Tuesday, March 15, 2005

Los Angelos Angels of Anaheim

(What an awkward name.)

That out of the way, there are two players who had excellent Roto seasons in 2004 who are in line to disappoint - Jeff Davanon and Chone Figgins.

Both players relied upon injuries to garner lots of playing time. Figgins made over 600 plate appearances while Davanon's plate appearances were close to his 2003 ones (Technically, about 10% fewer in 2004).

In the off-season, LAA signed Orlando Cabrera to a big contract to play SS and Steve Finley to play CF. The club also decided to give Dallas MacPherson 3B. These were the three positions that Figgins garnered the overwhelming majority of his ABs. (He made 13 appearances at SS.) Fortunately, Adam Kennedy blew out his knee last September, so Figgins begins the season as the starting 2B.

This will not last, and when Kennedy returns, Figgins will be without a regular gig. He may get half the ABs he did last season. As a result, I suggest trading him now because once the season begins, Roto teams will be more cognizant of Kennedy's return and this will diminish Figgins value.

Davanon garnered 80% of his ABs in the OF. With GLove, Finley and Vlad, there won't be but a couple starts per week available in the OF, and the Angels acquired Juan Rivera to be the 4th OF/injury replacement.

So Davanon is pushed into the DH role for regular ABs. That is until MacPherson's temporary replacement, Robb Quinlan, returns to the bench after filling-in for DMac. If Quinlan produces, as he has in his brief stints, he'd be given some of the DH ABs.

And when Kennedy returns, where is Figgins going to get ABs? DH! And none of this accounts for PT that Casey Kotchman could receive if he makes the team especially if Erstad comes up lame (Impossible!)

Little more needs to be elucidated. Figgins and Davanon were clutch members of successful 2004 Roto teams, but that is where their value ends. 2005 is a whole new ballgame and new Davanons and Figgins need to be uncovered.

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