| Fantasy Baseball 2005 | |
2005 National League SleepersBy Rick BrooksWritten December 1, 2004 |
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The off-season is a time for honest reflection. It’s the best time to look at our teams from the just-completed season,
and determine what went right, what went wrong, and why. And I’m here to tell you that one of the things we most often
do wrong has to do with bias. Oh, don’t get in a huff all of a sudden. I’m not talking about that kind of bias – I’m talking
about name bias. That’s right – name bias. Let me give you an example. What was the nature of your relationship with Wily Mo Pena during the 2004 season? Let me guess. He wasn’t drafted, but then he started to hit a bit. You noticed him, but instead of adding him to your roster, you were put off by his NAME. Wily Mo Pena – what a silly name. Finally, some other owner rostered him about two weeks later than he would have been if his name were Jack Armstrong. That's what happened to me anyway. Dumb, huh? We’re all now familiar with the Byung-Hyun Kims, Hee Seop Chois, and Shigetoshi Hasegawas of the baseball world. But the question is – are we put off by the names of certain players, or are we ever vigilant and prepared to swoop down and grab the Akinori Otsukas of the world as soon as they can begin to help our teams? And by “put off”, I mean intimidated by hard to pronounce names or, as in the case of Wily Mo Pena, seemingly silly names from an Anglo perspective, so that we lose our objectivity regarding that player. Do you know who Yhency Brazoban is? Well, you should. Yhency is a skinny, but highly effective right-handed relief pitcher from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. In fact, Wily Mo Pena is from Laguna Salada, Dominican Republic, and promising Mets outfielder Ambiorix Concepcion is a hometown bud of Brazoban. Anyway, Yhency now toils for the Los Angeles Dodgers, and you need to know that. Keep an eye on him. There’s another Dominican kid from Santiago who will probably replace Omar Vizquel as the Cleveland shortstop, and his name is Jhonny Peralta. I believe Jhonny was the Most Valuable Player in the International League in 2004. Venezuela is producing its fair share of prospects nowadays, too, including Anaheim Angels shortstop Maicer Izturis of Barquisimeto (brother of Cesar Izturis of the Dodgers), Toronto catcher Guillermo Quiroz of Maracaibo, and Detroit pitcher Wilfredo Ledezma of Guarico. And Mexico refuses to be left out by offering Alfredo Amezaga, Anaheim infielder from Obregon. Of course, more and more good players are coming over from Southeast Asia to play in the major leagues. Chin-hui Tsao of Hua-lien, Taiwan, could be the Rockies’ closer in 2005. Cha Seung Baek of Pusan, South Korea, is a promising starter with the Seattle Mariners, and his hometown teammate Shin-Soo Chin is an upcoming outfielder and still his teammate with the Mariners. And, finally, don’t forget the good ole US of A. Foreign players don’t have a monopoly on hard-to-pronounce names, you know. Among the names to watch out for are pitchers Justin Duchscherer of Aberdeen, SD (Oakland), Wes Obermueller of Cedar Rapids, IA (Milwaukee), and John Van Benschoten of San Diego, CA (Pittsburgh). There is a website that can help you with some of the tricky pronunciations of major league baseball. It is John Carter's www.scoresheetwiz.com, and it includes a Name Pronunciation guide, as well as a lot of baseball and scoresheet articles. Check it out. So whatever you do, try not to have any name bias. We all know that bias in any form is bad, and name bias can actually hurt you in these crazy games we play. Try to look at the names just as objectively as the numbers.
2005 National League Sleepers
Ryan Howard, Philadelphia - This Jim Thome clone was the Phillies' 2004 minor league player of the year by combining at all levels for 48 homers and 136 RBI's. During his 39 at bat cup of coffee with the big team, he hammered 2-5-.282-.333-.564. Not bad, huh? David Wright, New York - Equally productive for the Mets was this powerful third baseman. During his half-season in the majors, Wright almost won the Rookie of the Year award by slugging 14-40-.293-.332-.525. Move over, Mike Schmidt! Jayson Werth, Los Angeles - Werth got his best shot at big league playing time in 2004, and he took full advantage of it. Werth raked 16-47-4-.262-.338-.486 in 290 at bats. Let's see, that's easy to double if he had a fulltime role: about 35 dingers and 100 ribbies. Jose Reyes, New York - They say he's a Rey Ordonez who can hit. Who am I to argue with them? Of course, any positive statements are contingent on his being able to play in spite of his brittle nature. As the result of the failure of the great Kaz Matsui experiment, Reyes will shift back to his natural position of shortstop this season. Injuries curtailed both of the last two seasons, but in 2003, he wound up at 5-32-13-.307-.434 in 274 at bats. Give the kid a chance - he's still only 21 years old.
JD Closser, Colorado Nick Johnson, Washington - So far the only thing Johnson has proven in the big leagues is that he's brittle. However, based upon his splendid minor league on base percentage of about .500 (that is not a typo), this is just the kind of young guy you want to stick with. He gets one more shot with me, and a fresh one it is with the new DC Nats. Johnson is not a real sleeper, of course, but he's here as my pick for 2005 NL Comeback Player of the Year. Mark Prior, Chicago - What better pitcher to head a staff than my selection for 2005 NL Comeback Pitcher of the Year, as well as the young hurler most likely to win the Cy Young Award? Would you believe 18-10-3.00 and 280 strikeouts? I sure would, but at a reduced price, due to increased risk. Tony Armas, Washington - Les Expos were trying to make sure they got something for Pedro when they got Pavano and Tony Armas, Jr., in return for Pedro Martinez in 1997. Did they get enough? Not yet. But Armas can help even things out if he can return to his pre-surgery form. Armas carries the caveat of damaged goods, but he might be worth a flyer. Danny Haren, St. Louis - Haren had a super minor league season last year by going 11-4-4.15 with 150 strikeouts in 128 innings. In the bigs, he went 3-3-4.50-1.35. The big righty will soon have major league stats that resemble last season's minor league stats. Noah Lowry, San Francisco - There's a lot to be said for winning in sports and Noah Lowry is undefeated. In 20 major league games, that is. Last year, Lowry was a perfect 6-0-3.82-1.29, with 72 K's in 92 innings. What's not to like about a lefty hurler with such perfect numbers? Jeff Francis, Colorado - A Colorado starter worth taking a chance on? Balderdash! But maybe not this time. This guy could be special. Really. The tall lefty strikeout artist totalled 3-3-5.15-1.50 with 32 K's in 37 innings for the Rockies. But that's a small sample size, and he might produce in a major way over a full season. Really. Dave Williams, Pittsburgh - Here's another left-handed strikeout artist, but this one doesn't even have to start half his games in Coors Field. He does, however, have to pitch them all for the Pirates. Nevertheless, his 2-3-4.42-1.14 slate, with 33 strikeouts and a .217 opponents' batting average over 39 innings, does indicate that he has bounced all the way back from surgery. Yhency Brazoban, Los Angeles - Brazoban is one of our tough name guys, but he is a legitimate set-up man. The Dodgers felt confident that they could trade Guillermo Mota away because of the presence of Brazoban, and he did not disappoint: 6-2-2.48-1.22, with 27 K's in 33 innings and a .219 batting average against. The skinny Dominican righty is an excellent LIMA candidate.
Ryan Madson, Philadelphia
Paul Wilson, Cincinnati
Mike Adams, Milwaukee Rick Brooks won the 2004 National Volunteer League with his Branch Rickeys, who managed to hold on to a huge half-point advantage when the dust had cleared. | |