As the first baseball workouts of 2008 take place in Arizona and Florida, the smell of grass begins to permeate our computer monitors. It's time once again to prepare rankings and strategies for the long season ahead. Here now for your viewing pleasure is the first Average Auction Values (AAV) Report of the spring, from FantasyAuctioneer.com.
Whether you're in a long-time, hardcore auction league or just now (finally) making the switch over to auction-drafting this season, it is essential to know how much these MLB players are going for before you auction. Many of these "market values" will go up and down during Spring Training -- and we'll keep you on top of those values -- but for now here's a first look at the AAV's from expert auctions hosted by FantasyAuctioneer.com.
These are for a 12-team, mixed league, 5x5 Rotisserie format, with the standard 23-man starting rosters and a $260 salary cap. Before the master AAV list below, we'll take a closer look at players who switched teams this offseason and some up-and-comers in 2008.
Team Changers
Miguel Cabrera, 3B, DET ($39) -- One of the game's best young hitters comes to Comerica, carrying a big stick and joining a scary lineup. Along with A-Rod and David Wright, he makes up the upper tier of third basemen. Expect career high numbers, but expect to pay for it also.
Johan Santana, SP, NYM ($35) -- The best pitcher in the majors will cost you $5 more than second-place Jake Peavy. Is Santana worth it on the Mets? I don't see why anything would change; he has a whole new crop of NL hitters to toy with.
Erik Bedard, SP, SEA ($24) -- Canadian K'nuck goes from east to west, leaving the pathetic Orioles for the emerging Mariners. His 2007 numbers, especially if prorated for a whole season, more than justify this auction price. We're talking about 270 Ks over 34 starts, though he only made 28 appearances for Baltimore. Bedard fans only hope he can stay healthy and keep mowing down AL hitters.
Miguel Tejada, SS, HOU ($18) -- Mentioned in the Mitchell Report along with fellow "mover" Eric Gagne, Tejada hopes his bat will do all the talking this season. Long an elite option at SS, he has passed the torch to speedsters Reyes, Ramirez, and Rollins. Hopefully for this auction price, the short-porch in left field at Minute Maid Park will fuel whatever pop he has left.
Dontrelle Willis, SP, DET ($8) -- Averaged over 215 innings as Florida's workhorse the past four years, but his Ks have dropped and ERA and walks have risen significantly since his dominant 2005. If he resurfaces on a solid Tigers team, he represents great auction value at eight bucks.
Andruw Jones, OF, LAD ($8) -- For the first time in his career, Jones will don a uniform other than the Braves'. He is long removed from his prime, and after a dismal swan song in Atlanta, new manager Joe Torre will have to work his magic to try and get Andruw sending bombs out of Dodger Stadium on a regular basis.
Eric Gagne, RP, MIL ($2) -- Gagne performed well as closer in Texas last year before getting dealt to Boston, where he floundered. Now taking the spot of Francisco Cordero as closer for the Brewers, he can only hope his elbow can hold up and he can put his dismal Red Sox numbers behind him.
Other team changers: Dan Haren, SP, ARI ($21), Torii Hunter, OF, LAA ($21), Delmon Young, OF, MIN ($16), Josh Hamilton, OF, TEX ($12), Francisco Cordero, RP, CIN ($11), Aaron Rowand, OF, SF ($11), Edgar Renteria, SS, DET ($11), Orlando Cabrera, SS, CHW ($9), Nick Swisher, OF, CHW ($7), Kazuo Matsui, 2B, HOU ($6), Troy Glaus, 3B, STL ($3), Tadahito Iguchi, 2B, SD ($2), Scott Rolen, 3B, TOR ($1), Johnny Estrada, C, WAS ($1), Paul Lo Duca, C, WAS ($1)
Up-and-comers
C: Jarrod Saltalamacchia, TEX ($8), Geovany Soto, CHC ($4)
1B: James Loney, LAD ($9), Joey Votto, CIN ($4), Daric Barton, OAK ($2)
2B: Dustin Pedroia, BOS ($5), Yunel Escobar, ATL ($2)
SS: Troy Tulowitzki, COL ($20)
3B: Ryan J. Braun, MIL ($37), Alex Gordon, KC ($6), Kevin Kouzmanoff, SD ($3), Evan Longoria, TB ($2), Josh Fields, CHW ($1)
OF: Hunter Pence, HOU ($24), Chris B. Young, ARI ($18), Delmon Young, MIN ($16), Matt Kemp, LAD ($11), Jacoby Ellsbury, BOS ($11), Kosuke Fukudome, CHC ($8), Cameron Maybin, FLA ($7), Michael Bourn, HOU ($5), Rick Ankiel, STL ($2), Lastings Milledge, WAS ($1), Justin Upton, ARI ($1)
SP: Tim Lincecum, SF ($13), Yovani Gallardo, MIL ($13), Chad Billingsley, LAD ($11), Rich Hill, CHC ($8), John Maine, NYM ($7), Phil Hughes, NYY ($5), Jon Lester, BOS ($5), Ubaldo Jimenez, COL ($4), Ian Kennedy, NYY ($3), Clay Buchholz, BOS ($3), Homer Bailey, CIN ($3), Dustin McGowan, TOR ($2), Shawn Marcum, TOR ($2), Tom Gorzelanny, PIT ($1), Shawn Hill, WAS ($1), Jair Jurrjens, ATL ($1), Scott Baker, MIN ($1), Matt Garza, TB ($1), Kevin Slowey, MIN ($1), Philip Humber, MIN ($1)
