Hot Stove: Willingham, Saito

• The Twins are about to sign Josh Willingham, who is above age 30 but still in his prime and we should expect one around 30 homer season from him as a twin.  He will also get some RBI and help the Twins get a few wins.  he’s an average fit and his defense is average too, which isn;t bad because the Twins line-up looks a whole lot nicer with him.. He’s the expect five hitter for them and will constantly show off his pop.  It’s a solid signing but the best will defiantly come this year but probably with a decent follow-up signing.  He should do well in a lot of key factors such as clutch, within the division and hitting a Target Field well.  This deal is undetermined in amount of years yet, but would be perfect and 4 is okay.
• The Diamondbacks signed Takashi Saito, and even though he’s older I still see him begin what he was for the Brewers, a great setup man a nd reliever with a low ERA.  He can do all this through 2013.  It’s a one year deal and a great fit.  Awesome and very smart move by the D’Backs, I expect the Diamondbacks bullpen to improve a ton and great stats and success from Saito, even though his ERa could rise a little in Arizona, not above 2.55.  adding Saito and Breslow to Putz will make for an easy 7-8-9

MLB Power Rankings 8/19/11

1. Phillies- The best, no question
2. Red Sox- Really Good, easily better than the Yankees
3. Braves- I can’t find many negatives
4. Yankees- Starters and Injuries a concern but a good team
5. Brewers- Hottest in baseball and Weeks isn’t even back yet
6. Rangers- Ready for another deep postseason run
7. Diamondbacks- Look better than the Giants but not very established yet
8. Giants- Lincecum has been a n ace as has Cain and Vogelsong and Sanchez have been a great supporting cast.  No offense though
9. Tigers- If the starters can come around they are a pretty deep team
10. Rays- The wrong division, one of the most talented teams in the MLB, bright future
11. Cardinals- Berkman, Holliday and Pujols won’t make it easy on Brewers but Garcia struggles are big trouble
12. Indians- Ubaldo will help but just aren’t THAT good
13. Angels- Wells is killing them but Santana is hot and Trumbo is a very talented player
14. White Sox- If Dunn comes around, watch out, Humber being out hurts though
15. Blue Jays- Above average but this isn’t their year to shine
16. Pirates- A .500 team, finally.  If Alvarez comes around and they stay healthy could be much, much more
17. Reds- Could climb up the list and come back very strong
18. Rockies- Another team that had just one bad year and Tulo could light up September
19. Marlins- Should being doing a lot better but dumb moves like demoting Morrison hurt
20. Mets- Not a bad team but not a contender, yet
21. Nationals- Could be next year’s surprise team with Strasburg back, both Zimmerman(n)s and a good year from Werth, don’t forget Harper, at the end of the year, either
22. Twins- Need to come out the gate better but Nishioka is a bust and an easy out, the double play combo needs work
23. Athletics- They look very good and I can’t see them not improving a lot next season
24. Padres- Have some young and promising players but still a few years away
25. Dodgers- Kemp is an MVP candidate and Ethier should come back strong starting this year
26. Mariners- The starters look good and Wells and Carp look like future players but after that it’s hazy
27. Orioles- Not a really good team and still years away from contending
28. Cubs- With Hendry gone it could get better from here
29. Royals- Their outfielders all look good and prospects are bright a better record is ahead
30. Astros- Not much other than Altuve

Power Rankings- 5/30/11

1. Phillies
2. Red Sox
3. Indinas
4. Yankees
5. Rays
6. Cardinals
7. Marlins
8. Giants
9. Rangers
10. Diamondbacks
11. Braves
12. Brewers
13. Reds
14. Tigers
15. Angels
16. Rockies
17. Mariners
18. Athletics
19. Blue Jays
20. Pirates
21. Dodgers
22. Mets
23. Orioles
24. Royals
25. White Sox
26. Cubs
27. Nationals
28. Padres
29. Astors
30. Twins

 

Power Rankings

1. Indinas
2. Phillies
3. Rays
4. Yankees
5. Giants
6. Cardinals
7. Marlins
8. Reds
9. Rangers
10. Red Sox
11. Braves
12. Rockies
13. Tigers
14. Brewers
15. Blue Jays
16. Angels
17. Atheltics
18. Royals
19. White Sox
20. Pirates
21. Diamondbacks
22. Mets
23. Nationals
24. Dodgers
25. Orioles
26. Marienrs
27. Cubs
28. Padres
29. Astros
30. Twins

Fake or Real?: Teams

THE GOOD
INDAINS(11-4): FAKE- They are taking a step forward but every team goes through big win streaks and this is their’s for the year.  After this streak is over there should be a lot of loses for the Indians and this streak will only give them a few more wins than most expected.  They have a decent future but they need their pitching to develop some more and other than Chris Perez it won’t there this year.  Their offense should win them some games though and I believe Choo and Asdrubal Cabrera will have their best season yet and Sozemore could come back strong with Santana but it just won’t all come together and at best they are a 70 win ball club.
MARLINS(8-6): REAL- They will be wild card contenders but ti will be tough and their offense might not be good enough.  They need Mike Stanton to do really good though and with their young players they can stick in it.  Morrison’s start is for is legit as is his power.  Hanley and Johnson will be top players and the rest of the team will do very good.  Javier Vazquez could be one of the best under the radar moves and their bullpen will be awesome.  A lot to like and they will be consistent and win 85-90 games.
ROYALS(10-5): FAKE- There is a very tiny  chance they could surprise and I like how this team is built to do okay now and ompete in a couple of seasons.  The streak could last as long as month and they are better than the Indians and will have a longer streak.  Their starters will bring them down because they won’t do that well after a while.  They could get 75 wins at most still and could take a large step towards competing next year.
ROCKIES: REAL- They are good but the question is how good.  They are good enough to win the NL West, I think.  They just need to keep their pitching up and their offense needs to do great when the pitching falters and they have done that so far and there is no reason they won’t for most of the season.  With Tulo playing like this they can’t have a bad game on offense and Tulo will could be the MVP and Cargo could too he just needs to start.  They will have a tough road but with their second half success and this start it will be hard to fail.  Just need Fowler and De La Rosa all season and they could never look back.
ANGELS: REAL- I can see them finishing second and being a few games over .500 with their team, especially will Scioscia at the helm.m  Their starters could be awesome as long as Haren and Santana show up because I know Kazmir won’t at all.  Their hitting will keep them there and I think they can stay.  There key is that they need to play the A’s and Rangers to at least a .500 record to stay in contention, which I don’t see them doing but their record is real. 
THE BAD
RED SOX(4-10)- FAKE- Duh, but I think it shows they don’t have enough pitching they need to be champions, Lackey could turn around or Beckett but no guarantees.
TWINS(5-10)- FAKE- They will surge back at some point, they have a great team and everything looks ok except they could have some more pitching issues and the injuries hurt which should keep them in third but they will get out of this hole and still have a winning record.
RAYS(6-9): FAKE- They should still finish in third they just need some more time to mesh together and when they do I think they will be a very tough team.  Their depth and pitching is very good.
BREWERS(7-8): FAKE- Just give them time they are going to be in the playoffs or close.  They are 7-4 since their bad start and their 1-6 hitters are some of the best in baseball to go with their starters and everything else.
BRAVES(7-9): FAKE- Same case as the Brewers exactly.  Except they have a better shot at the playoffs, they may rebound just a tiny bit slow though.

MLB Pick’em 4-2-11

WINNER	LOSER	SCORE
Braves	Nationals	5 to 1
White Sox	Indians	7 to 4
Cubs	Pirates	5 to 3
Blue Jays	Twins	6 to 5
Tigers	Yankees	9 to 3
Padres	Cardinals	4 to 3
Giants	Dodgers	5 to 2
Angels	Royals	6 to 3
Phillies	Astors	2 to 1
Rays	Orioles	6 to 0
Brewers	Reds	5 to 4
Rangers	Red Sox	6 to 5
Marlins	Mets	4 to 3
Athletics	Mariners	9 to 1
D’Backs	Rockies	5 to 3

Prospect Showdown: Kyle Gibson vs. Jacob Turner

GIBSON: He’s going to be a great pitcher and he has a chance to become a power pitching ace.  He’s going to be a big strikeout pitcher with good stuff, but not the best.  He could be good with Liriano in the future but he might have some struggles in the majors at first and probably won’t have an ERA under 3.00.  He will have many good games and he has a very bright future.  He could be a great on the mound.  He might need some time to develop in the majors.  ETA: late 2011 or early 2012
TURNER: He could be better than Rick Porcello with some more seasoning.  He has great stuff and looks very promising.  He’s an ace in the making.  He has great mechanics to and will put up some great stats in the majors.  He’s tall and that will help him too, there isn’t much not to like.  ETA: sometime in 2012
COMPARISON: Both could be very good and have a good chance to be good but Turner is juts better all-around he gets the edge here.  Gibson will still be good just not quite as good.  Turner will have better numbers and better mechanics, they are really close in stuff though.  They both have legit shots to become aces and should both have good career’s but Turner’s is just going to be flat-out better.

Hot Stove News: Balfour, Fuentes, Pavano, Thames

• The Athletics got Grant Balfour and Brian Fuentes and they should be one of the better setup man tandems in the MLB in 2011.  Balfour should have a better season and I can see him dominating the division and doing really well pitching in that park.  He’s a lock for a ton of holds too.  Fuentes struggles a bit at times but is still a great reliever to have around and he should have a good season with decent stats.  Fuentes can also step in as a part-time closer which is big for the A’s.  He’s an okay fit.  Signing both of them will make this team a lot better overall too.  Both should have fine stints with Oakland other than a Fuentes struggle here and there.  GOOD MOVE (BALFOUR): Yes, really good  GOOD MOVE (FUENTES): Yes, decent GOOD MOVE (BOTH): Awesome move
• The Twins have re-signed Carl Pavano which will help them stay contenders and Pavano stay a good middle of the rotation guy.  I expect the same things he did last year in 2011 and the Twins are his best fit.  He will be a valuable guy to the Twins too and could have some very good starts in 2011.  GOOD MOVE?: Great move
• Marcus Thames signed with the Dodgers.  He could quickly become one of the best pinch hitters in the MLB and will provide them with decent hitting and he will do great in the clutch..  He’s also a really good fourth outfielder for them.  He won’t hit any less than 15 homers this year and he will have some RBIs to go with it.  His defense will be average and he’s not going to be a bad defender at all.  GOOD MOVE?: Yes

Tigers and Pavano: Is it a good idea?

The Tigers need another starter unless they want to be stuck with Galarraga’s inconsistency.  A bottom of the rotation could be good too, like Brad Penny.   Pavano is better though and he will do very good in Comerica park and be a great fit.  He’s a veteran who will put up good numbers too and be solid behind all the young starters.  He would have a very good year and if he stays around longer he will be good his whole tenure with Detroit.  He would pitch very well within the division and has a chance at very big success.  He would be a four starter and wouldn’t do anything worse than he did with the Twins.  the Tigers need his innings and stuff. He won’t have any decline in the next few years too.  If he returns to the Twins he will hurt the Tigers every time they face him.  His stuff and everything about his mechanics should hold up and the Tigers would be getting a ton from him if they get him but he won’t always be very good but will be above average but down the stretch he would be awesome and overall he will be above average. NEED FACTOR: 8

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.