re: SBL 2013 Spring Training (Keepers 3/17, Slow Draft to follow)

Can we Inaugurate you in the fantasy HOF today? What can we expect about J Kipnis? Somewhere in between the 1st half & 2nd half of his season last yr? Been offered Trumbo for him and both seem in the same boat.
Tristan H. Cockcroft (11:36 AM)

"Somewhere in between" feels like a lame answer most of the time, but for examples like Kipnis it's the truth. I cite the fact that his stats show clear extremes on both sides of the "luck" measures, and he has all of the look of a player in the midst of his early-career adjustment period. But he's such a good power/speed guy at a weak position, give me him over the mostly power-driven Trumbo.



Tristan, what happened to Tommy Hanson? Does Anaheim help him at all?
Tristan H. Cockcroft (11:38 AM)

His average fastball velocity has dropped in each of the past two years to the point it's regularly beneath 90 mph, it has become considerably more hittable as a result, and he's leaning way too much on his slider (which increases the chance of further injury in my opinion). There's a very real chance of statistical implosion; like you pick him as the third or fourth starter on your team, get a month or two of poor production and then he misses much of the rest of the year. I'm avoiding him wherever possible, just because he's trending downward badly.