Exit the Sandman?

As humans, Americans, sports fans, and fantasy players we are conditioned to expect immediate results. In business they call it ROI, or Return on Investment. And in the fantasy case where you’ve invested a draft pick on a player, you expect him to give you return on that investment by producing numbers for you. Unfortunately that isn’t always the way things work out. Before the season even started, Pablo Sandoval had made the jump from being a sleeper to being a much-targeted player and as a result was no longer a sleeper at all. If you ended up with Sandy during your draft you probably spent a pick somewhere between the 12th and 15th rounds to get him. While that’s not a huge investment, you did expect him to start for you, and as such were expecting results. So far, Pablo has let you down to the tune of a .245 BA, along with zero homers and 1 RBI. Geez, Pablo, thanks for coming out. But Sandy isn’t getting much help from his teammates either. The Giants are ranked last in Runs Scored, 29th in OBP, 26th in BA, and 29th in Total Bases. What that should tell you is that this is an anemic offense that isn’t going to produce many chances for Sandoval to either drive in runs or be driven in. So, the bad news is pretty extensive. The good news is that Sandy does have very nice upside. He hit .350/20/96 in 112 games in the Minors last year. That’s an even more impressive line when spread out over 150+ games. Sandoval is eligible in most leagues at C, 1B and 3B, which gives you some nice flexibility for injuries, off-days, etc. Also, he has hit safely in 5 of his last 6 games, which could be a sign of things to come. Ok, so now that you’ve got the skinny on Pablo Sandoval, what do you do with that information? Odds are you drafted him to be your catcher, despite his eligibility at 1B and 3B. If that’s the case, 10-team mixed league owners should hang on to him… at least for now. Sandoval’s upside and position flexibility make him worth at least another few weeks of your patience. And I hope it goes without saying that in NL-only or two-catcher formats Sandoval should be held onto. If, on the other hand, you drafted him to play a corner infield spot for you, odds are you can find more of a sure thing out there on the waiver wire. And unless you’re in a keeper league or your league is very deep, I’d probably go ahead and let Sandy loose.

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PCB Scout

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Questions? Comments? Random Nonsense? Email me: pcbscout(at)gmail.com

1B Ishikawa Having Big Spring

San Francisco Giants' rookie first basemen, Travis Ishikawa, is making sure top prospect, Pablo Sandoval stays at third base by batting .314 with a league second-best 5 home runs thus far in Spring Training. Sandoval did play a majority of his time at first base in 2008. He is also the Giants back-up catcher.

Ishikawa's power is not a fluke, he smashed 16 home runs with just 174 at bats for AAA Fresno in 2008. He added 3 more after being brought up to the Giants with 95 at bats and batted .274. Sandavol looks to start at 3B and that should clear the way to Ishikawa starting at first base.

Sin City Scout

If you are in a Yahoo league draft.......

Pablo Sandoval catcher for the the SF Giants. Wait you say, I thought their catcher was Bengie Molina who had a great season last year. Your right the eldest Molina is the SF catcher and is worth drafting late as well, but in Yahoo leagues you only need 10 games at a position in 08 to be eligible there in 09. While I prefer a 20 game threshold for eligibility, this falls under the category of knowing your league's rules and taking advantage of them. With an ADP of 188 he could be your steal of the draft if you target him just earlier than this, say your pick that is closest to the 170th draft spot. While Sandoval likely won't rake at last years late season pace because of his low walk rate, he is a candidate for .280-15-75-70 or better which is a great line for a late round round catcher. Actually make that any catcher.