Archive for November 16th, 2009

Nov 16

2010 Tampa Bay Rays Trade Value Index

TVI Cork Gaines 8 Comments »

We recently updated our 40-man and 25-man roster projections for the 2010 season. With free agency now in full swing, the Hot Stove is upon us. Therefore it is time to update the Tampa Bay Rays “Trade Value Index” in which we rank the value of top 43 players in the Rays organization.

The TVI ranks every player on the 40-man roster and the top prospects in the organization. Our goal is to determine which players in the organization are the most valuable to the team. The rankings consider a number factors in addition to talent and good looks, such as potential, age, contract and depth of position in organization.

Notes on how the rankings are compiled and a few specific players can be found after the table…

Notes on the Rays TVI top 50…

  • The TVI uses very rough mathematical formula that gives differential weights to the various factors. This gives the list a starting point which is then tweaked based on the discussions of several committee members that may or may not have been under the influence of alcohol. Keep in mind that in many instances there is only a very slight difference in value from one position to the next in which we could easily make a strong argument for swapping two players in the rankings. That being said, we are fairly confident that most players are within a couple of spots of where they should be…Or not.
  • The top 10 players are all under team control for at least the next 3 years.
  • Evan Longoria and David Price were the clear 1-2. After that James Shields and Matt Garza were clearly above the next group.
  • The two players that were the subject of the most debate were Jeremy Hellickson and Tim Beckham. The debate centered around how much either could command if traded.
  • At the other end of the rankings, Ramon Ramirez was recently claimed off waivers, so likely has little or no value. Gabe Kapler might just be a 5th outfielder on the Rays suggesting he is not very valuable. Meanwhile, many teams might want Pat Burrell, but his contract would scare most teams away.
  • Feel free to tell us where we screwed up in the comments.
Nov 16

[THE HANGOVER] The One Where We Discuss Longo’s Fake 2K10 Cover, Minor Leaguers Granted Free Agency And Beating Troy Percival

BJ Upton, Evan Longoria, Troy Percival, Winston Abreu Cork Gaines 4 Comments »

hangoverOne website is reporting that Evan Longoria may be on the cover of “MLB2K10.” Supposedly, the images at right were included in a survey asking people which cover they preferred. (thanks Joel).

There is one small problem. The top image is stolen from Dirtbag’s ESPN the Magazine cover which you can see here.

Now maybe Longoria will be on the cover, but we doubt these are the images that will be used.

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…

  • A couple of bigger names from the minor league system have been granted free agency including Winston Abreu. [Rays Prospects]
  • John Romano addresses the idea of trading Pat Burrell for Milton Bradley with one of those moving picture things. [The Point After]
  • The Rays Party looks at BJ Upton’s struggles against lefties. [The Rays Party]
  • NY Baseball Digest responded to our post from Saturday in which we  questioned the accuracy of one of their reports. The response was both laughable and sad (the best part is about how the readers didn’t “properly decimate the information”). Dock of the Rays couldn’t let that slide without a response of their own. [Dock of the Rays]
  • An author recounts the time he beat Troy Percival in racquetball. What the author doesn’t realize is that he could probably beat Percival at baseball also. [The Sports Info Business]