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2018 Free Agency Rankings
Welcome to 2018’s world of free agency, where are there are TONS of players this year. Tons. And there’s even quality foreign imports! Life needs a free agency ranking report. And because I’m bored. While there's no LeBrons or Carmelos, there's still a deep crop of useful toys. So read on for Kingdom Law’s top 15 pretties of the free agent class.
15. SP Brett Cecil
For those looking for a horse, here you are. Which is interesting, since he has an injury rating of prone. Yet he’s logged over 200 innings every year since 2009. It’s not always pretty but if you’re getting a Bartolo Colon effort out of your 4th or 5th guy, then great. Pitching can be so chaotic, because there’s a lot of it, but not everyone has enough of it. And despite the premium on hitting, pitching still wins you championships (I can vouch for that in the past two years).
14. SP Joaquin Alvarez
The potential is there for him to get better. But as is, he’s only 10-7-7 with an inconsistency tab. You know what he is? Go to Cincinnati’s page and click on Jesus Rosado. That’s what Joaquin Alvarez is. Be warned.
13. MR Brock Eberle
He was a beast for me. Loved the guy. He could easily be a top closer in this league if someone needs a closer. He had one bad year but that was largely due to control problems. He could still run into those issues at times but he has maxed out his control rating, so it’s average now, perhaps it won’t crop up nearly as much. Get yourself a closer, people!
12. 1B Brett Wallace
This is out of sheer morbid curiosity. Seriously, terrible skill set. No defense. And a rating of 3 in avoiding k’s. YET. He hits with plenty of enough power and draws enough walks to where his OBP and slugging tends not to be bad. Actually, in the past two seasons, he has been better than most hitters I rank ahead of him. But again, he has no defense, so you’re buying a DH. Overpay as you wish.
11. C Tony Sanchez
He’s a solid enough catcher defensively, at least with an arm to throw people out. Range is average. Sanchez has only started hitting in recent years, with enough power from the position to make him valuable. Even his OBP doesn’t completely suck (in this league).
10. SS Ralph Gendreau
So, offensively, kinda just not something you pay much attention to. And that’s understandable. But he might be worth a gamble that he can hit enough. His ratings are not bad. He has pretty good gap power and is capable of taking a walk. He has the ability to be effective at stealing bases and he’s a plus defender at 2B and SS. Good reason to give him a try. It’s also possible that playing in PetCo made him want to kill himself, like it does most hitters.
9. SS Troy Tulowitzki
Power can make people blind. Sure, he had good power, but he never cracked 30. He drew a lot of walks but his career OBP is under .330. Even his career slugging isn’t even that great. But damn it, he could hit 28 homeruns! So I’m not sure what the appeal is. And given his not great defense, I imagine if there was a WAR in OOTP, he’d be pretty..not good.
8. OF Colby Rasmus
He never fully lived up to his potential, but he has filled out across the board enough to make him very intriguing. He also was mishandled by his former team, which clearly stunted his growth. He’s average defensively and he’s average on the bases but he should be a capable hitter. Then again, we say that about a lot of people in this league.
7. SP Jordan Zimmerman
I imagine he lost talent. He went from very good to very mediocre fast. But he still has good ratings, enough so he can manage being your 3-5 type guy. He is no longer an ace. He also brings some sneaky good attributes (leader, loyal, great in the clutch) which makes him very ideal for a contender looking for a piece in the rotation or pen.
6. IF/OF Danny Espinosa
Pretty much everything I can say, I say for #3. Espinosa just isn’t an elite defender, but he is capable at 4 positions. He’s been pretty consistent and has excellent gap power, capable of finishing in the top ten in doubles and triples. He’s also capable of stealing bases. Ideally, you are trying to acquire him as a second baseman. He will likely get way overpaid cause people are just that bored with life.
5. SP Cory Luebke
For six years in a row, he was a top line starter. And then the past two years happened. Is there potential for him to give a few years of what he used to be, or is he permanently on the downhill trend? He’s a power lefty and for a while, dominated despite no run support. 2016 was pretty awful and he rebounded somewhat in 2017. He might be a classic change of scenery guy. Or he might just be crap now.
4. LF Osvaldo Montes
I imagine he’ll end up being #2 production wise, maybe even #1. But I don’t know for sure because it can be hard to assess ratings for bats. On paper, he presents as an elite second hitter, perhaps leadoff man if you don’t care about elite speed (he should be good enough stealing). His contact rating will be key and he has a good enough plate patient skill set that’ll he not strikeout too much while drawing enough walks. He’s limited defensively even though he has an arm. He has a good infield arm, so he might be a good 1B in the future. He will get a monster contract simply because he’s 26.
3. OF Austin Jackson
Aside from one down year, Jackson has been very consistent his entire life as a part of the TBL establishment. Look, that speaks volumes, because players are so inconsistent in this league. Am I jinxing him? Maybe. He’s underrated, though. He’s only 30. He’s an elite defensive outfielder. He has some power, and he he can steal bases. He’s also coming off a career year. His last contract was pretty cheap when you consider the production and career, so I doubt that’ll happen again.
2. 2B Dustin Pedroia
Two things that put him almost at the top: I’ve had him the past few years and his ratings have not changed, so he’s sturdy. Even though he’s not going to get on base a ton, he does just about everything else. He will provide power, contact, good defense 3 important positions, and enough speed to make him effective on the base paths. The trick is figuring out where to bat him. And I’d suggest middle of the order with his power ability.
1. OF George Springer
This is mostly based on potential. As you know by now, it can be difficult to peg statistics from a hitter in this league. You have a guy rated like Dustin Pedroia or even Springer, he should be an MVP candidate yearly, instead of what seems to be poor numbers. But in this league, those poor numbers could be some of the best numbers. There’s of course outliers such as Kyle Parker, Starlin Castro, and Joe Mauer. Springer is capable of hitting for a lot of power, making good enough contract, playing good defense, and stealing a lot of bases. So far he’s only really presented as a gold glover with elite stolen base ability. But he’s 28, ratings are nice, he will no doubt be in the running for the richest contract. But you have to temper expectations. His best year is no one near a Jason Heyward, who’s one of the top paid players in the league.
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Originally Posted by Porter
