Potpourri of Thoughts

I'm a bit late the party here, but a few weeks back, Dave Cameron at FanGraphs.com put together his annual "Top 50 MLB Trade Value" articles (there are about 10 in total, but here is the recap). His goal is rank the 50 players with the highest trade value while taking into account contracts (full intro here).

Overall, Cameron does an excellent job, but I have a few qualms.

-Prince Fielder belongs in the top 25. Prince has 141 home runs in the equivalent of four seasons while maintaining a career OPS+ of 136. Sure, he's not fleet of foot, but he plays a passable first base.

-David Price does not. Were his 19.2 innings in 2008 (5.2 in the playoffs) really enough to warrant the rating he has received? I don't buy it. Plus, he's not all that cheap since he was signed to a ML contract after being drafted.

-Gordon Beckham belongs in the Top 40. Beckham made his ML debut one year after being drafted. He has become a fixture at the hot corner and has impressed from Day 1.

-Joba Chamberlain does not. Joba has been a product of the New York media hype. His results have been far from overwhelming.

-Josh Beckett belongs above Dan Haren, not 28 slots below him. Color me mystified at this one. Beckett has two rings.

-Clay Bucholz should not be on this list. Perhaps in time he will prove to be more than a AAAA player, but right now what separates him from Homer Bailey aside from the hype and the no hitter (admittedly, no small feat)?

-Matt Wieters has to do a whole lot more to earn top 6 status. I understand he is a switch-hitting catcher but let's relax a bit before crowning him a Hall of Famer.

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Best Quote of the MLB Trade Season:

"Frankly, I am flabbergasted that the White Sox would want to make this deal with him in his physical condition." -Agent Barry Axelrod in reference to his injured client Jake Peavy

White Sox fans rejoice... or not.

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MLB Post-Waiver Deal That Make Sense:

Houston trades Miguel Tejada to Boston for prospects. As the Astros fall in the standings, it makes sense for them to dump salary. Tejada has been fantastic this season with the stick and fits in perfectly with the Red Sox as a plodding runner and subpar defensive player.

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Beginning on Tuesday, I will be taking part in a 2010 Mock Fantasy Baseball Draft on FantasyBallJunkie.com.

Assumptions:

-10 team snake draft.
-5x5 roto format.
-Each team will draft nine batters (one utility player), four starting pitchers and a closer.

We will go through two rounds per day for the next seven days.

Check back to see what you think of my team.

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Sneak preview

Here's my Top-20

1. Albert Pujols
2. Hanley Ramirez
3. Miguel Cabrera
4. Chase Utley
5. Alex Rodriguez
6. Ryan Braun
7. Mark Teixeira
8. Justin Morneau
9. Evan Longoria
10. Prince Fielder
11. Tim Lincecum
12. David Wright
13. Jose Reyes
14. Carl Crawford
15. Ian Kinsler
16. Matt Kemp
17. Ichiro
18. Grady Sizemore
19. Matt Holliday
20. Ryan Howard