Post by Dallas Horned Lizards on Mar 22, 2014 3:51:34 GMT
1. Brocness Monsters
This team is probably the most balanced in the league. With a startling line up with a quality player at every position besides 1B and maybe C, really banking on a good year from Yan Gomes, with no backup plan. This starting pitching rotation is one of the top in the league, it may not stand out but it is very productive. The same could be said about this bullpen, relying on Trevor Rosenthal and Sergio Romo for the bulk of the points coming out of the pen. This team might not be very flashy, but it figures to be productive in every single facet of the game.
Strengths: OF, 3B, SP, all around depth
Weaknesses: 1B, C
2. The GOATs
Lord have mercy look at that rotation. Obviously the best rotation in this league, and it's by a long shot. When Ryu is your 4th best starter, you're doing something right. It has yet to be seen if the reach of $14 million for Wacha will end up paying off in the long run, but if he's anything like last year, watch out. The startling line up is also very solid, but could use a boost in the OF talent, and is banking on a comeback year from the Panda, Pablo Sandoval. However, with the likes of Joey Votto and Ian Desmond in the lineup, no matter what some of the low points do, the lineup will still be serviceable. But, this team does have some gaping weaknesses in the fact that literally every player at the moment on the bench is an outfielder(probably will change soon in free agency, but still it's lolsy), and literally the only closer on this team is Koji Uehara. All in all, this is a top tier team, that could get even better if said weaknesses are taken care of.
Strenghts: SP, 1B, SS, 2B
Weaknesses: Bench Depth, RP
3. AstrosNation
Another well balanced team, above average in every part. However, taking a risk banking on younger players such as Gyorko, Arenado,Perez, and Cashner to contribute this year to help carry the load. The season-ending injury to Patrick Corbin will no doubt be a big blow, but if Jimenez is the pitcher he was last year, the rotation still looks to be solid. The pen is lead by 2 good but not great closers in Street and Chisek. However, the offense will be dangerous with guys like Freeman, Gomez, and Tulowitzki leading the way. Look out.
Strengths: 1B, SS, OF, RP, Bench Depth
Weaknesses: could be banking on too many young guys, back of rotation
4. You Have No Marbles!
Led by the best all around baseball player on the planet, this offense is potent. Trout, Bautista, the underrated Lucroy, and the dangerous platoon of Rizzo and Abreu look to make this one of the most solid lineups in the league. However, for it to be truly great it needs Profar to live up to his immense potential and have Castro return to form. Regardless, it is still a very solid lineup. Also led by a young rotation, that could either be great or a bust. The bullpen however is probably one of the top in the league, with every reliever a solid option. This team could be great or it could just stay very good.
Strength: 1B, OF, C, RP
Weaknesses: SP, 3B, lack of bench depth
5. Dallas Horned Lizards
Yet another team that is solid all around. The lineup all around is solid, depending if Davidson starts in the majors or not. Either way, Frazier is capable of starting duties, but would certainly make the spot a weakness in an other wise solid lineup. It is yet to be seen if the reach of $15 million for 2013 AL ROY Wil Myers will pay off, but he brings a good bat. Lead by aforementioned Myers,Pence, Ortiz, and Posey this lineup is very solid. It has the potential to be the one of the best in the league if Rendon lives up to his hefty potential and if Belt improves on his solid 2013 season. Another bright spot in the lineup is C, with Posey and Gattis, to top 10 catchers, assuming the duties. The rotation is led by rea life teammates David Price and Matt Moore, and Kuroda solidifies the rotations spot in middle of the pack. Big seasons from once top prospect Straily and Spring Training stud Nate Eovaldi would push this rotation into fringe top tier, but it's a stretch. All in all, the rotation has quite a few question marks, but still manages to be average or above average. Also, it helps that this team has possibly the best bullpen and bench in the league. The bench led by productive hitters Adam Lind, Evan Gattis, and Todd Frazier, has a lot of production for days when the starters aren't playing. The pen has potentially saves coming from 4 of the 6 guys in it. Also, has an extra stater in the form of Drew Smyly. It is led by one of the top closers in all of baseball in Greg Holland, with Casey Jannssen and Jesse Crain helping solidify the pen. This team is good right now and will only get better.
Strengths: OF, C, UTL, RP
Weakness: back end of rotation, 3B, SS
6. Springfield Manatees
This team would be a top 5 team if Mike Minor wasn't out to Mid-April. But, as it is, since he is out, Phil Hughes is set to enter the rotation for the first part of the season, making the back end of the rotation look rough. Regardless, this team has a very talented hitting lineup, the weakness, if you could even call it one, is Erik Aybar at the SS position, where he still is figured to be a top 10 option at the position. Counting on Xander Boagaerts could be considered a risk, but I'm clearly reaching here if his playoff performance was any factor in how he will do. The bench is also a very productive set of hitters led by past all star Chase Headley and 2B Aaron Hill. The bullpen is a major weakness for this team, literally no closer on the roster. Some of the guys might get a save or two here and there, but still, this bullpen has to be one of the worst in the league, fantasy wise. Time will tell if the stud hitting outweighs the below average bullpen and below average pitching to start the year.
Strengths: OF, bench depth, front end of rotation, all around hitting lineup
Weakness: back end of rotation, RP
7. Baltimore Blue-Footed Boobies
This team clearly has it's star players to lead the way. Goldschmit leading the hitting, Sale,Sanchez, and Miller forming a forimidable trio to lead the way for the rotation, and Papelbon, Reed, and Balfour leading the way for the pen. All that said, this team has way too many question marks to justify the top tier ranking that those stars would seem to justify. Banking on Mike Moustakas to finally put it together, Matt Kemp to be healthy, Wilson Ramos to improve, Evereth Cabrera to continue his All-Star play, the list goes on and on and on. If everything goes right, watch out, if it doesn't, this team is headed for trouble.
Strengths: 1B, Front end of rotation, RP
Weaknesses:way too many risks
8. JTown Johnnies
Assembling a team of veterans lead by the likes of Cano and Ellsbury might not be the most used tactic in a dynasty league, but it makes this team a top half team in this year at least. The lineup really shines in the OF with Ellsbury, Nelson Cruz, and Michael Cuddyer forming one of the best outfields in this league. Also on the roster is the best 2B in the game, Robbie Cano. The rotation led by Gerrit Cole and the "Shark" Jeff Samardizja looks to be pretty darn good. If Alex Wood pitches like he is shown he is a capable of doing, this rotation is set. Risks in the lineup of Pujols and Asdrubal Cabrera bouncing back could work out well and Will Middlebrooks is the clear weak spot in this lineup. The bullpen is led by top closer Kenley Jensen and the sneaky good pick of Kevin Siegrist, but the rest of the pen is average at best. This team could surprise some people, don't count them out cause they're older than the rest.
Strengths: OF, SP, 2B
Weaknesses: 2B, RP, bench
9. Chicago Cows
I take back what I said about the GOATs, this is with out a doubt, the best rotation in the league. All 5 of these starting pitchers were top quality fantasy options last year. When Verlander had the worst year out of your pitchers last year, you know you have a good rotation. Iwakuma is struggling with injuries at this moment, but put in Jonathan Niese and this rotation is still deadly. If only the hitting lineup was as good. It does have it's bright spots in Adam Jones, Jay Bruce, Jose Reyes, and Adrian Gonzalez. But it also has dark spots. And by dark, I mean dark, like really dark. When Mark Reynolds and Kelly Johnson are starting for you in fantasy, you're most likely in for a long season hitting wise. The pen is also a point of concern, Nate Jones is a fringe-closer at best and is looking like the best option. It remains to be seen if the bright spots outweigh the dark ones.
Strength: SP, OF, SS, 1B
Weaknesses: 3B, 2B, RP, not enough bench hitters
10. Rolltide
I had to use the most cliche gif in all of baseball. It represents just how good Kershaw is. He makes Blanco look plain stupid. The rotation is obviously lead by the best pitcher in the world. It falls off a little in productivity, Lester being the 2nd best option, but is still solid with Colon and Lohse rounding out the rotation. It remains to be seen if CC will be a steal or a plain headache. This is a very underrated lineup. Carlos Santana, Starling Marte, Shin-Shoo Choo, and Prado all providing consistent value. That's the key word with this line up: consistent. It has question marks, mainly being how much playing time Matt Adams gets, if Josh Donaldson is as good as he was last year, and will Brandon Phillips continues to regress. Add in the weakness at SS, and you have a somewhat average lineup with potential to be above average. The pen is solid, with a lot of closer options, and 2 players who look to get SP time. All in all, this team should be in the middle of the pack, in the running for one of the last playoff spots.
Strengths: C, OF, Kershaw, RP
Weaknesses: too many question marks
11. Portland Vipers
Home of the deadliest hitter on the planet, Miggy Cabrera. If fantasy baseball was just about starting lineups, this team would be higher. But, alas, it is not, and the fact that the bench is made up of 3 players not even in the MLB at the time being, and a starting RP also not in the MLB, are the main reasons for this team's ranking. Even if they do send them down to bring in some bench bats and an extra RP, it would still be one of the most lackluster benches in this whole league, and that's a problem as baseball teams don't play everyday.
Strengths: SP, 3B, OF
Weaknesses: RP, C, literally no bench(even if a bench is signed, still be terrible)
12. Tribe Time
A, what figures to be, a potent lineup, with one too many question marks. A pitching staff that includes an overpaid Tim Lincecum, and also has it's own question marks. A bullpen with, you guessed it, question marks. Question marks galore makes it hard to justify a higher ranking, depending if the questions pan out, this team could be a darkhorse, but it's a huge risk, and one I'm not willing to buy into.
Strengths: 2B,1B(if they have seasons like last year)
Weaknesses: question marks all over!
13. Kansas City Sabers
A quietly productive hitting lineup led by Eric Hosmer, Dustin Pedroia, and Hanley Ramierez can't outweigh the mess that is the starting rotation. With Alex Cobb as the ace, and Jarrod Parker out for the year, this looks to be a messy year for this rotation. It's no wonder all but 1 of the farm system players are pitchers. Kimbrel looks to lead a average bullpen that includes Jim Johnson, save opportunities besides those two, however, seem to be scarce. In a league that requires a balanced team, this is anything but.
Strengths: 1B,2B,SS
Weaknesses: SP, RP
14. Louisville Sluggers
Star-studded almost to a fault. Big spender in the first rounds leaves this team with a huge amount of stars, but not enough good players. With 4 above-average 3Bs, there needs to be a trade of some sort to get a SS, which the current incumbent doesn't have a team as of right now, 2B,or SP. This rotation is below average, it's best pitcher on the DL, and it's second best is Dillon Gee. When your ace is Dillon Gee, you're pitching is in trouble. The pen isn't any better, with no closers, a free agent, and the god awful Carlos Marmol. I would say Matt Harvey could breath some much needed life into the rotation from the farm, but he won't be around until next year. And with all the aging stars in the lineup, this team can't wait around until next year. Stuck between a rock and a hard place, some trades need to be made, and if they are, this team could be intriguing.
Strengths: C, 1B, 3B(almost to a fault, too many!), OF
Weaknesses: SP, RP, SS, 2B, Bench
15. Florida Impact
Puigmania in Florida. Is he worth the $16 million that was thrown at him? Personally, I don't believe so. But he brings a much needed x factor to an already solid lineup highlighted by Matt Carpenter,Edwin Encarnacion, and Ryan Braun. However, there is a gaping hole at 3B. Also, this pitching looks to be in trouble. With the ace Latos starting off on the DL, and no one down on the farm to call up in his absence, a free agent may have to be called in. And with the scarcity of pitchers on the market, this already bad rotation gets a heck of a lot worse. Also, with the scary injury to Chapman, the pen is also a bad option. The holes in the lineup and the bad pitching puts this team in trouble to start the season.
16. G Squad
The top 3 of this rotation pack a mean punch. NL ROY Jose Fernandez, Adam Wainwright, and AL Cy Young Runner-Up Yu Darvish lead the way for this otherwise dreadful team. Dan Haren and Gallardo create a lackluster back end of the rotation, and the pen has no closer, looking to be one of the worst in the league. The hitting is pretty anemic, taking a risk on Jean Segura, the bright spots being Joe Mauer and Ben Zobrist. The season doesn't look to kind to the G Squad.
Strengths: 1,2,3 in the rotation is the best in the league, C, SS
Weaknesses: 3B, OF, back end of rotation, RP
