The 2012 Starting Pitcher Guide is still being worked on and it is currently on track to be released a week from Tuesday. I was hoping to have it out no later than March 1st which I could maybe make by rushing it, but I would rather the product be complete and of higher quality than rush it out to hit a target date that doesn’t have any real significance other than it being the start of a month. As I mentioned in the preview piece, there are fewer players capsuled this year (don’t worry, still over 400), but in lieu of that there is a lot more analysis on the players who matter. Instead of covering fringy prospects with 5th starter ceilings in the bottom of Baltimore’s organization, I’m spending more time on major leaguers who are going to impact fantasy teams this year and can do so in a significant way.
Last year’s book checked in around 73,000 words and this year’s is already on pace to hit 87,000. I am not trying to be unnecessarily wordy by any stretch of the imagination, but if a player merits a deep dive, he is getting it this year. Another difference for this year is the lack of the feature pieces at the front of the guide, but again, the sort of analysis found within those pieces is now peppered throughout the guide with the longer capsules. To give you a rough idea of what to expect, last year’s guide had an average of about 110 words per player. This year’s average so far is about 180 words per player. There isn’t a specific target or sweet spot for the word count per player and I’m not just dragging on about a guy if he doesn’t merit it, but I felt that you, the readers, would be better served by deeper analysis of the core of pitchers that will matter in 2012 (whether major leaguers or the prime prospects).
I will have some pitcher-related articles up on this site after the release of the book which will cover my favorites for 2012 and who I see making the leap forward, things of that nature. I just wanted to update everyone as I have been getting tweets and emails (which I have no problem with and am completely flattered by) about the release date. I’m also planning a special supplement that I will keep the details of quiet for now as I have to decide if it something worth going through with from a value standpoint for readers. Better to marinate on it for now in private than to talk about it, get some people hyped and then not follow through.
So March 6th. I apologize to anyone who has already had their draft or is having it this weekend and I realize the guide loses utility the deeper into March it is released, but I still think a March 6th release gets out in time for the majority of drafts and auctions. One other reason for the pushed release date is that I did a poor job of editing last year and there were typos (mostly missed words) because I didn’t take time to proof the entire guide after it was completed. I will be doing that this time around to hopefully cut down on the errors found within the book. I’m also looking for a job at the same time and so I can’t devote all of my time to the book as I would like to be gainfully employed again some time soon. Feel free to tweet or email me with questions or comments, especially if you are drafting before March 6th and have questions about certain pitchers.
Baseball By Paul 