Fantasy Baseball Q &A

As it says in the description, this is a sample of a Q&A session I had on the ESPN.com message boards earlier today. (Here's a link to the entire thing: boards.espn.go.com/boards/mb/mb) So why am I posting it here? Two reasons:

#1- I want to prove to you I know what I'm doing, because

#2- Then you'll post your questions as a comment, allowing me to answer them!

I don't claim to know everything, but I do want to help and at the same time, kill my free time this summer. What better way to do it then talking fantasy baseball? So read on and see if anything helps, but if it doesn't, please, ask away! I'll post another article with answers soon!

McNabb1124: who would u rather have: brett myers or clay bucholz?

Good question. And a tough one: Hopeful ace or young gun? Let's check the stats:

Buchholz: 42 IP, 2-3 record, 43 Ks, 5.53 ERA, 1.63 WHIP
Myers: 49 IP, 2-3 record, 42 Ks, 5.33 ERA, 1.47 WHIP

Yep, comparing them doesn't do a lot of good, now does it? Still, the Buchholz has a 43/20 K/BB ratio, but Myers sports a 42/15 rate. I'd say Myers has the better control at the moment, but you could make a strong case for either pitcher. Considering both pitchers have good bullpens behind them, and good offenses (Philly's has to wake up soon, right?), I'd lean towards Myers.

jacqueez85: 2 things..

1)Should I drop manny acosta for ryan franklin?

acosta has recorded only 2 saves in a month where franklin did that just last week. I know both of them are in jeopardy of the closing role...what do yout think?

2)Jeff Franceur has been slumping and I picked up jeremy hermida and he has been working out quite nicely. Do you think I should try trading franceur away or will hermida not keep up the pace he is on?

1.) Yes. Acosta has been bad lately, isn't getting save chance, and will lose any shot of saves very soon anyway. Ryan Franklin has the best chance of taking Isringhausen's closer role in St. Louis, so it's worth the chance.

2.) Jeremy Hermida's been tagged by most as due for a breakout. Honestly, I don't know what'll happen down in Florida, because all of the MLB players on a team in Florida are befuddling me, but I think if you can address a need at another position then you could trade either player and still get good production the rest of the year.

In short: I'd feel comfortable trading away either Hermida or Francouer, though Hermida has greater upside.

jfox33078: What do you think of McLouth for two of the following; Volquez, Marcum, Kazmir, Lyons, Hoffman?

If you can snag a combination of Marcum, Kazmir, or Volquez, I'd say do it if you don't take a massive hit on your offense.

cpelrod1: Which OF you prefer, Mike Cameron or Milton Bradley? Thanx...

Bradley is an injury risk, so I'll say Cameron.

rdel102:
lackey coming off the DL, who should I drop?
joba, r.bettancourt, cueto, billingsly, jurrjens, lilly, and izzy
also have kotchman, loney, and quentin on batter bench.
could use the help - thanks man.

Interestingly enough, I have a Lackey problem of my own on a few teams. I get the feeling the fantasy experts are getting a lot of these types of questions!

If you don't want to drop a pitcher, then you could dump one of the two 1B you have stashed away. However, Cueto doesn't inspire too much confidence in me (he's a rookie, growing pains are normal), and Betancourt has been bad in the closer's role, so either of them would be okay as well.

joe.giannola: Is it worth dropping Randy Wolf for Eveland, Duchscherer, Cueto or Rich Hill? (10 team roto)

Yes- I'd plug Duchscherer in at an RP position and reap the benefits. In fact, that's what I'm doing on 3 teams. I don't think any of the others will be that much better than Wolf the rest of the way, though Eveland makes a strong case.