Can Josh Fields Power His Way To Relevance?
Josh Fields was a two-sport star at Oklahoma State, as he was the starting quarterback for the Cowboys and helped lead them to two wins over Oklahoma during his tenure. Fields made the decision to concentrate on baseball and he was the 18th pick of the 2004 draft for the White Sox.
Despite not having the baseball-heavy background of some of his peers, Fields turned in a nice year at Triple-A in 2006 and was considered one of the top prospects in the game for the 2007 season. He responded by hitting 23 home runs in 373 at-bats in his rookie season.
But 2008 was a different story. Fields spent most of the season in the minors and when he did play in the majors, manager Ozzie Guillen constantly harped on his poor defense. Additionally, Fields suffered from a patella injury last year and had off-season surgery on his right knee.
However, Fields is a guy to watch because the starting third base job is his to lose. Yes, his strikeout rate is alarming. But this is also a guy with a .221 ISO in his 478 plate appearances in the majors.
If you miss out on the top tier third baseman and none of the lower tier guys strike your fancy, Fields is an excellent gamble on the late rounds of your draft. He has the opportunity to get 550 at-bats and he has produced power at both Triple-A and the majors in the last three years when given a shot at regular playing time. Fields offers 25 HR power at the end of a draft, something not many players can say.
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I have a little problem converting “late rounds” to auction dollars for my 4X4 AL roto league. I picked up Fields at $10 late last year in a trade. he’s in his last year under our rules (keep for 3 years unless you bump up his contract $5 per year of extension). If he starts, as now looks likely, is $10 still too high?
How many owners in your league?
Brian,
Do you think Fields will really get 550+ ABs with Betemit around?
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/The-Fantasy-Face-Off
Click on the link for the 2/5 show where my partner Mike Podhorzer and I discussed Fields and Betemit, among other topics.
12 owners. 14 hitters, 9 pitchers. On draft day, pretty much all but the bottom 2 -3 eligible at each hitting position is taken, although you can draft DL’d guys. Something like 168 players. figuring most AL teams go with 13 hitters, that leaves only about 15 players undrafted (plus DLs).
The other concern is how many keepers you are allowed. My pal Lenny Melnick has Fields with a $12 price in AL-only leagues, which indicates that $10 might be acceptable if you have unlimited keepers.
Thanks Brian. we have up to 15, so effectively there is not much of a limit. I tend to look a bit more for a bargain than my co-owner, mostly to make up for my other mistakes. I don’t think I’ll be up against the 15 limit, so I’m leaning towards keeping him.
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