FREE-(agent)-DOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I tried really hard attempting to find a good intro for this blog… but I couldn’t. So, first, I will give you this video:

Now, I will tell you that this blog will be about the Ten Best Free Agent Pickups So Far This Season.

Yep.

It should be noted that an acquisition does not count if the player was drafted. Magglio Ordonez and David Wright are the two examples of this.

Before we begin, here is a…

Key:
Lifer: Picked up by and stayed with the same team
Originally Picked Up By: Self explanatory
Found a Home With: Team the player has been the most successful with so far
Currently With: Self explanatory
Multiple Lovers: Player was successful with more than one team
Flirted With: Spent minimal time with team

Now, we start…

10) Kelvim Escobar
Originally Pickup Up By: Jessica Alba
Multiple Lovers: Jessica Alba, Inoculators and 300
Currently With: Inoculators

Escobar is the head of a series of pitchers who have come out of nowhere to be huge players in our league. Guys like James Shields, Jeremy Guthrie and Oliver Perez are examples of this. Escobar gets the nod over all of them because he has produced more points than any of them. I also believe he is the most likely to continue his current success.

To be honest, this was the toughest decision I had to make regarding the whole list. This spot has fluctuated between several players who will be mention later once the list is done.

9) Justin Upton
Lifer: Inoculators

Many of you are going to be mad about this placement of Justin Upton. You will point to the people who have been left off this list who have produced FAR more than Upton has this year. Many of you will also state that the only reason why Upton is in this particular spot is because I currently own him.

Well, this list was made before Upton cleared waivers. Upton was already on it (except he was one spot higher). I made this list and decision full heartedly believing Upton would be picked up by either Kimball or Erik (for sure I thought Erik would pick him up, he always picks up prospects). But he didn’t and now I am the most excited owner in the league.

I’m telling you, this guy is going to be good.

At the very least, Upton, who was the first pick in the 2005 MLB Draft, is already ahead of Alex Gordon, the second pick in the 2005 MLB Draft.

Games to get to four career hits:

Upton: 4
Gordon: 10

Yeah, that was a low blow… oh well.

8) Placido Polanco
Lifer: Jessica Alba

Alba has made few good decisions the year, but Polanco was a great one. Polanco is currently rated as the third best fantasy second baseman and is rated as the 23^rd best position player in fantasy.

Honestly, as this list will show, Alba made some decent pickups of players. But he was never able to get great return value from them because of either poor trades or because he dropped them. But Polanco is a definite bright spot in what has been a dreadful season for Schilb.

7) Tim Lincecum
Lifer: The Zou

Lincecum is now the cornerstone (with Ryan Braun) of the Zou’s future. The combination of Braun and Lincecum will haunt most of us forever.

What may kill Lincecum, however, is that he plays for the only team in the NL West that sucks. Consider the rising talent of Arizona and Colorado and then think of the beast that is the Los Angeles Dodgers Farm System and their wallet, it may be difficult for the Giants and Lincecum to get the wins his talent deserves.

6) Fausto Carmona
Originally Picked Up By: Inoculators
Flirted With: Tones
Found a Home With: 300
Currently With: The Zou

Carmona is here over Lincecum for two reasons: One, he’s in the American League Central, and, two, the Indians have the talent to support Carmona more effectively.

Carmona has the luxury of not being the guy. Lincecum is the guy, especially since the Giants are paying $18 million a year to a guy who has been relegated to the bullpen for a while. Carmon has C.C. Sabathia and an explosive offense to take pressure off of him. Plus, he does not carry the burden of a guy who was picked in the first round of the draft or was top overseas signing.

The only question with Carmona is can he consistently repeat the season he is having over and over again. Right now, I don’t know the answer to that question.

5) JJ Putz
Lifer: Inoculators

Did you know that Putz is currently the number one fantasy closer and ranks 19 amongst ALL fantasy pitchers in our league?

Don’t have much more to add to that other than he has been the most consistent dominating closer of the season so far.

4) Ryan Braun
Lifer: The Zou

Braun is Jesus.

3) Ken Griffey Jr.
Originally Picked Up By: The Zou
Found a Home With: KC

I had to go through the draft four or five time to confirm that Ken Griffey Jr. was not drafted. Who would have thought six years ago that there would be a fantasy draft where Griffey was not drafted?

Additionally, Griffey is going to be first person to hit 600 home runs and everybody will feel disappointed. Not because of the reasons that people are disappointed with Bonds about, but because everyone just assumed Griffey would be the one chasing this record.

At the end of 2000, Griffey had 438 career home runs. He had hit 40 or more home runs 7 of the last 8 seasons. He had continued that pace, he would have been at about 700 home runs going into this season. And he is only 37 years old…

Granted, the idea of Griffey averaging 40-plus bombs a season between the ages of 31-36 seems like a stretch. But when you consider the softball field that is the Great American Ball Park, Griffey’s swing – a natural, upper-cut, home run swing – and he would have had to additional motivation and pressure from the surging Bonds help propel his game, who knows what could have happened.

I still think it would be neat if Griffey went to an American League team, DHed, and tried to sluggout another 200 bombs. Given the nature of the DH position and the way athletes stay in shape, I think Griffey would have a legitimist chance of doing it, given the right setting. I mean, he does have 26 homers in 103 games this season. Griffey will have at least 600 home runs by the end of this year. Bonds had 613 home runs at the end of the season in which he was 37 years old. He then followed it with two 45 home run seasons, a five home run season, a 26 home run season and the 21 home runs he currently has this season.

I don’t know, but I think, if Griffey really wanted to, he could, at least, break Hank Aaron’s record.

2) Prince Fielder
Lifer: Inoculators

If you want to know how deep last seasons pool of National League rookies was last season, note that Prince Fielder’s .271, 28, 81 season was enough to earn him two points in the rookie of the year voting. Two out of 160 for a 28 home run rookie season. Here was the final tally last year:

Hanley Ramirez (14) 105
Ryan Zimmerman (10) 101
Dan Uggla (6) 55
Josh Johnson (2) 11
Matt Cain 4
Andre Either 4
Prince Fielder 2
Takashi Saito 2
Russell Martin 1
Scott Olsen 1
Anibal Sanchez 1
Josh Willingham 1

Umm…yeah.

Fielder leads all undrafted position players in points, is the second rated first baseman (behind Albert Pujols…go figure) and rates 21^st overall amongst all players, including pitchers.

I feel that he will be a steal at the 28^th round pick next March.

1) C.C. Sabathia
Originally Picked Up By: Inoculators
Found a Home With: The Zou
Currently With: 300

Like we didn’t see this one coming…

Sabathia has had an excellent fantasy season (rating fourth amongst all fantasy players) and is entering a contract season next year.

I assume that, if Sabathia is kept by 300, he will be reaping the benefits of his decision in the playoffs next year.

Jerk.

These Guys Were “Buck O’Neiled”

John Maine
Originally Picked Up By: Inoculators
Found a Home With: The Zou
Flirted With: 300
Currently With: Inoculators

Oliver Perez
Lifer: The Zou

James Shields
Lifer: The Zou

Kevin Youkilis
Lifer: 300

Not “Buck O’Neiled” but Better than Honorable Mention

Mike Lowell
Lifer: 300

Jeremy Guthrie
Originally Picked Up By: Tones
Found a Home With: Inoculators

Honorable Mentions (no particular order)

Aaron Rowand – 300
Shane Victorino - Inoculators
Brad Hawpe – Inoculators and Jessica Alba
Jose Valverde - Smurfs
Al Reyes – Tones
Hunter Pence – Zou
Yovani Gallardo – Zou
Kelly Johnson – Inoculators
Mark Buehrle – Jessica Alba
JJ Hardy – Phantom Menaces
Rich Hill – KC
Brandon Phillips - Inoculators

For fun, here is the list of the Five Plus One worst Free Agent Pickups of the Season:

5) A.J Pierzynski by Jessica Alba
4) Homer Bailey by The Zou
3) Anthony Reyes by Jessica Alba
2) Jason Kendall by Jessica Alba
1) Kip Wells by Jessica Alba

Bonus: John Buck by Jessica Alba