The 2010 season is literally days away and we're here to lay down the law on just who will finish where! So read on to learn what each teams strengths and weaknesses are...and of course..find out who the 2010 Champ will be! (Hitting Rank: 12, Pitching Rank: 9) Strengths Youkilis, Ellsbury, and Markakis are very nice bats 2 top notch aces in Halladay and Sabathia Zambrano, Harden, Hawpe, KRod, and Aardsma are also nice players Weaknesses After their top 4 starting pitchers it goes downhill fast Questionable bats sprinkled throughout their lineup Not much help coming from their minor league system other than Carter ******************************************************************************************************************** (Hitting Rank: 10, Pitching Rank: 11) Strengths Very nice minor league system Berkman, Uggla, Pena, Drew, and Chipper are solid bats Neftali Feliz is going to be sweet Weaknesses They don’t have an outfielder who is currently guaranteed full time at bats Does Chipper have one more good season left in him? When you have to draft almost all of your pitching in the offseason draft it’s not a good thing ********************************************************************************************************************* (Hitting Rank: 9, Pitching Rank: 10) Strengths Cabrera and Kinsler are very nice The best closers in the league Haren and Peavy are bonafide aces Weaknesses But can Peavy stay healthy? Can Hamilton stay healthy? No talent coming up from their minor leagues anytime soon ********************************************************************************************************************* (Hitting Rank: 6, Pitching Rank: 12) Strengths The best starting outfielders in the league PUJOLS Other top notch bats like Martinez and Hill Weaknesses Their pitching needs a major makeover Furcal, Kendrick, and Barmes aren’t very imposing up the middle Not much talent in the minor leagues outside of Crow and Rondon ********************************************************************************************************************* (Hitting Rank: 8, Pitching Rank: 3) Strengths Very nice starting pitching Utley and Wright are mega studs Best minor league system in the league Weaknesses Their young hitters are nice on paper, but will they produce? When will Volquez and Bedard pitch? If Capps and Perez don’t close they won’t have much value ********************************************************************************************************************* (Hitting Rank: 11, Pitching Rank: 2) Strengths Montero, Ramirez, Figgins, and Bay are very nice bats Very nice pitching up and down this roster Justin Smoak and Jaime Garcia are just waiting for a chance Weaknesses A lot of question marks in their lineup. Upton, Young, Hardy, Callaspo, Wood, Johnson just to name a few. These guys could put up nice numbers or be complete busts. Their backup hitters are…not good. It’s time to let Andrew Miller go. He’s never going to be good. *********************************************************************************************************************** (Hitting Rank: 7, Pitching Rank: 1) Strengths McCann, Zobrist, Tulowitzki, Braun, Upton The best pitching in the league hands down Their minor league pitching is pretty nice as well Weaknesses Brandon Webb’s health is a BIG question mark at this point Might as well go ahead and put Bonderman and Weeks on the DL now Their owner didn’t make a single transaction of any kind after May 13th last season. May 13th! Maybe their owner will care this year?? ************************************************************************************************************************** (Hitting Rank: 4, Pitching Rank: 8) Strengths Very good hitting, especially ARod, Reyes, Roberts, and Gonzalez Billingsley and Danks are nice young aces The best closer in the game in Mariano Weaknesses Shaky starting pitching after Billingsley and Danks Their other closers are old and injury prone and prone to stinking Starting Milton Bradley? Really? Must be the Cubs fault ************************************************************************************************************************* (Hitting Rank: 5, Pitching Rank: 5) Strengths Great young hitters like Votto, Butler, Beckham, Sandoval, and Pedroia An impressive list of young aces Jason Heyward AND Stephen Strasburg?? Wow!..... Weaknesses ....Nice names, but until they prove their worth, thats all they are...names. Their relief pitching is a bit of a mystery at this point Between Jeter, Scutaro, and Magglio they have 3 AARP members on their team ************************************************************************************************************************ (Hitting Rank: 3, Pitching Rank: 7) Strengths Hanley Ramirez – nice! Very nice young pitchers Strong minor league system Weaknesses Their outfield is a bit of a question mark Can Chris Carpenter really stay healthy two seasons in a row? Losing Joe Nathan for the year is a big blow *************************************************************************************************************************** (Hitting Rank: 1, Pitching Rank: 6) Strengths Excellent bats. Howard, Cano, Prince, Reynolds, Granderson, Morales, etc. Their top 6 starting pitchers can rival any other team’s top 6 Did we mention they have 3 top 10 first basemen?? Weaknesses No closers to speak of When will Beltran play? Their starting pitching lacks depth after the top 6 ************************************************************************************************************************** (Hitting Rank: 2, Pitching Rank: 4) Strengths Solid offensive talent top to bottom led by Longoria, Teixeira, Kemp, and Rollins The best pitcher in fantasy in Lincecum AND top 5 pitcher Verlander Good relief pitching and other solid starting pitchers Weaknesses Not a very strong minor league system Orlando Hudson is old and no longer very productive A few question marks: Soto, Rios, and DiceK – can they produce? ************************************************************************************************************************** Well, there you have it, our 2010 Pre-Season Rankings!! Anyhow, we hope you enjoyed our sneak peek into our crystal ball and who knows....maybe a few pick will be true? Or maybe..the CURSE will strike once againrenering The Roiders an afterthought! Anyhow, check back often as we'll be updated with Trade Breakdowns, Nuggets of info and The Weekly Update! Stay Tuned! |
