Colorado Rockies, Detroit Tigers, Florida Marlins and Houston Astros Team Previews

I am thinking about getting together a Yahoo Fantasy Baseball league if anyone would like to join. If there is enough interest I would get one together and there will be more trash talk than in the Football league this year...at least I plan on it. Unfortunately I think any of the talk about our football league went on in the comments here. I was thinking about a 12 team league with Rotisserie scoring rather than head-to-head scoring (unless everyone prefers head-to-head). We have four people who would be interested at this point and I think 12 is a good number, so if there is enough interest email/leave a comment and I will put it together. I was trying to limit the amount of fantasy leagues I was in this year, but screw it, I will go for it anyway.

Today I am previewing 4 more Major League Baseball teams for the 2010 season. I am going to preview the Rockies, Tigers, Marlins and Astros for the upcoming season. Sometimes I mention I have a scale for how many wins I think a team will get in a season. What I do is read the previews of the team and do a little research and then figure up a scale on how many games, the high and low end, this specific team can win and then I go with the number in between there where I think the team fits. I went low on the Chicago Cubs and I went high-er on the D-backs. Anyway, that's what I mean when I talk about my "scale."

First up is the Rockies.

Colorado Rockies

Lineup

The Rockies were a sort of surprise last year because not many people expected them to be as good as they were, especially since they had traded away Matt Holliday for prospects (though major league ready prospects). The Rockies had a good year last year and they are looking good for this year as well. The odds the Rockies are going to miss Garrett Atkins or Yorvit Torrealba are not good because Chris Iannetta and Ian Stewart are probably going to be as equally of good players this year. What I like most about this lineup for the Rockies is they have 4 young guys who I think are going to take a step up this year and hit the baseball well, Dexter Fowler, Carlos Gonzalez, Eric Young Jr. (if he wins the 2nd base job) and Ian Stewart. I think these three guys have gotten some major league experience and are ready to improve their production for this year. Troy Tulowitzki had a bounce back season and Brad Hawpe and Todd Helton still have production left in their bats. This lineup is a nice combination of productive veterans, young guys who could take the leap and relatively young guys who can hit. Throw in how much I like the bench of the Rockies with Mora, Olivo, Giambi (yes, that Giambi), Seth Smith and Spilborghs and I think the Rockies have themselves a pretty good lineup.

Rotation

I was not a big Jason Marquis fan last year. He won baseball games, but I think his production should be equaled and surpassed by Jeff Francis this year with ease. The Rockies are getting their #1 starter from 2008 back this year. They won 92 games without him, so that has to be a positive for Rockies fan. Honestly, I am not in love with the starters past Ubaldo Jimenez and Jeff Francis, but both de la Rosa and Hammel are still relatively young guys and I think they are good enough to pitch as well this year as they did last year. I am not sure if I like the Rockies in a short playoff series or not, but that's getting a little bit ahead of myself. Over a 162 game season they have a good rotation that pitches a lot of innings and win games for the Rockies. I think, this may seem obvious, but the key for this year is how Jeff Francis recovers from missing all of last year. If he comes back in the same form like was before then the Rockies are going to have a great rotation.

Bullpen

Not a whole lot has changed in the Rockies bullpen for this upcoming season. That's not a bad thing. Though many Rockies writers bemoaned the trade of Matt Holliday (Woody Paige especially), I think after realizing that Huston Street isn't all that bad of a closer and Carlos Gonzalez has the potential to be a special hitter these people all came around. The bullpen of the Rockies is going to be in even better shape when Taylor Buchholz returns mid-season. I look for Morales and Corpas to have better seasons than last year and Rafael Betancourt still has some gas left in his tank as well. The only problem I have with this bullpen is there have been some injury problems here (like Huston Street in this preseason) and if those happen again I can't help but wonder if the Rockies will have enough depth in the bullpen to make up for the injuries. Of course that could go for nearly every MLB team.

What I Like

I love the lineup for the Rockies and I love the fact they are bringing back nearly every player that was important to the success of the team last year. The Rockies have young guys in the lineup looking to make "the leap," they are replacing Marquis with a much better pitcher in Francis and the bullpen hasn't changed that much. This team looks as if it poised to have another great year in what should be a competitive NL West. Even if the rotation suffers some injuries the Rockies have some young depth there with Greg Reynolds, Tim Redding and (a name I can't pronounce) Jhouyls Chacin, who seems like from what I have read he could be a special player.

What I Don't Like

There isn't a whole lot I don't like with this Rockies team. I don't like that the offense is built around guys who have been or could be pretty uneven some seasons because of how young they are like, Fowler, Gonzalez, and Stewart...but I see those guys all progressing this year. The starting rotation's traditional numbers (ERA, etc) doesn't look all that impressive but the rotation does consist of pitchers who eat up innings and are overall good pitchers. The only other thing I don't like, which the Rockies can't help, is they are in the NL West, which I believe is going to be a competitive division this year. Of course the Rockies have seemed to be pretty good at reeling off a bunch of wins in a row before, so maybe they could survive a few bad weeks and still win the division.

Final Record

I like this Rockies team. They seem to have all the pieces in place to have another good year. If I was looking for a surprise team that would play well this year, this wouldn't be the team. I expect this team to play well. They have good hitters and they are strengthening their pitching just by having guys come back from injuries. This team has tons of potential and I think they are going to easily be good enough to compete in the NL West and a division crown isn't out of the question. Outside of any circumstances that I am not aware of right now, this Rockies team should be competing for the NL West title and I could easily see them winning it.

Last year: 92-70
This year: 94-68

Detroit Tigers

Lineup

The Tigers are a tough team to figure out because I am not sure if they are done slashing payroll or not. They traded Granderson and Jackson for this purpose (apparently), but then they went out and signed Johnny Damon. I am a little confused by this. I am going to continue this preview with the idea this team is not going to start trading away players if the season starts off poorly. It sounds stupid to say, but this team essentially won the AL Central last year, excusing that late season collapse. They were good enough to win the Central and I wouldn't expect this team to be too far behind that pace. In the lineup, the Tigers got rid of Granderson for Austin Jackson, who it looks like will be handed the starting job in centerfield, and they didn't sign Polanco and he is being replaced by Scott Sizemore. It is going to be hard to think either of the new players can replace the production of Granderson or Polanco. The Tigers still have a solid core in their lineup with perennial MVP candidate Miguel Cabrera anchoring the middle with Ordonez and homerun hitting king (Home run hitting contest joke anyone?) Brandon Inge to support him. Johnny Damon is going to provide the Tigers with a legitimate leadoff hitter and, assuming they keep him all year, I think he still has 1-2 good years left in him. The problem I see with this lineup is there are two unknowns in Sizemore and Jackson that are replacing known, fairly productive players. Sure, if Jackson struggles the Tigers could put Clete Thomas or (maybe) Damon in centerfield and let Ryan Raburn play left field. That would work out well for them. This should be a good lineup still, its always hard when a team loses two guys like Polanco and Granderson.

Rotation

I like the Tigers rotation a lot in spots #1-3. Verlander is a bonafide ace, Porcello could be an ace and I think Scherzer had some bad luck last year in Arizona during his 1st season of really being in the starting rotation. Jeremy Bonderman is more of a mystery to me and so is Nate Robertson. They had some injuries and ineffectiveness last year which puts them as question marks in my mind for this year. Nobody knows what the hell has happened to Dontrelle Willis. I have to be careful because I don't want to piss loyal reader AJ off by talking too badly about his Tigers...I just have questions about the #4 and #5 spots in the rotation. If Jeremy Bonderman bounces back from injury this year then he will easily nail down the #3/#4 spot (I don't know where they will put Scherzer). I am assuming someone out of Willis, Robertson, Bonine and Gallarraga will get the 5th starter spot, but I don't know how effective any of them will be able to be. It's a good rotation but it feels a little top-heavy to me. Of course the top part of the rotation with Verlander and Porcello (assuming he doesn't hit a sophomore slump) is a pretty good start to any rotation.

Bullpen

The bullpen is a question mark for me despite the presence of some guys who can throw the ball well out of the pen. Joel Zumaya has the fastball to be a fantastic closer/set up guy, but he is always injured and he really hasn't had that great of a year except for his rookie year in 2006. Bobby Seay and Phil Coke are two left handed relievers out of the pen, which are always nice to have. Peter King favorite Daniel Schlereth has also been traded to the Tigers from the D-backs and he is another LH guy out of the bullpen. If anything the Tigers bullpen has a question mark in that they don't have a lot of RH relievers, which isn't a huge problem. I like the Tigers bullpen now that they have a legitimate closer in Jose Valverde and Ryan Perry will be in his 2nd season in the big leagues. It's a good bullpen, though I wonder if Zumaya can really stay healthy all season or if Perry will eventually end up with Zumaya's RH set up guy spot.

What I Like

I really like how the Tigers have tried to cut payroll on the fly in a sort of way. Austin Jackson and Scott Sizemore have questions about them simply because they haven't been in the big leagues on a permanent basis. I love the top of the rotation and not many teams in the majors have a guy like Miguel Cabrera, now sober, in the middle of their order. A full healthy season out of Magglio Ordonez is also going to be a major plus for the Tigers. I like that the Tigers seem to be smart and see they need to push Gerald Laird out on an iceberg at this point and let Alex Avila slowly take over the catcher spot. They need to do this. I see the Tigers as a good team, but I also seem them as a team that has as many holes in their lineup as their AL Central rival the White Sox. I like the outfield depth with Thomas, Damon, Raburn, Ordonez, and Austin Jackson and I like the fact the Tigers have a lot of options for the #5 spot in the pitching rotation.

What I Don't Like

I don't like that Carlos Guillen's numbers have taken a nosedive since the 2006 season. This lineup is ridiculously right handed as well. This isn't a huge deal, but the only lefties in the order are Johnny Damon and the ever-declining Carlos Guillen. I don't hate this lineup but I also have questions about the hitting at certain spots...specifically the catcher, second base, shortstop and centerfield positions. That's half of the order I have questions about when it comes to hitting the ball effectively. It doesn't mean these players stink, I just think at those positions there are players who haven't proven themselves or aren't usually great hitters so I can't say I have full confidence they will get production from those spots in the lineup. It's fine to have defensive guys like Adam Everett in the lineup, but if some of the other guys don't produce offensively, he becomes a sort of liability. I like the bullpen but there have been some injury issues for Zumaya and he hasn't had any great seasons since 2006. The back end of the rotation looks a little shaky to me as well.

Final record

It's not that I don't like the Tigers overall, because I do, I just find parts of their rotation and lineup to be very suspect. How good can this team be in the AL Central? They are better than Kansas City and Cleveland by a long shot, but I really don't know if they are better than Chicago and Minnesota at this point. I like how they shored up the bullpen with Valverde and got value for Granderson in the trade with the Yankees. I can't shake the feeling they weakened their team in the offseason though. As much as I don't necessarily want to see it this way, I see the Tigers being 2nd or 3rd in the AL Central this year due to lack of overall pitching depth and a lineup that seems to have some holes in it when it comes to hitting the baseball. Last year this team was a one game away from the playoffs and all the talent hasn't left the roster, I just don't know if there is enough to win the Central for this year. I will say I won't be shocked if they do better than I predict. On the scale of wins I can see them getting this year, 82 is on the low end, so if they make the playoffs and make me look stupid, I won't be stunned.

Last year: 86-77
This year: 82-80

Florida Marlins

Lineup

I have to be honest, when I see the Marlins starting rotation and lineup, I think I am looking at the Greensboro Grasshoppers roster. The Grasshoppers are the Class A team for the Florida Marlins and I have probably seen most of the guys on this Marlins team play in person. It of course doesn't mean I know more about them or can predict the Marlins record this year, it just means they are familiar names to me. Every year the Marlins overachieve it seems like to me. I never expect the team to be as good as they are. When I look at this lineup, it doesn't really impress me that much, outside of Ramirez and Uggla in the infield. Looking at it a little bit closer you see Jorge Cantu didn't have a bad year last year and Chris Coghlan could very well take the next step to becoming an almost-household name this year after his great rookie year.

I don't have great insights on this lineup, it is just a good overall lineup, but I will say that Marlins prospect Mike Stanton, who probably won't be called up this year is a filthy baseball player. He's crazy good and if Cameron Maybin, Coghlan and Stanton are in the outfield for any portion of this year, that is going to be one good outfield in regards to potential. One game here in Greensboro two years ago I saw Stanton have three terrible at-bats (I think he had a strikeout or two and just looked lost) and then on the four at-bat he took a terrible swing at the first pitch and then on the second pitch he launched a ball CLEAR over the right field fence. Swear to God, he reminded me of Vladimir Guerrero with the way he hit the ball and his approach at the plate. This is a guy who the Marlins refused to trade in exchange for Manny Ramirez a few summers ago. So in lieu of going further into this Marlins lineup that doesn't look terribly good, but is, I will say Mike Stanton is a ridiculous hitter and fielder.

Rotation

The oldest pitcher in this starting rotation is 27 years old. This is a Marlins rotation where Andrew Miller and Rick VandenHurk may get squeezed out due to not enough pitching spots available. Those are two promising pitchers to get squeezed out like that. Josh Johnson is a top-of-the-rotation type starter and the other four guys have the potential to be near that level also. The problem is they aren't there yet and they are so young I am not 100% sure they even know how good they can be. It's hard to judge the Marlins starting rotation simply because it is so young and the team hasn't really made a conscious effort to "build" a rotation, they more just traded away players to get these pitchers or developed these pitchers in their farm system and hoped the cream would rise to the top. Once that cream rises to the top and gets expensive, the Marlins trade that player for more good players who are younger and have potential. Why doesn't this team have a lot of fans again?

Sean West and Chris Volstad will continue to improve this year and I would not be surprised to see a healthy Anibal Sanchez to make the leap like Josh Johnson has made. It's hard to pinpoint this rotation. One night one of these guys may throw 8 innings of two hit ball, the next night the starter for the Marlins could get knocked out in the 3 inning. I feel like I have seen a lot of this happen against the Braves. I like this rotation but I also don't exactly know (because they are so young) what they are going to be able to give the team from night to night.

Bullpen

I don't want to shock anyone, but the Marlins didn't go sign any big name or expensive relievers this offseason. Most of these guys are young and somewhat unproven. I am not sold at all that Leo Nunez can be the closer for this team. Of course, that still means he may be an upgrade over Matt Linstrom from last year. I don't know if Nunez has the closer mentality in him and his statistics in the short time he has had to close out games proves this. I will be interested to see if Brian Sanches can repeat his successful year last year. This bullpen is full of guys like Dan Meyer and Hayden Penn, pitchers who were high prospects in other team's systems but haven't found consistent success yet in the majors. I will say if Seth McClung and Derrick Turnbow can give the Marlins anything in the pen, it has the makings of a pretty solid bullpen.

What I Like

I like that for some reason this team is always in position for the Wild Card and is a difficult team to play. This doesn't look like a good team on paper but they always seem to pull out victories and end up better than anyone thinks they should be. They have a fairly good lineup and if Cameron Maybin can step it up a little bit and Cody Ross can up his OBP some, the outfield has the makings of a decent outfield. Everyone knows about Uggla and Ramirez in the infield, but Jorge Cantu can play multiple positions as well and he is not a bad hitter. Another player I have had the luxury of watching in person a few times, Logan Morrison could also be called up at some point this year. It's like the Marlins have a never ending supply for prospects to call up. Morrison could end up in a platoon with Gaby Sanchez and I would like this platoon very much. I also like the potential of the rotation, though I don't know how well this specific rotation can perform this year since it seems like one of the Marlins young pitchers always gets hurt during the year.

What I Don't Like

I don't like how young this team is. I also don't like that the Marlins always seem to have a better year than I would like for them to. I can't explain this team because I want to say they are weak at several positions in the outfield and point out the problems I see with the team, but then they will win 87 games and be 2nd in the NL East. I don't like that some of the pitchers in the rotation haven't pitched well in the majors and have had some injury problems. I also don't like how the Marlins have such a young team but few proven position players at some positions. What's the plan if Maybin doesn't win the CF job? Is Brett Carroll then going to be part of the outfield mix? Emilio Bonaficio seems to be the backup at nearly every position on the roster except catcher. I like that he can play multiple positions but I feel like there has to be a better option. I also don't like Nunez as the closer.

Final Record

I keep telling myself at some point the Marlins trading off players or letting them go in free agency is going to hurt them. I think this could be the year. Hermida is gone, Ross Gload is gone, and Alfredo Amezaga is gone. I feel like much of the depth has been stripped from this roster. In the bullpen Lindstrom is gone and the closer is now an unproven guy who hasn't had great success in the role in the past. At some point, letting go of players and relying on younger, less proven players has to bite the Marlins in the ass right? I think this is the year. They won't be a terrible team, but the pitching isn't nearly good enough and the lineup isn't nearly deep enough to win the NL East or compete for the Wild Card in what may be a tough division. Count me in as one of those people are who counting the Marlins out this year. Fredi Gonzalez will get fired and then Atlanta will hire him to replace Bobby Cox when he retires after this season. That's my prediction.

Last year: 87-75
This year: 78-84

Houston Astros

Lineup

This is another team that I believe is going to have a bad year. I almost feel bad for them. The Killer B's (or as I call them, the Steroid B's) are all pretty much gone and they have been replaced by a lineup of rally killers other than 3 players. In all honestly, I absolutely hate how this team is set up. There is a list of guys who are overpaid on the team and then there are complete nobodies playing at other positions on the roster. The only real excitement I can see about this lineup is that the J.R. Towles disaster will end as soon as Jason Castro is ready to hit over .200 and it may be exciting to see what prospects the Astros can get for Berkman or Lee...assuming they don't have to also swallow a lot of salary. I like Pedro Feliz but why are they paying him $5 million this year? Is this team rebuilding or not? I am very confused by what they are doing. I know they want to compete but at a certain point a team has to swallow the pride and not sign Pedro Feliz just to win 67 games and not 63 games. Feliz is great defensively but Jeff Keppinger isn't a whole hell of a lot worse offensively and he is much, much cheaper.

I like Hunter Pence just fine, but it's hard to grade a lineup that you know is actively being shopped. There isn't enough hitting here to make up for the fact the Astros lack pitching and even the young guys who are going to play, like Tommy Manzella, may or may not be ready. My unprofessional opinion is the best way to help this lineup is to start rebuilding it now and shed some of the payroll. Other than Berkman, Pence or Lee there isn't another guy I think can contribute greatly offensively.

Rotation

They paid $12 million for Brett Myers? Where is the justification for this? I know the team needs pitching, but my God can't the money be used somewhere else on this roster? The Astros have threatened to trade Roy Oswalt so long it has actually decreased his trade value because teams are tired of asking about him and he is now 32 years old. Oswalt is still a great starter but the Astros have stupidly waited until he was getting near his mid-30's to try and trade him. He deserves a chance to pitch for a team that will give him run support. I do like two guys in this pitching staff. I like Bud Norris and Wandy Rodriguez was actually pretty good last year. I still don't know why they signed Brett Myers, I would have given that rotation spot to Felipe Paulino and just given him a shot. Brian Moehler needs to be out of the rotation as soon as possible. Say Myers, Rodriguez and Oswalt all pitch really well this year...will the offense really score enough runs to help the team win games? I am not convinced this could happen. In fact, this farm system summary from Baseball America sums it up pretty well for me.

Bullpen

The Astros went out and got Brandon Lyon and Matt Lindstrom this offseason. They have Lindstrom as the closer and Lyon as the main set up guy. I don't know how long this will last. I can see these roles being reversed at least once this year. Lindstrom was all over the map at times for the Marlins last year in the closer's role. Tim Byrdak pitched well last year, but he is also 36 years old, so he is obviously not a building block for this team. The bullpen seems to be just ok. There isn't anything to get too excited over except if Sammy Gervacio wins a spot in the bullpen at the beginning of the year, which I think will end up happening. It's going to be a tough year in Houston. When the lineup and the rotation has a lead, I don't know if the bullpen will always be able to hold it.

What I Like

To be honest, not much. The offense isn't terrible and there are some decent guys in the lineup, even if they are overpaid. Berkman is still a good hitter and Carlos Lee is a good hitter, just not worth how much he gets paid to be a good hitter. I like Hunter Pence and I think Tommy Manzella is going to show some flashes of good play this year. Michael Bourn is a good defensive centerfielder and so the Astros have someone who make up a little bit for Carlos Lee in left field. I also like the top of the rotation with Oswalt and Rodriguez. Rodriguez isn't great but he pitched well last year and quality left handed starting pitchers aren't in high volume in the majors.

What I Don't Like

I don't like how the J.R. Towles experiment went. What the hell happened here? One minute he is the Astros best prospect, the next thing I know he isn't hitting .200 and is being platooned with Humberto Quintero, whose name sounds like a generic name given to a catcher on a video game. I hope the Astros don't screw up Castro like they seemed to screw up Towles. I also don't like how the Astros fixed some of the holes on their roster. Granted, they didn't have many options from their own organization, but paying Feliz and Myers big bucks seems like not really committing to rebuilding the team for a better future. I feel pretty blah about the bullpen and I have heard great things about Brad Mills as a manager, but he is going to have a tough job this year with this team.

Final record

I would feel worse about the Astros if they weren't in the same division as the Pirates. I think that alone will prevent them from being last in the division. The lineup has holes in it, the rotation has guys with 4.00+ ERAs in the 3/5 of the spots, the bullpen isn't in much better shape, and there are always rumors this team will start selling players. I hate to be so down on this team, but I just don't like how they have allocated their money. I feel like they are half-ass rebuilding and I don't like that. This isn't a terrible team, but just a team with decent players at certain positions and holes at other positions.

Last year: 74-88
This year: 68-94