Pillaging Your Peers-AL East

After the Holidays, and the Strep Throat That Will Not Die (STTWND), I will start on the American League. I admittedly have more knowledge of these teams, so they should be easier. However, the Yankees and Red Sox are always emptying their Minor League clips to acquire talent, so its constantly changing.

Baltimore Orioles-What a mess of an organization. There are only three or four guys that are worth more than a bag of balls. My short term investment would be in Matt Weiters. He's young, he plays catcher, and he has a Chuck Norris like website about Matt Weiters facts. As for my long term investment, I really like SS Manny Machado. They have a few interesting pitchers, such as Zach Britton and Brian Matusz, but Machado seems like a can't miss type with a high ceiling and high floor.

Boston Red Sox- In the course of 2 months, Boston has drastically changed their complexion. They lost Victor Martinez and Adrian Beltre, but gained Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez. That's why they are always in contention. They had to give up most of theire top prospects in the Gonzalez trade, but still have some interesting pieces. I am staying away from their prospects, and selecting from proven Major League talent. Long term, I will take Jon Lester. Huge k/9 rate, survived cancer, and is still 26 years old. For the next three years, its between the aforementioned Crawford and Gonzalez. I think I will go with Crawford, for his steals and defense.

New York Yankees- The easiest team in this division. They have a top prospect in C/1B/DH Jesus Montero, who will hit and provide next to no defense, and 1B Mark Teixeira who will hit and provide excellent defense.

Tampa Bay Devil Rays- This is the team I would want if I could take over an entire organization. They are stacked with young talent at the Major League and Minor League levels. Think about this....they lost Carl Crawford to division rival Boston. I selected Crawford from Boston. I would not have selected Crawford from this roster. They also are most likely replacing Crawford with Desmond Jennings, who is essentially the same player minus 5 years. On to the selections. Short term, I will select 3B Evan Longoria. Probably the best 3B in baseball, and still has room to improve. Their prospects, however, are more difficult to choose from. Here is their projected Top 20. Do you take the top RHP prospect in baseball or the 2nd best LHP in baseball? Carl Crawford Lite, or a future closer? I will trust Sickels and say Jeremy Hellickson. I can't pass up a potential ace with a small sample size of Major League success.

Toronto Blue Jays-The second easiest team today. I believe Adam Lind is a mixture of his 2009 and 2010 seasons. That makes a nice player. Their top prospect was the key piece they got in return for Roy Halladay, Kyle Drabek. He has the MLB bloodline from his father, Doug, and would be ready to start the 2011 season in the bigs at 23.

For Baseballs best division, I was expecting harder decisions. Other than Tampa, it was fairly easy compared to most of the NL. I will do the AL West next, and save the AL Central for last.

Previous-NL West, NL Central, NL East

Pillaging Your Peers-NL West

After a few days off, I will continue the PYP project.

Arizona Diamondbacks- Assuming they don't trade him, my choice for the short term is OF Justin Upton. He's only 23, and is one of the most promising young regulars in MLB. I thought about Dan Haren, but his historically bad second half performances scared me off. As far as prospects go, Jarrod Parker is my pick. He recently had Tommy John surgery, but his potential is off the charts.If Upton is traded, expect another top 10 prospect to land in Arizona.

Colorado Rockies- This one is tough. Tough like a $5 steak. They have three of the top players in baseball right now. SS Troy Tulowitzki, OF Carlos Gonzalez, and SP Ubaldo Jimenez. All young, all talented. Luckily they don't have any slam dunk prospects, so I only have to leave out one of the three. Short term, I will take Jimenez. Dominant starters don't grow on trees, and he's an ace.  Keeper-wise, I will take Tulo. Positional scarcity, and what not. I really hate leaving CarGo behind, but them's the breaks.

Los Angeles Dodgers- Kemp or Ethier, Ethier or Kemp? Power or speed? Speed. OF Matt Kemp is one of my personal favorites, so I gotta go with him. The Dodgers have some nice young pitchers, but no one who blows me over. Chris Withrow has a 9.3 K/9 rate in the minors, and is only 21. Done and done.

San Diego Padres- This was easy a week ago. Adrian Gonzalez was the overwhelming choice. He's now a Red Sock. Red Sox? Anywho, I will now go with....Kyle Blanks? Young power hitter,plays good defen....he has awesome hair.

The biggest piece the Fathers got in return for Gonzalez is Casey Kelly. He is one of the top prospects in the game, and is close to MLB ready.

San Francisco Giants-By far the easiest team in the division to select from. Tim Lincecum may be a pothead, but he also has two Cy Young awards in 3 and a half seasons. C Buster Posey just won the NL ROY, and plays a premium position. Considering they just won the World Series, they are very top heavy.

So that finishes the National League. As always, criticism is expected/appreciated.

Previous- NL Central, NL East

Pillaging Your Peers-NL Central

Continuing my little project, I will move westward and cover the NL Central.

Chicago Cubs- Yikes. I'm not stoked on any of their players for a short term investment. Alfonso Soriano is at least 56 years old, and rapidly declining. Aramis Ramirez can't stay healthy. Their starting pitchers are crazy (Carlos Zambrano), or mediocre (Ryan Dempster.) That leaves me with two viable options: Closer Carlos Marmol, or OF Tyler Colvin. I will take Colvin. He had a great rookie year, and still has room to improve.  My keeper is SS Starlin Castro. He can do a little bit of everything, and is only 20 years old. He entered last season as one of the top prospects in the game, and did fairly well at the Major League level, despite being so young.

Cincinnati Reds- Easiest team in the division. Joey Votto was the NL MVP this year. He's the real deal. Aroldis Chapman. AKA The Cuban Missile, is probably the top pitching prospect in the game. He did this...


So yeah. The only argument to be made is Devin Mesoraco, a power hitting catcher from Punxsutawney, PA. Chapman would probably be the top pick if there were a prospect draft, and I can't pass up 105.

Houston Astros-After trading Berkman and Oswalt this year, there aren't many players who jump out at you. Carlos Lee and Hunter Pence are unspectacular outfielders. Wandy Rodriguez is a high strikeout pitcher. I would take Pence, mainly due to Lee's past injury history and advanced age. Prospect wise it comes down to two players: 1B Brett Wallace and  C Jason Castro. I would lean toward Castro since he catches, but Wallace should be a good player.

Milwaukee Brewers- It starts and ends with Ryan Braun. The Hebrew Hammer is one of the best players in baseball, and with Prince Fielder's tough year, it's not really a contest. One other option is Yovani Gallardo, a young fireballer. I will take the hitter here, but after looking at Gallardo's stats, it was closer than I thought.  They just traded top prospect Brett Lawrie, so he's out. That leaves a bunch of prospects with question marks. I will go out on a limb and take Gallardo long term. He's stll only 24, and has proven MLB success. Their prospects after trading Lawrie just don't impress me much.

Pittsburgh Pirates-I will start with the keeper. Pedro Alvarez is their top prospect. He hit .239 with 10 homers on the ML level this year, but he should improve on that in the future. As for present help, I really like Andrew McCutchen. He has some pop, steals bases, and plays a great CF. Another easy team to pillage.


St. Louis Cardinals- Another easy one. Albert Pujols is a future Hall of Famer. He plays defense, and has stolen 30 bases the last two years combined. On a team with pitchers like Adam Wainwright and Chris Carpenter, it shows you how great a player Pujols is. Their farm system is decent, but Shelby Miller is a stud. Rated the #3 pitching prospect by project prospect (say that 3 times fast), he has a great fastball, along with plus pitches in his curve ball and change up.


Overall, an easy division to select from. There are some guys that I really like that didn't make the cut, like Mesoraco and Wallace, but that's how it goes in these types of things. As always, if I made any egregious oversights, call me on it.


Previous- NL East

Pillaging Your Peers-NL East

Imagine yourself as the GM of an expansion baseball franchise. Bud Selig has given you the power to select two players from an established MLB team. One player is for the short term, and you can only keep him for 3 years. The second player is yours as long as you want him. The only drawback is you have to submit your choices before you know how many or which teams you will receive players from. So you are choosing under the assumption that you may only get the players from one team. I normally do this around the trade deadline, thinking like the Tigers, so I figured I would put it in writing, and see how much my preferences have changed. I will start in the NL East, since my early research has shown it to be rather difficult.

Atlanta Braves- This was one of the more difficult decisions. The two players I would covet most are very young, and would be excellent choices as my long term preference. The two players are Jason Heyward and Julio Teheran. Jason Heyward just turned 21, and finished second in the NL Rookie of the Year race. Teheran is  19 and considered one of the top pitching prospects in all of baseball. So therein lies the problem. They both are destined for greatness, but which one do you want long term? Do you take a player like Brian McCann for three years, and take Heyward long term, since Teheran isn't too close to being Major League ready, and may not reach his potential? Do you take three years of Heyward and gamble on a potential ace in Teheran?  If I were in this position, I gamble on Teheran. I take Heyward short term, and Teheran long term. Pitching wins in most cases like this in my opinion.

Florida Marlins- Another difficult one, but easier than Atlanta. The long term option is Mike Stanton. Amazing power hittter. 22 homers in 100 major league games this year, and he's only 21. The short term players in contention are Hanley Ramirez and Josh Johnson. Hanley Ramirez is arguably the best all around SS in baseball, and Johnson is a dominating pitcher. They are only a year apart in age, so that doesn't help. I think I would actually go with HanRam. Josh Johnson had Tommy John Surgery in August of 07, and although he has been great since, I am using it as justification to take Ramirez. I can't go wrong with either, but Ramirez is one of my favorite players.

New York Mets- Before I actually looked at this, I thought it would be fairly easy. Then I realized how bare their Minor League system compared to the rest of their division. Most of their top prospects have huge question marks. For three years, there are 3 legit options: David Wright, Jose Reyes, and Johan Santana. Two years ago, they were three of the best players in baseball, but Wright had a horrible(by his standards) 2009, Reyes can't get/stay healthy, and Johan just isn't the same player he was in Minnesota. I would go Wright, who bounced back in 2010, and distanced himself from the other two. As far as prospects, I will trust  the experts and go with Wilmer Flores. John Sickels feels he's the Mets' top prospect, and he plays SS, so positional scarcity plays a factor as well. The future is bleak for the Mets.

Philadelphia Phillies- Roy Halladay. Nuff said. As far as prospects go, there isn't much left. The Halladay and Oswalt trades have helped empty the cupboard, as they say, and they are left with Domonic Brown, and a few marginal pitchers, so Brown it is. Big, fast, outfielder who Athlon compares to Darryl Strawberry (in ability, not recreational activities, I assume.) The easiest by far in the NL East, and probably top five easiest in MLB.

Washington Nationals- Another Braves situation, with the added headache of having a very good player at the Major League level. Stephen Strasburg is the most hyped pitching prospect probably ever. Bryce Harper graduated from high school a year early to go to community college so he could get drafted earlier. He is also...well see for yourself...

Both were selected number one overall. Both are among the top 3 prospects in baseball. Then you have Ryan Zimmerman. A young All-Star 3B who isn't close to being selected. In this context, I would have to take Strasburg for three years, and Harper for keeps since Harper isn't close to reaching the majors. I am this close to going Zimmerman for 3 and Strasburg forever. Flip a coin on this one. This will be the one to watch from this division.

This was tougher than I expected. When I looked at this from Detroit's perspective, it was fairly easy. With Cabrera at first that position is blocked, so a slightly less player at a position of need was always selected. Same with outfielders, With Austin Jackson in center and leading off, I looked at power over speed in outfielders. All in all this was fun. I look forward to doing the other divisions, and I will see if I could cover every position without trying. Feel free to leave any comments if you feel I overlooked someone.