, very soon they'll be in the same boat as everyone else (unfortunately it will probably help that team).
At least I've still got Vladdy though,
Jay
<< <i>Harden will replace Hudson quite well I believe this year, to the tune of about 15 wins and a 3.10 E.R.A. Hudson on the other hand will get lit up in Atlanta IMO. >>
Hudson will pitch just as well in atlanta. Why? Mazzone. Keep in mind why atlanta continues to top the ERA in the NL year in and year out. Mazzone. If he can make john burkett, denny neagle and jaret wright into cy young contenders, having a guy like hudson...who is nearly a maddux clone (minus the K potential)...will be an easy job. Additionally, turner field is a pitcher's park...and he has three great defensive players up the middle backing him up.
<< <i>The guys I like this year are Tony Armas Jr. and Claudio Vargas. These guys should really step it up a notch and I believe they will be very late picks in fantasy pools yet have HUGE upside potential. >>
Armas is a project waiting to succeed. I think of him as the NL version of joel pineiro in terms of pitching style and the NL version of Rafael Soriano in terms of potential marred by injuries. I do agree he can have a great year...its just whether or not he can stay healthy. I am not so high on vargas...i would take a healthy zach day over vargas. He should be a decent middle of the rotation guy, but the rotation should be hernandez, armas, day...followed by patterson and then vargas.
To the original question...just keep an eye out on the tribe. Last year, hafner, coco crisp, jake westbrook, martinez and casey blake had breakthrough years. The year before that was david riske, jody gerut, cc sabathia and cliff lee. This year, peralta, phillips and sizemore will get the playing time. I expect one or all to follow suit and play well. Also, luis terrero in AZ. People continually talk about jeremy reed, alexis rios and david dejesus as far as top young outfielders to watch next season....i think terrero needs to be on that list.
I agree in part with your assessment of Armas, but I still believe he has a higher upside that even what you projected for him. Honestly, and I know Javy Vasquez gets alot of flack from Yankees fans here, but I would put him up in that category soon. Or, as per my earlier post, a Harden type year.
Unfortunately I don't hold Day in as high regard as you do. I believe he'll be one of those guys who has trouble staying in the rotation--and I like the guy, don't get me wrong. But I can see him ending up more like Jeff Juden than anything, and if he does hang around having a career like a Kevin Gross (not bad, but you're not going to bet the farm on him).
I guess I really wasn't in tune with the gist of this subject as I was coming up with names that are going to be waaaaaaaaaay down the list on many pool rankings this year that should be much higher (IMO). Alot of the rookies being bantered around will end up showing no love, which happens most years. I find in baseball, 9 out of 10 times it takes at least 2 years, many times 3, for a young player to start to show what he can really do. I rarely take rookies in any pools, you're just setting yourself up for a fall that way.
Jay