Olivet Power Ranks (9-3)

Just a continuation from before, will leave the final two for sometime later this week.

8. Gaylord Dingers

Any team returning Albert Pujols is already a step ahead of the rest. The move to the American League should only benefit the big guy as he’ll get to play some DH to get a breather here and there. Pujols should rebound from his poor 2011 season where he only hit 37 homers and drove in 99 runs. Rickie Weeks was drafted in the 2nd round in hopes of a healthy season, one that has escaped Weeks his entire career save one season. The left side of the infield is manned by Aramis Ramirez and Derek Jeter. Ramirez stayed healthy last year and put up his best season in several years and now will be protecting Herpes Braun in Milwaukee. Jeter was useless for most of the first half of last season but turned it around in the 2nd half, so there is at least a little bit left in the tank. As long as he’s hitting atop of the Yankee’s lineup he’ll be useful in runs and should be in the mid double digits for steals however his productive days are well behind him. Wieters was the Dingers other 2nd round pick and I was a fan of it. He put up numbers similar to McCann last year and is only going to get better. I would expect him to be at least in the conversation of top C in fantasy after this season. David Ortiz is plugged into the UTIL spot and he has just kept on hitting. No qualms here. The problem for Gaylord will be depth. Weeks is an injury waiting to happen while Ramirez and Jeter are aging vets. Raburn, Furcal, Prado, and Wigginton will likely be flung into infield action at various times this year, hopefully the weeks in which he plays the Eagles. The outfield is highly suspect from Crawford down to Pierre. After being one of the highest regarded players last year after signing with Boston, Crawford took a nose dive only Adam Dunn could have rivaled. Not only was it a bust season for him but he is likely to miss the first part of 2012. I’d expect a rebound but playing in Boston is a much different animal than Tampa. Markakis is also coming off an injury and has proven to be nothing more than a 4th outfielder the past few seasons. The bright side is he won’t necessarily hurt the Dingers in any category. Bourjos seems like the Dingers type of player as does Fowler and both will need to have better than expected seasons. Prado, Raburn, Rivera, and Pierre round out the bench.
The SP is led by newly acquired ace Zack Greinke. There weren’t many pitchers better than he was down the stretch last year and will shoulder the burden of carrying the Gaylord SP in 2012. There aren’t any other big name guys in the rotation but there is a lot to like with Bud Norris. He won’t win many games while an Astro but will be an asset in K’s and has improved his indicators each of the past two years. Floyd and Jackson are pitchers cut from the same cloth, being dominant at times but very hittable other times. Niese looks to start the season as the #5 but doesn’t do anything impressive. Gaylord is likely hoping McDonald or Paulino takes a step forward this year. The relief core is led by new Boston closer Andrew Bailey, and Grant Balfour. Bailey hasn’t been able to stay 100% healthy but is a stud when he is. Balfour has never held down a closer job before and there is no guarantee 2012 will be any different, however he’s proven to be a valuable arm to have on an eMLB fantasy roster. Francisco K-Rod Rodriguez was dealt to Milwaukee and seemed to be reborn into his old role as setup man. He should rack up the holds in front of Axford but is always a trade away from being a closer. Rex Brothers will make a name for himself this year and I think will be one of the top MR this year. The 5th spot will be a WW rotation until someone sticks.
While nothing other than the infield sticks out as being a plus on this team, Gaylord has put together a team that is balanced. This will be the year he looks up in the Great Lakes standings though.

7. Michigan Miracles

In somewhat of a surprising move the Miracles dealt their lottery selection for Prince Fielder. Looking back I don’t think they expected Gonzalez to slip to #3 but the new Tiger will have 4 strong years for them. Ben Zobrist will man 2b and will help across the board other than a middle of the road batting average. These two will be counted on to carry the load as the rest of the infield is questionable. Ryan Roberts came seemingly out of nowhere last year to put up a great season as a 30 year old. His grit will likely keep him on Gibby’s good side so he’ll get every chance to repeat. At SS Ian Desmond is basically a one trick pony and is a spot the Miracles may look to upgrade at some point this year. His lacking stats in all other categories are a high price to pay for 25 steals. Doumit isn’t a real good option for C and in Minnesota will see his little power regress. Daniel Murphy and Marco Scutaro will backup the infield and will be ok options if called upon. Adam LaRoche was taken late as a flier selection and could end up being the team’s utility if he can come back from his shoulder issue. The outfield has three very balanced players in Shane Victorino, Hunter Pence, and Shin-Soo Choo, whom is coming off an injury filled year but if healthy he’s as good as any. There’s a lot to love about having those guys in the outfield. Josh Willingham is the 4th option and is coming off a career year in Oakland. Moving to Minnesota he’ll look to repeat and if he can stay healthy he should come close. Seth Smith is currently slotted in as the UTIL but will be better served to be a backup in the OF. Moving to Oakland from Colorado will sap some of his power and is likely to sit against lefties. Schafer and Borbon(remember him?) are buried down the depth chart but could be used if steals are needed.
Matt Cain slipped to the team in the 3rd round and will be counted on as the ace of the staff. He isn’t as flashy as some of the aces across the league but there aren’t many other options as consistent as he is although you have to wonder when he’ll get more than 3 runs of support per game and win 18 times. Beachy was extremely dominant last year posting a stellar K/9 ratio and will possibly end up as the ace of this staff by the time summer rolls around. Luebke will help solidify a very strong rotation and was excellent upon his move to the Padres rotation last summer. These 3 may not be the big names of some other teams but they will be about as good as any, health allowing. Ted Lilly and Tim Stauffer are fine options to complete the rotation as even though neither are above average in any one category but will not hurt any of them. Behind the starting 5 this team has capable fill ins with Chris Capuano and RA Dickey. Henderson Alvarez is stashed here but I wouldn’t expect him to play a major role while he’s still learning the ropes in the majors. The bullpen is the team’s biggest strength with 5 studs. They will win saves each week almost for sure and should keep up in holds with Marshall and Romo leading the way there. One has to wonder if Michigan really needed the 3rd closer having Rivera and Bell already but getting two top setup men made it work out alright. In weeks he wont need the 3 closers you’ll probably see him plug Dotel in for Heath Bell.
While this team was built for balance, there are enough question marks around to keep them on the cusp of the playoffs but still looking in. I don’t foresee three teams from the same division making into the championship playoffs and for now Michigan may be the odd team out in theirs.

6. North Texas Rangers

Sometimes I get the feeling that his being a homer is all just a ruse. Nevertheless, North Texas managed to draft (then later trade for) nearly an entire infield of Rangers. Napoli was drafted in the 2nd round and looks to build upon his career year last year. The average should drop but the power has always been there and he should continue to be the best catcher in fantasy in 2012. Votto will man first and is just coming into his own for the Reds and will probably be seeing his best seasons ahead of him. Ian Kinsler, Adrian Beltre, and Elvis Andrus complete the infield which is the best in eMLB. There’s a lot of power here and the two MI will give the team plenty of steals each week. In case of injury however the team will be forced into using Chone Figgins, Trevor Plouffe, and Mat Gamel. At least with Gamel there is plenty of upside and should get every opportunity to play everyday with Prince out of town. The outfield just got a huge jolt after Braun won his hearing against the MLB and will not have to serve the 50 game suspension. He and Nelson Cruz will have to shoulder a major portion of weeks because Alejandro De Aza is an unproven commodity and Ben Revere is a complete waste across the board other than steals. Nate Schierholtz is plugged in as the utility and is a decent 4th OF but not your commonplace utility player. As every season goes by it seems like the same story with the Rangers. Load up on the star players and hope they carry the weaker players and a fairly non-existent bench. Typically that’s enough for a playoff birth but not much more.
On the pitching side of things you have Roy Halladay and his band of flunkies. He’s about as dominant as anyone has been in our era and hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down, so 2012 will be another stellar season. After Halladay it gets choppy. Josh Tomlin, Rick Porcello, and Kyle Lohse are all the same type of pitcher. They’ll strike out very few, give up a ton of hits while eking out wins playing for decent teams. Edinson Volquez will need to step up in San Diego and turn into the #2 pitcher for North Texas. The RP core is actually not that bad, even without a front line closer. Francisco will have the job for the Mets and has always done ok with it but has a history of injuries. Alexi Ogando will be moved back into a setup role and is probably better suited in it so he can just let loose and throw that fastball. He should be a top holds guy if he doesn’t wear down later in the year. Bastardo was lights out last season and should get plenty of opps in front of Papelbon, while Lidge and Broxton try to regain some of their previous year’s brilliance. Luke Gregerson will try to regain his form from 2010 but is coming off a semi-lost season. McLellan, Takahashi, and Devine round out the rest of the pitching.
If it were complete bias I would not have this team this high in the rankings. I think they’ll likely compete for the playoffs but ultimately fall short because of a lack of depth. Like I said before it’s the same old song and dance with the Rangers, almost to a comedic level at this point. Hitting will carry this team to wherever it goes because other than Halladay and a few decent relievers there is nothing promising about this team’s pitching staff.

5. Rochester Red Sox

Rochester will head into 2012 as the favorite in their division and will look to build it into a Championship. Chris Iannetta will get the nod behind the plate but I don’t think he’ll stay there for very long. He had a nice year for Colorado last year but also hit .172 on the road with no pop. Paul Goldschmidt was a high draft pick and is going to be expected to continue his torrid pace from late last season where he hit 8 hrs in about 150 Abs. All signs point to a guy who will hit for power right away while his batting average is likely to suffer. Brandon Phillips is the most stable player on the infield for Rochester and is really a poor man’s Pedroia other than lower BB levels. Jhonny Peralta is coming off a career year so it’ll be interesting to see if he can repeat those levels. I would guess he’ll have a down tick in avg but the RBI ability has always been there. The team will know what its getting out of Mark Reynolds however, as bad as he is hitting he does make contact once every 15 at bats for a homer. At utility is Jesus Montero who is really being counted on even though he’s never had an extended chance to play in the big leagues. Everybody thinks he’ll be a hitting machine but can you really count on him to be a major cog in a lineup right now? That’s one of a few question marks this team will face. This is also another team that didn’t do much for depth. Stephen Drew needs to get healthy but will be a fine backup if he can, same with Brian Roberts. The problem is it really defeats the purpose if your backups are already injured if your stars get hurt. Jesus Guzman will have to fight for Abs in SD while Jimmy Paredes is an unknown commodity for Houston. The outfield is led by Carlos Gonzalez who had a somewhat of a down year because of missed time but is a top 3 OF when healthy. Michael Morse is coming off a surprising career year and will have to repeat in order for Rochester to keep up pace. Desmond Jennings is bound to have bumps in the road and isn’t likely to earn that first round pick this season (probably soon in the future). Angel Pagan rounds out the outfield and looks to regain some of his 2010 magic this year in San Francisco. Gentry, Hesisey, and Presley are the OF backups and none are guaranteed playing time quite yet. I believe the outfield is good enough all around to make up for a couple of the shortcomings on the infield, but the offense will depend heavily on Goldschmidt, Montero, and Jennings who have not even played a full season in the bigs yet.
The pitching staff should be very good, especially if Josh Johnson can stay healthy. Clayton Kershaw is coming off one of the best seasons in recent history and might be just cracking the surface of his potential. He will team with a hopefully healthy Johnson to be the top 1-2 punch in eMLB. Dan Haren continues to put up unheralded seasons and will serve as a top 3rd SP but could be pushed up if Johnson gets hurt yet again. Max Scherzer has shown flashes of brilliance but hasn’t put it all together yet, while Jhoulys Chacin seems to be teetering as well. Mike Minor and Trevor Cahill are more than capable guys to plug in if needed. This club boasts two of the best RP arms in baseball with Craig Kimbrel and Jonny Venters. They were used a ton last season but if they do not wear down this will be a hell of a holds/saves duo. John Axford almost gets forgotten here as the teams 2nd closer. He erased doubts of a fluke by having an even more dominant season than his fine 2010 campaign. Jim Johnson may end up closing for Baltimore but has been rumored for about 36 different roles since last year ended. Scott Downs will rack up holds as a lefty specialist
The key pieces seem to be in place for Rochester but I think in order for the team to get over the final hump they’ll need a lot of things to go their way including breakout seasons for Montero, Jennings, Goldschmidt, and another from Morse. The pitching should keep them in every week while the hitting figures out its identity.

4. Arizona Desert Swarm
Coming off an improbable run to the eMLB championship in their inaugural season the Swarm return with a legitimate shot at repeating. Alex Avila played a big role last season and should be among the top catchers again this year hitting in a better spot in the Tigers order. First base is a question mark for the Swarm, depending on if he wants to use Carlos Lee or Gaby Sanchez there. Neither is a great option compared to most in the league but wont hurt too badly. Ackley will be the 2b of the future for Arizona but was a definite reach in the draft. He’ll have to improve his hitting at Safeco this year but overall he’ll be about average for a 2b with some upside. At 3b is Evan Longoria who is the best at his position not counting Jose Bautista and will carry this offense at times. His batting average was low but was very unlucky so it should return to previous levels this season. Given another healthy season he’ll be a monster and at age 26 we haven’t seen his best years yet. JJ Hardy and Dee Gordon were drafted pretty close together in the draft, right now Gordon is listed as the team’s utility but I think he’ll be swapped in and out depending on if the team needs power or speed. It’s a nice option to have actually but I think Hardy will see the most time in the lineup with Arizona having speed in the OF. Omar Infante will be the backup or plug in for Ackley while Gordon, Bonifacio will be the SS/3b depth. Helton, Smoak, and Beckham will play if needed but I don’t believe that’ll be very likely. In the OF the team has the #1 fantasy player in 2011, Matt Kemp. He claims he’s going to go 50/50 this season. I expect last season to be his peak but even a regress is better than all other outfielders. Adam Jones has been very consistent and seems to be getting just slightly better and better each season. He’ll need to be somewhat better because it is very unlikely Melky Cabrera repeats his career year in San Francisco this year. Bonifacio will provide speed and runs in bunches this year, hitting between Reyes and Hanley, with Stanton waiting in the wings to knock him in. Reddick, Sands, and newcomer Cespedes round out the OF and its curious to see what the Cuban dude can do in MLB. He could be a wild card for this team’s success.
The pitching is led by aces Felix Hernandez and Cliff Lee, with secondary ace Chris Carpenter the wingman. When it all comes down to it, Cliff Lee was probably the steal of the draft. Carpenter is someone to keep an eye on having pitched over 470 innings the past two seasons and will be 36 this year. If he can stay healthy he’ll provide wins with a decent ERA and WHIP. Felix Hernandez may be the best all around pitcher in the American League however he’ll need to get out of Seattle for anyone to see it. As it is currently he’ll be a stud in everything but wins. Following the big three will be injury prone Cueto, and underachieving Clay Buchholz. Both have shown flashes of brilliance in the past but neither was able to complete 2011. Vogelsong is the only handcuff but should be a nice option when called upon due to his era/whip ability. The bullpen should be decent considering who’s in it. Hard to figure out what Farnsworth is going to bring to the table but he looked lights out last season. The problem will be Maddon’s usage of closers has been odd, and 30 saves seems unlikely regardless. Ryan Madson got a nice contract from Cincinnati and will be counted on to be the teams top closer. Holds will be an issue for Arizona, Aceves will probably not be pitching in hold situations and could see time in the rotation as well. Uehara was awful after being traded to Texas and I read somewhere that he actually cried when he found out he was dealt. (Somewhere Tom Hanks is fuming) When on however he was one of the better relievers in baseball but will likely be a swing man in Texas’ bullpen. Fautino de los Santos has an electric arm but hasn’t been able to stay healthy until last year. He could work his way into pressure situations this year and without a true closer he could get a late season trial there as well. It’s not how you start but how you finish, and those types of roles are the ones that win championships.

3. Hackensack Bulls
The Bulls are coming off a great draft and will be leaning heavily on Mike, err, excuse me what is it…. Giancarlo? Whatever. Stanton. The infield will be very good overall but a lot hinges on Buster Posey coming back from that Scott Cousin’s knockout. He’s never had one full season in the bigs but will get PT at 1b when he’s not in the lineup at C. Eric Hosmer s the man at first base and is coming off a fine rookie campaign. I wouldn’t expect lights out numbers out of him just yet but the average should be very good and will be an asset for steals as a 1b. Dustin Pedroia is the best fantasy 2b by far, and if Ellsbury keeps getting on base Pedroia will keep getting plenty of RBI opportunities. He’s one of the few 6 category men in eMLB and the bonifide captain of Hackensack. Even though the Bulls claim they hate the Red Sox they have two in the infield alone. Youkilis was drafted to be the teams 3b but is coming off two injury shortened seasons. If healthy he’ll help in 4 categories. Starlin Castro was a 2011 draft selection that many questioned but the Cubs SS proved doubters wrong. He looks to be the new Jeter type of hitter and could develop some more pop in time. They have some unspectacular backups in Cozart and Uribe though; I would think an injury to Youk will cause some big problems. The utility spot will be held down by the likes of Mike Carp until Ryan Howard comes back from injury. The outfield is a question mark beyond Stanton, who is going to be counted on a monster season being, drafted #2 overall. Brennan Boesch is coming off a thumb injury and another 2nd half where he wasn’t hitting very well. He’ll be 2nd in the batting order in front of Cabrera and Prince this year so he’ll likely get plenty of fastballs. Lucas Duda is a breakout candidate in New York and I think will be one of the better picks of the draft looking back on it. Not much can be said for Alfonso Soriano except if the team needs some cheap pop they’ve got it. He won’t provide much else. Raul Ibanez and Eric Thames along with Mike Carp provide a little depth. I have them about average in runs, and punting SBs but near the top in the rest of hitting.
CC Sabathia and Tim Lincecum are the aces of the staff and both should be counted on for 230 innings pitched so the counting stats will be there for sure. I am curious about CC’s arm; he looked dead in the ALDS against Detroit and has pitched a million innings over the past 5 years. Lincecum hasn’t been the dominant pitcher he was during his first few seasons but is still among the best in the league. Yu Darvish is an unknown commodity but was given a ton of money by Texas so he’ll be needed in real life and in fantasy. Stephen Strasburg is the best pitcher the Bulls have but will be limited by the Nats this year and by the time the playoffs roll around he’ll be shut down. If he can stay healthy I don’t know if any pitcher will put up the crazy numbers he will. Mike Leake will be the #5 and is a player who will help keep the team’s ERA/WHIP in order while not hurting anything. The K’s are on the rise, but department stores beware. Who knows what to expect from Hughes, Zambrano or Hochever. Three guys who have been dominant at times, but none you’d want to depend on. Out of the three I think Hochever is probably the best. The Bulls will be punting holds after drafting 19 closers in nice Broskey fashion. Wilson will lead the way while Soria will look to rebound after a piss poor season. Jason Motte is coming off a stellar late season run as closer as well as playoff. Those three should keep the team ahead of the game in most weeks other than against Michigan. Wilton Lopez will probably be the top setup man for Brett Myers in Houston and you have to figure out of the 48 games they win, most will be by a run or two. Aaron Crow is rumored to be tried in the rotation but showed brilliance for KC when healthy. Addison Reed is a wild card whom I believe will end up closing sooner than later in Chicago.