We made it.  One week down.  Baseball is officially one-thirtieth of the way complete.  We've been greeted by some surprise statistics, some unlikely heroes, and a handful of breakout stars in the making.  Led by Justin Upton and his 6 homers, Chris Davis' 17 RBI, and Clayton Kershaw's game winning homer taking a back seat to his 0.00 ERA and 16 K's through 16 innings; 2013 is underway.  It will be a long season of surprises, twists, and turns.  You will look at stats of hundreds upon hundreds of guys over the course of 162 games.  And we're here to try and help make some sense of it, and to help make your add/drop questions easier.  Onto the notes.


Add 'em:

• Mark Reynolds 1b/3b - You know exactly what to expect with Reynolds, power numbers.  Only this year he's seemed to found his stroke early: 4HR, 8RBI this week.
• Dexter Fowler OF - Why is he owned in less than 80% of Y! leagues?  Over his last 481 AB's (since start of 2012) - .304/79R/17HR/58RBI/13SB.
• Will Middlebrooks 3b - Another guy owned in less than 80% Y!.  Hitting the cover off of the ball in Beantown. 19 HR and 62 RBI in his first 292 professional AB's.
• Jed Lowrie SS - Owned in just 71% of Y! leagues at a power thin position.  19 HR over his last 366 AB's.  That prorates into about 28 HR over a full season.
• Justin Masterson SP - Took a step back for 2012, but looks dominant this season.  2-0 with 13K over 13IP.
• Glen Perkins CL - Looked sharp in his first three outings of 2013.  Owned in 80% of Y! leagues, has a W and two SV so far.  No hits or walks over three innings, either.
• Paul Maholm SP - Has been stuck on some terrible teams in the past, but has an ERA right around 3.60 over the past two plus seasons.  Could finally put it together this year and finish with 16-9 3.50 ERA 1.20 WHIP off of your waiver wire.  50% in Y!

Drop 'em:

•  Ryan Vogelsong SP - We weren't too high on the 36 year old to begin with, but looked very hittable in his first outing.  Drop him and add someone trending the other way.
• John Axford CL - Another guy we weren't too high on for 2013. Cut bait and look for the next solid MRP to step up and grab some saves. 
  
• Jose Veras CL - He's a 32 year old reliever with 5 career saves and a career ERA over 4.00, closing for perhaps the worst team in MLB history.  Why is he owned in 45%?
• Alfonso Soriano OF - He looks like he's 37.  It's early, but through one week - 0R, 0HR, 0RBI and a .382 OPS.  You can do better.
• Dustin Ackley 1b/2b - You should count your losses now if you drafted him.  Hitting .220 since start of 2012, and has just one hit this year.  Should not be owned in 45%.

Watch 'em:

• Daniel Murphy 1b/2b - Teetered on the .300 line over the last two years with little power.  Smacked two homers in 2013 already, so could finally prove useful this year.
• Justin Maxwell OF - Had the power last year with no average.  Working on the latter in 2013.  Might be a glimmer of hope in Houston.
• Vinnie Pestano RP - Has looked better than Perez over a small sampling this season.  Is option 1-B in Cleveland.  Could help your team, regardless of save chances.
• David Robertson RP - Owned in just 23% of Y! leagues and should take over if the 44 year old Rivera goes down again.  Has 183 K's over his last 129.2 IP.
• Miguel Gonzalez SP - Equipped with a 94 MPH heater, owner of a 3.22 career ERA and a 10-4 major league record, this 28 year old post-hype-sleeper looks primed to succeed in 2013.

2012 delivered us a quick four game World Series, rendering the San Fransisco Giants champions, led by Kung-Fu Panda Pablo Sandoval, Marco Scutaro and Matt Cain.  Our prediction of an Angels/Reds World Series fell short of expectations, but the Reds indeed broke out with a solid season.  We had pegged the Angels/Yankees/Red Sox/Tigers/Rangers in the A.L.  Instead we saw the Yankees/Orioles/Tigers/Rangers/A's in the playoffs.  The Orioles young talent carried them to the post-season, led by young gun Adam Jones.  The A's came out of nowhere led by some phenomenal young aces on the mound.  We had even referred to them as a AAA team last April, and their play stunned many throughout the baseball world.  In the N.L we fared worse than hitting 60% of our guesses before the season began.  We, like some, completely overvalued the one-hit-wonder Miami Marlins.  The Phillies proved us liars, and so did the Diamondbacks.  We hope this seasons predictions are a little bit closer - but then again baseball, as we all know, is a long season.  Let's hope 2013 brings as much excitement as 2012.

A.L East

1. Toronto Blue Jays

2. Boston Red Sox

3. Baltimore Orioles

4. Tampa Bay Rays

5. New York Yankees

Our bold prediction for the 2013 season is that the Yankees finish last in the A.L. East for the first time since 1990, when they ended up behind the lowly Miluakee Brewers in the East.  The Red Sox should be glad to have John Farrell back.  We also think the Orioles and Rays take a step back this year.  The Jays look very strong.

A.L. Central

1. Detroit Tigers

2. Kansas City Royals

3. Chicago White Sox

4. Cleveland Indians

5. Minnesota Twins

The Tigers should once again compete heavily after Torii Hunter and Victor Martinez join an already-scary lineup.  They Royals prove themselves, finally, this year.  The White Sox just keep getting older and slower, while the Indians and Twins should have a tough time topping this division once again.  Drew Stubbs and Nick Swisher are not the answers in Cleveland.  The White Sox will really miss A.J. Pierzynski's clubhouse presence.

A.L. West

1. Los Angeles Angels

2. Seattle Mariners

3. Oakland A's

4. Texas Rangers

5. Houston Astros

Anytime you can replace the likes of Kendrys Morales and Torii Hunter with Josh Hamilton you're sitting pretty.  The Angels have a video-game team, and should they stay healthy will make a run at a championship.  The Mariners have certainly improved, and the A's have a scary pitching staff that is also one of the youngest in baseball.  The Astros ARE a AAA team.

N.L. East

1. Washington Nationals

2. Atlanta Braves

3. Philadelphia Phillies

4. New York Mets

5. Miami Marlins

We give a slight edge to the Nationals this season, thanks in part to some key off-season aquisitions, read: Haren, Span, Soriano and a healthy Werth. (Not that the Uptons are bad pickups for Atlanta.)  The Braves could be one of the best Wild Card teams we've seen in years.  The Phillies continue to resist young talent, and continue to age (Utley and Halladay anyone?)  The Mets will keep rebuilding, as they are perpetually looking for guys to surround David Wright with.  The Marlins are a joke and are difficult to take seriously right now.

N.L Central

1. Cincinnatti Reds

2. St. Louis Cardinals

3. Miluakee Brewers

4. Pittsburgh Pirates

5. Chicago Cubs

Once again, we're going with the Reds.  The N.L. Central could be a sneaky-tough division in 2013.  The Reds replace average-black-hole Drew Stubbs with a much more patient Shin-Soo Choo to a lineup that already includes Votto, Phillips, and Jay Bruce.  The Cardinals keep getting younger and more talented, and we like what we see.  Allen Craig is a legitimate threat at the plate.  The Brewers have a nice pitching staff.  The Pirates didn't do much this offseason to help themselves over the hump, and the Cubbies are easily the worst team in this division.

N.L. West

1. Colorado Rockies

2. San Fransisco Giants

3. Los Angeles Dodgers

4. Arizona Diamondbacks

5. San Diego Padres

The Rockies are the suprise team this season.  We think they could put it all together.  CarGo and Tulo both look healthy.  Dexter Fowler is a pure hitter and will keep getting better.  The Giants follow up thier championship season with a Wild Card showing in 2013.  The Dodgers are a team full of seperate parts and clubhouse cancers.  We just don't see this team keeping it all together.  The loss of Justin Upton will hurt the D'Backs, but they have a fully stocked pantry full of young talent waiting to blossom.  The Padres have no superstar players, and the Headley injury hurt thier chances.

AL Wild card: 
Red Sox over Royals

A.L. Divisional:

Tigers over Red Sox

Angels over Blue Jays

A.L. Championship:

Angels over Tigers


N.L. Wild Card:

Braves over Giants

N.L. Divisional:

Reds over Braves

Nationals over Rockies

N.L. Championship

Reds over Nationals


World Series:

Reds over Angels

W.S. MVP - Jay Bruce with some clutch hitting.



N.L. MVP - Matt Kemp

A.L. MVP - Mike Trout

N.L. Cy Young - Clayton Kershaw

A.L. Cy Young - David Price

N.L. R.O.Y. - Shelby Miller

A.L. R.O.Y. - Wil Myers

N.L. Comeback - Ryan Howard

A.L. Comeback - Jon Lester

N.L. Coach - Walt Weiss

A.L. Coach - John Farrell