Thursday, March 31, 2011

Grads And Scrubs Preseason Rankings

The Grads and Scrubs League had its draft last Friday, and now it's time to evaluate each team's chances this year. In order to form a preseason ranking, I had each team owner submit their own rankings. I then compiled the results and entered them into the table below.

In order to keep it simple, the number of votes garnered at each spot is listed in the table. Points are awarded per vote at each spot and then added together to get the total. The lowest total is the #1 ranked team. For example: Team Daugherty received four 1st place votes (4 points), four 2nd place votes (8 points), two 3rd place votes (6 points), and one 5th place vote (5). Those are then added together to get the total of 23.

Click on each owner's name to see their team roster.


1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th
9th
10th
11th
12th
Total
4
4
2

1







23
1
3
1

2
2
1

1

1

59
2
1

2
3

3



1

59
    1
    1
2
4


1
    1
1
       1


59
    1
2

1
     2
2


2
1


59
1

2
1
1
3

    2

1
1

71

1
2
1

     1

2
    3


2
85
1


1
    2


3

       1
      3
1
94




1
2
    3
2
2

1
1
95


2



3
1
1
       3

2
100


1
1

1

    1
1
5
2

102



1


1

1

2
6
104



The results were very interesting, and they support my pre-draft belief that the teams would be very even. As evidenced by the voting, owners had far ranging views of many teams. The biggest differences of opinion involved Mike's team. He received four votes placing him in the top four, but then also received two last place votes. Multiple other teams had a vote range spanning from top three to bottom three. It will be interesting to see which sides end up being correct.

With four teams tied for second place, it should be a fierce battle for the top three spots. Hopefully the owners will realize that in fantasy baseball, leagues are not won or lost on draft day. An active and intelligent owner can overcome almost anything by making smart trades and pickups.

We encourage you to leave your opinions of the teams in the comment sections.

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Breakout Predictions For 2011

As the days count down to baseball season, the time has come to start making predictions for the upcoming season. The first entry will focus on Ronnie and me each choosing a breakout player. For our purposes, breakout will be defined as a player making the jump into stardom.

John's Pick
Jay Bruce - OF 
Cincinnati Reds

Long heralded as a top prospect, Jay Bruce has been a bit of a mystery since being called up in 2008. Now, keep in mind that Bruce was only 21 when he made his big league debut, and he will turn 24 in a couple of weeks. When you take his age into account, the past three years haven't been disappointing at all, but he is capable of much more. Prior to his call-up, Bruce had drawn rave reviews since being drafted 12th overall in 2005, and Baseball America even ranked him as their top overall prospect. 

Bruce had a strong rookie season, but he ran into the dreaded sophomore slump the next year. Not only did he struggle at the plate, but he also suffered a fractured wrist which caused him to miss the end of the season. After struggling to begin the year, Bruce exploded onto the scene in the second half of 2010. In 210 second-half plate appearances, Bruce amassed a .306/.376/.575 line (AVG/OBP/SLG). 

One of the key steps in the development process for a left-handed hitter is to learn to hit left-handed pitching. Hitters that struggle in that department often struggle to find consistency in the big leagues because opposing managers will continuously throw lefty relievers at them in the final innings of games. For the first time in his career, Bruce was very productive against left-handed pitching. From 2008-2009, Bruce hit .200/.288/.297 against lefties, but in 2010 he saw those numbers jump to .277/.352/.547. 

Along with the improvement against lefties, Bruce also notched a 7.1% increase in his line drive rate from 2009 to 2010 (13% to 20.1%) and continued to improve his walk rate. These are all tell-tale signs of a coming breakout campaign. 

The final piece of evidence is the natural progression of Bruce's recovery from his wrist injury. It is common knowledge among the sports medicine community that most hitters take a full 12 months to recover from serious wrist injuries. If you take a look at the date of injury and add the 12 necessary months, Bruce's explosion in August and September makes perfect sense. It coincided almost exactly with him reaching that 12 month recovery period. For a more in depth look, this FanGraphs article compares the distance of Bruce's fly balls pre-surgery, during the 12 month recovery period, and post-recovery. 

As you can see, all the signs point to Jay Bruce having a massive breakout year in 2011. I would not be surprised if he posted a .280/.360/.550 line to go along with 40 homeruns. The crazy thing is that 40 homeruns may not even be his ceiling. Cincinnati fans have a lot to look forward to in the coming years.

Ronnie's Pick
Carlos Santana - C 
Cleveland Indians

Catcher is a deep position this year with an abundance of current, future, and wannabe stars, but Carlos Santana leads the pack. To put his skills into perspective we should keep in mind that Santana was a better prospect than both Matt Wieters and Buster Posey at one point and was ranked higher by the all-knowing Keith Law in his 2010 prospect list. [Editor's Note: The Dodgers brilliantly traded Santana to the Cleveland Indians for Casey Blake solely because the Indians were willing to pick up Blake's salary. One of baseball's most unbalanced trades in the past decade.] 

What sets Santana apart from all other catchers, not named Joe Mauer, is the tremendous plate discipline that he has demonstrated in his brief time in the majors. In 150 plate appearances, Santana compiled 37 BB to just 29 K's for a .406 OBP.

In fact, Santana reached base via walk in 20 percent of his plate appearances. Factor in the ability to hit for power and a decent average and you have a top five catcher with a lot of potential for more. My projection for Santana sits at .285-23-70 with a .387 OBP and a .500 SLG percentage. When all is said and done, Santana is not a player you want to miss out on.

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

A New Basketball Rankings System On The Block

With RPI proving itself to be outdated and almost useless, there has been a mass exodus and a new focus on other NCAA basketball rankings systems. My former Economics professor (Scott Beaulier) has teamed up with one of his colleagues to create the "Dominetrics" rankings system. Before the analysis even begins, it's safe to say that this system rules the roost when it comes to awesome names.

Check out the rankings below (The website for the rankings is here for future reference), and I will make sure to do a post-tournament breakdown of how accurate they were throughout the tournament. Make sure and leave any opinions in the comment section. These things always create a healthy debate.

An in-depth explanation of the formulas can be found here.


RankTeamDominetricConferenceRecommended SeedNCAA Seed
1Kansas337Big 12 Champions11
2Florida332SEC 112
3BYU323Mountain West 113
4North Carolina322ACC 112
5San Diego St.321Mountain West Champions22
6Connecticut316Big East Champions23
7Georgetown315Big East 226
8Ohio State315Big 10 121
9Texas315Big 12 234
10Duke313ACC Champions31
11Kentucky310SEC Champions34
12Pittsburgh302Big East 331
13Notre Dame301Big East 442
14UNLV299Mountain West 348
15Syracuse296Big East 543
16St. John's (NY)287Big East 646
17Vanderbilt287SEC 355
18Purdue286Big 10 253
19Old Dominion277Colonial Champions59
20West Virginia273Big East 755
21Texas A&M272Big 12 367
22Tennessee268SEC 469
23Louisville267Big East 864
24Kansas State266Big 12 465
25Xavier262Atlantic 10 176
26Arizona252Pac 10 175
27Memphis251Conference USA Champions712
28Villanova251Big East 979
29Wisconsin248Big 10 384
30Georgia247SEC 5810
31Washington245Pac 10 Champions87
32Butler240Horizon Champions88
33Colorado State239Mountain West 49
34George Mason238Colonial 298
35Penn State238Big 10 4910
36UAB236Conference USA 2912
37Michigan232Big 10 5108
38Boston College231ACC 310
39Utah State225Western Athletic Champions1012
40Wichita State223Missouri Valley 110
41VCU221Colonial 31111
42Cincinnati220Big East 10116
43St. Mary's (CA)214West Coast 111
44Temple214Atlantic 10 2117
45California211Pac 10 312
46Gonzaga211West Coast Champions1211
47Marshall210Conference USA 312
48Michigan State209Big 10 61210
49Virginia Tech208ACC 413
50UCLA2057
51UCF203
52Cleveland St.202
53Florida St.20210
54Miami (FL)201
55Marquette19911
56Dayton196
57Oakland196Summit Champions1313
58Richmond194Atlantic 10 Champions1312
59Minnesota192
60Southern California19111
61Tulsa187
62Missouri18611
63Oklahoma St.184
64Illinois1839
65Iona178
66Valparaiso177
67Missouri St.175
68Harvard173
69Washington St.173
70East Carolina169
71Indiana St.169Missouri Valley Champions1314
72Clemson16812
73New Mexico166
74UTEP163
75Mississippi162
76Colorado157
77Kent St.153
78Seton Hall151
79Milwaukee150
80Hofstra147
81Long Beach St.143
82Col. of Charleston140
83James Madison140
84Northwestern138
85Drexel128
86Princeton127Ivy Champions1413
87St. Peter's127Metro Atlantic Champions1414
88Utah124
89Wofford124Southern Champions1414
90Miami (OH)123
91Morehead St.120Ohio Valley Champions1413
92Rhode Island120
93Maryland118
94East Tenn. St.111
95Mississippi St.109
96Air Force108
97Baylor108
98IUPUI105
99Oregon105
100UNI100
101Duquesne99
102Rutgers98
103North Carolina St.97
104San Francisco96
105New Mexico St.94
106Rider91
107Robert Morris88
108Boise St.87
109Massachusetts85
110Alabama84
111Bucknell82Patriot Champions1514
112Portland82
113South Fla.81
114Vermont80
115Akron77Mid-American Champions1515
116George Washington77
117St. Bonaventure75
118Delaware69
119Ohio69
120Austin Peay68
121Fla. Atlantic68
122La Salle68
123Oklahoma67
124Oral Roberts67
125South Carolina61
126Nebraska57
127San Jose St.57
128Idaho56
129Murray St.56
130Northern Colorado56Big Sky Champions1515
131Virginia56
132Arizona St.55
133St. Louis54
134Iowa St.53
135North Florida52
136Northeastern52
137St. Joseph's52
138Long Island50Northeast Champions1515
139Wright St.48
140Fairfield46
141Rice44
142UNC Asheville43Big South Champions1616
143Belmont42Atlantic Sun Champions1613
144Furman35
145Georgia Tech34
146Montana34
147Detroit33
148Southern Miss.31
149Sam Houston St.29
150Iowa27
151Wagner25
152UC Santa Barbara24Big West Champions1615
153Arkansas23
154Creighton23
155Evansville23
156Boston U.22America East Champions1616
157Santa Clara22
158Nevada18
159Coastal Caro.17
160Lipscomb16
161Texas Tech11
162Southern U.10
163Stanford10
164Yale10
165Weber St.8
166Green Bay4
167North Texas-1
168UALR-5Sun Belt Champions1616
169Loyola (IL)-6
170Loyola Maryland-7
171American-8
172TCU-8
173Penn-11
174Quinnipiac-15
175Western Ky.-15
176Pacific-19
177Siena-19
178DePaul-20
179South Dakota St.-21
180Cornell-22
181William & Mary-23
182Canisius-24
183Hawaii-25
184LSU-27
185Tennessee Tech-27
186Appalachian St.-33
187Jacksonville-33
188Hampton-35Mid-Eastern Champions1616
189Indiana-35
190Chattanooga-37
191Providence-38
192Davidson-43
193Presbyterian-43
194Arkansas St.-44
195Ball St.-44
196Liberty-46
197Western Mich.-46
198Bradley-47
199Charlotte-48
200Lafayette-48
201Central Conn. St.-49
202Columbia-50
203Western Caro.-50
204Buffalo-52
205IPFW-52
206McNeese St.-54
207Georgia St.-55
208Winthrop-58
209Fordham-61
210Mercer-62
211Oregon St.-63
212Maine-67
213Pepperdine-70
214VMI-71
215Northern Ariz.-72
216Bethune-Cookman-73
217SMU-77
218Fresno St.-79
219Texas St.-79
220Towson-79
221Bryant-81
222Mt. St. Mary's-81
223Wake Forest-86
224UTSA-87Southland Champions1616
225Middle Tenn.-88
226Troy-88
227Drake-94
228Albany (NY)-95
229Texas Southern-96
230Lehigh-97
231Cal Poly-100
232UNC Wilmington-103
233Southern Utah-104
234Loyola Marymount-105
235Tulane-107
236UMKC-107
237Auburn-110
238Wyoming-110
239A&M-Corpus Christi-111
240Houston-113
241UNC Greensboro-113
242Manhattan-116
243Stony Brook-116
244Morgan St.-117
245St. Francis (PA)-118
246Ill.-Chicago-121
247Marist-121
248Southeastern La.-122
249Louisiana Tech-123
250Monmouth-124
251N.C. A&T-124
252Brown-125
253La.-Lafayette-134
254North Dakota St.-134
255UC Riverside-135
256Charleston So.-136
257Tennessee St.-136
258Citadel-140
259Cal St. Northridge-141
260Nicholls St.-142
261St. Francis (NY)-143
262Army-145
263Youngstown St.-145
264Denver-146
265Bowling Green-147
266Gardner-Webb-150
267Stephen F. Austin-150
268High Point-151
269Binghamton-152
270Holy Cross-154
271Eastern Wash.-156
272Idaho St.-156
273Illinois St.-156
274Norfolk St.-156
275Savannah St.-156
276Elon-157
277FIU-159
278Utah Valley-161
279Northwestern St.-162
280Mississippi Val.-163
281San Diego-163
282Montana St.-165
283Samford-167
284Eastern Ky.-169
285Fla. Gulf Coast-169
286Jackson St.-170
287North Dakota-170
288Niagara-171
289S.C. Upstate-171
290Campbell-172
291UT Martin-175
292Dartmouth-176
293Alabama St.-177Southwestern Champions1616
294Coppin St.-179
295Hartford-180
296UC Davis-184
297Sacred Heart-185
298Stetson-187
299UMBC-189
300Navy-194
301South Ala.-197
302Texas-Arlington-201
303N.C. Central-204
304New Hampshire-204
305Colgate-205
306Lamar-209
307Southeast Mo. St.-209
308Portland St.-211
309Eastern Ill.-214
310South Dakota-214
311SIU Edwardsville-216
312Radford-219
313Grambling-222
314Seattle-222
315Kennesaw St.-228
316Southern Ill.-231
317NJIT-232
318Delaware St.-236
319Toledo-236
320UC Irvine-238
321Cal St. Fullerton-239
322Fairleigh Dickinson-240
323Alabama A&M-245
324Central Mich.-245
325La.-Monroe-245
326Md.-East. Shore-246
327Cal St. Bakersfield-247
328Central Ark.-250
329Longwood-250
330Eastern Mich.-252
331Howard-254
332Centenary (LA)-262
333Northern Ill.-266
334Florida A&M-268
335Sacramento St.-272
336Ark.-Pine Bluff-275
337Prairie View-280
338Ga. Southern-282
339Jacksonville St.-284
340Western Ill.-285
341South Carolina St.-302
342Alcorn St.-306
343Chicago St.-307
344Tex.-Pan American-316
345Houston Baptist-331