RADIO
Stoneface (micro)brewery on the Seacoast of New Hampshire is FANTASTIC. Hidden in a warehouse space in a commercial office park near the highway. It has no particular appeal, other than the beer. No restaurant or bar, just a concrete floor with kegs, boxes and stacks of beer surrounding a counter with taps for tasting and filling growlers. Nothing Flashy, just great beer.
They have this American IPA, referred to as Stoneface IPA, and it’s the winner. It’s the best beer. It’s a perfect balance of grassy hops, lemon citrus aromas and toasty malts. Goose Island IPA and Lagunitas IPA are an acceptable replacement but not nearly as good. Beer Advocate gives the Stoneface IPA a world class rating of 97.
Players mentioned on the Rotoballer Cut List are the opposite of a Stoneface IPA, they are far from good. The cutlist is like a Voodoo Donut. If you are unfortunate enough to try a Voodoo Donut, you know what I mean. Cut them loose and enjoy a cold Stoneface IPA to wash it all away.
Last week, we recommended cutting Jered Weaver, Jimmy Rollins, Addison Reed, Nick Castellanos, and Kyle Lohse. All remain fantastic decisions to cut if you haven’t already done so.
If you neglected my warnings and played any of these, you paid the price. Take heed to the week 12 Cutlist.
Players to Dump After Week 12
Andrew Cashner (SP, SD)
Its hard to believe that there are 1132 players in the majors producing statistics superior to Andrew Cashner. According to Yahoo, Cashner is barely edging out Todd Redmond, the Tampa Bay reliever with a respectable 10 IP, 1 HLD and 11.70 ERA.
Flush that cash down the drain. At this point your only two options are selling him for peanuts or cutting ties. If you drop him, another manager will take their chances and pick him up. You really have to trade him. Even though you won't get much in return, it will be better than Todd Redmond. Try and trade him for a CJ WIlson or Jaime Garcia. Both would be a steal. They are pitching very well right now and Cashner is showing no signs of improving. Andrew Cashner (72% owned in Yahoo leagues) will probably go on an absolute tear immediately following me typing these words.
Michael Cuddyer (1B/OF, NYM)
Michael Cuddyer’s .246 BA and .120 ISO is a far cry from 2013 when he hit 20 HR/.331 BA/.198 ISO. Just drop him and add Logan Forsythe as soon as possible. At this point in the season, Forsythe has proven he is the real deal. The “Wolverine” is currently ranked 24th in all of baseball with a 2.5 WAR, has more RBI and SB than Kolten Wong and a higher wOBA than Dustin Pedroia.
Mike Napoli (1B, BOS)
On Tuesday, Mike Napoli was dropped to 8th in batting order for the first time in his career. He proceeded to go 0-4 with four strikeouts. Naps is batting .203/.299/.387 for the year and as a result, is at risk of being designated for assignment. His power potential keeps him owned in 41% of Yahoo leagues, but there are much better options. If you're in a shallow league, drop Napoli and add Adam Lind. If you’re in a super deep league, bench him and pray he has a repeat of 2011, when batted .232/.344/.529 for the first half of the season then exploded over the second half of the season with an insane .383/.466/.706 and 18 home runs.
Steve Cishek (RP, MIA)
Steve Cishek is still 30% owned in Yahoo leagues. Over the last 30 days, his pitching stats aren't all bad, with a 2.84/1.89/8.53 but with no counting stats like holds or saves, he doesn't hold enough value with only 6.1 IP over that span. A.J Ramos has the closer position locked down. Drop Cishek and pick up JJ Hoover if he is still available. Hoover is 10th among relief pitchers with six holds over the last 30 days and a nice 0.00 ERA. Hoover is currently only 6% owned in Yahoo leagues.
Rusney Castillo (OF, BOS)
Have you seen a Rusney Castillo at bat? He looks completely overmatched, like he isn't ready for the bigs. It is no surprise they sent him down to AAA.
The Red Sox just paid $72,000,000 for a prospect that will be 29 next year. It’s fair to assume they expected immediate production with that type of money. The Red Sox should be concerned about a big loss on this gigantic gamble. Maybe they overreacted and overpaid and unproven talent because of the success of Jose Abreu?
In shallow leagues and leagues without NA slots, you need to drop the struggling Cuban. The Red Sox must have the richest AAA team in all of baseball with big contracts Allen Craig and Rusney Castillo making an easy fortune.
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