Keeper Advice Needed (And appreciated)

[Ankipans123]

I took over a team last year, and it did not do very well. Players got hurt, and many did not pan out. Towards the end of the year, I did very well with picking up speculative players but now am kinda at a loss on some tough calls and was hoping you all could shed some light!

Eliminated list:
Brandon Allen, JP Arencibia, Chone Figgins, Desmond Jennings, Kila Ka'aihue,
Jason Kubel, Andres Torres, Danny Valencia, Jhoulys Chacin, Jorge De La Rosa, Kyle Drabek, Mike Minor, Rafael Soriano, Matt Thornton.

Front Runners.... I can only have 8 players out of this list.......
Billy Butler, Victor Martinez, Hanley Ramirez, Jeremy Hellickson, Daniel Hudson
Phil Hughes, Justin Verlander, Dominic Brown, Aroldis Chapman, Adam Jones
Neil Walker, Wandy Rodriguez, Johan Santana

I am really having a tough time deciding on my keepers. I will have the #2 pick this year. Can someone provide some insight/opinions/cast their votes on my keepers? It's VERY appreciated... thanks!

[GoldenSeals]

Hey NLZ, welcome to the board. Without knowing how deep your league is or the format, I'd pick...

Your sure bets - these are no brainers.
1. Hanley Ramirez
2. Victor Martinez
3. Justin Verlander

As for 4-8, I would go bat heavy so...
4. Adam Jones
5. Billy Butler
6. Domonic Brown
7. Jeremy Hellickson
8. Wandy Rodriguez

When you draft, go all bats. That's your biggest weakness right now. There's plenty of pitching on the wire, and if you keep us up to date and ask questions on here we can also help you out.

Good luck!

[jackasstro]

i agree with djkiang's list above with the exception of dominic brown. He looks like he's going to be platooning. Couple that with the peaks and valleys of young hitters and its not an ideal situation. While he is a great prospect, he is still probably a couple years away from being a legit starter in most formats.

I'd much rather have Phil Hughes here. He has a guarenteed starting spot in a potent lineup and his numbers have been progessing well over the years. He had 18 wins last year and if it wasn't for a poor 2nd half, he could have easily reached 20 with a sub-4.00 ERA.

[GBThrasher]

Hi there, I'd go with the following eight players:

1. Hanley Ramirez
2. Victor Martinez
3. Justin Verlander
4. Adam Jones
5. Billy Butler
6. Phil Hughes
7. Jeremy Hellickson
8. Neil Walker

If you keep Hugues, you can afford to let Rodriguez go.

I would pick Neil Walker because 2nd basemen are harder to find than quality SPs. He hit .296 and hammered 12 HR in only 426 ABs.

Fred Poulin

Poulin no Foolin

[Lundy01]

No Brainers

Hanley Ramirez
Jeremy Hellickson
Justin Verlander
Aroldis Chapman

The Others

Victor Martinez- he's getting to the end of his prime, but still a top 5 catcher

Billy Butler- one of the surest bets to hit .300, and should start to come into his power

Dan Hudson- may have one of the highest floors amongst young starting pitchers. Should strike out more batters than Hughes, and is younger than Wandy.

Domonic Brown- may take a year to get going, but potential is immense



Good luck!

[Ankipans123]

Thanks for the advice so far. It is a Head to Head league, 12 teams. I will have the #2 pick this year, so I think as you can tell, I will be focused on hitting for a few rounds.

I'm having a really hard time assessing some of the values of the players with it being early in the year, I wish that the keepers were due closer to the time that the league starts and not in the near term.

I think the definites right now are Hanley Ramirez, Justin Verlander, Victor Martinez.

The other 5 spots look to be down to Hellickson, Chapman, Hudson, Hughes, Wandy Rodriguez, Chacin, D. Brown, Adam Jones, Billy Butler, Neil Walker.

I've appreciated the feedback thus far, and look forward to some more... This is tough......