Moves: De La Rosa, Tejada, Theriot, Miner, LaRoche

• Jorge De La Rosa signed with the Rockies.  It’s still an okay fit.  The Rockies need a guy behind Jimenez and he will rebound.  He will always have an ERA that is high as a Rockie but he will have two more good years and the Rockies need him and his good stuff.  He’s going to be a decent number two and put up tons of good starts.  GOOD DEAL?: Yes
• The Giants signed Miguel Tejada.  He will be even better than Uribe for a year and will be a good lower of the line-up guy who hits for power.  His defense will be bad but he can get very hot and do a lot for the Giants.  It is a great signing.He will do a lot of the same things as Uribe with less slumps.  He’s going to do a lot this upcoming year
• Ryan Theroit was traded to the Cardinals for Blake Hawksworth.  Theroit will be a bit better than he was with the Dodgers but he won’t be too good.  He will hit better than Ryan and be a good utility guy who does everything decent and will be good for the Cardinals.  Hawksworth could be okay in the bullpen but won’t do much, he could do a good job though.  Theroit is worth more though and will have a good run with the Cardinals and he will steal a lot too.  EDGE: Cardinals, by a decent margin
• The Tigers DFA’d Zach Miner and it won’t hurt them a bit.
• Andy LaRoche is now a free agent.  With a new start he could be a decent starter.  I like him and the team that gets him could be very pleased.

Top 20 Indians Prospects- 2011

1. 3B Lonnie Chisenhall GRADE- A-
2. SP Drew Pomeranz- B+
3. 2B Jason Kipins- B
4. SP Alex White- B
5. SP Jason Knapp- B
6. OF LeVon Washington- B-
7. OF Nick Weglartz- B-
8. 2B Tony Wolters- B-
9. SP Nick Hagadone- B-
10. SP Joe Gardner- B-
11. SP Kyle Blair- B-
12. C Chun-Hsui Chen- C+
13. OF Tyler Holt- C
14. 2B Cord Phelps- C
15. SP Zach McAllister- C
16. SP Austin Adams- C
17. RP Zach Putnam- C
18. OF Jordon Henry- C-
19. SP Hector Rondon- C-
20. SP Cory Kluber- C-

HELP FOR PEREZ?: Chris Perez will be a very good closer pretty soon but he needs help behind him.  I see Zach Putnam as the next best guy.  Others to watch are: Rob Bryson, Jess Todd, Bryce Stowell and Matt Paker, all can be barely above average or average.

TEAM GRADE: C

Moves: Uribe, Torrealba, Young

• The Dodgers signed Juan Uribe.  He will give them a few productive years and hit tons of homers.  He fits well and I like the signing.  The only problem is the deal is three years and I’m not sure about the third year, that season may be a lot worse.  He will play second or third and would be a slight upgrade over Casey Blake.  His offense should be on a showing form Opening Day though.  Uribe will do just fine here overall.  Losing Uribe will be bad for the Giants.
• The Rangers got Yorvit Torrealba.  I think his hitting will be better off this year because the line-up and the park.  He can be a decent catcher if he starts and he wouldn’t steer the Rangers in the wrong direction.  His defense is a big plus too.  If he’s a back-up he will be one of the better one in the league.  It’s a solid signing for the Rangers
• The Mets are close to signing Chris Young.  He may not be as good as before but he’s still pretty good and would do well as a Met.  His ERA would stay low and in that park he should have tons of success.  He will be a great guy behind Johan and will be very productive.  It would be a good signing for the Mets.

Fantasy Baseball: 2011 Catchers- Early Rankings

I’m getting a jump start on fantasy baseball.  So here is my catchers section…
TOP 20

1. Joe Mauer
2. Brian McCann
3. Buster Posey
4. Victor Martinez
5. Geovany Soto
6. Carlos Santana
7. Matt Wieters
8. Jorge Posada
9. John Buck
10. Kurt Suzuki
11. Miguel Montero
12. JP Arenciba
13. Mike Napoli
14. Yadier Molina
15. Ryan Doumit
16. John Jaso
17. Rod Barajas
18. Russ Martin
19. Miguel Olivo
20. AJ Pierzynski
21. Yorvit Torrelba
22. Carlos Ruiz

PROSPECTS

1. Jesus Montero
2. Wilson Ramos
3. Hank Conger
4. Devin Mesoraco
5. Tyler Flowers

Note: These Rankings will change between now and March.  I will post a final rankings at the beginning of the year.

Red Sox Top 20 Prospects- 2011

1. SP Casey Kelly GRADE-A
2. SS Jose Iglesias- A
3. SP Felix Doubrant- A-
4. SP Anthony Raundado- A-
5. 1B Anthony Rizzo- B
6. SP Drake Britton- B-
7. OF Reymond Fuentes- B-
8. OF Josh Reddick- B-
9. OF Bryce Brentz- B-
10. 3B Kolbrin Vitek- C+
11. 1B Lars Anderson- C+
12. 3B Garin Cechinni- C
13. SP Stonly Pimental- C
14. 2B Oscar Tejada- C
15. 3B Will Middlebrooks- C
16. OF Che-Hsaun Lin- C-
17. SP Brandon Workman- C-
18. C Ryan Lavarnway- C-
19. SS Yamaico Navarro- C-
20. SP Junichi Tazawa- C-

THE FALL OF LARS: He can still be decent.  I see him as platoon guy with some pop, who does pretty good.  He can even be a bit better than that but he’s not a future all-star as he was once thought of.  Rizzo will be better.

TEAM GRADE: B-

Marlins Sign Javier Vazquez

This is the perfect place for him.  He’s going to have a very strong chance to rebound and he will regain a lot of his stats.  He won’t walk as many and strikeout around 200 and he could win 15 games with an inside 3.50 ERA.  He’s going to be himself again but he won’t always be great and will have some games where the Marlins offense has to work.  Him, Nolasco and Johnson will be one of the top three head monsters next year.  Vazquez will do especially good at home and against he division and I can see a season similar to 2009 with the Marlins.  He’s going to start off the upcoming season doing really well too and this make the Marlins a ton better, it’s a great deal.  Vazquez is a lot better when in the NL and that shouldn’t change.  He could do some big things this year and is going to be a lot better.

Rockies Looking At Starters

WEBB- He won’t do as good here and will have a few struggles while coming back but could have some very bright stretches and can handle the ballpark.  Will do a lot better than most think even as a Rockie.
HARANG- Isn’t an ace anymore but could do Colorado some good and would be a reliable option.  I wouldn’t want him in Colorado though he won’t be as good and he could get bombed
BONDERMAN- Might have a bit left in the tank but not with Colorado.  He won’t last long in games and will give up way too many runs and would only have a good start once in a while.
MILLWOOD- Isn’t the best fit but he could make it work and have an okay season.  His WHIP would be high and he could be ineffective.  Millwood would have a some decent games and other terrible.  Colorado wouldn’t want him.
BEST OPTION: Webb then Harang
IF NONE SIGN- Then Esmil Rogers and Felipe Paulino would compete for a spot.  Rogers would be my pick.  He a decent pitcher with good stuff and could handle Coors Field and do a good job.  Paulino could do an okay job but he can lose his control and everything would wind up making him have a high ERA.  Rogers will develop more and more too and could be an above average pitcher soon while Paulino will be an inconsistent pitcher who struggles sometimes.  He will have some bright spots with Colorado though.
LAST WORD- Rogers is the best for them.

Top 20 Royals Prospects- 2011

1. 1B Eric Hosmer-GRADE: A
2. 3B Mike Moustakas- A
3. C Wil Myers- A-
4. SP Mike Montgomery- A-
5. SP Danny Duffy- B+
6. 2B Johnny Giavotella- B
7. SP John Lamb- B
8. SS Christian Colon- B
9. SP Aaron Crow- B
10. SP Chris Dwyer- B-
11. OF Brett Eibner- B-
12. C Salvador Perez- C+
13. RP Tim Collins- C+
14. OF Jarrod Dyson- C
15. SP Noel Arguelles- C
16. RP Louis Coleman- C
17. RP Patrick Keating- C
18. SP Will Smith- C
19. 1B Chris Robinson- C
20. IF Jeff Bianchi- C

MONTGOMERY V. DUFFY- If he can stay healthy Montgomery can be an ace who does a lot of things right.  Duffy will also be good but he just doesn’t have as much talent.

TEAM GRADE: A

2011 Outlook for Ryan Zimmerman

He’s going to be even better this upcoming season.  His defense will be shining again and his power should reach an all-time high.  He’s going to be at his peak and hit .300 with 30 homers and a 100 RBI.  He should easily be the best hitter on the team and might be he best third baseman in the NL.  He will be a big part of Washington’s offense and will be the only guy who will do really good for them next year.  Zimmerman should hit the gap a bit more and he will just hit better.  He’s going to have a good year no mater what next year even if Willingham doesn’t protect him in the line-up.  He won’t go into many slumps but he may have some stretches where he does bad and does get any RBIs.  He will be very valuable though and he will do big things for the Nats.  PROJECTION: .311 AVG 31 HR 111 RBI .399 OBP

Moves: Duke, Garland, Nishioka

• The D’backs got Zach Duke for a player to be named.  Duke will not do good that often and just not have good stuff or command and him and Joe Saunders.  Duke will have a few good games but he just have terrible struggles as a D’back.  EDGE: Pirates
• Jon Garland signed with the Dodgers.  Garland did very good there a few years ago and should pick off where he left off.  He will be a great guy for them to have in the back of their rotation and he should keep a low ERA and rack up innings and wins.  Garland could have a few shining games and streaks as a Dodger.  This is a great deal for both sides.
• The Twins won the bidding on Tsuyoshi Nishioka.  He would fit best in Minnesota and has great potential to be a good hitter and fielder and he could be a good package deal with his defense.  He will get on base a lot and he could keep a high average over a long time.