We're Still Friends - Daniel Murphy

Last year I loved Daniel Murphy. I saw Murphy as a tremendous sleeper. I saw a young guy who already had some success in the majors the previous year and who loves to spend time in the batting cages to work on his hitting. I respected the hard work he was putting in. However, he had a bad year for the Mets, and for me.

This year, my view of him has changed dramatically. But he still has value.

The Mets have already said that Murphy will be the starting first baseman. This hurts his value some as he is not a typical slugger and he plays in a pitchers park - he is not going to be a 40 HR guy, I would be shocked if he hit 30.

If he struggled last year and is not going to put up typical first base numbers, why do I think he has value this year? A starting first baseman for any team needs attention (Last year, those who paid attention to Kendry Morales were greatly rewarded). Murphy will be counted on as an RBI hitter. He will be used in the heart of the lineup. With David Wright and Jason Bay hitting somewhere around him, he should get pitches to hit. There were also some positive signs last year that Murphy was getting over his struggles at the plate. After an abysmal start, he hit at a .280+ avg the rest of the way. Murphy ended the year with a .266 AVG, 63 RBIs, and 12 HRs.

This year, I will give Murphy the .280 avg, I will give him around 20 HRs, and 80 RBIs. There is room for improvement on these numbers (he had a .300+ AVG in his first 50 games in the bigs). He should not be drafted in a shallow league, and would be a fairly late pick in deep leagues. I think Murphy can be a great fill-in for an injured starter on your team or even a UTL guy depending on match-ups. If his average approaches .300, he could turn out to be a solid late round/waiver wire pick. Last year I loved him, this year we'll just be friends.

-Scout Monkey

( scout_monkey@gmx.com)

"It's Guy Love"

A man crush, guy-love, whatever you want to call it, I have it with Daniel Murphy. Scout Hoffman has just written an article on the newest object of my affection and I loved every word ('Hot Spots - Daniel Murphy'). Why am I so enamored with this player? It's cuz he's a cage rat. What on earth is a cage rat? It's the baseball equivalent of a gym-rat (the basketball player that is first to show up and last to leave). Daniel Murphy loves the batting cages, and you will often find him there in his free time. When I hear that the guy was skipping classes in college in order to hit in the cages, it makes my heart go boom. Really, I guess it boils down to his work ethic. I would like to think that if I was ever to make a pro team (laugh long and hard), I would be known as the guy that practices as hard as anyone. The guy who is a real student of the game. That is what you have with Daniel Murphy. Practices hard, and asks questions of his team mates on how to be better. I find that guys who practice to this level end up in one of two categories: 1) The not naturally talented but make up for it with his effort player. Also know as a 'Gamer' 2) All-star. Make no mistake, Jordan, Tiger, Rice, etc. are all supremely talented, but work as hard, if not harder, then anyone in practice. It's very early, but I think Daniel 'You had me at hello' Murphy will fall into category 2. Now I'm not saying he is the baseball version of Michael Jordan (the basketball player version) but I think someone with his dedication and talents will make him an all-star (not this year - love is blind but not that blind). Now we don't have a big sampling of his talent in the big leagues, but the small amount we saw was good. He has now earned a full time starting position in the Met's outfield, he will produce this year, enough for you to take notice and have him in you lineup. Decent speed, decent power, good bat, surrounded by a good Met's offense is something that you think would demand attention, but he is going undrafted in most leagues. Keep an eye on him, set him aside, start him, just don't let the opposition have him. Daniel 'Heart Throb' Murphy will make my team and my dreams. -Scout Monkey

Hot Spots - Daniel Murphy

Think of all the great spots you could be right now: On a beach in the Caribbean, on top of a snow covered mountain, a poker room in Vegas, visiting any costal city on the Mediterranean, pretty much anywhere but your office or your couch. When we talk Fantasy Baseball, spot in the order is very important, and I cannot think of a much better spot than sandwiched between two top five picks. To make it even better, the guy two spots behind you is a second round pick, and the guy three spots behind you drove in 115 runs last year. If you haven’t figured it out, I am talking about batting second for the Mets. With Jose Reyes (.358 OBP in ’08) leading off, David Wright (124 RBI in’08) hitting third, Carlos Beltran (112 RBI in ‘08) hitting fourth, and Carlos Delgado (115 RBI in ‘08) hitting fifth, the second spot there is a dream spot. A sack of potatoes could score 100 runs with those hitters as protection. With the off-season retirement of Moises Alou this spot falls to the new leftfielder, Daniel Murphy. Murphy received a vote of confidence from Jerry Manuel and will be in the two-hole to start the season. Manuel has praised the youngster for his plate discipline and once the season starts, and the games have more meaning, Murphy will see a steady diet of good pitches to hit. Pitchers cannot pitch around him and put him on base with the mashers behind him, so he will be challenged from day one. His minor league stats don’t show a ton of power or speed, but that is not what he is being asked to do. In 99 minor league games last year he hit .315 and had an OBP of .379. If he keeps that up, or anything close to that, he should easily be a cheap source of runs and average. He may lose some AB’s early to Fernando Tatis against lefty hurlers, but if he can prove he can hit lefties this ideal spot will be his all year. Grab in him in all NL-Only leagues and take a late flier on this undrafted gem in mixed leagues. Hoffy’s Ballpark Figures: Daniel Murphy – 475 AB / .303 AVG / 13 HR / 60 RBI / 14 SB / 89 R