| Vinny Castilla- the first ever player added in VUFSA History. Added March 20th, 2005. Bill Mueller was the player dropped. |
Found out recently that Yahoo has archived transactions from all 8 prior VUFSA seasons. Took a quick look and found it pretty fascinating to see old trades and try to figure out context; was 2006's "Moises Alou and Bronson Arroyo for Kenny Rogers and Jermaine Dye" a good deal, bad deal or no deal at all?
For shits and giggles, here's a look at how each franchise's best player found their way onto their respective team.
*This is pretty rough research, so if you remember differently, please let me know.
Franchise- Player (Preseason Rank)
1. Wolf- Ryan Zimmerman (#31)
Acquired by trade: July 7th, 2011.
Wolf receives: Ryan Zimmerman, 14th Round Pick
Wolf sends: Alex Rodriguez, 5th Round Pick.
By the end 2011, Alex Rodriguez was a shell of his former self. A keeper coming into that season, A-Rod finished with just 16 HRs and 62 RBI. For the reasonable cost of a 5th round pick, Drew upgraded his 3B keeper to the 27 year old Zimmerman. Zimmerman has not approached the production of his breakout 2009 (110r/33hr/106rbi/2sb/.364oba) but finished as the #44 overall player in 2012, posting a line of 93r/25hr/95rbi/5sb/.346oba.
2. Stem- Buster Posey (#29)
Acquired in 2010 draft: Round 18
This is kind of cheating, because the highest Yahoo ranked player for Stem is Adrian Beltre (#17). Beltre was picked up last September in a trade for a draft pick, which is not particularly interesting.
The reigning NL MVP is a much better story. Ranked as the #5 prospect in baseball by Fangraphs heading into 2010, Posey did not debut with the Giants until May 29th. Stem was patient with his final round selection, and held on to him after a devastating season-ending injury in 2011. Posey's fantastic 78r/24hr/103rbi/1sb/.408oba line made him the #31 ranked performer in 2012, the clear #1 catcher in fantasy baseball.
3. Viano- Justin Verlander (#13)
Acquired in 2009 draft: Round 8
OF COURSE you will remember that Andy Viano drafted Justin Verlander in the 1st round in 2008. I feel silly even reminding you. What you may have forgotten is that Verlander won just 11 games with a 4.84 ERA, 1.40 WHIP and an ordinary 163 Ks in 201 innings that year. As a result, he fell hard in the following season's draft.
We were all so very dumb. You could argue that from 2009-Present, there has been no better pitcher in fantasy baseball. Verlander's high point is unquestionably 2011- when he put up a 24w/250k/2.40era/0.92whip season, good for the AL Cy Young, AL MVP and the #2 overall ranking in fantasy baseball that year.
4. Whitlock- Prince Fielder (#12)
Acquired in 2007 Draft: Round 4
Baseball America's #11 prospect in 2006, Fielder had a solid rookie season with 28 HR. Mind you, that 28 HR in 2006 was nothing special. Ryan Howard led the league with 58. *Bill Hall* had 35.
Everyone passed on Fielder at least thrice the next year, but Brent took the young fatass and was rewarded with a 109r/50hr/119rbi/2sb/.395oba season, and Prince has not left Team Whitlock since.
Honorable Mention: Matt Cain (#34) acquired via trade September 28th 2010.
Whitlock receives: Matt Cain, Dan Haren, Max Scherzer
Whitlock sends: Clayton Kershaw
Brent is one of three owners to win a Baseball title, and this trade in the waning days of the 2010 season gave him three keeper pitchers which anchored his 2011 Championship squad.
5. Gieryna- Albert Pujols (#9)
Acquired via trade July 27th, 2008
Gieryna Receives: Albert Pujols, Yadier Molina
Gieryna Sends: Brian McCann, Cole Hamels, Matt Cain
Pujols was the best hitter in baseball from the day the VUFSA was founded through at least 2010. Despite that, he was traded THREE times from 2005 until 2008. This trade however, represents the final movement for Pujols (as of this writing).
Eli won consecutive titles in 2009 and 2010, led by Albert both years. The first baseman played nearly every day, and in 2009 put up a historic 124r/45hr/135rbi/16sb/.443oba season, a standard by which all fantasy players should be measured.
Honorable Mention: Justin Upton (#21) Acquired 2009 Draft: 6th Round
I can't remember Justin Upton playing for another VUFSA team. I feel like Eli drafted him when he was in the minors and just kept him permanently. Turns out he's only had him for 4 seasons. Upton peaked as Baseball America's #2 overall prospect in 2007, but did not reach the majors until 2008. The younger Upton has had shown to be one of the best players in fantasy with a monster105r/31hr/88rbi/21sb/.369oba line in 2011.
6. Radcliffe - Matt Kemp (#5)
Acquired via Trade July 13th, 2009
Radcliffe receives: Matt Kemp
Radliffe sends: Chipper Jones, 7th Round Pick
The hardest thing about this exercise is the perspective needed when it comes to 'name' players. Was Chipper Jones a great player in 2009? Not really, but he played in 143 games and hit 18 HRs with a .388 OBA. Was Matt Kemp an elite player in 2009? Pretty much, with 97r/26hr/101rbi/34sb/.352oba.
2010 was a step back for Kemp, stealing only 19 bases with dips in Runs, RBI and a paltry .310 OBA. Undeterred, Radcliffe held on to Kemp and was rewarded with the #1 overall player in 2011- a phenomenal 115r/39hr/126rbi/40sb/.399oba. Injuries have sapped Kemp of his speed, and kept him off the field for a good part both last season and the current one.
Chipper Jones never had a particularly usable season after that but that 7th rounder turned into...............Carlos Marmol. Who is terrible. I really wish that was a more interesting player. This could have been a really cool note. Shit.
7. Brendel- Robinson Cano (#4)
Acquired in 2010 Draft: 2nd Round
Robinson Cano has been so good for so long, it's hard to imagine that he was open to anyone just three years ago. In 2008, he was a first round pick, but in 2009 he was one of the last players selected and then traded before the end of April for Alexei Ramirez.
Cano has been a model of consistency since- finishing as the #1 second baseman in fantasy for the last three seasons. Cano has averaged over 100r/30hr/100rbi to go with a stellar OBA the entire time.
Honorable Mention: Joey Votto (#7) Acquired in 2009 Draft: Round 6
Baron drafted Votto in two straight drafts, the 17th round of 2008 and then got him to stick after 2009. That's solid dedication to get what I assume is Baron's favorite player since some guy like Jose Rijo or Norm Charlton.
8. Schillinger- Ryan Braun (#3)
Acquired via Trade: May 31st, 2008
Schillinger Receives: Ryan Braun, Carlos Lee
Schillinger Sends: Alex Rodriguez, Daisuke Matsuzaka, 5th Round Pick
A well thought of prospect in 2007, Ryan Braun burst into the majors and started bashing. He won NL Rookie of the Year, posting 34 HRs and 15 SBs, getting on base at a .370 clip. Despite a great start and a bright future, Braun was traded twice early in 2008. In the season's second month, he fetched Brandon Webb (straight up) and was then sent away in part for a near-prime Alex Rodriguez.
Schilllinger won his second title in 2008, thanks in large part to great seasons from Braun and Carlos Lee, the other player acquired. Since then, Braun has been part of two other VUFSA champs, highlighted by last year's 108r/41hr/112rbi/30sb/.391oba spectacle.
9. Tomke- Miguel Cabrera (#2)
Acquired via Trade July 11th, 2007
Tomke Receives: Miguel Cabrera, Tim Lincecum
Tomke Sends: Derrek Lee, Ichiro Suzuki
Miguel Cabrera was an offensive genius from the moment he came into the league in 2003. A surprise to me, Dave acquired Cabrera the year BEFORE he was traded to the Tigers, though he was already a premier offensive player. Cabrera has been remarkably consistent, playing both corner IF spots, while racking up insane numbers and playing in no fewer than 150 games since heading to Detroit. Last year's Triple Crown was magical, as the #3 player in fantasy finished with 109r/44hr/139rbi/4sb/.393oba. That season coincided with Tomke's best VUFSA Baseball finish.
Before you start thinking that this was a mega-blockbuster deal, let me point out that Tim Lincecum was traded straight up for Delmon Young within a week. (Lincecum was a rookie at the time, and not even kept heading into the next season). Derrek Lee was two seasons removed from his monster 2005 season (120R and 46HR) and coming off of an injury plagued 2006. Ichiro was still a fantasy superstar, but obviously did not carry the franchise potential that Cabrera returned.
10. Welty- Mike Trout (#1)
Acquired as Free Agent: April 27th, 2012
Player dropped: Cameron Maybin
There was a time that the Yahoo game made new call-ups to the majors subject to the waiver wire. That was not the case last year, as Trout was just sitting available as a free agent when the news of his call up came. Trout had sputtered in a 40 game premiere in 2011, but his addition to the Angels roster still commanded some attention.
He got off to a crap start, going 0-4 on April 28th. Through nine games, he had one steal and was hitting .242 (.297 on base). It clicked, however, on May 9th, going 3 for 5 with 2 runs and 2 RBI. The following 5 months were breathtaking. Trout finished the #1 player in fantasy (despite only 139 games) with a dumbfounding line of 129r/30hr/83rbi/49sb/.399oba. He's only 22 years old and sits as the #6 player so far in 2013. Like a schnook.
I sincerely hope this was at least a mildly enjoyable read. I would love to put more stuff up like this as time comes available. It's bad form, but if you would like to see more blog activity please leave a comment or somehow drop a note with what you'd like to see. I'd love to be able to draw in more voices, even through email Q & A sessions that we've had mild success with in the past. The start of football marks the 10th year of VUFSA competition- it would be fun to look back and see how the league took shape.
