The Hot N Cold Fantasy Baseball All-stars for @FP911

The Hot N Cold Fantasy Baseball All-stars for Fantasy Pros 911: http://fp911.com/the-hot-n-cold-fantasy-baseball-all-stars-2/.

Your All-stars: Nolan Remiold, Shelley Duncan, Casey Kotchman, Jordan Schafer, A.J. Pierzynski, Cody Ross, Chase Headley, Kyle Drabek, Joe Saunders, Danny Duffy, Ross Detwiler, Brandon McCarthy, Matt Moore, Daniel Bard, Jay Bruce, Matt Joyce, Nick Markakis and more roto knowledge!

Baseball Daily Digest Radio featuring myself and Joel Henard from 1.23

Baseball Daily Digest Radio with Joel Henard and Albert Lang from January 23. http://www.blogtalkradio.com/thefantasyinsiders/2012/01/24/baseball-daily-digest-radio-with-joel-henard-and-albert-lang

We’ll talk: Ryan Braun, Roto, Fantasy Baseball, Gary Carter, Maro Scutaro, the Red Sox, Nick Markakis, Manny Ramirez, Tim Lincecum, Carlos Pena, Fausto Carmona, Michael Morse, Ryan theriot, Yu Darvish, Prince Fielder, Edwin jackson, Roy Oswalt, BJ Upton, Desmond Jennings, Michael Pineda, Dan Uggla, jason Kipnis, Brandon Phillips, Mike Moustakas, Aramis Ramirez, Mike Trout and more!

Baseball Daily Digest Radio with Joel Henard and Albert Lang from 1.09.12

Baseball Daily Digest Radio with Joel Henard and Albert Lang: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/thefantasyinsiders/2012/01/10/baseball-daily-digest-radio-with-joel-henard-and-albert-lang

We discussed the Hall of Fame results, Barry Larkin, Jeff Bagwell and Jack Morris.

In addition, we focused on  the Cubs latest moves, the fate of the Oakland Athletics, Jorge Posada’s retirement and his Hall of Fame chances, Ryan Braun, Brett Lawrie, the Baltimore Orioles, the Reds 2012 prospects, the Chicago White Sox, Tyler Chatwood, the Phillies line-up issues, the Marlins and Josh Johnson, and went through some fantasy baseball and roto projections/ranks.

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/thefantasyinsiders/2012/01/10/baseball-daily-digest-radio-with-joel-henard-and-albert-lang

Baseball Daily Digest Radio with Joel Henard and Albert Lang at 7:00 PM ET on #HOF

Baseball Daily Digest Radio with Joel Henard and Albert Lang http://www.blogtalkradio.com/thefantasyinsiders/2012/01/10/baseball-daily-digest-radio-with-joel-henard-and-albert-lang.

We’ll talk the Hall of Fame results, Barry Larkin, Jeff Bagwell and Jack Morris. We’ll also talk the Cubs latest moves, the fate of the Oakland Athletics, Jorge Posada’s retirement, Ryan Braun, Brett Lawrie, the Baltimore Orioles, the Reds 2012 prospects, the Chicago White Sox, Tyler Chatwood, the Phillies line-up issues, the Marlins and Josh Johnson, and go through some fantasy baseball and roto projections/ranks

h2h Corner ~ Katy Perry (Hot ‘N’ Cold Fantasy Baseball) All-Stars

Katy Perry and her awesome song “E.T.” remained atop the Billboard Charts for fifth week in a row. There is a competitor mounting though in Britney Spears. Her tune, “Till the World Ends,” got a huge bump based on rumors of a potential remix with Nicki Minaj and Ke$ha. Yes that is the most ridiculous sentence I have ever written.

Still, there’s a lesson in the inanity. If you’re in first, you need to scrape and claw to maintain it. If you’re behind the leader, it doesn’t hurt to remix your roster a bit…as long as you’re bringing on the likes of a Ke$ha.

Remember, players get hot and cold over a seven-day period, it’s as sure as the samples are small.

That is why Katy created the Hot ‘N’ Cold All-stars.

‘Cause you’re hot…you’re yes…you’re in…you’re up

Matt Joyce – It’s hard to beat an 8/16 with two HRs seven-day stretch. He was like the Brave Ulysses if you ask me (man that was awful). Still, those were the first homers of the season for Joyce, who is somewhat underwhelming in the power department. In 98 plate appearances this year his isolated power is .161,

h2h Corner ~ Check You Out On the Flip Side: Nick Markakis

I love the back of this card. That said, I’m not quite sure that being able to “hit like crazy, run well, swallow up everything in right field (and where was Anna Benson?) and throw 90-mph-plus” is unique to Markakis. Although it should be noted that he was viewed as much as a pitching prospect as a hitter…and was drafted two times before being selected #7 overall by the Orioles in 2003.

While chin balancing is not unique (I have a friend who can balance almost anything as well, although he specializes in lacrosse sticks), it’s cool. In the grand scheme of things Markakis appears to be a down to earth guy who loves playing baseball and goofing around. The fact that he wanted to share the chin balancing factoid on his 2010 Topps card makes me like him a lot more – anytime I see players being “kids” or at least normal (and not approaching the game like a job, even though it is) warms my heart like apple pie a la mode. There’s something wholly sweet and honest about it, and I give kudos to Markakis for it.

Outside of the above, I have a hard time thinking/writing about Markakis – and it took awhile to write the above and even select this card for Flip Side inclusion.

Quite simply, I’ve expected so much of him given his early success and high draft pedigree that his plateau has left me disenchanted. On the other hand, he’s a great teammate and a phenomenal person – he and his wife have truly embraced Maryland (my home state) and really give back.

Since reaching the majors in 2006 at 22, Markakis has been a full time player. In his second full season he would hit 23 HRs, steal 18/24 bases and post a .300/.362/.485 line. He’d follow that up with arguably his best year (20 HRs and a .306/.406/.491 line). Clearly his 2008 (5.5 WAR) during which he walked 99 times would be the turning point in his career. Right?

Well, I hope not. Since 2008, Markakis’ slugging has dropped off significantly and he isn’t walking as much as one would like. Still, we must remember that Markakis will only be 27 during the 2011 season. I think people (especially myself) have expected too much too fast of Markakis.

He does own a .298/.368/.463 line in five full seasons with 89 HRs and has accumulated 18.3 WAR. For comparison sake, Carl Yastrzemski, by age 26, had played six relatively full seasons. Entering his age 27th season, Yaz had a .293/.373/.458 line with 95 HRs. Yaz had been worth 21.2 WAR at this point.

At 26, Yaz hit 16 HRs. At 26, Markakis hit 12 HRs. At 27, Yaz hit 44 and would average 37 a year for the next four seasons. I’m not saying Markakis will be Yaz, I’m just saying that the book isn’t closed on Markakis.

Maybe we’ll see Markakis stand on his head over the next few years. A Markakis in his prime makes the Orioles line-up pretty dynamic…

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h2h Corner ~ Keep, Trade or Drop: Adam Lind, Shin-soo Choo, Nick Markakis?

Adam Lind shed the AAAA label in overwhelming fashion (35 HRs, a .305 AVE and a .370 OBP) in 2009. What’s more, those numbers are not out of line with his minor league stats (.318 AVE, .380 OBP and a .509 SLG percentage). Still the 35 HRs might be a bit high for a line drive hitter like Lind. However, he should settle in the 30 HR area with real upside to the mid- to high-30s. Lind will be 27 in July, so he was a bit old for his “break-out” year, but, all that means, is he is just entering his prime. The only real concern with Lind is if he eventually moves out of the outfield and becomes a utility or fist basemen in your fantasy line-up. He has more value as an outfielder.