Below you will find the questions followed by the answers.
Brett Greenfield: If you were a MLB GM and building a team,
which player would you choose to build it around? How about
if you were a fantasy GM?David Bloom: If I were building a team around a single player,
there would be certain criteria I would use. Number one, I'd be
building the team around a position player rather than a pitcher
because contributions from the position player arrive on an
everyday basis, rather than every fifth day with a stud starting
pitcher. Next, the player would be a player you could bat anywhere
in the lineup, and he could adjust accordingly to his role in the
lineup. Lastly, the player must be a leader on and off the field.
If I had to name a single player, I would go with David Wright
with the Mets. The thing about the Mets 3B is that he is such as
good hitter, and he has become a leader at such a young age. As a
fantasy team, I might go with Chase Utley for all the same reasons.
However, with Utley, he plays 2b and you usually don't see that
type of production at such a scarce position. With Wright, Its
easier to find another good 3B, but with Utley, there is a big
drop off to find a similar player.
Brett Greenfield: When drafting your team do you generally draft
the best player available or do you use position scarcity to take
a player that provides worse stats but is at a weaker position?
David Bloom: I would tend to favor going for the best player
available in a rotation draft as you can find a player that
qualifies for multiple positions later in the draft when position
scarcity is an issue. For example, last year going with B.J. Upton
later in the draft was something I went for as he had no true
position, but he was a player that would end up qualifying at
several positions that is often overlooked. However, after they
year he had, people won't overlook him this time around.
Brett Greenfield: Which MLB team do you think has the best 1-2
punch amongst starting pitchers?
David Bloom: I'd say the battle is between the Diamondbacks and
Padres giving the Padres the slight edge. Jake Peavy was incredible
last year with the 19 wins, an ERA of 2.54, a WHIP at 1.06,
strikeout rate of 9.67 per 9 innings (which amounted to 240 Ks),
these pitching numbers were the equivalent of a hitter winning the
triple crown. He gets the slight edge over Webb who had a slow
start but ended up with that impressive win steak where he gave up
no earned in four consecutive starts and end up with six consecutive
wins with only 2 earned runs over 48 innings. In the Chris Young vs
Dan Haren battle, I will have to see Haren do in the NL something
remotely close to what he achieved in the AL. I still have memories
of Haren unable to break into Tony LaRussa's starting lineup. Chris
Young was onto something special last year. His high number of
flyballs (131) was impressive ending up with 3.12 ERA and 8.7 K/9.
The Rangers GM should not still have a job after giving him away
for Adam Eaton.
Brett Greenfield: Is there such a thing as "overpaying" for a
player? What if you really want a player and think he will have a
breakout year? We all have a time during a draft where we think
we can just "wait one more round" before taking a player. Is
there such a thing as "overpaying" for a player or do you suggest
playing for value while drafting?
David Bloom: Absolutely, I tend to overpay when I have
scouted a first year player who will have potential for me in
future years. For example, I drafted Ryan Zimmerman at $19 and
Hanley Ramirez at $16 in 2006 before they had a proven track
record. You sometimes have to do some careful research and
sometimes it can pay off for several years to come. Sometimes
your bets work out, sometimes they do not. Just like the Tigers
who took a chance on Magglio Ordonez a few years ago, this off
season the Rays took a chance on trading way Delmon Young.
Brett Greenfield: Manny Ramirez used to be a top 5 fantasy pick.
Over the last few years he's had the two worst seasons in his
illustrious career. Do you think he continues the negative trend
suggesting that he's "done" or does the fact that he's in a
contract year make you think he will return to form and play like
a top 15 player?
David Bloom: I do not think he is a top 5 pick any more. His
slugging was way down last year with ISOP of .197. But, his
BABIP is still pretty good, and makes good contact. He will
probably do about what he did last year with a possible upswing
in the Home run department. I'd expect close to a .300 BA, 20-25
HRS and 90-100 RBIs.Click here to view my answers to David's questions.
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