Daily Dr. Roto—March 8
Fantasy Preview in a Nutshell: Miami Marlins
C J.T. Realmuto — I love Realmuto, but I would prefer to know what team he will play for (as the Marlins are likely to trade him) before I draft him. That said, he is a very talented young catcher who is worthy of being one of the top six catchers taken off the board.
1B Justin Bour — Bour has huge power, but I do worry that he won’t have many base runners on base to knock in. He could end up with a season of 30-80 which would be sad considering he could be a 100 RBI hitter on a better team.
2B Starlin Castro — Castro came over in the Stanton deal and there were immediate rumors that the Marlins wanted to ship him to a contender right away. Castro has been known to loaf in the past, so if he is unhappy I can see him really tanking the season while he forces the Marlins to trade him.
SS Miguel Rojas — I just took Rojas in Round 40 of a Draft-N-Go draft. Retrospectively, I should have waited until Round 44.
3B Brian Anderson — Anderson is a light hitting 3B who is keeping the spot warm until Martin Prado returns. He has little to no value in anything other than the deepest of NL only leagues.
OF Derek Dietrich — I happen to think Dietrich is a decent late round sleeper this year. He has some power and qualifies at multiple positions. This biggest boon to his value is that the Marlins really have no one else to play until their minor leaguers are ready.
OF Cameron Maybin — The Marlins signed Maybin in February and he should have a role immediately in their offense. Maybin’s power is no longer a big threat, but he can steal 20-25 bases if given the opportunity.
OF Lewis Brinson — A lot of experts are doubting Brinson, but I think the seeds are there for him to have a 15-15 type of season. I am not sure that Brinson will ever hit for a high average, but his counting stats should be good if the Marlins give him a chance to play every day.
U Martin Prado — Prado is recovering from knee surgery and his rehab is coming along nicely. I am not sure that he will be ready for Opening Day, but I expect that a return by May 1 is possible. When healthy, Prado is a solid contact hitter with surprising power. He might fall to your reserve draft this year so be watchful for the buying opportunity.
SP Dan Straily — Straily is not a bad starter, but as the Marlins’ de facto ace, he will face the opposing team’s best pitcher quite often during the season. This should lead to tons of losses. Moreover, Straily let up 31 HRs last year. If his gopheritis continues, he might not even be worth rostering in NL Only leagues.
SP Jose Urena — I see a glimmer of ability in Urena, but I worry about his lack of a strikeout pitch. The good news is that Urena is young enough to work on improving his command (he allowed far too many HRs and walks) to become Fantasy relevant at some point soon.
SP Adam Conley — There is no way I will draft Conley in any league this season.
SP Wei-Yin Chen — Chen’s elbow is still not 100% and it looks as if he will start the year on the DL. Watch for him to return to the rotation sometime in June.
RP Brad Ziegler — The Marlins have already announced that Ziegler will be their closer coming into the season. My guess is that they did this to raise his trade value, as his career is quickly coming to an end and it is possible that a contending team might want to use him as a setup man to make a playoff push.
RP Drew Steckenrider — If the Marlins decide to trade Ziegler, I think that Steckenrider and not Barraclough has the best chance to get the save opportunities. Steckenrider will have to show the Marlins that he is capable of pitching in pressure situations in the first half of the season, but if he does so effectively I can see him getting save opportunities in the second half of the season.
RP Kyle Barraclough — Barraclough should be one of the Marlins’ top setup men. I love his arm, but he still walks far too many guys for my liking. It could be the reason that he gets passed over for the closer’s job once Ziegler gets traded.
Stash and Cash: Monte Harrison — Harrison came over form the Brewers in the Yelich deal and should be a mainstay in the Marlins OF come 2019 and beyond.
