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Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Freddy Sanchez finally traded

Posted by Derek Carty at 7:51pm

It appears as though Pirates IF Freddy Sanchez has finally been dealt to the San Francisco Giants for SP prospect Tim Alderson. This is a terrific haul for the Pirates. I may have said this before, but I've really grown to love GM Neil Huntington. If only my Mets could find a guy with a good head on his shoulders. At least we don't have Brian Sabean running our team, though.

Alderson isn't major league ready yet, but he's a great prospect and someone to keep an eye on, especially if he can begin to strike more batters out. In keeper leagues, he's probably owned, but depending on the depth of the league, maybe not.

Sanchez should play everyday for the Giants, and Juan Uribe looks like the biggest loser here. He'll play 20% of the time at SS, at most, and spell Sanchez and 3B Pablo Sandoval occasionally. It's tough to say what the Giants will do, but we'll probably see Sanchez hitting in the top half of the order. They sure seem to like him enough. His other stats shouldn't be affected very much.

It is important to note, however, that Sanchez's 2009 batting average is being propped up by a too-high .343 BABIP. His K% has risen to 17% after being around 11-12% the past two season and around 8-9% the two before that. Now makes for a good time to trade Sanchez yourself since he is likely due for a regression here, and without much power or speed, his value will be extremely limited.

In Pittsburgh, the new double-play tandem could be Ramon Vazquez and Delwyn Young. Neither are mixed league worthy but each receives a big boost in NL-only value. This seems to clear an OF spot for a Lastings Milledge call-up, which will finally reduce Brandon Moss to fourth outfielder status. It's a shame because he was finally showing signs of life this month. Andrew McCutchen and Garrett Jones will be the other two outfielders.



Derek Carty, 23, has also been published by NBC's Rotoworld, Sports Illustrated, FOX Sports, and USA Today. This season, he'll be contributing to FanDuel and will be linking to all of his work at DerekCarty.com. In his three years competing in expert leagues, he has won 2 titles with 4 top three finishes, including a LABR NL title in 2009, making him the youngest person to ever win a major expert league title. Derek is a proud graduate of the MLB Scouting Bureau's Scout Development Program and is a firm believer in the importance of combining stats and scouting. He welcomes questions via e-mail, Facebook, or Twitter.

Derek Carty said...

Oops, completely forgot about Lastings Milledge, who will probably be recalled shortly.  This will probably leave Brandon Moss with 4th OF ABs.  Article has been adjusted.

Posted 07/29  at  09:54 PM
Derek Carty said...

Good interview with Alderson: http://www.baseballprospectus.com/unfiltered/?p=1355

Apparently the Giants encourage him *not* to strike people out.  Excellent strategy.  “They want us to work on just getting ground balls and staying in the game longer.”  Getting ground balls is all well and fine, but not at the expense of Ks.  And staying in the game longer?  I think not: http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/the-kazmir-conundrum/

Posted 07/29  at  10:16 PM
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