Calm down everyone he's still with the Nationals (well the Triple A affiliate) but he was traded in my keeper league. Sorry for the shock but I figure that title will get some views.
Keeper league:
7 keepers (down from the previous season's 10 due to an off season vote that I was against, I am the 2 time defending league champion). It is a 10 team head to head points league with custom scoring that keeps the general fantasy value of players the same as a standard roto league. It is a fairly shallow league with the following roster spots: C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, 4 OF, UTIL, 2 RP, and 5 SP. 7 start per week limit. 5 man bench and a DL slot.
Team A keepers: Miguel Cabrera, Ian Kinsler, Adrian Beltre, Troy Tulowitzki, Bryce Harper, Brett Lawrie, and Matt Moore. (Team A has been a contender every year since we began the league)
Team B keepers: Hanley Ramirez, Nelson Cruz, Alex Rodriguez, Roy Halladay, Stephen Strasburg. (Annual contender but struggled big time in 2011 and only kept 5 players)
After the draft, trade talks were in full swing regarding Bryce Harper through text messages. That's what Team A told me.
Players involved in this blockbuster:
Team A: Bryce Harper (keeper), Carlos Lee (round 16 pick 155), Andrew Bailey (round 19 pick 186).
Team B: Roy Halladay (keeper), Nelson Cruz (keeper), Michael Morse (round 9 pick 82).
Now I can't speak for these teams but I will try to give my personal opinion to what they were thinking:
Team A: It hurts to give up Harper but he is still an unknown commodity and if I'm receiving a top 15 OF along with the best starter in the game, how can I turn this down? Asking for Morse only sweetens the pot because my OF is shallow (recall who I kept).
Team B: Trying to get younger and adding someone who I clearly believe in is a key move moving forward. Harper should stay in my lineup for the next 12-16 years if not longer. I can give up Halladay because I drafted Lincecum and kept Strasburg.
My Final Thoughts:
The winner from this is clearly Team A. In fact this may be the steal of the decade. The crop of players returned for Harper are all viable fantasy options. Now Team A has a true Ace in case Moore takes a step back. Cruz and Morse give him a better OF than before when he was counting on players like: Werth, Chris Young, Swisher, Choo, and Carlos Lee. And what puts it over the top is that Team B gave up two players that were kept while Team A only gave up one keeper.
Also keep in mind that 3 or 4 years from now there will be another highly touted prospect coming up and the hype on him may be the same if not even greater than Harper. Look, Harper could become the next Ryan Braun it's possible, but he may end up like B.J. Upton as well. It was a solid sell early on a top prospect maneuver. Congrats to Team A only time will tell if this move was, as I'm calling it, The Steal of the Decade.
Connect with The Fantasy Freak Podcast and its voices by twitter and email:
@MrFantasyFreak
@Awies28 (has a picture of me and Jackie Joyner Kersee) Not just sports tweets, PG18ish
email us at Mrfantasyfreak@yahoo.com
Alex Wiesner
Keeper league:
7 keepers (down from the previous season's 10 due to an off season vote that I was against, I am the 2 time defending league champion). It is a 10 team head to head points league with custom scoring that keeps the general fantasy value of players the same as a standard roto league. It is a fairly shallow league with the following roster spots: C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, 4 OF, UTIL, 2 RP, and 5 SP. 7 start per week limit. 5 man bench and a DL slot.
Team A keepers: Miguel Cabrera, Ian Kinsler, Adrian Beltre, Troy Tulowitzki, Bryce Harper, Brett Lawrie, and Matt Moore. (Team A has been a contender every year since we began the league)
Team B keepers: Hanley Ramirez, Nelson Cruz, Alex Rodriguez, Roy Halladay, Stephen Strasburg. (Annual contender but struggled big time in 2011 and only kept 5 players)
After the draft, trade talks were in full swing regarding Bryce Harper through text messages. That's what Team A told me.
Players involved in this blockbuster:
Team A: Bryce Harper (keeper), Carlos Lee (round 16 pick 155), Andrew Bailey (round 19 pick 186).
Team B: Roy Halladay (keeper), Nelson Cruz (keeper), Michael Morse (round 9 pick 82).
Now I can't speak for these teams but I will try to give my personal opinion to what they were thinking:
Team A: It hurts to give up Harper but he is still an unknown commodity and if I'm receiving a top 15 OF along with the best starter in the game, how can I turn this down? Asking for Morse only sweetens the pot because my OF is shallow (recall who I kept).
Team B: Trying to get younger and adding someone who I clearly believe in is a key move moving forward. Harper should stay in my lineup for the next 12-16 years if not longer. I can give up Halladay because I drafted Lincecum and kept Strasburg.
My Final Thoughts:
The winner from this is clearly Team A. In fact this may be the steal of the decade. The crop of players returned for Harper are all viable fantasy options. Now Team A has a true Ace in case Moore takes a step back. Cruz and Morse give him a better OF than before when he was counting on players like: Werth, Chris Young, Swisher, Choo, and Carlos Lee. And what puts it over the top is that Team B gave up two players that were kept while Team A only gave up one keeper.
Also keep in mind that 3 or 4 years from now there will be another highly touted prospect coming up and the hype on him may be the same if not even greater than Harper. Look, Harper could become the next Ryan Braun it's possible, but he may end up like B.J. Upton as well. It was a solid sell early on a top prospect maneuver. Congrats to Team A only time will tell if this move was, as I'm calling it, The Steal of the Decade.
Connect with The Fantasy Freak Podcast and its voices by twitter and email:
@MrFantasyFreak
@Awies28 (has a picture of me and Jackie Joyner Kersee) Not just sports tweets, PG18ish
email us at Mrfantasyfreak@yahoo.com
Alex Wiesner
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