Mid-Season Team Review

     Week 13 marked the mid point in my fantasy baseball league's season.  My team is currently in first place with a 9-4 record.  It has been a very competitive season so far, with only 2.5 games separating the top 5 teams in the league.  The most competitive move I have seen so far this year was when a league-mate picked up Zack Wheeler a month before his major league debut (Mets fan...).  Pretty bold move considering we don't have NA slots in our league.  Here are the changes I've made to my team over the first few months of the season:

ADDS

Ernesto Frieri, RP Anaheim Angels-  There was a snow storm the day we held our draft and the internet kept going out at the tavern.  As a result, I auto-drafted Eric Aybar.  First move I made of the season was to drop him and pick up Frieri.  The auto-draft gods left me weak at the closer position, so it was my top priority to address through free agency.   Frieri is having a pretty good year,  sporting a 3.19 ERA, 52 strikeouts, 21 saves with only 2 blown.

Jim Henderson

Jim Henderson, RP Milwaukee Brewers-  As I said earlier, I was weak at closer.  Henderson had a fantastic start to the year, but then suffered a groin injury.  He missed a couple of weeks on the DL and hasn't really regained his form yet.  The Brewers were also determined to get K-ROD his 300th save and are now trying to use him as trade bait, so Henderson's save opportunities have diminished as of late.  The Brewers haven't been winning many games lately. so that doesn't help either.  I'll keep Henderson at least until a better closer situation opens up.  It's such a volatile position, so opportunities are bound to present themselves.  Henderson has 10 saves on the year with a 2.12 ERA and 31 K's.  He has 3 blown saves, all coming in the month of June.

Dexter Fowler

Dexter Fowler, OF Colorado Rockies-  I picked Fowler up
during his power burst at the beginning of the season.  He hasn't been able to maintain the power, but has still been a good producer of runs, stolen bases, and avg./obp..  Fowler does have some injury concerns of late.  He bruised his thumb and then injured his wrist in the last couple of weeks.  He has been trying to play through the injures, as all of his MRI's have been clean.  Unfortunately,  his efforts have been mostly unsuccessful and he has missed quite a few games.  There is talk he may end up on the DL.  If that turns out to be the case, I will have to drop him because my DL spots are full,

Edward Mujica, RP St. Louis Cardinals-  Another addition to my bullpen.  Mujica took over the St. Louis closer job when Jason Motte went down with an injury and ended up having season ending Tommy John surgery.  Mujica has been very effective in the role so far, picking up 21 saves with a 2.20 ERA and 28K's.  "The Chief" has yet to blow a save this season.

Patrick Corbin, SP Arizona Diamondbacks- I picked Corbin up in the beginning of May after he put up great numbers in April.  I wasn't sure Corbin had the stuff to continue to dominate, boy have I been pleasantly surprised.  He is definitely one of my top pickups so far this season.  Corbin is 9-0 with a 2.20 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, and 85K's.  His record doesn't even do him justice as he has pitched good enough to win in 4 out of his last 5 starts, but the Arizona offense has let him down.

Nate McLouth

Nate McLouth (of the clan McLouth), OF Baltimore Orioles-  I picked up McLouth just so I could make that Highlander reference...  Truthfully, I picked him up because I had the need for speed and McLouth is stealing a lot of bases this year.  McLouth, a former All Star with Pittsburgh, has resurrected his career as the lead off man in Baltimore.  He is having a great season, hitting .282 with 49 runs, 24 stolen bases, and 6 homers.  The only gripe I have with McLouth is that Showalter frequently sits him when the Orioles are facing left handers, so you have to check the opposing pitcher if you are planning on starting him.

Josh Donaldson

Josh Donaldson, 3rd Base Oakland Athletics-  Donaldson has
been another pleasant surprise this year.  My starting first baseman is Evan Longoria, so I need a good back up because he is injury prone.  I had Aramis Ramirez, but he is playing injured and having a disappointing season. When I saw the numbers Donaldson was putting up, I made the switch and haven't looked back.  Donaldson is hitting .313 with 13 HR's, 53 RBI's, and 44 Runs.

Domonic Brown

Domonic Brown, OF Philadelphia Phillies-  If you have read my previous articles, then you know I had been following Brown since spring training.  When he started his home run spree I picked him up and reaped the benefits.  He now has 21 on the season and has been an all around productive player.  I don't expect him to keep putting up the ridiculous numbers that he did in May, but as long as he doesn't go into a major slump, he's got a spot on my team.

Yasiel Puig

Yasiel Puig, OF Los Angeles Dodgers-   I missed picking up Mike Trout last year by a couple of hours.  This year, I had my finger on the button to pick up Jean Segura and I said to myself, eh I'll wait until after dinner.  By then it was too late...  When I saw that Yasiel Puig was called up to the majors, I didn't hesitate.  I picked him up before he had even played an inning in the big leagues.  I had followed Puig in spring training, so I knew what he was capable of.  The question was could he transition that success to the regular season? Could he win a starting outfielder job from one of the highly paid veterans in the Dodger outfield?  The rewards outweighed the risk in this case.  I took the gamble and won big this time.  Puig is a phenom, his ability to adapt to whatever a pitcher throws at him is unreal.  His only weakness so far is that he's playing too damn hard.  He ran into a wall trying to catch a home run and he's made some reckless decisions attempting to turn singles into doubles.  One thing is for certain, Puig is a fantasy STUD.  He is also a lot of fun to watch play the game, if you get the chance you should do so.  The guy is going at full throttle at all times. Puig is hitting .436 with 7 HR's, 16 RBI's, 19 Runs, and 4 stolen bases in 26 games.

Ervin Santana

Ervin Santana, SP Kansas City Royals-  Santana is having a pretty good year and when Jim Henderson went on the DL with a groin injury, I figured what the hell.  There weren't any closers worth picking up and I haven't been happy with a couple of the starting pitchers I drafted, so I figured Santana could replace one of them down the road.  Cole Hamels and Yovani Gallardo are both having horrible years and it's getting to the point where something has to give.  I still haven't made up my mind yet who I will end up dropping, time will tell.


Nick Franklin, 2nd Base/Shortstop-  Tulo is my starting shortstop, enough said.

Mike Leake

 Mike Leake, SP Cincinnati Reds-  When Anibal Sanchez went on the DL I needed another starting pitcher.  Leake has been pretty consistent this year so I added him. He's 7-3 with a 2.52 ERA and 67 strikeouts on the season.  His WHIP is a bit high at 1.13, so I'm sure his ERA will rise too as the season goes on.  Cincinnati is a good hitting team, so Leake should get plenty of opportunities to win games.  That may keep him relevant even if his ERA does rise.

Joaquin Benoit

Joaquin Benoit, RP Detroit Tigers-  Brandon League was one of my closers, in the immortal words of Forrest Gump, "That's all I really have to say about that.".  A league-mate had already picked up his replacement, Kenley Jansen, 3 weeks earlier.  Valverde had just lost the job in Detroit, so BAM! Benoit is my newest closer.  The closer situation in Detroit is a hot mess, so I wouldn't be shocked if Benoit doesn't keep the job.  They may try to trade for someone like Papelbon or sign Brian Wilson.  Benoit has the job for now, so I'll ride that wave.








DROPS

Eric Aybar (auto-draft), Jonathan Broxton (auto-draft),  Brett Anderson (auto-draft), Miguel Montero (hitting sub .200), Nick Swisher (injury/slump), Norichika Aoki (because Yasiel Puig is better),  Brandon League (lost closer job), Adam Eaton (injury, needed space on my DL), Aramis Ramirez (injury/slump)


Grade

Overall, I give myself a grade of B for the first half of the season.  I am in first place with a 9-4 record, but my lead is only a half game.  I missed out on several strong free agents such as Jean Segura, Starling Marte, Jeff Locke, and Gerrit Cole.  All of them where on my radar, I just waited too long to make a move.  Going forward, I need to be more aggressive in free agency because there are still several weak spots on my team that need to be addressed.  I would like acquire at least one standout starting pitcher in the second half.  Last year I was able to add Kris Medlen during his dominant second half run, so I know the difference one great pitcher can make on your team.  I would also like to find strong backups at catcher and 1st base.  My league is not big on trades, so I doubt that would be an option at this point.  I will have to bring my A game when it comes to free agency in the second half to put myself in the best possible position going into the playoffs.

As always, thanks for reading!