64/60 At The Half. Top 10 FA Pickups and 10 Worst Drops of the First Half

Nothing better to do at the All Star Break than to take a look back at the events of the first half. Since we have already done 4 Draft Analysis Breakdowns I thought we could look at some of the best and worse moves on the Free Agent/FAAB List during the first half of the 2010 campaign. These rankings are based on numbers rather than my personal perspective of the transactions. Players are listed by acquisition date.

Octavio Dotel- BC Dingers. Was dropped by the 41129ers before the start of the season. Dotel hasn't been lights out but he has held onto the Closers job with moderate success. His 19 SV is a very respectable total and although his K totals have decreased and his WHIP and ERA are both undesirable the fact is he is one of the 30 closers in baseball thus a roster spot is warranted. Stat line since acquired.....19SV 4.28ERA 1.30WHIP 11.0K/9


Brett Gardner- BCFP. Prior to the start of the season it was very clear that I was in need of some more speed. Once the Yankees OF rotation was decided upon I realized Gardner at worst could by an elite option for SB. My desperation has been rewarded with a .308AVG with 5HR 54Runs 29RBI and 25SB to go with a OPS over 800.


Jon Rauch- Barboursville Stars. Another closer who for some reason was let go prior to the start of the season. Rauch is another Closer who doesn't have the close them out swing and miss stuff but it hasn't hindered the success of Rauch. Given the Twins style of play whomever holds that post should be handsomely rewarded with Save Opportunities. Rauch 2.45/1.15/6.5/19


Jose Bautista 4/27- 41129ers. The mad scientist was at it again during this week and constantly was tweaking the lineup. The decision to sign Bautista has been the highlight on the FA circuit for the 41129ers. All signs point toward a HR regression at some point and though the pace has slowed down to some degree he is still well on pace for a 40HR season. During his time with the 41129ers Bautista's totals look as follows. .240 AVG 19HR 43Runs 39RBI 1SB .935 OPS.


Javier Vazquez 5/6- Prestige Worldwide. Had as bad of a start to a season as one pitcher could have posting an ERA above 9 with a WHIP of over 2. Worldwide took a shot in the dark and have been handsomely rewarded with a 3.05ERA .98WHIP 7.33K/9 8 QS in 10 Starts during his tenure with Worldwide.


Aubrey Huff 5/8- Barboursville Stars. In typical Huff fashion his early season success has been under the radar. Huff has posted a .299 AVG with 17HR 49Runs 53RBI 3 SB and a OPS of .958 during his time with the Stars and the power he has shown up to this point is much needed for the offensively challenged Stars.


Corey Hart 5/12- BCFP. Hart bounced around a little from team to team to begin the season but after he took over for an injured Jim Edmonds RF became his for the rest of the season. Hart has put up MVP type numbers in the early going and fortunately for myself his best production has been for yours truly. BCFP stats .298 16HR 33Runs 49RBI 1SB .957


David Ortiz 5/15- Barboursville Stars. For anyone who watched any Red Sox baseball to begin the season Ortiz looked absolutely beyond any type of help. He couldn't hit anything above 84 and at the letters. In fact I posted an article on this very blog stating that Ortiz and other aging superstars are better off left on the scrap heap than putting faith in their past performances. Yes Ortiz may strikeout frequently but other than that his career appears to have one more season at least left in it.
Since being acquired.......283 11HR 32Runs 38RBI 1.034OPS


Gavin Floyd 5/25- Hell and Damnation. At one time this team was starving for pitching but with great hands on ownership from the misses Hell and Damnation has become one of the more dominate rotations in the 64/60. Floyd was terrible to say the least while pitching for the Colonels posting an ERA of above 7 but since his move to H&D he has been an elite option and amongst the best in the game. 2.58 ERA .99WHIP 7.40K/9 7QS in 8 Starts.


Mat Latos 6/17- Hell and Damnation. With moves like this it is no wonder H&D has been in total control of most pitching matchups over the course of the last month. It is very shocking to see that Latos was a FA that late in the season but in fact Latos has been available on multiple occasion thus far in 2010 however if his current production continues Lato's wont' be so easy to come by. Since joining H&D 1.59ERA 1.11WHIP 9.73K/9 5QS in 7 opps.



Now for the 10 most head scratching drops this season. For the record I made most of my decisions based on numbers so you will not find me once again questioning dropping Carlos Lee and other players of the same talents. With that said many of the players on the aforementioned list could have been included since they completed impressive turnarounds after being released but it is hard to critique someone who has and ERA north of 6 or an average nearing the mendoza line. Players appear in no particular order.


Josh Beckett- B'Ville Stars. My lone exception to the previous statement. Although Beckett has yet to pitch to anyone since whipping out the Dingers FAAB budget, I find it hard to let go of one of your top 3 Pitchers and a top 10 RD pick after less than a dozen starts even after a terrible start to the season.


Julio Borbon- Prestige Worldwide. Yes he started the season 1-21 before being released and he has no track record to really speak of but the fact is he was a Top 15 Round pick and you are willing to dispose of him after less than a week of games.
Borbon was quickly nabbed up by the Dingers and has a .309 AVG 3HR 37Runs 23RBI 8SB .759OPS statline on the season.


Mat Latos- LeMaestro's 41129ers. The Stars began the trend of dumping Latos but for the Stars Latos had an ERA above 5 with a WHIP of 1.41. After he was dropped by the Stars the 41129ers took a chance on the young arm. Latos posted a 1.67ERA with a .79WHIP and a K/9 of 8.00 with 4 QS in 4 games. Latos was dropped for reasons unknown and has still maintained the same level of play. Butch don't' feel bad I dropped Latos in the NFBC where you can only pick up pitchers once a week and there is less talent available.


Brian Fuentes- LeMaestro's 41129ers. On 5/29 the 41129ers decided to punt the SV stat and rid themselves of a sometimes shaky Fuentes. Fuentes isn't a mow'em down closer although his K/9 has increased this season. Fuentes greatest asset is that he plays for a team who tends to play close games because of their struggles on offense. Although Fuentes has posted a 4.97 ERA after his departure his WHIP has been a solid 1.18 and a K/9 of 10.67 to go with 6SV.


Octavio Dotel- LeMaestro's 41129ers. Drafted Dotel but dropped him prior to the start of the season in favor of Diasuke Matsuzaka. At that point Dotel had been named the closer and was one of only two closers of record for the 41129ers to begin the season. Although Dotel hasn't been dominate he has been a closer and those 19 SV could have come in handy throughout the season.


Garret Jones- Tude Smackers. Jones was dropped by the Smackers on 4/30. Much like Latos for the 41129ers, Jones had been very successful on the season so the drop came as a major shock. Jones had posted a .302 AVG with 6HR 26RUns 37RBI to go with 4SB and a OPS of .788. These aren't earth shaking numbers but I'm certain other under performing players could have been expendable rather than Jones.


Josh Willingham- Los Vonderheides. Given the season long offensive struggles of the Vonderheides I'm rather certain that Willingham could have been of some type of benefit. Willingham was released on 5/14 with offensive numbers of .273 6HR 20Runs 22RBI 4SB 909OPS in only 137PA. Currently Willingham is sitting on double digit HR for the season and is a real threat for 25 HR to go with 70-80 RBI and Runs.


Troy Glaus- Ohio River Carp. Troy Glaus was absolutely terrible to start the season. The Carp showed patience and battled through Glaus getting the rust off. Finally the patience began paying dividends as the Braves started playing well and Glaus started driving in runs. On 5/25 Glaus was dropped with a stat line of .265/6/18/27/0/.750 nothing to get excited about. Glaus was later picked up by the Colonels and has plated 22 RBI in only 135PA and is a real threat to knock in a 100 runs.


Jon Rauch- Ohio River Carp. Drafted in the 23rd round and was the front runner for the vacant Twins closers job. Rauch was dropped prior to the start of the season. I am unaware as to why Rauch was dropped but regardless the Carp lost the rights to a 19SV closer with respectable ERA and WHIP numbers on the season.


Ervin Santana-Bear Creek FP Factory. A late round draft selection by the Factory. Santana was dropped prior to the season in a move to add another closer. Santana has been steady this season posting a 3.76ERA with a 1.30 WHIP and a 7.4K/9 with 10 QS. Santana hasn't been a stud but those are numbers worthy of a permanent roster spot and given the struggles with pitching that the Factory has had Santana would have been nice to have.