Let's Look At Some Keepers - The Tossers

For those just joining us, this is a bit where I take a look at the other teams in my Yahoo H2H keeper league and state which seven players I think that they should start the 2009 season with. To the other owners in the league, I hope that this will serve to stoke your anticipation for the upcoming fantasy season.

Let's look at the Tossers' roster.

The Tossers

Casey Blake (LAD - 1B,3B,OF)

Travis Hafner (Cle - 1B)

Corey Hart (Mil - OF)

Eric Hinske (Pit - 1B,OF)

Torii Hunter (LAA - OF)

César Izturis (Bal - 3B,SS)

Conor Jackson (Ari - 1B,OF)

Casey Kotchman (Atl - 1B)

José López (Sea - 1B,2B)

Bengie Molina (SF - C)

Álex Rodríguez (NYY - 3B)

Nick Swisher (NYY - 1B,OF)

Mark Teahen (KC - 1B,3B,OF)

Michael Young (Tex - SS)

Jonathan Broxton (LAD - RP)

Francisco Cordero (Cin - RP)

Jorge De La Rosa (Col - SP,RP)

Jeremy Guthrie (Bal - SP,RP)

Hong-Chih Kuo (LAD - SP,RP)

Derek Lowe (Atl - SP)

John Maine (NYM - SP)

Hideki Okajima (Bos - RP)

Manny Parra (Mil - SP,RP)

Wandy Rodríguez (Hou - SP)

Takashi Saito (Bos - RP)

Joe Saunders (LAA - SP)

The Tossers finished last in the postseason, and, I have to be honest, looking at this roster doesn't give me great hope for their chances in 2009.  The Tossers do boast one of the best players in the game (all steroid admissions aside) with Alex Rodriguez, who is a no-brainer as a keeper.  After that, I think you have to keep Corey Hart and Torii Hunter for the combination of speed and power that they offer; both players have the ability to put up 20 HR and 20 SB when healthy.

After that, the next best guy is Michael Young who, despite having a declining OPS over the past few seasons still figures to be a top-10 shortstop.  If he does switch over to third base as the Rangers have asked him to do in order to make way for prospect Elvis Andrus, Young will gain a little more value due to the extra position eligibility.

We have three more spots to fill, so what's left on the roster?  We have a few players coming off bad seasons looking to bounce back, we have some decent closing options, and a couple pitchers that offer little in the way of strikeouts.  Setting aside the pitchers for now, I think we have to pass on former fantasy studs Nick Swisher and Travis Hafner.  I think it's unlikely that they ever rebound to the levels that they was produced at, especially Hafner, plus their poor showings in 2008 should make them available in the later rounds of the draft.  Jose Lopez and Bengie Molina, both decent values for their positions, should also be available in the middle to late rounds.  I think the best option here is Conor Jackson.  Jackson doesn't have the power that we would like from a first baseman, but he does hit for good average and he should get his fair share of RBI hitting in the middle of Arizona's order.  Jackson is in the middle of his prime (he'll be 27 in May) and it's always possible that he could have a career year in his fourth season in the league.

Normally I don't like keeping closers, preferring to pick them up later on in the draft, but I think we have to fill the last two keeper spots with the best values, and that would be Francisco Cordero and Jonathan Broxton.  Both closers give you good k/9 ratios, especially Broxton. Broxton has never been a full-time closer before, but he's had good success as the setup man for Takashi Saito, and he should pitch well in the 9th inning.  Cordero has been a fairly solid closer over the years, and he should be good for another 30 saves this year.

Let me know in the comments how wrong or right you think I am.  I'll be posting one of these for each of the owners in the league.