The 2009 VUFSA Preseason Poll and Preview

1.) Mark Grace:

The champion of the VUFSA starts at the top of our season preview, pretty much a de facto preseason pick to win it all after dominating the last two season. But perhaps our commish is getting a few too many votes based on past success than current merits?

One owner: "I feel like it's only fair to rank Ed first, given his rampant success in the last two seasons. There are other teams that have as much talent, but Ed gets the nod because of his past success."

Another owner: "Edwin has had the best team in the VUFSA for two straight years, and I think he has it again this season."

Yet another owner: "Edwin can kiss my ass."

Nonetheless, this team indeeds bleeds talent with big names like Johan Santana, Mark Teixiera, Ryan Braun, and David Wright.

Santana alone ensures a decent pitching finish, but Haren is also a steady presence.

Ryan Doumit just fell into Edwin's hands, Teixiera is bound to have a big year in a big line up, David Wright may be the best all around player in fantasy, and Corey Hart, a 20-20 players is the worst outfielder. Not too shabby.

There are a few weaknesses along the mighty locomotives Ed has assembled the last two years.

He does have some uncertainty at the middle infield positions, but most people are in the same boat, given the lack of quality there.

Uncertainty at 2B, with a rotation of unproven talent at UTIL and only one real closer. A lot of ordinary starters after Johan.

The middle of the infield is not quite Edwin-caliber. Troy Tulowitzki and Rickie Weeks combined had 21 homers, 20 steals, and a sub .340 OBP.

Overall, we are being picky, and Mark Grace boasts a talented roster with a savvy owner. He'll probably have the league locked up by mid-May. I would suggest next year if he is going to top the rankings to pick something more visually pleasing than Mark Grace to, well, grace the VUFSA page for the next two months.

2.) American Idols

The trendy team comprised of males and females looking to make a splash in the music industry have survived the dreaded elimination and are touring into the VUFSA. Enough of the cheesy intro, onto the comments.

I think Hunter Pence is the guy who can swing the season one way or another for Drew, w/ 90/25/100 potential in the counting cats. For some reason, I have reservations about each of the two kept pitchers, but would take them over anyone I have in an instant. The big.worry on the pitching staff is regression from Cliff Lee and Ryan Dempster, which is absolutely going to happen. That said, they were drafted at a good enough value.

Adrian Gonzalez hit 36 homers in a pitchers park, Ian Kinsler has no weaknesses, Hanley Ramierez has to regress because his numbers were off the charts, and A-Rod has been solid for so long that a mere month off is nothing. The outfield isn't quite as good but if Milton Bradley and Vernon Wells get 500 at bats, they could have big years. I still think Jack Cust a 33 HR, .375 OBP guy in a line up with Matt Holliday was his best value pick. No one wanted to draft Cliff Lee, but with everyone thinking last year was a fluke, he became a good pick when the next 10 pitchers beneath him were off the board. Dempster and Lilly are solid, and a bounce back year from Smoltz makes this a real nice group.

Drew's team is ridiculously top-heavy in talent, though A-Rod's injury puts a little bit of a damper on things for a few months. The two studs at the top of the rotation, plus the arguable No. 1 player in fantasy baseball, will make the team competitive at the very worst. At its best, it could take easily take the title. Cliff Lee's 2008 season wasn't as flukey as some people think and I also liked the late-round gamble on Milton Bradley. My one quibble is that the roster lacks the breakout potential of some other teams -- most of the players are more established, so we probably know what we're getting (this could be good or bad), and there are a few dudes set for a regression. Even still, this is a good club.

3.) Big Z's Moustache

Will Eli's run of football disaster spread into baseball or will this talented team take the baseball crown? The experts weigh in.

Best avatar hands down. So long as Pujols' shoulder doesn't snap this season, I see big numbers from this line-up. I think Edwin Encarnacion is one of those sleeper picks where another year's maturity coupled with a hitters' ballpark might bump up those solid 26 homers to the 35, superstar range. I'm still pissed that I missed out on Bobby Abreu who after getting lost in the New York circus will have just as many offense opportunities in California (dude was 100 runs, 100 RBIs, 20 homers, and 20 stolen bases last year!). Sibling rivalry! Uptons in the outfield! Might be a starter short at the moment, but with a base of Webb and Halladay at the top of the rotation and young guns Billingsley and Nolasco taking key roles, I think this team will contend.

Eli's got breathtaking offensive potential with the two best RBI guys in baseball. Toss in 100 steals from two players and that's possibly the best balance on offense in the league. Pitching is good enough to win league.

Also, Elijah Dukes.

4.) Tomke's Asian Mama

The author of The Trampoline Bear looks to bounce into the money standings with a line up boasting of two Cleveland Indians on the bench. Tut tut, that's no way to win Radcliffe.

I'll give him an edge in Speed and Saves. All four OFs should steal 20 bases minimum, plus Jimmy Rollins. Needs more depth at the bottom of the rotation, with Kershaw being 21 and Jeremy Guthrie being below average. Roy Oswalt a nice pick.

We should probably start with the elephant in the room and talk about the catcher situation. I like to read fantasy baseball previews more for the fact that it's finally time to start talking about baseball than any enlightening revelations that come of it. But, this year the majority of conversation revolved around Matt Wieters who everyone thinks will be great, who everyone also expects will have a severely reduced number of at-bats due to starting the year in the minors. I can't say I'm such a fan of Wieters who hasn't proven anything and can't contribute to a major league level, but I do see the case to be made for drafting him. The only other catcher on JR's roster is a backup, so the sooner Wieters can make it to Baltimore's roster the better. I'm also not a huge fan of Chipper Jones who can now be described as brittle. What I do like are value picks Carlos Pena, Travis Hafner, and Alex Gordon. None were taken exceptionally high and all could have big upside. This team is at least one if not two good starters away from being really really damn good, but the overabundance of potential on the offensive side could be traded to compensate for what would be defencies in wins and K's.

I feel like JR had the strongest draft of anyone. Love Chipper; love him getting Oswalt where he did; LOVED the Black Chris Young pick in round 48. The offense is balanced across all categories and if Matt Wieters gets 400 at-bats anywhere nears his projections, it's going to have a huge effect. I think the starting pitching is a little thin with only four truly reliable starters, but it's still top-heavy enough to compete in those areas. He also got good value by waiting on closers, which let him shore up some depth in other areas.

5.) Toothpick and Do-Rag

I wish I knew what this team's name referred to, but my culturally uncool self have no idea. Therefore, I have no cutesy introduction for Baron. The comments.

I know, right? Baron at 5? But looking up and down his roster, I was actually impressed. There aren't too many glaring holes (though he's lacking a bit in power categories), and he also has some good upside-type players (Scherzer, Bruce, Greinke, Votto) that came at a great value. I also love Javy Vazquez this year. I do not, however, like Edison Volquez. Dusty's going to destroy him. Also, if just a few things go wrong for him here, Baron will end the year with 3 total saves.

Baron has his beloved Reds littering the roster. Either Jay Bruce or Joey Votto or Edinson Volquez would be a fun prospect project, but I worry that leaning on all three of them to be a #2 OF, a Utility starter, and a #1 starter might be asking too much. The bullpen is incredibly weak, just one starter has over 100 RBIs, and not a single player had more than 30 homers. I actually kinda like the Derek Jeter/Yunel Escobar SS situation because as much as Jeter is ragged on, he still puts up solid numbers with Escobar being a wild card. Not sure I get carrying two catchers, especially after thinking of one so highly that one was kept, but hey whatever.

Despite some very nice RBI potential, lacks a true HR threat, and has some guys that are black holes at that spot. Love the Votto pick, and he could break out and play at a keeper level this year. Baron has to be punting saves, which isn't an awful idea, assuming that he will be active enough to work the wire. Greinke/Shields/Vazquez gives him a good staff, but no one good enough to carry him. I don't think Gavin Floyd will be roster-able by the end of this season.

6.) Bondomination

Tomke graced us all with his presence for the draft after lazily getting out of bed at 1:29pm CDT after a night of drunken debauchery and indecent stool samples. A proud moment for everyone.

I'm ranking Tomke pretty highly but this is taking into consideration that the does set a line-up at some point and that the Kenji Johjima joke ends sooner rather than later. Kaz Matsui is rather uninspiring, too, now that I think about it. Enough of the negatives, the outfield has a nice mix of speed (Granderson, Crawford) and power (Hamilton, Quentin). The bullpen is really strong (K-Rod, Soria, Valverde) with two top flight closers. Perhaps most telling of this team will be how starting rotation recovers from an injury filled 2008 (Gallardo, Johnson, Bedard, Duchscherer).

Hahahahahahaha, Jeremy Bonderman! That's still so, so funny, even after all these years. You know what else is funny? Sleeping until 2:30 when you're an adult and telling elaborate stories about pooping to nine other people. The offense has some good players, the pitching pretty much blows outside of Gallardo and I hope this team fails.

A TON has to go right for Dave to even compete across the board in pitching, but he will absolutely rape us all in Saves, and his ratios will benefit from the outstanding bullpen he assembled. This is the best OF in the VUFSA, plus David Ortiz, which means he'll be in contention enough to make one trade too many, something along the lines of Josh Hamilton and Joakim Soria for Miguel Tejada, Bobby Jenks and a 10th rounder.

7. (Tie) Lumberjacks

So very much hate for Tomke, and yet lots of love for Champ. Who doesn't love Champ? Well, several preseason pundits who have him under Tomke in the standings. Ha. Under.

I like Champ's pitching rotation, provided they stay healthy of course, which of course is a big of course. Did that make sense? Harden, Burnett, and Beckett stand to win a lot of games and strike out a lot of guys, but will we really see all three of them pitching in September when Champ would be looking to make a push for money position? I also really like Champ's outfied which is a nice mix of superstar (Soriano/Manny), solid role players (Ibanez and Burrell), and young potential (Kemp). Not crazy about Tejada/Cantu in the infield.

Champ has some big-time offensive firepower with Manny, Fielder, Kemp and Soriano, plus positional scarcity guys like Soto and Pedroia. Love the offense. He also has a potential 60-steal guy sitting on his bench that he can slot in to help bolster that category. Buuuut, I don't like the pitching as much. Beckett will be good, but Harden is obviously an injury risk and Dice-K will probably disappoint. Not much to like across the pitching categories and that'll likely weigh the entire team down.

I don't think anyone realized at the time, but Champ's first 8 picks were all pitchers. Not just that, but no one would blink if you labeled Beckett, Harden, Burnett and BJ Ryan as "injury risks." That's a high price to pay for uncertainty. Couple that with the fact that the most reliable guy in that run is Dice-K, and I think Champ's pitching is dooooomed.

7. (Tie) The Bako Experience

In the mini-poll conducted, no team received so many wild predictions as one, Mr. Andrew Stem. Some rated him as highly as 5, others as low as 10. Great disagreement!

The good:

The All-White Outfield should produce 110 HRs and almost 400 RBI. The power potential is there- and though Chris Davis was a reach, he's got uber-potential. I don't know where the steals are going to come from, however, and that could cost him about 5 points. The pitching has loads of health concerns but is oozing with talent. Brian Fuentes was the best value at closer in the draft, easily.

The bad:

Stem brings an interesting team to the table that could possibly contend if a few chips fall the right way. For starters, Chris Davis has to come out as a superstar right away. Placed at 1B which is the fantasy equivalent of a mandatory 30hr, 120RBIs to compete, it could happen or it could be a tough second year for a player getting his first full season in. Ramirez, Phillips, and Peralta round out a solid infield. The outfield is a slight step down from the infield, but the numbers are there with guys like Dunn providing power, Werth speed, and Hawpe OBP. I also like the Dejesus and Soo Choo bench as both players could see some playing time with Stem. The gaping hole comes in steals as no one had more than 24 last year, and only two players had above 20. For all the posteason heroics, David Price threw only 14 innings last season, but it's hard not to like him. There's just something historically wrong about having a SP1 and an SP2 be Tampa Bay pitchers. Liriano will need to look more like Johan and Huston Street will need to actually be the closer in order for the pitching numbers to stay up to par. Overall though, I am amused at this squad.

The ugly:

Will finish last in stolen bases. Chris Davis and Jayson Werth were probably taken too early. Worst of all, there's a chance that none of his top four starters will throw 150 innings this season. Stem is the nicest guy in the world, but his fantasy baseball team is not going to be very good.

9.) The Human Fund (tie)

Adam Welty in his second year in taking over a decimated franchise graces the bottom of the poll much like his predecessor. Hey, nowhere to go but up, right? And at least he paid his dues on time, which I deemed to be the tie-breaker moving him ahead in this preview article than another team for which he tied with for the last spot.

As I watched Adam's draft unfold, I was thinking that the team would end up looking really, really ugly, but the results weren't quite as ugly as I anticipated. He'll get reasonable-to-good production from all of his infield spots and he has a handful of useful outfielders. I also like his three top starters quite a bit. Unfortunately, he kind of forgot about drafting closers, and that'll hurt. Overall, the team has some solid talent, but it lacks the depth that other teams have.

[I'd pick him] last if Cole Hamels' elbow is at all serious. He's got a history with arm trouble, which could poison the club for years considering his cost. Is rebuilding again this year, and to his credit loaded up w/ keeper-level potential in the draft. Morneau, Ludwick and Zambrano are already proven players (maybe not so much Ludwick) and Johnny Cueto, Alexei Ramirez and Stephen Drew all have big-time talent.

From top to bottom this team has unassuming, middle of the road performers. Justin Morneau was that really good 1B who was good at his position but not good enough to keep. Stephen Drew was that prospect SS who should come into his own, but still has an OBP where his batting average should be. Carlos Lee is that fantasy stud from season's passed who only has 436 at bats last year. Nick Swisher and Carlos Gomez are great role players pressed into a critical starting position that have to perform. Matt Cain, Jon Lester, and Francisco Cordero are again nice players to round out a roster, but we're talking about SP #2, SP #3, and RP #1. In all, I don't dislike this roster, but it's grossly lacking of superstar caliber talent.

9.) Flaccid Weiners (tie)

Viano being MIA, perhaps due his addiction to cell phone urination, had the honor and privledge of having Baron pick for him via the almighty Yahoo Rankings. Well, look where that got him in the preseason poll. Eh.

Viano pretty much got screwed by having to have his draft done by Yahoo rankings. This pitching is awful, and he only has 1.5 closers. Could be a rough year.

The offense is very good- with Figgins, Victorino and Rios stealing bases and a nice power boost from Jermaine Dye. I think Jason Bay has a huge year. I think the pitching, though weak, is good enough. He'll compete in saves, and do well in Ks. It's up to Felix Hernandez to step it up on this roster and be a real ace for once.

Handicapped by a mysterious disappearence that smelled of apathy on draft day, Viano has the unfortunate circumstance of the position players always ranking higher than pitchers when his pick came round. That in turn led to a lopsided roster with 3 1B eligible, 3B eligible, and 2 C catcher eligible players and a starting rotation whose best win performance from last season was Mike Pelfrey (13). Furthermore, the bullpen has starting positions reserved for two underwhelming closers in Brian Wilson and Chris Perez who I can see both not having the position at season's end. As for the line-up, Viano needs Joe Mauer to be healthy to keep Victor Martinez in the Util spot as I'm not sure that two Seattle Mariners (Beltre, Lopez) with .OBPs sub-.330 are going to provide enough of anything in a starting rotaiton.