If you have been keeping up with our articles (shame on you if you haven’t), then you know I picked Kendry Morales as my 2010 AL MVP. He won’t be the best player in the AL, but given his team’s chances to make the playoffs and the role he will need to play for that to happen, he has a good chance. Besides, finishing fifth last season in MVP voting is a good place to start.
I thought I’d take a moment here to organize a list of links and resources you can use to decide whether or not you want to target a Morales in your draft this season.
- Our very own Chris Campanelli thinks Morales will put up similar numbers in 2010.
- Fangraphs.com has a complete list of all his major and minor league stats as well as projections for this season from Bill James, CHONE, Fans, and Marcel Regressions.
- Some guy named Matt over at Fanhuddle.com thinks that if the Angels part ways with Guerrero (which we now know they have), then Morales should reap the benefits.
- Jimmy Hascup at Rotoprofessor.com wonder if Morales is Mark Teixeira 2.0.
- The Fantasy Baseball Dugout notes that Morales was only owned in 85% of Yahoo! leagues at the end of 2009, fourth lowest among all top 50 players. According to them, this gives Morales “Value Pick Potential.”
- Here’s some often-updated MLB.com Morales fantasy baseball analysis. It shows how his value progressed through 2009 and adds a November fantasy update.
If you find any other good links, leave them in the comments section!
Morales really surprised a lot of people, particularly in the fantasy world. The biggest knock on him on fantasy baseball draft day will be the consistency that other players have over him. He won’t have all the protection in 2010. Plus, 1B and OF are the two deepest positions in fantasy baseball. Front line UTIL. Low-end everyday 1B. Low-end OF1. Not a bad pick in round 5 or after.
Thanks for the comment. I think you pretty much pegged his value as mid-to-low tier starting 1B, but given his value at 5th round or later he is one of my favorite players. Would I rather have Miguel Cabrera in the 1st-2nd round and draft someone else in the 5th or would I rather get Matt Kemp or Troy Tulowitzki, etc in the 1st-2nd and Morales in the 5th? I think I go with the latter.