It’s late and Nate McClouth is now an Atlanta Brave, but that’s boring. As is the case with the majority of players I steal in a draft, I want no part of them the next year. Hell, I want no part of them at the trade-deadline of that year. Regardless of my fantasy strategy, I’m pretty down on McClouth and it pains me to say that 20 SB may be a reach for him now. Hell, 15 stolen bases, or 6 more over the course of the season, may be a reach for McClouth.
The Braves have attempted…wait…wait…20 SB thus far in 2009, successfully stealing 12 bases. Now, if Jordan Schafer ever got on base that number would certainly have be higher, but needless to say, the Braves really don’t steal all that much. The Braves finished third last in stolen bases in 2008, and fifth last in 2007, so it’s not lookin’ all that great for McClouth until you consider that the Pirates are almost as bad. However, if the Braves’ pitching fails to keep them in contention, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Bobby Cox adopt the “fuck-it” approach to baseball managing and give everyone the green light. Old people do crazy things…Nate McClouth’s projected SB numbers definitely aren’t a bell curve: I’m going with either 18, 19, 30, or 31 SB. There is no way Nate McClouth steals twenty-something bases. The End.
The interesting part is the arrival of Andrew McCutchen to the Bucs…finally. McCutchen’s spent the past two seasons in AAA working on ‘refining his game’ and it’s obviously paid off, as he was well on his way to notching his second consecutive 0.70 BB:K season. Predicting a .340 OBP for McCutchen to go along with a .270ish batting average isn’t a stretch and if the kid gets on base, he’ll run. McCutchen’s 5 percent reduction in K-Rate thus far in AAA is yet another sign that the kid’s ready for the show. While McCutchen may only have 7 or 8 HR in his bat over the remainder of the season, he should steal enough bases to be roster-able in most 14-teamers, maybe 12-teamers. Unfortunately you’ll have to wait for the RBI & Runs, as McCutchen probably won’t work his way into the top half of the line-up for at least a couple weeks.
If everything works out well, McCutchen should take over McClouth’s spot in the line-up and spend time batting lead-off and third and possibly fifth if Andy LaRoche continues to shake the bust-label with his sweet-swing.
The biggest note is Tommy Hanson’s call-up and scheduled start this weekend, but you already know all about Hanson. Then again, you probably have already taken in these updates quite a few times; I’m just here to help ease their digestion.
