In the news; Feb 20

Chris Young reports that he is 100% healthy after playing through an injury to his thumb ligament the second half of last season. The injured thumb may help explain the inordinately high % of infield pop-ups Chris hit into last season. Chris is a good power/speed contributor who would be a very high pick except for his low batting average. His k/w is actually ok and doesn’t fully explain his low average. He has been a bit unlucky two of the last three seasons, recording a babip of .268 in 2009, and .275 in 2011. In 2010, he recorded a closer to league average babip of .296 and a batting average of .257. Not great, but not the suck hole from 09 or 11. I have him down for .255-.260. of course, he could get lucky and hit for a plus average, but I’d be fine with .260, because at his current adp, i’m making a profit.

Carl Crawford says his recovery from wrist surgery is going well. He thinks he may be able to start the season. The surgery was minor and should fully fix the problem, yet seems to have scared off drafters. Since news hit, his adp has been in free fall. I see another potential bargain. His career numbers include; .328 babip and .293 ba. Last season’s .299/.255 was the fluke, not the previous eight. I thought he would be under-valued before news of the surgery. At his present price, you would be foolish not to buy.

Dallas Braden returns from surgery to repair a torn shoulder muscle; threw 25 pitches and hopes to be ready April 18. I’ll buy at a dollar. Or wait and perhaps pick him up off the wire. He was never worth a great investment to begin with.

Casey Kotchman ticketed for full time at bats. I think .275, 10 60 55. In terms of batting average, he was terribly unlucky in Seattle, then got very fortunate last season. He actually had more rbi’s, in fewer at bats, in Seattle.

Manny in Oakland. I don’t know what to make of this. I won’t be buying, that is for certain.

Chisenhall vs. Hanahan, spring training showdown. Put your money on Chisenhall. He has a great swing but struggled to control the zone in his debut, just like most rookies. He has a much better bat than Hanahan. Hanahan is that bad.

Wade Davis balks at moving to the pen. What leverage he thinks he has, I don’t know. He is not reliable at this time, w/9 too high. No way he fights off Matt Moore for a spot in the rotation. Niemann might get hurt again, but should that happen, I would go with Cobb. Davis needs to learn how to better control the strike zone. He might find his way spending a season in the pen.

Brian Wilson says he’s throwing at about 75%. He had elbow trouble last season, and his peripherals were shot. He is a big question mark in my eyes, health and production. I have avoided so far, and will draft Heath Hembree for my N.L. farm team.

Brendan Ryan still isn’t throwing pain free. Shoulder and neck injuries linger from last season. Mariners signed M Kawasaki. If Kawasaki hits, I think he’ll play, because they are already certain Ryan will never hit.

Stephen Strasburg expected to be limited to 160-170 innings. He will still be worth drafting in the top ten. I see, 13 wins, 2.43 185 1.03.

Buster Posey will be told not to block the plate in 2012. This coming a day after the Hector Sanchez news. Looking more and more like he’ll be taking a regular shift at 1b.
The less time behind the plate, the better his bat plays. Could be a bargain, even if drafted fairly high.

Mike Aviles has the “pedigree of an everyday ss “. The sales job begins. Get Aviles 450-500 at bats with the Red Sox, add in eligibility at three positions, and you have potential for a fairly valuable mid.