News of the day - March 14th

Am I ever glad it's Friday...and here are a few bits of news to keep you held over till our next post:

-Tristan Cockcroft over at ESPN takes a look at the Tampa Bay Rays staff & gives his suggestions on who to draft & who to avoid.

Summary - Kazmir is an ace if he's healthy; Shields (James, don't call him Jamie) is good & in control; Garza has the potential to be a front line starter in the league & might break out this year, but he's still young so temper your expectations; Sonnanstine is a young control freak (when it comes to pitching, not necessarily in his personal life) who kicked butt in the minors & has great sleeper potential; and last but not least, David Price - the former #1 pick who recently got sent to minor league camp but is going to be a stud.

Even though I gave away all of the good stuff, you should still check out the article.

-Freddy Sanchez, who is coming back from offseason shoulder surgery, will try to take the field next week

Summary - If healthy, I think Sanchez is consistently undervalued going into this season based on his ADP (average draft position). Based on Kelly's recently updated ADP, he's going at pick 275, which is up from 304 last month. Sanchez is a guy who qualifies at second, who hit .344 / .304 in his past two seasons, driving in 85 & 81 runs in the process. Not bad for a late round 2B or MI; just keep track of the news out of Pirates camp to ensure he's healthy enough to contribute to your team.

And somebody tell him that he can get more velocity & accurarcy on his throws to 1st if he stands upright. No wonder he injured his shoulder...

-Cameron Maybin might end up being a pretty good major league player.

Summary - Cameron was slowed by a hamstring injury early in camp, but he's been in-sane since he's come back; he's blasted three home runs & has a steal for good measure in his past three games. Based on reports, the Marlins had seriously considered sending the 20 year old future star to the minors, but he's seriously pushing for the every day center field job down in Marlin-land.

Maybin is certainly worth a late round pick in your draft. His current ADP is around 295, but that's likey to go up if he keeps playing like this & ends up winning the CF job. The excellent site Nine Bo Jacksons (could that be a more interesting name than Brock for Broglio?) takes a look at the top current OF & the top OF prospects, including the following take on Maybin:

"The offensive centerpiece of the Cabrera/Willis trade, Maybin should spend the entire year in AAA to develop. He's flat out not MLB ready, but that didn't stop the Tigers and probably won't stop the Marlins, eager for another face of the franchise. He could be a 15/25 player right now, but if he gets time in AAA to develop his hitting skills, watch out for this guy in '09."

And don't forget to check out some of the great sites that are linked to the right; I'm constantly updating & making additions, so check back often!