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With drafts starting back up, I'm starting to ponder my keeper situation and am a little torn between who I should be keeping. I'm in the 4th year of a 14 team head to head league. I have the opportunity to keep 3 offensive players and 3 pitchers. I have my keepers narrowed down to 4 or 5 in each, but would appreciate some opinions/suggestions:

Potential Offensive Keepers:
Russel Martin
David Ortiz
Hanley Ramirez
Ryan Braun
Grady Sizemore

As it stands now, the two players I am 95% certain to keep would be Ramirez and Braun. Ramirez is pretty self-explanatory and while Braun may fall victim of a sophomore slump, he's a personal fav of mine (especially with the eventual added OF elibility and being moved in the lineup after Fielder to allow him to run more often). I'm a big fan of the 5 tool players and really like what Sizemore brings to the table (and hope he more closely lives up to his AL MVP candidate potential that was hyped up before the start of the '07 season). In a single season, Ortiz may be the way to go, but between his age and injuries, I"m not sure I want to risk losing the potential numbers of some of the younger guys.

Pitchers
CC Sabathia
Brad Penny
JJ Putz
Matt Cain
Jeremy Bonderman

CC is a lock for me and I always like keeping a solid closer, such as Putz (especially since most of the other teams in my league keep their no 1 closer, the depth in the draft isn't there). Its the third keeper I'm concerned about. Matt Cain is a great pitcher, but in my league losses are a statistical category and no matter how well he pitches, he is always going to have run protection problems. Is the win/loss categories too big of a concern to avoid keeping him? Bonderman fell a part in the second half of the season, but I'm wondering how much of that was related to his elbow problems and whether he can make a return to form in 08. Penny avoided the second half implosion in 07, can he keep it up on 08?

so what do you guys think? Do you agree with my analysis or am I missing something?

Thanks!

I would keep Martin out of your offensive players because he is only going to get better from last year and there aren't many good catchers out there. As for pitchers I would keep CC, Putz, and possibly Bonderman. The Tigers are going to be able to put up runs next season which will help Bonderman out a ton.

Martin, Sizemore, Ramirez
Sabathia, Bonderman, Putz

Those are who I would keep.

wow. I've gotta say I'm surprised with the support of Martin over Braun. I think my hands are tied with Braun (between my hometown ties to Braun and my girlfriend threatening a breakup if I drop Braun, I dont know how I'd feel about not keeping him, or my gf). Watching Braun progress through the minors and his performances in 2007, I've gott say that I think this guy is the real deal. Maybe he won't put up the same A-rod-esque numbers this year, but the Hebrew Hammer is someone everyone should watch out for next year and many years to come. I've still got probably a month or so before the draft to mull things over, but I am opitmistic enough with the number of available offensive players that regardless of what combination of Braun, Sizemore and Martin that I choose to keep, I have a fairly high chance of drafting them in the first couple rounds or upgrading at those positions.

I really appreciate the feedback on Bonderman...with his second half performance I'm a little hesitant, but I obtained him, CC, and Ortiz in a trade for Pujols last season, so I'd hate to have to drop him and only have CC to show for losing Pujols for this season.

Thanks again for the input, I'd love to hear others opinions and will let you guys know how the draft pans out (Yahoo fantasy starts in about two weeks!)

EDIT: Changed my mind.
Look at TyCobb's below and take those 3 batters. I don't know about his pitchers. I would rather keep Putz in there and maybe Bonderman too.

Russel Martin
Hanley Ramirez
Grady Sizemore

CC Sabathia
Brad Penny
Matt Cain

LMFAO. Penny over Bonderman or Putz.

Wait, I can't tell if you're serious or not. Are we talking about the same Jeremy Bonderman? I knew of a Jeremy Bonderman last year, pitched for the Detroit Tigers, who had an ERA over 5.00 and at times was the worst pitcher in all of baseball.

And I have Penny over Putz because closers don't mean **** to me. That's all.

Aside from a field- and defense-assisted deflated ERA, Brad Penny is a decidedly bad fantasy pitcher. Not to mention he

The only reason I would keep Bonderman is because as I mentioned above, the Tigers offense is going to help Bonderman's numbers this year. If the Tigers had not added all that offense I would have stuck with Penny.

I would keep Bonderman because he's a good-great pitcher that had an unlucky season last year. And he's still like 25 years old.

You have some nice hitters.

I would keep Braun and Hanley for sure, seeing as how it is a keeper league and they could both be first round studs for a long time.

Is there any chance you can move Ortiz, Russel Martin, or Sizemore to another team for a better pitcher? I like keeping Putz and Sabathia, but would think you could get a better upgrade with a trade.

Then I would keep whichever guy you didn't have to trade away to upgrade at pitcher.

kloo7 wrote:You have some nice hitters.

I would keep Braun and Hanley for sure, seeing as how it is a keeper league and they could both be first round studs for a long time.

Is there any chance you can move Ortiz, Russel Martin, or Sizemore to another team for a better pitcher? I like keeping Putz and Sabathia, but would think you could get a better upgrade with a trade.

Then I would keep whichever guy you didn't have to trade away to upgrade at pitcher.

I have a shot at trading Martin for either Dice-K, Lincecum, Maine, or Rich Hill. Which do you think gives me the most significant upgrade over Cain or Penny?

i would take dice k but try and trade sizemore for him..like to keep martin

It depends on if you have a 3 OF or LF/CF/RF set-up in your league. The two players you need to keep for sure are Hanley and Martin. They are the best offensive players at premium defensive positions so their value relative to their position is sky high. If you have a 3 OF set-up, I would keep Braun because it doesn't matter which position they play, just that they produce offensively. If you have the LF/CF/RF set-up, I'd keep Sizemore for the same reasons you keep Hanley and Martin. There are a ton of good LFs and 3rd basemen out there so if you have the position specific slots, Sizemore is a better investment.

In terms of pitchers, I think I'd go with CC, Cain, and Putz. Cain won't get you anything in terms of wins because his offense will suck supremely but I just don't like Bonderman right now. He has a lot of miles on his arm and he has never been full healthy/effective in his career except for 2006 (and he had some rough spots then too). Coupled with the fact he was having elbow soreness and had to go on an strengthening program for his forearm and triceps makes me think Tommy John surgery may be around the corner. If he's healthy, he's a definite keeper. I just am not sure that he is. mahalo
~Chach~

Did I just miss something or did you not tell us what gets points in ur league? I can't imagine anyone can tell you who to keep without seeing the stats you get points for.

Your hitters are strong tho and its a good problem to have. Ramirez is a lock in any formatted league.

Yes, I did forget to include that.

Batting

R, H, HR, RBI, SB, BB, AVG

Pitching

W, L, SV, K, HLD, ERA, WHIP

My chances of snagging Dice-K fell through, but now I'm trying to decide if I should stand pat with either Penny, Bonderman or Cain as my third pitcher keeper or try to trade for someone (Lincecum, Maine, Hill are some immediate options) with one of my surplus hitters. With the way the league rules are set up and other trades having been made, the teams I can work with are drying up.