Roster Doctor 05/04/09

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Let’s see what we have for today.

Player Pool: Mixed
No. of Teams: 10
Categories: 5×5
Scoring Type: Head-to-Head
Other Notes: Keeper League
Roster:

C: Chris Iannetta
1B: Miguel Cabrera
2B: Brian Roberts
SS: Jimmy Rollins
3B: Chipper Jones
OF: Josh Hamilton
OF: Ryan Ludwick
OF: Adam Jones
Util: Aubrey Huff
BN: Corey Hart
BN: Adam Lind
BN: Kelly Johnson
BN: Marco Scutaro

SP: Cole Hamels
SP: Francisco Liriano
SP: Derek Lowe
SP: Javier Vazquez
SP: John Danks
SP: Kyle Davies
RP: Brandon Morrow
RP: Frank Francisco

Today’s roster is provided by Eric, who questions why his team has been having trouble this season. Obviously, every manager who owns Chris Iannetta and (especially) Jimmy Rollins has been frustrated by their performances thus far this season. While it wasn’t specified in the email, any troubles in the stolen base category can be explained by Jimmy Rollins’ struggles at the plate. Its awfully difficult to steal bases when you have an on-base percentage of less than .300. But, I think both Rollins and Iannetta will be just fine and, in fact, both have hit over .300 this past week. So with Rollins heading in the right direction, this team should be a little more competitive in the stolen bases category.

I think its fairly clear that this team could use some help in the power categories, especially since Josh Hamilton was recently placed on the disabled list. The good news is that this team has some depth, and I would plug either Lind or Hart into the lineup, depending on the match-up. Lind has hit in the fifth spot all year for the Blue Jays and should provide more home runs and RBIs while Hart should net more runs and stolen bases.

I would actually consider trading Ludwick and try to deal for more power. I don’t see Ludwick maintaining his performance for the entire year, and I would trade him while his value is essentially at its highest. I would consider dealing him in a two-for-one package deal, along with someone like Scutaro, who is on fire but very unlikely to maintain the rates he has been posting thus far. I would target someone like Ryan Braun who is more valuable all-around but who hasn’t been playing up to par yet this season.

I’m not sure what the position eligibility is like in this league, but in many leagues, Brandon Morrow qualifies as both a starter and reliever. If he qualifies as a starting pitcher, I would definitely look to start three closers, especially since this is only a 10-team league. And considering this league depth, I’m not sure its worth holding onto Kyle Davies. If there isn’t a serviceable starter on the waiver wire, I’d recommend picking up a reliever who qualifies as a starter, and plug him in to help keep the ERA and WHIP numbers down. It just seems like Davies would do more damage than good to your team at this depth.

Also, since second base is a fairly deep position this year relative to previous years, I might drop Kelly Johnson to pick up more power. Again, this league is not that deep so Johnson loses some value especially since similar players like Mike Aviles can most likely still be found on the free agent list. The added player may not get much playing time, but that addition could help in the future, whether to help compensate for injuries or as a toss-in player in trade proposals. I just don’t think Kelly Johnson is worth a roster spot in this league.