True Diamonds Dugout

We have filled the last of our leagues for 2013.  Many of our new owners were recruited from the ESPN boards and several long time players have joined one of our other leagues to experience a different format.  This year we added a Weekly Roto format to provide a low maintenance alternative to daily leagues.   We moved our Franchise league to CBS this year to take advantage of their minor league slots and advanced league management tools.  All other leagues are run on ESPN.  Here is the final list of leagues in the True Diamonds portfolio:

• $80 True Diamonds H2H Points (auction, farm systems and keepers) 12 owners
• $80 True Diamonds Roto (auction) 12 owners
• $25 True Diamonds H2H Power (draft) 14 owners
• $50 True Diamonds Weekly Roto (draft) 10 owners
• True Diamonds Free Roto (draft) 12 owners

All leagues are full, most are in their second or third years.   I am taking reservations for a H2H Cats league for 2014, and that will be our final offering.

Thanks to the 50+ happy owners who have made this venture so successful.   If you have contacted me about a league then I have added you to the list for 2014 already.  I will be posting fantasy articles on this site throughout the season.   We will also be publishing our owner rating system and owner profiles.

Good luck to everyone this season, and I will see you around the boards…

Owners
Urban Shockers (jonmarkland)
The Red Pill (mickthedude)
Where’s Carl? (solarkg)
Commander’s Palace (cdel)
Haight Ashburys (Phantasy PhD)
Team Chickensoup (zneitzel)
Chicken Fried (jebron60)
Pork Chop Express (ninja.topher)
Lucky Charms (Juice_for_Prez)
MickeyRoto (Illinois306)
Rodgers Hood (BaylorMatt7552)
Springfield Homers (blnfbbs)

The Red Pill
C Mike Napoli 20
1B Paul Goldschmidt 7
2B Rickie Weeks 13
3B Jose Bautista 42
SS Starlin Castro 18
LF Brandon Belt 1
CF Michael Bourn 29
RF Jayson Werth 13
UTIL Aramis Ramirez 18
UTIL Freddie Freeman 10
P Cliff Lee 30
P Felix Hernandez 30
P Jonathan Papelbon 12
P Tim Hudson 2
P Daniel Bard 4
P Antonio Bastardo 1
BE Mike Carp 3
BE Chris Iannetta 1
BE Brennan Boesch 1
BE Bud Norris 1
BE Brad Peacock 1
BE Drew Pomeranz 1
BE Luke Gregerson 1
BE Eric O'Flaherty 1

Springfield Homers
C Brian McCann 11
1B Joey Votto 38
2B Howard Kendrick 11
3B Evan Longoria 35
SS Marco Scutaro 2
LF Carl Crawford 15
CF Yoenis Cespedes 1
RF Hunter Pence 23
UTIL Billy Butler 16
UTIL Adam Dunn 4
P Clayton Kershaw 35
P Zack Greinke 28
P Francisco Liriano 3
P Mike Minor 5
P Chad Billingsley 2
P Clay Buchholz 2
BE Stephen Drew 1
BE Javy Guerra 5
BE Greg Holland 8
BE Justin Morneau 3
BE Alex Rios 5
BE Colby Rasmus 1
BE Kenley Jansen 4
BE Dayan Viciedo 1

The Urban Shockers
C Matt Wieters 17
1B Paul Konerko 19
2B Chase Utley 2
3B David Wright 26
SS Jose Reyes 27
LF Martin Prado 4
CF Coco Crisp 9
RF Jay Bruce 19
UTIL Ichiro Suzuki 13
UTIL Adam Jones 11
P Roy Halladay 34
P Stephen Strasburg 20
P C.J. Wilson 17
P Yu Darvish 11
P Brian Wilson 10
P Gio Gonzalez 8
BE Jesus Montero 5
BE Jamie Moyer 1
BE Francisco Cordero 1
BE Chris Davis 2
BE Allen Craig 1
BE James Loney 1
BE Koji Uehara 1
BE Carlos Quentin 1

Where's Carl?
C Carlos Santana 21
1B Adrian Gonzalez 37
2B Kelly Johnson 1
3B Mike Moustakas 3
SS Alexei Ramirez 9
LF Ryan Braun 42
CF Matt Kemp 40
RF Jason Heyward 11
UTIL Derek Jeter 6
UTIL Ryan Howard 5
P Matt Moore 15
P David Price 23
P Michael Pineda 9
P Brandon McCarthy 7
P Edwin Jackson 4
P Huston Street 8
BE Vernon Wells 1
BE Chris Sale 3
BE Brett Myers 2
BE Aaron Hill 1
BE Daniel Murphy 3
BE Mat Gamel 3
BE Sergio Romo 2
BE Addison Reed 2

Haight Ashburys
C Yadier Molina 5
1B Adam Lind 9
2B Ian Kinsler 29
3B Kevin Youkilis 15
SS Elvis Andrus 17
LF Logan Morrison 7
CF Jacoby Ellsbury 42
RF Giancarlo Stanton 27
UTIL Jemile Weeks 9
UTIL Erick Aybar 5
P Jeremy Hellickson 10
P Carlos Marmol 6
P Drew Storen 10
P Max Scherzer 14
P Heath Bell 9
P Joe Nathan 6
BE Anibal Sanchez 8
BE Gaby Sanchez 3
BE Jonathan Broxton 2
BE Matt Capps 6
BE Lorenzo Cain 2
BE Angel Pagan 6
BE Jonathon Niese 1
BE Wandy Rodriguez 12

Commander's  Palace
C A.J. Pierzynski 1
1B Prince Fielder 40
2B Neil Walker 6
3B Ryan Zimmerman 18
SS Jhonny Peralta 2
LF Brett Gardner 16
CF Andrew McCutchen 30
RF Lance Berkman 17
UTIL Josh Willingham 5
UTIL Ike Davis 4
P Dan Haren 27
P Cole Hamels 25
P Matt Cain 19
P Jordan Zimmermann 13
P Jordan Walden 11
P Matt Thornton 4
BE Nick Swisher 8
BE John Danks 1
BE Dexter Fowler 2
BE Tyler Clippard 1
BE Matt Joyce 3
BE David Robertson 1
BE Vinnie Pestano 2
BE Derek Holland 1

Chicken Fried
C J.P. Arencibia 1
1B Michael Cuddyer 15
2B Dan Uggla 21
3B Adrian Beltre 27
SS Dee Gordon 12
LF Michael Morse 14
CF Shane Victorino 15
RF Ben Zobrist 21
UTIL Carlos Lee 7
UTIL Ryan Raburn 1
P Justin Verlander 33
P Craig Kimbrel 15
P James Shields 19
P J.J. Putz 12
P Adam Wainwright 14
P Yovani Gallardo 23
BE Doug Fister 2
BE Scott Baker 2
BE J.D. Martinez 1
BE Joaquin Benoit 1
BE Hector Noesi 1
BE Felix Doubront 1
BE Francisco Rodriguez 1
BE Mark Trumbo 1

Lucky Charms
C Geovany Soto 3
1B Albert Pujols 45
2B Robinson Cano 36
3B Edwin Encarnacion 2
SS Yunel Escobar 1
LF Alfonso Soriano 1
CF Curtis Granderson 29
RF Corey Hart 11
UTIL Mark Teixeira 30
UTIL Jeff Francoeur 1
P Tim Lincecum 29
P Ian Kennedy 17
P Mariano Rivera 15
P CC Sabathia 29
P Ryan Dempster 2
P Colby Lewis 1
BE Peter Bourjos 1
BE Omar Infante 1
BE Ricky Nolasco 1
BE Wilson Ramos 1
BE Sean Rodriguez 1
BE Mitch Moreland 1
BE Kurt Suzuki 1
BE John Mayberry Jr. 1

AZ MickeyRoto
C Joe Mauer 15
1B Michael Young 15
2B Brandon Phillips 15
3B Alex Rodriguez 16
SS Jimmy Rollins 17
LF Matt Holliday 20
CF B.J. Upton 14
RF Nelson Cruz 19
UTIL Andre Ethier 14
UTIL Nick Markakis 3
P Jered Weaver 26
P Jon Lester 21
P Rafael Betancourt 8
P Jason Motte 9
P Jose Valverde 9
P Shaun Marcum 7
BE Kyle Farnsworth 6
BE Ted Lilly 2
BE Ervin Santana 9
BE Grant Balfour 7
BE Aroldis Chapman 3
BE Jason Kubel 1
BE David Freese 2
BE Danny Espinosa 2

Mr. Rodgers Hood
C Miguel Montero 7
1B Carlos Pena 2
2B Ryan Roberts 4
3B Emilio Bonifacio 10
SS Troy Tulowitzki 36
LF Alex Gordon 21
CF Melky Cabrera 7
RF Carlos Beltran 13
UTIL Hanley Ramirez 34
UTIL Delmon Young 3
P Mat Latos 12
P Tommy Hanson 10
P Ubaldo Jimenez 20
P Josh Johnson 24
P Johnny Cueto 4
P Justin Masterson 4
BE Raul Ibanez 1
BE Frank Francisco 5
BE Jonny Venters 3
BE Chris Perez 8
BE Mark Reynolds 13
BE Cameron Maybin 9
BE Jim Johnson 5
BE Mike Adams 5

I'm Bill James Bitch
C Alex Avila 6
1B Miguel Cabrera 42
2B Dustin Pedroia 35
3B Pablo Sandoval 20
SS Asdrubal Cabrera 13
LF Carlos Gonzalez 32
CF Josh Hamilton 23
RF Torii Hunter 4
UTIL David Ortiz 9
UTIL Drew Stubbs 10
P Daniel Hudson 13
P John Axford 11
P Hiroki Kuroda 6
P Matt Garza 9
P Jaime Garcia 8
P Sean Marshall 7
BE Chris Carpenter 3
BE Neftali Feliz 3
BE Johan Santana 1
BE Mike Aviles 1
BE Fernando Salas 1
BE Alfredo Aceves 1
BE Joel Peralta 1
BE Ben Revere 1

Porkchop Express
C Buster Posey 6
1B Eric Hosmer 19
2B Jason Kipnis 9
3B Brett Lawrie 19
SS J.J. Hardy 7
LF Desmond Jennings 12
CF Chris Young 14
RF Justin Upton 33
UTIL Shin-Soo Choo 13
UTIL Kendrys Morales 13
P Madison Bumgarner 15
P Ricky Romero 11
P Josh Beckett 11
P Joel Hanrahan 8
P Brandon Beachy 11
P Cory Luebke 8
BE Andrew Bailey 9
BE Brandon League 8
BE Lucas Duda 2
BE Sergio Santos 7
BE Brandon Morrow 14
BE Ryan Doumit 1
BE Dustin Ackley 9
BE David Hernandez 1

The arrival of Yoenis Cespedes on the MLB scene has been like watching an episode of Sci-Fi Channel’s Paranormal Files. It’s the show that features a group of experts who investigate weird and unusual video clips to prove whether they are fact or fake. Maybe they should take a look at the Cespedes Showcase video.

The 20-minute presentation begins like the Star Wars saga and ends with a pig cooking on a stick. Yes, a pig on a stick. (Check it out at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kREZHmOR1bg) The video touts Cespedes’ seemingly superhuman strength and agility. In one scene he leg presses 1,300 pounds while two grown men sit atop the weights. Toward the end, it presents some impressive stats like a .333/.424/.667 batting line with 33 home runs and 89 RBI during 90 games in Cuba.

But the video doesn’t answer the questions many fantasy owners want to know: Is Cespedes worth a pickup in your league draft, and if so, how quickly should you take him?

Is Cespedes the real deal? Scouts who’ve seen him say he possesses five-tool talents, and the Oakland A’s have made him their highest paid player. But Oakland is a team known for gambling on long shots. Also, the fact that he will play for Oakland does not project well for his offensive numbers. The A’s weak batting lineup offers him little protection while the A’s ballpark isn’t exactly hitter friendly.

One ominous indicator on how well Cespedes may perform in Major League baseball was his recent play in the Dominican Winter League. He batted just .143 with one home run and 10 strikeouts in 35 at bats. It could be argued that the sample was limited and Cespedes was adjusting. But the Dominican Winter League is comparable to a high Double-A ball and nothing close to the adjustments he’ll be forced to make against Major League pitching.

Another strike against him — a minor one — is his age. At 26 years old, he is not some hot, young prospect. He is one year short of the average age of an MLB player. There has even been speculation that Cespedes might actually be older.

On the upside, playing for the Oakland A’s should give Cespedes everyday starts. He’ll get the opportunity to prove himself and adjust to Major League pitching.

But should you draft Cespedes?

If you’re in a standard league, he is worth a late-round flier, at best. He should not be one of your top three outfielders. The outfield position is deep and there are far better choices. If he goes undrafted in your league, keep him high on your radar and watch for hitting streaks that could indicate a potential breakout.

For dynasty league managers, Cespedes becomes a slightly better option. Fantasy Baseball Cafe  recently published a poll asking where fantasy owners would take Cespedes in a dynasty league draft. The majority of the 140 responders chose rounds nine through 16. Only five percent said they wouldn’t draft him, so keep that in mind and look to take him in the 16^th round or later and only after your three outfield starters have been chosen.

In an auction format, Cespedes is worth no more than two dollars, and that’s a stretch. You certainly don’t want to get caught in a bidding war.

If your draft is late in spring training, take the opportunity to watch Cespedes closely. If his numbers are good, you should upgrade him, especially in dynasty leagues.

The recent news on Cespedes is not great. He is still waiting for visa approval and it’s not clear when the process will be complete – yet another question about the mystery man, Cespedes.