Friday, May 4, 2007

TSF's Super Sophs

I just got done giving you my all-rookie team selections. Now, without further delay I'd like to give you my team of the bets rookies from LAST year. Last year's rookie class was pretty deep so this should be fun.

C- Russell Martin - LAD
Had an outstandingly quiet year last year hitting .282 10 HRs and 65 RBIs in 415 ABs. Although his stats last year weren't quite that of Paulino I'm taking Martin because of his performance thus far this season. He's off to a good start and I think he'll drive in substantially more runs that Paulino just because the Pirates don't have the same firepower as the Dodgers. This was a tough decision but Martin has played his way into the spot through the first 5 weeks of this season.

1B - Prince Fielder - MIL
He's the man and he's my favorite player on my favorite team so this isn't very tough for me to put him here. He had 28 HRs last year and I think his power numbers will only continue to go up and up. Also look for him to definitely collect more than 80 RBIs this season. The thing that really impresses me and that I like about him though, is his K's are down. He's showing that he can hit for singles and doubles, not just HRs and take the ball the other way.

2B - Ian Kinsler - TEX
I really want Rickie Weeks here but technically he's not a soph. and also I don't wanna be too pro-Brewers. He hit .286 with 14 HRs, 55 RBIs, and had 11 SBs as a rookie. He's showing us thus far this season he's the real deal (.290 9 HRs, 24 RBIs, 4 SB with a .364) I see much of the same with a power increase coming this year.

3B - Ryan Zimmerman - DC
Hasn't had a great start to this season but he's on a horrible team with little to no supporting cast, and there is no doubt in my mind that this kid is/will be a star. He drove in 100+ runs last season and I think that it will be tough for him to repeat that with the team that is around him. However I think he'll climb up over 20 HRs this year and he's solid defensively. At 3B this is one of those no-brainers.

SS- Hanley Ramirez - FL
This was a little tougher of a pick because I really like both Ramirez and Drew (ARI). Really I think Ramirez is a better player right now and is having a significantly better season thus far. Also love what he can do on D and his speed is a definite asset to the team.

LF- Josh Willingham - FL
Another one of those great Marlins sophs. He's hitting .299 right now (I'll call it .300 for good measure) 4 HRs, and 23 RBIs. He can hit for power and contact and I think you can look for him to have a pretty good year this year driving in a lot of runs. Plus, the kid can be my backup catcher too!

CF- Kelly Johnson - ATL
There is no clear-cut CF to put out here. Almost all sophs (Quientin, Cabrera, Markakis, Herminda, and Kemp) play corner OF. Johnson has CF eligibility in Fantasy Baseball so I'm plugging him in here. I know, it's a risky move but I'm the skipper and I make the calls.

RF- Andre Ethier - LAD
His .308 last year with a modest 11 HRs and 55 RBIs. I know the power numbers aren't great but what I really like here was his BA. He puts the ball in play and gets on base. That's the most important part. The power and the runs will come. Gives me a good contact hitting lefty bat in my lineup and can play adequate D.

Starting Rotation
1. Justin Verlander (DET)- Naturally....
2. Cole Hamels (PHI)- Has electric stuff and will be rackin' up the K's all season. He's 3-1 right now and I think you can look for him to win 13+ games this season rather comfortably
3.Matt Cain (SF)- Has good stuff. Record is just 1-2 right now but he was 13-12 last year and I think he'll win at least that many again this year. Just needs to keep his walks down.
4.Jered Weaver (LAA)- We all saw what he could do last season...he'll snap back to his old self.
5.Chad Billingsley (LAD)- Is a good pitcher but wouldn't be here if Liriano's arm hadn't exploded.

If Liriano was healthy my rotation would be even more dominant with:
1. Verlander 2. Liriano 3. Hamels 4. Cain 5. Weaver.


Batting Order
1. Hanley Ramirez (FL)- SS
2. Kelly Johnson (ATL) - CF
3. Ian Kinsler (TEX) - 2B
4. Prince Fielder (MIL) - 1B
5. Ryan Zimmerman (DC) - 3B
6. Josh Willingham (FL) - LF
7. Andre Ethier (LAD) - RF
8. Russell Martin (LAD) - C
9. Pitcher - P


Once again It's all just personal opinion. This is my squad of super sophs, what's yours look like?

5 comments:

twins15 said...

I pretty much agree with your choices... that's quite an excellent sophomore class.

stephen a said...

I'm not that high on Weaver. I mean you couldn't really put anyone else in there I guess, but I think last year is the best we'll ever see of him

Eric (Extra P.) said...

I live near DC, but I can't bring myself to go watch the Nationals right now. I used to watch Zimmerman hit and pitch at the U. of Virginia, and I just can't stand to watch him on such an awful team.

By the way, that is a great banner for the site - classy.

grittysquirrels said...

Thanks...I just wanna thank Strommy for helpin us out with his photoshop skillz on the banner.

Also, yea I bet it would be tough as a fan. Probably really tough for him to play on such a crappy team too. He'll be a star though...don't worry.

Blue Viking Devil said...

I would replace Billingsley with James Shields from Tampa Bay. Look him up and see what he is doing this year. He tends to give up the long ball too much, but his K to Walk ratio is really good and so is his WHIP.