its been a while man, its Julian… nice to see you around…

Im not familiar with your league but DeLeon does seem to be lightyears away… and im not sure Danny Murphy or Laffey are worth their roster spot, they are what they are, a backup and a 5 starte/swingman…

I would get rid of those 3 guys

Id drop:

Fairley
Holt
DeLeon
Corey Brown
Martin

Youre underrating Laffey. He has a decent chance to be a solid, dependable plus in every category except K’s. He’s also already a mildly valuable fantasy starting pitcher. So there’s little risk. Besides, if starting pitching is as rare in your league as you say (it is in mine) Laffey could be perfect trade fodder to fill a hole a month or two into the season. Someone will be desperate for starters.

Under no circumstances drop:
Main
FDLS
Westmoreland
Mills
Duffy

If I were you Id try to trade some guys I think are overrated – like Triunfel, Villalona, Neftali Feliz. Those guys are so far away that if you can get something pretty good for them you should do it – just on sheer odds they pan out. Dont give them away by any means, but if you can get someone to overpay I would certainly keep an open mind.

Also, I find it amazing I always have to tell people this, but: DONT WORRY ABOUT POSITIONAL SCARCITY IN YOUR MINOR LEAGUES!! Who the hell knows when these guys will have fantasy value and beyond that, emerge as dependable fantasy starters. Most likely it wont be until their third major league season – so we could be talking five years down the line, and for the guys above like Villalona and Triunfel it could be six or more years until they are dependable fantasy options you would be satisfied entering the season with them holding down a position. They could pull a Delmon Young and start off slow as hell and still only be 22, 23, 24, 25 and you cant give up on them, because it still looks like they have a decent chance to be a star. Think Adrian Beltre. In the meantime how many fantasy seasons have been ruined because you handed Villalona a job at age 22 and he doesnt start to rake until age 26? You know…?

The other positional scarcity issue is that you stockpiling a position that’s hard to fill (like catcher) is GREAT! Fantasy Baseball is a zero sum world. There are only so many decent options playing at any time. Having all the best catchers or shortstops in the league is HUGE. Its taking wins/points away from your opponent. When you have a list like this you really cant worry about positions – take the best bets/upside guys and sort it out later. If they all pan out you’ll be in great shape to make a trade if you have to fill a hole on your team.

Chris Marrero – I just don’t believe in him.
Aaron Laffey – nothing better than back of the rotation
Kelvin DeLeon – way far away
Corey Brown
David Murphy? – I love murph and I’m a mets fan, but I don’t know if he’ll stick at 2B and he’s merely an average or slightly above average OF. Depends how close to the majors you need someone at that position.

Not sure otherwise. You have too many catchers (I actually count 5 unless you think Flowers is a 1B). Is it possible to still trade one of them away right now? If I were to get rid of one, it would probably be Salome. He is hitting, but I think he is the least likely to produce in the future.

As for Holt – he currently is a starter and will remain a starter until otherwise stated. His curve and change apparently were improving enough to have BA gush about him. So he has to have done something right.

Also, I too wouldn’t classify Villalona/Triunfel/Soto/Hewitt as “definite keepers”. They are good, but not definite.

I’d drop in this order…

1. DeLeon
2. Laffey
3. Marrero
4. Fairley

It just seems the odds of him ever becoming a legitimate hitter are pretty slim, despite the impressive tools. Although I guess with a roster that deep, you can afford to carry a few low-probability projects. I’d definitely keep De Leon over him though, given that De Leon actually looks like a solid hitter with power already.

And if arms need to be stockpiled, I’d hesitate on cutting Laffey. In my experience in leagues that require a ton of pitching depth, guys who could emerge out of spring training with a rotation spot are good to have on the roster over pipe dream complex-league projects.

The obvious cuts for me are:

Corey Brown
Kelvin Deleon
Wendell Fairley
Anthony Hewitt

On the bubble:

Neil Ramirez

Pretty much all of the guys I listed were both very far away from helping, and not as highly regarded as your other far off guys. Corey Brown is a bit more advanced, but wasn’t that great a pick, 59th over all, typical Oakland lower and plate discipline guy, but strikes out too much and doesn’t hit for average. Kelvin DeLeon got a $1.1M bonus, but was part of that big kickback scandal, may not have been worth it, and has yet to appear in the US. Wedell Fairley got $1M at 29th overall, but didn’t do much as a 20 year old in rookie ball (in the lowest level- one of the complex leagues). Hewitt is a similar case; 24th overall, but a .555 OPS in the GCL.

Neil Ramirez would be a tougher cut for me. Got a $1M bonus over slot at pick 44, and then unlike some of the guys above, performed at a reasonable level, with nice numbers in A- ball. I still have trouble keeping him over a guy like Holt, who was even more dominant, has at least as good a ceiling, and was a higher pick, (very slightly) higher bonus, and has a chance to help sooner. Or, over Martin, who was the consensus best HS pitcher in his draft and got $1.7M from the Dodgers at pick 15.

It’s not that any of these guys are bad picks, but you are really loaded with guys who may not help for 5 years. If your MLB squad is really good, and you are sure you will have no need for a guy like Laffey, then I suppose you could cut him. But Laffey and Murphy seem to me to be guys who could help next year. Murphy will be ordinary, about an .850 OPS, in LF, but I think you have to hang on and see if he qualifies at 2B before dropping him.