MLB Showdown Cards

MLB Showdown 2014: Firstbase

                I love when first base is deep. Baseball is better and Showdown is better. Albert Pujols is still the first name I am interested to look at when the year ends. He had 28 homers and 37 doubles with a .272 batting average. Crazy year? Not at all. Help him get to Hall of Fame career numbers? Absolutely a productive year from that stand point. Joe Mauer is now a full-time firstbasemen. I like the big name but his 4 homers, 2 triples and 27 doubles with a .361 OBP he is more Nick Johnson than Twins fans would like. His old running mate Justin Morneau refound himself batting .319 with 17 homers and 3 triples and 32 doubles. In every way that Ryan Howard and Prince Fielder have let me down Edwin Encarnacion has picked me up. I did not think he would become the consistent producer he is. Thank you for 34 homers this past year. The big surprise is no surprise to anyone. Jose Abreu played like a man possessed. His 36 Homers, 2 triples, 35 doubles with a .317 BA lead to a Rookie of the Year award. By the way under this logic Hideki Matsui was robbed. Either way Abreu is an exciting player we hope has a +45 homer year in his future.

                As much as I enjoy Abreu I don’t love him as a first pick power option on a power team. He is a 10, speed B(13) 18-20 HR, 15-17 2B with 1B+0 for 530 points. I kind of like him in the second round and I really start liking him in the third and later. Adam Laroche is a nice option if you need OB and power with an OB 9, speed B(13) 18-20 HR and no double with 1B+0 for 320 points. Not really a great pick for pure power player but definitely fun for people who lean power. Adrian Gonzalez as an 8, 18-20 HR, 14-17 2B speed C(10) 1B+1 for 300 points doesn’t seem to fit well ether. Laroche will go before Gonzalez. In a league with few power players Gonzalez may not go at all. I like Pujols is in the same camp as a 7, 17-20 HR, 13-16 2B speed B(14) 1B+0 for 280 points. I actually really like Brandon Belt as a 6, 15-20 HR speed B(16) with 1B+0 for 240 points. Again both those guys aren’t being sought after by non-power players. This is a deep year for Power Players.

                Pingers actually don’t have a great pick here this year. Dropping down to an 8, speed A(19) Joey Votto for 260 points doesn’t feel great and speed players want him more. Paying 410 for Freddie Freeman and 400 for Rizzo is rough even if they bat third. Joe Mauer as a 9, speed B(15) 18-20 2B for 180 points is probably the pick. No ideal 9, speed B, 20 homer guy. Moneyballers like Mauer more. I think they like Mike Napoli as a 10, 20 HR, 18-19 2B, speed C(10) for 290 points is a fantastic pick. No one wants to face that guy potentially batting 6^th in a line-up full of 10s.

                Speed players should be doing backflips. Paul Goldschmidt as a 10, speed A(20), 19-20 HR, 16-18 2B, 9-15 1B for 450 points. This guy wants to bat fourth behind Trout/McCutchen. I don’t know if that dream is doable. Those all sound like first rounders to me but it sounds like a ton of fun. Something definitely doable is Joey Votto as an 8, speed A(19), 20 HR, 16-19 2B with 3-10 BB for 260 points. Obviously this guy isn’t batting fourth. He is a bit scary with a 3-10 BB. If he gets the advantage and walks after you have stolen second base you are going to be pretty frustrated. Think of him as a late in the order runs player instead of a late in the order RBI player. Eric Hosmer is a 6, 20 HR, 16-19 2B, 1B+1 for 150 points is not what I want to be doing unless the league is 10 teams or larger.

                First time we get to have this paragraph on a review… The split card! This position has Chris Carter as a split card. To be clear there are both split and non-split versions of the 2014 split cards. Carter’s unsplit is a 6, 16-20 HR, 14-15 2B speed C(10), for 180 points. Obviously a decent option for a power team if there is a lot of completion for higher guys or if you find yourself strapped for points. The split card however is an 8, 16-20 HR, 14-15 2B vs LHP and a 5, 13-20 HR, 12 2B vs RHP for 220 points. Obviously he still fits on a power team. The question for 40 extra points do you mind losing an OB most of the times vs RHP but a more potent chart. Then against LHP getting 2 extra OB with roughly the same chart. I think it is a card I will be playing for sure. Remember these cards are designed that if you draft the split version you have to play it for the entire year. No switching.

                Nick Swisher is a coveted 2 point player as a 5, speed C(11), 20 HR off the bench. Mitch Moreland and Gaby Sanchez are both  5s for 4 points off the bench. Moreland speed C(12) 20 HR. Sanchez is a speed B(13) with no homer. I like Prince Fielder as a Pinch Hitter as a 7, 20 HR, speed C(8) for 18 points off the bench. 

Card Colby would add (1 of 10): Carlos Delgado 2001- This is a stacked position so it was going to take a special card to make any sort of impact. Mark McGwire 2000/2001 would have served fine as well and Jeff Bagwell 2000. Jason Giambi was going to be my choice but I would hate to take away/confuse with his 2014 card. This firstbase class is marked by a lot of efficient players. The highest point total is 530 points with Abrue. Adding an 11 OB for 610 points is a nice way to burn up some points. It also gives the option of a manager having three 11 OB if they so wish. He is an exciting card that players will covet. He also is slow with a speed C(10) which I actually wish this class had more of.