Fantasy baseball Stat Focus: Cabrera's wOBA proves dominance

Source: SI.com

Pick any offensive statistic and chances are that Miguel Cabrera is at or near the top spot on the leaderboard. He's hitting .384, No. 1 in the majors, and his .667 slugging percentage also ranks first. His OBP is all the way down in second place at .455, tied with Shin-Soo Choo and trailing only Joey Votto. He's fourth in the league with 12 homers and first in RBI with 49. His .287 isolated power, which we discussed a few weeks ago with regard to Chris Davis, ranks sixth. No matter what stat you prefer to measure hitters by, Cabrera is having another incredible season.

Mostly MLB Notes: Striking Goldschmidt

Source: Roto Arcade by Dalton Del Don

I wasn’t necessarily down on Paul Goldschmidt entering the year, but he came nowhere near any of my teams, as he was being drafted aggressively, and he played in what I perceived as a loaded first base position. Not only has first base been a huge disappointment in general, but Goldschmidt has quickly developed into a true star I certainly didn’t expect, as he’s on pace to finish the season with this line: .329-43-108-130-14. That’s a monster no matter what position you play. While Chase Field is a huge advantage on his side, Goldschmidt has actually posted a 1.242 OPS on the road compared to .812 at home, so while the former is bound to drop, the latter is certain to rise as well. Goldschmidt’s 23.0

Votto reaches base in all six PA as Reds win - Joey Votto | CIN

Source: Rotoworld Baseball

Joey Votto went 4-for-4 with a home run and two RBI in Saturday's 10-0 defeat of the Phillies.

Shuffle Up: Manny Machado, ahead of schedule

Source: Roto Arcade by Scott Pianowski

Here are your Shuffle Up corners for the month of May. Dig into them, think about them, disagree with them. I'll be back with commentary later tonight.

Normal rules apply, of course. We're trying to project 5x5 value to come; what's happened to this point is an audition, not a mandate. Players at the same price are considered even. Don't worry about the prices in a vacuum - what matters is how the players relate to one another. Your intelligent and respectful disagreement is always welcome.

Please remember the golden rule of shuffling: a player doesn't gain (or lose) 15-20 percent of value simply because he's on your roster.

Courtesy injury ranks are at the bottom. I won't debate those (I'm generally not as

The Freese Stands Alone

Source: Razzball by grey@razzball.com (Grey Albright)

David Freese has an OBP higher than his slugging, which is only a good sign when you’re Joey Votto. His .224/.298/.259 line is begging you to beg me why you still have him on your roster. What’s cooler than being cool? David Freese! Somewhere, Mr. Freeze says, “Ice to see you, David.” Here’s the deal: his plate discipline appears to be just as good as last season. The only significant change is in his batted ball data, where he’s hitting a lot more ground balls and less fly balls than he’s hit in his career. This looks like something that is highly likely to normalize as the season progresses so, like Jim Cramer, I’m going to tell you to, “Buy! Buy! Buy!” In fact, I expect him to produce near his career

Fantasy do-over: Auditing results from an in-season experts draft

Source: Roto Arcade by Andy Behrens

At the risk of tearing down the entire "fantasy expert" scam, we begin today with an admission: Occasionally, fantasy gurus get stuff wrong.

It's rare, but it happens. Back in March, it's possible that some of us led you to believe Roy Halladay was salvageable and that Adam Dunn was not terrible at baseball. We apologize for these misunderstandings.

With six weeks of MLB data in the books, it's time to reassess the player pool. We've assembled a group of 10 experts for an in-season baseball draft. The league settings are fairly standard: 5x5, mixed player pool, CI & MI, head-to-head, weekly lineups. Nothing too exotic.

[You can still own Paul Goldschmidt! It's not too late! Sign-up today for

Kevin Gregg (P-CHC)

Source: TG Fantasy Baseball

Closing Time: Kevin Gregg, back from the dead (Roto Arcade). The Marlins grabbed a win on Tuesday, part of a doubleheader split in Minnesota. The Astros won, too. Kevin Gregg locked down a save. Jose Valverde was promoted and appointed. Some nights, you simply can't predict ball. We'll start in the Cubs bullpen, destined to be one of the Waterloos of the season. Chicago trimmed the Reds on Tuesday, 4-2, despite mediocre work from the two relievers who followed a terrific Carlos Villanueva (8.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 6 K). Carlos Marmol pitched like his hair was on fire in the ninth, as usual, allowing a sharp single and two walks before the inning was complete. Another blown save for the ledger. But the Cubs scored two runs in the top of

Closing Time: Kevin Gregg, back from the dead

Source: Roto Arcade by Scott Pianowski

The Marlins grabbed a win on Tuesday, part of a doubleheader split in Minnesota. The Astros won, too. Kevin Gregg locked down a save. Jose Valverde was promoted and appointed.

Some nights, you simply can't predict ball.

We'll start in the Cubs bullpen, destined to be one of the Waterloos of the season. Chicago trimmed the Reds on Tuesday, 4-2, despite mediocre work from the two relievers who followed a terrific Carlos Villanueva (8.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 6 K). Carlos Marmol pitched like his hair was on fire in the ninth, as usual, allowing a sharp single and two walks before the inning was complete. Another blown save for the ledger. But the Cubs scored two runs in the top

Votto clubs third homer as Reds stomp Fish - Joey Votto | CIN

Source: Rotoworld Baseball

Joey Votto tallied his third home run of the season in Sunday's 10-6 defeat of the Marlins.

Shuffle Up: Michael Cuddyer gets his groove back

Source: Roto Arcade by Scott Pianowski

Today's ranking assignment takes us down on the corner, the first basemen and the third basemen. Settle in, settlers.

What you'll see below are prices for most of the Yahoo-eligible cornermen going forward. There are a few rules here: if you're in the minors or on the DL, you don't make this list. Too variable in worth, league to league. If you're catcher-eligible, you don't make the list – everyone's probably going to use you at catcher anyway. Don't obsess over the actual dollar amounts – what matters is how the players relate to one another. When players are at the same number, they're considered even.

The games to this point are merely an audition. We're trying to figure out who's worth the

Mostly MLB Notes: The Matt Harvey Show

Source: Roto Arcade by Dalton Del Don

I’m not sure what more can be said about Matt Harvey at this point, but I’ll go ahead and continue to pile on the praise. The guy has allowed six hits over 22.0 innings this season. Six! Thanks to a 0.82 ERA and a decent 0.55 WHIP, he’s been the No. 1 ranked fantasy player so far. Harvey’s control still isn’t great, as he’s walked multiple batters in all three of his outings (and he had a 3.93 BB/9 rate across Triple-A and with the Mets last year), but his stuff is among the nastiest in the league already. Harvey’s average fastball velocity (94.3 mph) has been the fourth-highest among all starters this season, while his slider (88.6 mph) has easily been the fastest (next highest is Madison

Votto knocks walk-off single, Reds top Halos - Joey Votto | CIN

Source: Rotoworld Baseball

Joey Votto hit a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth inning as the Reds defeated the Angels 5-4 on Wednesday.

Ryan Ludwick exits with dislocated shoulder. Chris Heisey, anyone?

Source: Roto Arcade by Andy Behrens

Yeah, I know: Heisey is not the name most of you wanted to hear. You're all anxious for the Billy Hamilton era to begin in Cincinnati. I get it. Hamilton is the buzzy prospect with 100-steal speed, slated to open the season at Triple-A. He figures to be a high-impact fantasy asset the day he reaches the the bigs.

But it ain't happenin' just yet, in all likelihood.

For now, we need to deal with the short-term fallout from Ryan Ludwick's shoulder injury. In case you missed the news on Monday (and ignored the headline above), Ludwick suffered a dislocated shoulder on a head-first slide in the Reds' opener, so he's headed for an

Clever Ball: Roto Arcade’s 2013 MLB Predictions

Source: Roto Arcade by Scott Pianowski

Predictions are silly. Predictions are fun.

Today we collect the Yahoo! Five (Funston, Behrens, Evans, Del Don, Pianowski) and we invite Michael Salfino to sit in. It's Crystal Ball time, 2013 MLB season. We've seen the future, and this all works out reasonably well.

Share your predictions in the comments, and Happy Opening Day, gamers.

Brandon Funston, Lead Singer

NL Playoffs
Washington
Atlanta
St. Louis
Cincinnati
San Francisco

AL Playoffs
Toronto
Detroit
Kansas City
LA Angels
Oakland

World Series – Washington over Toronto

NL

Mostly MLB Notes: A 2013 Season Preview

Source: Roto Arcade by Dalton Del Don

Editor’s note: I wanted to get this posted much earlier, but I had my first kid recently (well, technically my wife had her), so that’s my excuse for the delay.

National League East

1. Washington Nationals
2. Atlanta Braves (WILD CARD)
3. Philadelphia Phillies
4. New York Mets
5. Miami Marlins

Comments/Fantasy Predictions: Both Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper are top-15 fantasy players, while Dan Haren is a top-25 starting pitcher. Ryan Zimmerman proves to be a better pick than Evan Longoria, while Drew

Fantasy Player Profile: Brandon Belt

Source: Baseball Guys by Ray Flowers

In the fantasy game, if a first baseman hit 16 homers and stole 15 bases, you’d be interested right? Well it turns out those are the numbers posted by the Giants’ Brandon Belt during his two seasons in San Francisco. Due to the way he has been utilized by the team in those two seasons he’s only been able to accrue

Injuries & Accusations

Source: Baseball Guys by Ray Flowers

The 2013 major league baseball season is about to begin, so now is a great time to touch on two topics that are in the news on a daily basis – injured players and those that might be guilty of PED use.

WORKING WITH THE INJURY BUG

Corey Hart.

Can 2012 Top National League Rookies Build On Their Success?

Source: Fantasy Baseball Dugout by BeeZee

If you are getting ready for fantasy baseball season, here are some tips about last year’s top fantasy baseball rookies in the National League.

Bryce Harper was the big National League rookie name going into the 2012 season and he ended up winning NL Rookie of the Year, but the four other players who finished in the top five could also have bright fantasy futures. 

Bryce Harper, Outfielder, Washington Nationals

Harper scored 98 runs with 18 steals while hitting 22 homers and batting .270. The only other players to reach all those numbers were Ryan Braun, Mike Trout and Andrew McCutcheon. And Harper did it as a

Mostly MLB Notes: Why to target Marco Estrada, Carlos Gomez and Yu Darvish

Source: Roto Arcade by Dalton Del Don

Marco Estrada is hardly a “sleeper” who’s going to be super cheap, but he’s someone to target nevertheless. First the bad news: he gave up 18 homers over 138.1 innings last year, which is hardly ideal. This was accompanied by a 10.5 HR/FB%, so there was nothing fluky about it either. But this crazy high HR rate didn’t come with a solid 3.64 ERA and strong 1.14 WHIP by accident, as Estrada also posted a 143:29 K:BB ratio. If he had qualified, his 25.4 K% would have tied for third best in all of baseball, and among those in the top-10 in that category, his accompanying 5.2 BB% would have easily been the lowest. Not only that, his 18.0 IFFB% would have also been the highest among all starters. This is a

Fantasy Baseball 2013: First Base Primer

Source: Roto Arcade by Andy Behrens

First base has always been a power position, dating back to the days when your great-great-grandfather owned Dan Brouthers* in his 4X4 league down at the Elks Lodge.

Last year, 27 different major league players reached the 30-homer plateau, and nine of them had first base eligibility. Eighteen hitters drove in at least 100 runs, and seven were first basemen. The average top-20 player at this position in 2012 delivered 80 runs, 28 homers and 95 RBIs while hitting .288. If you somehow fail to pile up power stats at first — not easy to do, but possible — then hopefully you'll invest in Bautista, Stanton, Cabrera or some other elite power

Votto commits to Team Canada for 2013 WBC - Joey Votto | CIN

Source: Rotoworld Baseball

Joey Votto has officially committed to Team Canada for the 2013 World Baseball Classic.

Neftali Soto (1B-CIN)

Source: TG Fantasy Baseball

Listed on the Reds' 40-man roster as a first baseman, Neftali Soto's path to the Major Leagues is about as unclear as any. With franchise player Joey Votto under contract until after the 2023 season, Soto has a small chance of seeing consistent playing time in Cincinnati at first base.. Listed on the Reds' 40-man roster as a first baseman, Neftali Soto's path to the Major Leagues is about as unclear as any. With franchise player Joey Votto under contract until after the 2023 season, Soto has a small chance of seeing consistent playing time in Cincinnati at first base. Source: http://mlb.mlb.com

Joey Votto: WBC Status Undecided

Source: RotoWire.com MLB

Joey Votto: Votto is still undecided about playing for Team Canada in the World Baseball Classic, the Cincinnati Enquirer reports. Visit RotoWire.com for more analysis on this update.

Utilizing The Utility Slot

Source: Fake Teams by Brian Creagh

It was the 4th round of my inaugural 20-team, dynasty league draft, and I nabbed Mark Teixeira. The click of the "Draft" button couldn't have felt worse as I asked myself "Did I just make a giant mistake?" Not only did I just grab a 33-year old 1B coming off an injury-riddled campaign, but I prematurely fired the extra bullet every armchair GM is given. I locked in my Utility spot in the 4th Round. I hate Mark Teixeira. Joey Votto was my first choice as I planned to compete in the 2013 season and the selection of Teixeira meant I had no leniency in the positions I drafted from here on out. I convinced myself I was in trouble. Going forward I would have to draft based on need and not by the best player available. So as the

Underrated Players in OPS Leagues

Source: Razzball by grey@razzball.com (Grey Albright)

As suggested by you (yes, you!), I’m long overdue in covering a batch of “good” OPS values, as Better Than Ezra would say. To be Frank Francisco with you, I’m going to hit you with a chair, if by chair I mean knowledge. I’m not going to restate some players I’ve recently fawned over, like David Ortiz, Josh Willingham, Corey Hart, Ike Davis,

Mostly MLB Notes: Debating 1st round decisions, hyping Cliff Lee and defending my LABR team

Source: Roto Arcade by Dalton Del Don

There are a handful of outfielders worthy of being taken in the first round even after Mike Trout and Ryan Braun are off the board, all of whom should be valued similarly. I’m personally taking Matt Kemp first in this tier, as he’s one season removed from a .324-39-115-126-40 campaign and finished April with 12 homers and a .417/.490/.893 line over 23 games last year. But injuries derailed the rest of his season and coming off serious shoulder surgery that repaired a detached labrum and rotator cuff damage, he’s certainly not without risk. Andrew McCutchen is likely off the board next in most leagues, and it’s tough to argue after he posted a

Draft Strategy: Showdown: Pujols vs. Votto

Source: Rotoworld Baseball Articles

Albert Pujols or Joey Votto? Two Rotoworld writers take sides and debate.

Are Your Expectations Reasonable?

Source: Baseball Guys by Ray Flowers

Today I’m going to break down a handful of players an attempt to refute the prevailing wisdom about at least one aspect of their game. Hopefully the piece will be a thought provoking one, even if you disagree with my conclusions.

Robinson Cano‘s Power
Cano hit 33 homers last season, the first time

Joey Votto will play for Canada in WBC - Joey Votto | CIN

Source: Rotoworld Baseball

Joey Votto will play for Canada in the World Baseball Classic.

2013 Rankings: First Basemen

Source: Fantasy Baseball 365

Next up in the positional rankings is first base. The position offers a lot of offensive talent, young and old. Players will be drafted out of this player pool to fill more than first base, they'll also fill corner infield spots and utility positions as well. 

Rank First Name Last Name Organization 1 Albert Pujols Angels 2 Joey Votto Reds 3 Prince Fielder Tigers 4 Edwin Encarnacion Blue

Pressing Questions: The Cincinnati Reds

Source: Roto Arcade by Andy Behrens

Cincinnati has claimed the N.L. Central flag in two of the past three seasons, winning 97 games last year, and this team has to be considered the favorite to take the division title in 2013. Last year's pitching staff was outstanding, ranking fourth in MLB in team ERA (3.34), third in WHIP (1.23) and fourth in quality starts (98) — crazy numbers when you consider the fact that Great American Ball Park is among the most hitter-friendly (and power-friendly) environments in baseball.

The Reds have added Shin-Soo Choo to the lineup this season, presumably in the lead-off spot, giving the team a table-setter with respectable speed, pop, and on-base skills (.381 career OBP). Choo will be followed in the batting order by

Player Profile: Dan Uggla

Source: Baseball Guys by Ray Flowers

Dan Uggla hit an unacceptable .220 last season for the Braves. Unfortunately for him, that seems to be the only number anyone ever looks at. Consider the following data points.

Were you aware that Uggla’s 19 homers were the 5th best in baseball for second baseman? That’s if we slot

Fantasy Baseball 2013 Head-to-Head Points League Rankings: First Base

Source: Fake Teams by Alex Kantecki

Last Friday, I released my first set of Head-to-Head Points League Rankings here at Fake Teams, giving you my top 20 catchers. Today I do the same thing, giving you my top 20 first basemen.

Surprisingly and maybe even shockingly, it wasn't Albert Pujols, Joey Votto or Prince Fielder who led all first basemen in points in 2012. No, that honor belonged to

Fantasy Baseball 2013 Head-to-Head Points League Rankings: First Basemen

Source: Fake Teams by Alex Kantecki

Last Friday, I released my first set of Head-to-Head Points League Rankings here at Fake Teams, giving you my top 20 catchers. Today I do the same thing, giving you my top 20 first basemen.

Surprisingly and maybe even shockingly, it wasn't Albert Pujols, Joey Votto or Prince Fielder who led all first basemen in points in 2012. No, that honor belonged to

2013 FSTA LEAGUE

Source: Baseball Guys by Ray Flowers

In 2011 I was the FSTA Champion even though I selected Carl Crawford in the first round (he appeared in just 130 games hitting .255 with 65 runs and 18 steals in his worst season of more than 100 games played.). In 2012 I had another first round selection fail to live up to expectations as

Joey Votto: Reportedly Fully Recovered From Knee Injury

Source: RotoWire.com MLB

Joey Votto: Votto has fully recovered from the knee injury that cost him nearly two months last season, according to John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer. Visit RotoWire.com for more analysis on this update.

Player Profile: Evan Longoria

Source: Baseball Guys by Ray Flowers

Evan Longoria is currently the face of the Rays’ franchise, and he has been setup to be the face of the franchise, forever. Longoria and the Rays agreed on a six year contract extension for $100 million. It’s bigger than that though. Longoria has one year remaining on his entry level deal, then he”ll make $47.5 million from 2014-16 before the six year extension kicks in that will play him $100 million from 2017-22. In the end, the deals break down as 14 years and $147.5 million.

The State of the First Base Position

Source: Fake Teams by bretsayre

You're going to see a lot of information this week on individual first basemen, whether it's player profiles, rankings or prospect information. But before we get into those specifics, it can be very helpful to take a step back. The idea behind this State of the Position series, which will run at the beginning of each week of coverage, is to give you a sense of what to expect from the position as a whole in various types of leagues.

The Overview

2012 was a down year for the first base position, both at the star-level and as far as depth is concerned. Joey Votto got hurt and then decided to stop hitting for power when he returned.

OPS Fantasy Leagues: 2012 First Basemen Review

Source: Razzball by grey@razzball.com (Grey Albright)

Here is a look at the value of first basemen over the past season in OPS fantasy leagues. This is not meant to be a ranking so much as adding a lens to illustrate their relative value with OPS as a component. They are listed from highest to lowest OPS. Note that I only included players with at least 300 plate appearances in 2012.

The Top Ten

Joey Votto – His .337/.474/.567 line is insane and his 1.041 OPS was a career high. I’ve continued to be impressed with his incredibly increasing walk rate: 12.9% in 2009, 14.0% in 2010, 15.3% in 2011, and 19.8% in 2012. I expect him to continue to remain an elite OPS player and potentially league leader in OBP.

Edwin

Yonder Alonso (1B-SD)

Source: TG Fantasy Baseball

What the Cincinnati Reds Should Do with Neftali Soto in 2013: Fan's Forecast (Yahoo! Contributor Network). When the Cincinnati Reds shipped off Yonder Alonso to the San Diego Padres, many people thought they were crazy to give up such a great young prospect at first base. He was expendable primarily because he was blocked at first base by perennial MVP candidate Joey Votto and also because the also had Neftali Soto. This young kid had a huge year in 2011 and struggled a little bit in 2012. Still, he gave the Reds plenty of options to make the trade. Now with Soto the clear number two man on the totem pole, fans are starting to ask what the Reds will do with him in 2013. Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com

2012 Positional Review – First Base

Source: Baseball Guys by Ray Flowers

Now that the 2012 season is over, it’s time to review how my predictions went for each position in fantasy baseball. To that end, I will review my top-10 at each position and give a brief rundown on how each of the ten performed. I’ll also list which player was a “Hit” (someone who lived up to expectations) as well as a “Miss” (the player who simply failed to impress).

Note: All of these rankings are taken from the

Reds sign Dusty Baker to two-year extension - Joey Votto | CIN

Source: Rotoworld Baseball

The Reds finalized a two-year contract extension with manager Dusty Baker on Monday afternoon.

Joey Votto: Acknowledges Knee Limited Power

Source: RotoWire.com MLB

Joey Votto: Though Votto hit .389 in the NLDS against the Giants, he didn't have an extra-base hit. In fact, he hasn't homered since June, and acknowledged that his knee was a factor towards that, the Cincinnati Enquirer reports. "Physically, it was frustrating," Votto said. "I did the very best I could with what I had. I know a lot of people are frustrated with the power. If I can't do certain things, I try to fill in with other things. I tried to get on base more for the guys behind me." Visit RotoWire.com for more analysis on this update.

Dusty Baker expected back with Reds in 2013 - Joey Votto | CIN

Source: Rotoworld Baseball

Reds general manager Walt Jocketty expects manager Dusty Baker to return to the team in 2013.

Top 20 1st Basemen, 2012 Fantasy Baseball

Source: Razzball by grey@razzball.com (Grey Albright)

After drudging through an Andy Dufresne-type tunnel for the top 20 catchers for 2012 fantasy baseball, I find myself with a group that actually really hurt or helped your team depending on how you drafted. If you went wrong with your 1st baseman, it could kill your season.  Hey, Eric Hosmer, no hard feelings from me.  We are totally fine.  Please enjoy these cyanide pills I made special for you.  If you went right, you might’ve won your league.  To recap, this final ranking is from our Fantasy Baseball Player Rater with my comments.  Anyway, here’s the top 20 1st basemen for

MLB: The Final Friday

Source: Baseball Guys by Ray Flowers

The Dodgers gave Andre Ethier a 5-year, $85 million deal signaling that he is one of the building blocks of their offense. Then we get this. Manager Don Mattingly said the following about Ethier’s inability to hit left-handed pitching. “I can say all day long that I think he’s capable of hitting against lefties, but if the numbers keep telling us that maybe he can’t, then we have to go a different route,” he said. I’m not going to disagree with Mattingly because he’s right. Ethier is

Mailbag: September27, 2012

Source: Baseball Guys by Ray Flowers

All of pomp and circumstance around Mike Trout, who is hitting .259 in September and .274 over his last 51 games by the way, has obscured the great season that Bryce Harper has had. Harper hit his 20th homer to become just the second teenager in the history of the game to reach that mark (Tony Conigliaro pulled off the trick with 24 bombs in 1964). Add in his 17 steals, and the guy has damn near gone 20/20… as a teenager. Harper has also scored 93 times

OPS Fantasy Leagues: Surprisingly High Sluggers

Source: Razzball by grey@razzball.com (Grey Albright)

This week I was curious to look at what I call surprisingly high sluggers. No, I’m not talking about Geovany Soto. These are players who have at least a .500 slugging this year and fewer than 20 home runs. In order to try to limit some of the outliers, I only looked at players who had at least 300 plate appearances this year. They are listed from highest to lowest slugging.

Joey Votto – Too bad he had to miss a month and a half due to injuries. He was well on his way an extremely productive season, since he posted the highest OPS of his career in 2012. Earlier in the year I talked about how his walk rate was improving and he’s managed to maintain that improvement for the entire year. Just look at his walk

Joey Votto: Gets a Break Thursday

Source: RotoWire.com MLB

Joey Votto: Votto is not in the lineup for Thursday's game against the Cubs, according to MLB.com's Mark Sheldon. Visit RotoWire.com for more analysis on this update.

Taking A Closer Look at First Base for 2013: Goldschmidt, Hart and Davis

Source: Fake Teams by Alex Kantecki

Coming into the 2012 season, first base looked so deep. Weren’t quick enough to snag Albert Pujols or Joey Votto? No problem. Missed out on Miguel Cabrera or Prince Fielder? No biggie.

As the season winds down, those who failed to land one of the big boys probably regret selecting Eric Hosmer or Michael Cuddyer