Printer-friendly

Contact Author

September 24, 2012

Value Picks

Second, Short, and Catcher Review

by Josh Shepardson

With just over a week left in the season, BP’s Value Picks writers will be taking a look back on the season.  They’ll be looking at the players they hit on, the players they missed on, and what went right or wrong.  Thank you, readers, for your support throughout another great season here at BP. —Derek Carty, Fantasy Manager

I was late to the Baseball Prospectus Value Pick party, joining the staff in early June. During my abridged tenure, I’ve had my share of hits and misses. In an attempt to keep things organized, I'll break my season highlights down into “Duds,” “Contributors,” and “Studs.”

Duds
On July 9, I suggested adding Wil Myers and keeping tabs on Grant Green. Seeing as how neither player has taken a hack in the bigs this year, it's safe to say I whiffed on both players. One week later I jumped on the Jedd Gyorko bandwagon. Having read the rumors that teams were inquiring about the availability of Padres third baseman Chase Headley and seeing Gyorko tear-up the Pacific Coast League proved too enticing a combination to pass up suggesting a stash. Sticking with the theme of being scorned by love for young players, Devin Mesoraco was an arrival on June 18, and Ryan Lavarnway joined the fold on August 27; both catchers, however, failed to get their footing. On the season, the two young backstops have combined for a pitiful seven home runs and a batting average around the Mendoza-line. That's no bueno.

My biggest flubs were Gordon Beckham and Stephen Drew. Drew was initially mentioned as a disabled list stash option on June 14, and he wouldn't depart the column until August 27. Beckham had a solid week after his inclusion on June 4, and he was pushed off the list the following week because of a jump in his ownership rate. His ownership would eventually drop as he cooled off, allowing me to include him amongst the Value Picks again on July 16, where he would stay until getting the boot on July 30. Always a glutton for punishment, I gave Beckham one last look last week. He responded by hitting .250, but at least he found the seats with one of his four hits. The line drive rates of each player were an intoxicating elixir that impaired my fantasy judgment and drove me to preach patience with both players. Neither proved worth waiting on.

Contributors
The Reds insisted on using Zack Cozart as their leadoff hitter, and that was enough to encourage me to keep including him in the column week-after-week since he first appeared on June 4. It was a roller coaster ride with some ups-and-downs, but on the whole, he was a capable middle infield option in large mixed leagues.

Originally appearing as an NL-only VP on June 11, Everth Cabrera would reappear in the mixed league section on August 27. He has lived up to his one trick-pony billing as a stolen base option, and that is good enough to qualify as a “Contributor” here.