The Fantasy Man

The Fantasy Man's 2012 Fantasy Baseball Outfielders OF Rankings

2012-01-27T23:25:00.000-05:00

The Fantasy Man's 2012 Fantasy Baseball Outfielders OF Rankings

1. Matt Kemp - 30+ SB potential makes Kemp an easy #1
2. Jose Bautista - Power numbers are insane and in middle of his prime
3. Ryan Braun - Use caution here - May be suspended for 50 games for failing drug test - Idiot!
4. Jacoby Ellsbury - His numbers in 2011 were ridiculous, I sense a slight regression, still 50+SB
5. Carlos Gonzalez - Was hampered last year by injuries, value if falls outside of the 1st Rd
6. Curtis Granderson - See Ellsbury, no way he hits 40 HR again, maybe 25-32 though
7. Justin Upton - probably the most upside of anyone, has Kemp like potential and more power
8. Andrew McCutchen - His team stinks but .280+/25+HR/30+SB/100RBI/100R is around the corner
9. Carl Crawford - Wrist surgery could delay spring a bit, not a serious but wrist injuries hurt production
10. Josh Hamilton - Injury risk who is NASTY when healthy
11. Mike Stanton - Big power, lots of K's, okay BA, dude is a BEAST, but I like .270+/35+/100+
12. Nelson Cruz - Injury risk like Hamilton but monster power plus 10 or so bags if healthy
13. Matt Holliday - Good all around numbers, provides BA, 20+ HR power and a few SB
14. Mike Morse - He's a monster! I suspect the BA comes down a bit but he's for real in the power dept
15. Jay Bruce - Will get better with age/experience, possible breakout year
16. Drew Stubbs - This is my breakout candidate of the year, possess 40/40 super high potential but I see more 25/30 potentially for 2012 with a not so great BA and a ton of K's.
17. Adam Jones - Only 26, getting better every year with the best still to come, great value in rds 6-8
18. Shin-Soo Choo - Injuries derailed 2011, value should be lower, health should be better
19. Hunter Pence - Contributes in 5 categories but still only a round 5-6 type player
20. Nick Markakis - This guy is soooo frustrating, in early prime, eventually he's going to break out.....
21. Chris Young - Great power speed combo, count on 20/20, hope for 25/25, pray for 30/30 w/ low BA
22. BJ Upton - Only 27 with 30/30 potential along with a low BA, high ceiling is 30/40
23. Shane Victorino - Getting older (31), possible injury risk, pay for .275/15/20
24. Carlos Beltran - Speed is mostly gone but 5-10 SB still there with .280/25HR+ power
25. Andre Ethier - Value super low, middle of prime, if healthy after knee surgery, should be a nice value
26. Ichiro Suzuki - All about BA and speed, great for H2H witha lot of categories
27. Brett Gardner - Posseses 5-10 HR power, slightly more RBI opportunity then Bourn
28. Michael Bourn - 50+SB, decent BA
29. Desmond Jennings - 10HR/20SB in 247 AB in '11 is insane!! This is the guy you stretch for...
30. Jayson Heyward - Bummer sophomore year but the .300/30/100/10 is
31. Alex Gordon - Nice breakout in '11, new hitting approach worked, I like .280/25HR/15SB/90RBI
32. Jayson Werth - Nice low value for a power/speed combo
33. Corey Hart - 25HR+ power last two seasons with 10SB potential
34. Lance Berkman - The fantasy surprise of 2011, don't expect the same outburst, slight regression IMO
35. Martin Prado - Low value, more of a .300 hitter then a .265 hitter.
36. Carlos Quentin - Trade to SD will sap his power numbers, more of a 20-25 HR guy with a full season
37. Grady Sizemore - Should be healthy for opening day, full spring training, could be a steal!
38. Matt Joyce - .270/25/80 seems about right
39. Ben Zobrist - Can't figure this guy out, 20/20 is there with a .260 BA similar to 2011, qualifies 2B/OF
40. Mike Cuddyer - Qualifies at OF/1B/and maybe 2B, now in Coors field could be a nice boost in power
41. Nick Swisher - Good quality hitter, durable, reliable, 20+HR, 75+RBI, .260+ should be expected
42. Melky Cabrera - .305BA/18HR/87RBI/20SB/102R/201H, expect some regression but not much
43. Torii Hunter - Consistent .260ish/23HRish/90RBIish - pretty sericeable, speed gone, on decline
44. Jason Bay - Love the low value and one of my favorite sleepers
45. Vernon Wells - Can't be worse then he was last year and I like players who have proven productivity
46. Alex Rios - Watching this guy on my roster is worse then getting kicked in the nuts
47. Logan Morrison - Tweet this!
48. Jason Kubel - Power hitter, hitters park, finally a full chance to play OF everyday
49. Delmon Young - Fielder/Cabrera/Young - RBI machine
50. Ben Revere - .280/50SB potential

More OF to consider:
Colby Rasmus - Big time potential, no more Tony LaRussa, super low value
Jeff Francoeur - More holes in his swing then the Major Deegan Expressway but only 28
Carlos Lee - 20+ power still there, speed is gone
Juan Pierre - Will probably slump in April & May and then go speed crazy in the second half
Austin Jackson - I like the all-around potential to increase slightly in every category
Cameron Maybin - Nice cheap power/speed combo
Chris Heisey - Should start in LF and hit 20-25 bombs
Mike Carp - 25HR power if a starter, qualifies 1B/0F
Angel Pagan - Cheap power/speed combo
Dexter Fowler - A break out is coming at 26, super cheap
Chris Coghlan - This guy you can probably pick in last round but could be a .300/10/15 if healthy
Denard Span - Battled injuries last season, offers BA and modest speed
Yonder Alonso - .300/20+ potential, probably best hitter in Padres lineup next to Carlos Quentin
Mike Trout - Lots of hype, lots of potential, but too young and no where to play
Bryce Harper - Interesting if he makes team but if he does, he'll struggle, dont stretch here, too young
Peter Bourjos - offers speed and maybe 15 HR with a.270 BA
John Mayberry - Freakish power and talent, if he can put together with a fulltime job - super sleeper
Brian Bogusevic - Power/speed combo = Super Sleeper
Coco Crisp - Always productive, lots of speed..... when he's healthy
Lucas Duda - sleeper with 20+ HR power with 500+ AB, OF/1B eligibility
Will Venable - could be a 15/30 player but his BA is atrocious....which makes for a great value

NL King: Players To Watch in the National League

2012-01-23T11:20:00.000-05:00

Fantasy Baseball advice is starting to flow and with all of the moves, trades, aquisitions, its tough to keep up. Better late then never with preseason fantasy baseball advice I always say. Below are a few players to think about in your NL Only leagues heading into Spring Training in the MLB....
Cincinnati Reds deal with the San Diego Padres:
The Reds landed a young talented front of the rotation starter in Matt Latos. Latos after a not so hot first half in 2011, Latose finished last season strong in the second half. He did not have the year as he did in 2010 but still strong ratio and K numbers and a solid ERA albeit just 9 wins, but he did pitch for San Diego. Latos' wins should rise in 2012 pitching for a contender in Cincinnati and could easily break 15 wins. On the other hand, coming from Petco Park to the Great American ballpark should effect his ERA and Ratio slightly. In Petco if Latos got behind the count I am sure he challenged hitters with that Grand Canyon of a ballpark behind him. I am sure he'll have a different attitude in Cincinnati. Having said that in NL only leagues if he can land Latos at $17 or less you got yourself a deal.

The Padres landed Edinson Volquez along with three of the Reds top six prospects that includes Yonder Alonso. A lot of people are waiting for the Volquez we saw the first half of 08 re-emerge. Inconsistent due to his control problems and injuries have made Volquez a tease. Volquez going to San Diego could make him a great sleeper for this coming year. He will not be a big win guy but in that big ballpark and with the help of pitching guru Bud Black around Volquez is a great gamble pick for 2012 provided you get him on the cheap. He did have a 1.57 ratio last year as well as stint in the minors.

Yonder Alonso is finally going to get his chance to show he belongs in the big leagues. He is more of a gap hitter but if you picked him up in your leagues last season off the waiver wire or free agency for a cheap price, Alonso could be a great fit as your corner infielder (basically your 3rd corner player) and could sport you a .300+BA with 20+ HR pop.

Mike Cuddyer and Jimmy Rollins sign:
Michael Cuddyer signed with the Colorado Rockies and provided he stays healthy next year, I love the chances of this guy being a $25 NL only player. He should hit 5th in that lineup and with guys around him like Carlos Gonzalez and Troy Tulowitzski, Cuddyer should be in an excellent position to put up numbers. Going from Target field in Minnesota to Coors Field is going to help a lot. I believe Cuddyer will give his NL owners a plus batting average along with 25HR, 90 R & RBI and throw in 12 or so steals.

Jimmy Rollins stays with the Philadelphia Phillies. His days of having an MVP season like he did in 2007 are long gone but he can still be a solid NL only roto player. Just don't overpay for him based on the name.

Trevor Cahill comes to the National League:
Normally when a picther goes from the AL to the NL you expect him to pitch better but in this case, I'm unsure. Cahill last 3 years pitched in the Oakland Coliseum and now pitches in Arizona where the ball flies. Also of his three years in the majors as a full time starter, albeit 2010 was a great year, but the other two years were not good in terms of fantasy starting pitcher. Even when going well, Cahill has been a low K guy. I would be wary here.
NL King - C.Lizza @ TheNLKing

The Fantasy Man's 2012 Fantasy Baseball Third Base 3B Rankings

2011-12-21T09:57:00.000-05:00

The Fantasy Man's 2012 Fantasy Baseball Third Base 3B Rankings

1. Evan Longoria - I'm not a Longoria guy but he carries the least risk of the top 3
2. David Wright - No lineup protection but Mets moving fences in, if Ike healthy, Wright will be fine
3. Hanley Ramirez - Not sure if a move to 3B will spark or bust, can't be worse then he was last year
4. Adrian Beltre - I guess he legit now, might be a value as better #'s then Longoria, will be 33
5. Ryan Zimmerman - 27 and if he stays healthy, should be a beast
6. Pablo Sandoval - Was in shape in 2011 and was great, only 25, plenty of power upside
7. Alex Rodriguez - If he gets 500 AB and stays healthy, no reason he won't do .290/30/100/10
8. Kevin Youkilis - Gets injured every year but contributes to every category
9. Aramis Ramirez - New home in Milwaukee, should be a nice value at .290+/25/80+
10. Brett Lawrie - Superstar in the making but don't overpay, he's not the next Pujols
11. Ryan Roberts - 19HR/18SB in 2011 at age 31, not banking on a better season
12. David Freese - Injury risk makes Freese a sweet late round value, this dude can hit
13. Chase Headley - Has .290/10HR/20SB potential in SD, .290+/20/20/100R elsewhere if traded
14. Mike Moustakas - Came on strong in Sept, most upside at 3B late in draft in HR and RBI
15. Chone Figgins - So terrible in 2010 that he'll be a complete steal in 2011 at the end of the draft
16. Alberto Callaspo - Solid all around but doesn't do any one thing great, full season might get .290/10/10
17. Placido Polanco - If healthy, he'll pull in the same kind of numbers as Callaspo
18. Scott Rolen - Serviceable if healthy, solid BA and some dingers
19. Chipper Jones - Looks like it will be his last season
20. Chris Davis - Monster power, nice sleeper if he can put it together
21. Ty Wigginton - Multi position eligibility is nice, 15-20HR, low BA
22. Lonnie Chisenhall - Has ability to be an all-around type hitter, more upside
23. Pedro Alvarez - Ton of upside (power/rbi), must come into camp in shape so keep an eye on him
24. Edwin Encarnacion - Could play more a utility role, has 15-20HR power, 5-10SB, but inconsistent
25. Ian Stewart - New home in Chicago might help, loads of potential here
26. Chris Johnson - disappointing in 2011, will have to compete for starting job
27. Scott Sizemore - Turns 27, could net you 15HR/10SB over 500+ AB
28. Danny Valencia - Age 27, potentially 20+ HR power, could be a nice deep sleeper, .250ish BA
29. Brandon Inge - Good for one HR streak in the middle of the year
30. Brent Morel - He's more about the glove

The Fantasy Man's 2012 Fantasy Baseball Shortstop SS Rankings

2011-12-19T11:01:00.002-05:00

The Fantasy Man's 2012 Fantasy Baseball Shortstop SS Rankings

1. Troy Tulowitzski - Pay this man his money
2. Jose Reyes - Considering injuries and move to Miami, could be slightly undervalued on Draft day
3. Hanley Ramirez - A disgruntled Hanley could be boom or bust, I say boom since 2011 was a bust
4. Jimmy Rollins - New contract but expect about the same as usual
5. Asdrubal Cabrera - I'm not sold on the power, but everything else is real
6. Elvis Andrus - Lots of upside here along with the speed
7. Starlin Castro - Just plain ole upside
8. Derek Jeter - Don't knock Jeter cuz he's older, top of the order, hits, runs, some SB's, more consistency
9. Alexei Ramirez - 20/20 guy who will probably only give you .270/15/10
10. Stephen Drew - If he can put it together, he's top 5, only 28 - Maybe this is the year? lol
11. Jhonny Peralta - If he can build on last years consistency, could be a steal in your draft
12. J.J. Hardy - Same as Peralta, this guy is a mystery as far as what to expect but 20HR power is legit
13. Erik Aybar - All about SB, Runs, and BA
14. Alcides Escobar - Has superstar potential but might still be a few years away
15. Alex Gonzalez - Plays everyday, can hit 15+ HR, good for a hot streak or two
16. Dee Gordon - Should easily be top 10 by the end of this season, 40+ SB potential
17. Rafael Furcal - If he can stay healthy, you may get 10HR and 20+ SB out of him
18. Ian Desmond - Best chance this late to get a potential 15/20 or 20/20 guy but with a low BA
19. Jed Lowrie - There's some upside here, but not much IMO - I can see .275+/12HR/60RBI/5SB
20. Clint Barmes - New home in Pittsburgh, should be serviceable
21. Yuneal Escobar - Only 29, can hit .290/15 with still room for slight upside
22. Marco Scutaro - Nice serviceable player and wil start with Jed Lowrie gone
23. Yuniesky Betancourt - Just serviceable for me
24. Cliff Pennington - .260/10/20SB, he's gritty, somewhat of an injury risk though
25. Sean Rodriguez - He's been teasing us for years, value lies in multi position eligibility
26. Jason Bartlett - Could hit .260 with 20+SB
27. Jamey Carroll - Serviceable, more like a poor mans Marco Scutaro
28. Willie Bloomquist - Value lies in multi position eligibility, 20+SB potential
29. Brandon Crawford - Could be a super duper sleeper or just fall off the map, Giants will give a look
30. Brendan Ryan - - I'm sure he's a nice guy and all, might get you 10-15 SB
31. Paul Janish - Might get you some BA
32. Ruben Tejada - Must be the next Reyes since the Mets gave Jose away without a fight

The Fantasy Man Analysis - This years SS group is a tough one. The obvious move here is to jump on a top 15 from this list but your in better shape if you grab a top 6. Certainly, spending the money on Tulo or Jose Reyes is worth it in 2012 considering how weak the rest of this group is. I just don't trust Peralta, Escobar, and Drew making me wonder if I need to grab a top 6, or just wait until the end of the draft to grab anyone else. What's really the difference between Ian Desmond and Jamey Carroll at the end of a draft? If I had to pick one super value for this group, I'd go with Dee Gordon and get the typical .300/40+ speedster potential at the weak position.

NL King: Analyzing he 2012 Winter Meetings for NL Only Leagues

2011-12-17T11:18:00.000-05:00

Albert Pujols and Jose Reyes have ripped up the fantasy baseball advice world after signing new deals at this years Winter Meetings. With Pujols gone to the American League and Reyes in a new situation in Miami, this should continue to be an interesting off-season. This has big effects for NL only leagues but other things happened at the winter meetings that effected the National League.
- Lance Nix signed with the Philadelphia Phillies. Nix had a nice 2011 and served his NL only owners well with what I would call a great complimentary year. If you get this kind of production from the last three or four hitting spots in your 14 man lineup your doing well. Nix can play a little 1B but mostly will play OF. Right now the Phillies don't have a true starting LF with Ibanez now gone so if Nix produces like last year he should find himself 300 AB's and help NL only owners.

- Aaron Harang signs two year deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers. After terrible seasons in 08, 09 and 2010 (especially in 2010) Harang bounced back in 2011 with a respectable year in Petco Park. He had a 3.05 ERA in Petco in 17 starts, his ratio was still a bit high and his strikeouts are nowhere near what they once were. But he is going to Dodgers stadium which is also a good pitchers park. I am not the biggest believer (I want to see it again) but for a cheap price and to slide in at the back of rotation Harang's not bad.

- Jerry Hairston Jr and Adam Kennedy - Both super UP hitters signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Both should give you great roster flexibility with their position eligibility if not on draft day then by early May. If each guy can hit above .250 I like them in terms of rounding out your hitting roster.
- Kevin Slowey - Traded to the Colorado Rockies. While 2011 was a disaster could be a great draft day sleeper especially if you can grab him in the reserve rounds. Should benefit going from AL to NL. Not a lot of K's but could give you low double digit W's with slight plus ratio and ERA around 4. A great pick for the reserve draft.

- Houston Street / Rafael Betancourt / Matt Lindstrom - Street got traded to the San Diego Padres to take over the closer role in SD. Street has one year to go on his deal with a team option. San Diego is in future mode so if they can get something good for Street come July he will be traded so keep that in mind. Street had 29 saves, pretty good numbers and spent time on the DL. This sounds like a typical Street year and now goes to a lesser team and could be a big traded come summer. The early word by people is Betancourt will become the closer in Colorado. Betancourt had a great year last year as setup man. Betancourt can get on very hot and cold streaks which is not great for a closer. Matt Lindstrom who use to close for the Astros throws very hard and had a solid 2011. If Betancourt stumbles Lindstrom is a prime candidate to get the 9th inning. Lindstrom would be another great reserve pick.

-Heath Bell signed with the Miami Marlins. I had a recent discussion with a friend and he told me you know his K's are down and his fly balls are up and now he is out of Petco. I understood his points and they were valid but going into next season the top 3 closers in the NL in no particular order is Bell, Wilson and Papelbon.

- Nate McLouth comes back to Pittsburgh Pirates. I bought McLouth cheap at the end of last years draft hoping the former speed / power OF could find himself again. He didn't. McLouth has been a bad player since July 2009.

- New York Mets Bullpen. The Mets signed Frank Francisco and Jon Rauch and traded for Ramon Ramirez. It appears Francisco will be the closer as he got a two year deal at $6 Mil per. Rauch has closed before so keep that in mind and Francisco has been inconsistent. Ramirez is the best pitcher of the bunch but hasn't close before other than a one off save.

- Angel Pagan to San Francisco Giants. If you watched Angel Pagan everyday you would say last year was a bad year for him that included missing most of May with an injury (oblique). Word is he dealt with it all year. But Pagan final stat line still included 32 steals and decent R and RBI. he could get new life in SF and he is a free agent after next season so he should be motivated. Anders Torres after a very impressive 2010 just crashed in 2011. The Mets have no CF's at this time in their organization so he is going to get every opportunity to play every day and maybe even hit lead off.

- Pittsburgh Pirates sign Erik Bedard. His 2011 stats were pretty good but he is always injured and word is has a bad attitude.

- Alex Gonzalez signs with the Milwaukee Brewers. Expect more of the same with a couple more HR's. Remember what I said about bad average hitters who don't make a significant impact.

- Mark Buerhle goes to the Miami Marlins. Four years $58 million. Buerhle knows how to pitch and should benefit greatly by going to the NL. His K's aren't great otherwise he would be an excellent choice as your #3 starter. I would call him a #3A starter in your rotation which means not good enough to be your #3 but an awesome #4.

- Ian Stewart and Tyler Colvin traded for each other between the Chicago Cubs and the Colorado Rockies. Colvin should get AB's in Colorado as a part time guy and a change of scenery should help get over a disastrous 2011 (I had him last year so I know). Colvin has pop and remember did have a good 2010. Could be a sleeper. Same could be said about Ian Stewart. I do worry about these guys hurting your batting average even if they are productive secondary power guys. Stewart much bigger upside as he will start the season as the everyday 3B.

- Lyle Overbay stays in the desert. He is a bench player / insurance policy for Paul Goldschmidt.

NL King - C.Lizza @ TheNLKing

NL King: Albert Pujols off to the American League, Is Prince Fielder Next?

2011-12-13T12:17:00.001-05:00

NL Only fantasy baseball leagues took a hit last week the number one National League player for the last 10 years is now gone from NL only leagues. How good is King Albert Pujols? Well 2011 was probably his worst stat year and he still went 37HR, 99RBI, 105R, 9SB with a .299 Avg. Pujols turns 32 in January so there was no reason to believe he had at least another four years of huge numbers ahead of him.

As I mentioned in my last article, the hitting numbers in the NL are going down, down, down. Losing the premiere hitter in the NL does not help things. This puts more of a premium on NL hitters such as Matt Kemp, Justin Upton, Ryan Braun, Joey Votto, Carlos Gonzalez, Troy Tulowitzski to name a few. For NL only leagues I don't even want to think about the possibility of Prince Fielder leaving for the American League. Sounds like at minimum both the Texas Rangers and Seattle Mariners in play for Fielder. I have also heard the Baltimore Orioles.

In terms of what the Cardinals might do in reaction to this, well the simply answer could be they sign Prince Fielder to replace Pujols. Fielder is five years younger and is a huge power bat himself. If they don't want to pay the kind of dollars it will take to sign Prince, the Cardinals could move Lance Berkman to 1B and sign an outfielder such as Carlos Beltran and Jimmy Rollins at Shortstop. So get two good hitters and make the lineup longer.

At the end of day, it's a sad day for NL only leagues.

NL King - C.Lizza @ TheNLKing

NL King: Jose Reyes Signs with the Miami Marlins

2011-12-09T12:20:00.001-05:00

Well, while it should come as no surprise it's still strange to see Jose Reyes is no longer going to be a New York Met. Reyes signed a six year deal worth $100+ Million with the newly named Miami Marlins at the start of the winter meetings. So what will it mean in regards to Jose Reyes and Hanley Ramirez for your 2012 NL Only fantasy baseball team?

Jose Reyes:
If Reyes can be healthy for 150+ games he can put up scary numbers. When you consider Reyes just played in 126 games last year because of two DL stints with hamstring issues and the final three weeks of the season Reyes was playing very cautiously due to those hamstrings. When you see Reyes final stats from 2011, you ask yourself what can these guys numbers look like if he played 150 games healthy.

2011 Reyes Stats - 7HR, 44RBI, 101R, 39SB, .337 AVG, .384 OBP

Buy the No Way Jose Reyes T-shirt

Reyes is moving from Citi Field to the new Miami Marlins stadium. The new Marlins stadium should play big based on it's dimensions but the key question is how will the ball travel when the retractable roof is closed. I will have a full article on the new Marlins stadium over the next month. But for Reyes he is going at his best when he is hitting line drives all over the place. A key point that has been brought up is will Reyes legs greatly benefit from being in Miami in April and May versus being in New York during that time? I would venture to guess that it can only help but the reality is especially last year Reyes got himself into pristine shape and his hamstrings still gave out. What can Reyes and the Marlins do that has not been done before in terms of limiting his hamstring problems? Can they do anything? These are important questions to research before draft day. Obviously the Met franchise last few years have had a whole host of injury problems and more importantly dealing with injuries.

In terms of Reyes next season he is a risk plain and simple. If Reyes can play even 140 games he should break 100 runs with a strong batting average and around 40 steals. In terms of power I would guess it would be close to last years numbers maybe a touch better. At shortstop that's tremendous but come draft day keep in mind Reyes is a risk so don't sell the farm to land him. Let's keep in mind too Reyes is only 28 so he is in the prime of his career. You can be slightly aggressive but don't be overly aggressive.

Hanley Ramirez:
If and this is a big if, Hanley can get his attitude in check I think moving to 3B will do him a world of good. While Hanley had a terrible year last year he is only 27 and it goes without saying the ability he has at the dish. I believe that if Hanley attitude is in check and that's a big if, by moving to 3B from SS his body is going to feel so much better by not having the daily grind at SS and having Reyes leading off and Infante batting 2nd, Hanley is going to be in a prime spot to have a big year. So follow close this offseason Hanley's mood and attitude. If you hear good things put him high on your draft day list.

NL King - C.Lizza @TheNLKing

NL King - Analyzing Fantasy Baseball NL Only 5x5 Batting Stats

2011-12-08T10:19:00.001-05:00

Fantasy Baseball advice is my game and you can follow the NL King on twitter 2TheNLKing. This article is breaking down the NL hitting stats and how the numbers are going down and down and down. Let's do it.

Batting Average:
Last year there were 13 hitters who hit at least .300. But only five hitters hit .310 or better. In 2009, 17 hitters hit at least .300 and nine hitters hit at least .310. We have been seeing a trend of league team batting averages in fantasy baseball have decreased. The main reason is there are fewer and fewer batters hitting well into the .300's. Per my article on the percentage categories, this batting average trend makes it that more difficult to carry a bad average hitter like a Dan Uggla or Chris Young.

HR:
Nobody in the NL hit at least 40 HR's last season. 12 guys hit at least 30 but only four hitters hit at least 35. Just two years ago in 2009 there were five hitters to hit at least 40 homers with three hitters reaching at 45+.

Runs & RBI's:
There were only six hitters last year to score at least 100 runs. Two years ago in 2009 ten hitters scored at least 100 runs. Also there were only 6 hitters to drive in 100 RBI's last year, while two years ago in 2009 13 hitters drove in 100 RBI's. Last year only three hitters scored 100 runs and drove in 100 RBI's and they were Kemp, Braun & Votto.

Stolen Bases:
This is the one area we have seen an increase in the numbers. Last year there was Michael Bourn at 61 steals and then four players at 40 steals in Bonifacio, Kemp, Maybin and Stubbs with Reyes at 39. After that there were four players between 30 and 35 steals, 15 players between 20 and 29 and 12 players between 15 and 19. That's 37 players with at least 15 steals.

In 2010, there were only 28 players with at least 20 steals but when will dig deeper in 2009 we find more interesting stats. In 2009, Michael Bourn had 50 steals and then Angel Pagan had 37 steals. Getting at least 30 steals and falling behind Pagan's 37 steals were six other players. Only six players were between 20 and 29 and 14 players were between 15 and 19. So to review there were 25 players in the NL last year with at least 20 steals while in 2010 there were only 14 players with at least 20 steals.

Summary:
Batting numbers are coming down folks. A lot of reasons for this, more drug testing including greenies, the pitching has greatly improved including a lot of talented young arms, some newer bigger ballparks in San Diego and New York as well. This has put a premium on the big players in the NL because there are so few guys who get big hitting numbers. So keep this in mind this off-season in your trade talks before the draft as well as your draft preparation.

Now with Albert Pujols off to Los Angeles, the National League is taking a huge hit.....

NL King - C.Lizza - @ TheNLKing

The Fantasy Man - Bryce Harper - You Can't Stop Superman #3

2011-12-06T10:00:00.001-05:00

I mean, who isn't on the Bryce Harper magic hype machine right now? You Can't Stop Superman #1 Stephen Strasburg and the most hyped pitching debut the game has ever seen. Then it's Tim Tebow time in Denver, Colorado as #2! Simply put, You Can't Stop Superman and if you believe the hype, then you need to get the t-shirt!

Being The Fantasy Man, I possess special gifts. I can magically add funds to your bank account (pick Washington +7.5 at home vs New England on Sunday), I can make rain fall from the heavens in Nevada, and I can guide Tim Tebow and the Broncos to a win just about any given weekend. Did you know it's me who Tebow points too while Tebowing? Yep that Yankee fan up in the clouds, the give who sometimes gives amazing fantasy baseball advice, sometimes doesn't. Do you believe the hype?

Funny the NL King does an article on Harper this week because I received an email from a reader who was torn on a trade offer. I told him he could find the answer at the Canadian pharmacy online. Joking. He mentioned he had Harper in his minor league slot but his trade offer did not even include Harper. It did however include this reader getting Mike Trout. To make the long story short, this was a deal that was giving up an expensive Matt Kemp and an Expensive Justin Verlander and some other players for a cheaper Jose Bautista, a same priced Dan Haren, a cheap Mike Trout and another young player or two. It was a dynasty league. Kemp/Bautista, whatever. Verlander/Haren at teh same price, sorry, I'll keep Verlander. Now you get into the prospects. I know its a dynasty league, but here is my point for this entire article..... why sell off the two best players in the deal, so you can get back a slightly lesser SP (lets assume Bautista/Kemp are equally awesome), and some minor leagues with some hype value like Trout?

Here's the thing, I get these questions all the time where these guys want to trade off all of their decent veteran players for guys like Harper, Trout, Strasburg (a year or two ago), etc. For what? So you can have the best team in 2016??! In 2009, if you made a trade for Strasburg because you were rebuilding...where did that get you? Point is, why are we always trying to trade away good veteran talent for these hype machine prospects when they won't realize their values for at least 2-3 years? Sure Harper looks like an eventual .300/30/100/100/15 kind of player, but he's not doing that until he's at least 22 or 23 years old (he's 19 now). I don't know about you, but I want to win my fantasy league this year!

Here's a scenario to go along with the one above. In this case, and this is what I told the guy, keep Kemp/Verlander, forget Trout, and trade Harper for 2-3 solid veteran players. His reply to me was, and I though he was going to crap all over me..... "Wow, I haven't found one person out there who says to trade Harper." This is where the light bulb comes on. This is the only way The Fantasy Man rolls.

You take Harper, and offer him in package deals for guys like Adam Jones, Paul Konerko, Jayson Werth, Ike Davis, Johan Santana, Matt Wieters, Corey Hart, Dan Uggla, etc, etc. Maybe you sucker the guy to throw you a Justin Morneau while his value is down. See what I am getting at? These are good solid player, some coming back from injury but who have a great track record of performing, some who are still young with upside, etc. You can get 2-3 of these types of players in a package deal for Harper alone. That's value! That's how you win you league this year!

I might be the only guy out there telling you to trade Bryce Harper. Don't take me out of contest here. He's a fine young player with a lot of upside, but there's no way he's performing along with all that hype in 2010 at 19 years old. Dude should get some seasoning before he breaks out. He's not a Buster Posey who had college years and he's only played in one season in the minors. Other then hitting 500+ foot Homeruns at Tropicana Field with a metal bat, I'd like to see more out of Harper before I go budgeting a big wad of dough in my fantasy draft or auction.

Fine player, all the upside in the world, great if you can get him on your team for 2012 but his real auction price will be overvalued, snake draft price will be too high, and your going to have to pay extra if you try and trade for him in your dynasty league. Be the other guy, the guy who benefits from the hype!

NL King: Washington Nationals Bryce Harper - Believe the Hype!

2011-12-05T10:49:00.002-05:00

Every so often a prospect comes along that is going to be the next great one. I remember in the early 90's when I read about Chipper Jones and felt that way. This is how I feel about Bryce Harper as I guess you can say, I believe the hype! I even got a t-shirt! But more importantly, what does it mean for fantasy baseball purposes and specifically NL only leagues?

Bio:
Bryce Harper was the #1 overall pick in the 2010 draft by the Washington Nationals and signed a record signing bonus for a position player at $9.9 million. Harper just turned 19 in mid October, he's 6'3 and 225lbs and bats left handed. Harper loves to play the game and is a relentless worker. Last year in his first season of professional ball Harper tore up low A ball and then in mid season got promoted to AA where he held his own in 129 AB's before ending the season due to a hamstring injury. Overall in the minors last year Harper had 17HR, 58RBI, 63R, 26SB, .297AVG, .392OBP in 387AB's. Harper picked up right where he left off in the Arizona Fall League as he had 6HR, 26RBI and hit safely in 19 out of the last 20 games in the AFL and finished with a .403 batting average.

Scouting Report:
I read up on Harper at my favorite source for prospect information and that is Baseball America. I cannot recommend using Baseball America enough for fantasy purposes to learn about the prospects. Anyway, the scouting report Baseball America has is that Harper has tremendous power and to all fields, Harper has incredible hand strength. In addition to his power, Harper has speed and base stealing instincts (had 26 steals last season in the minors in 33 attempts). Some scouts wonder if Harper will be a .300 hitter due to his strikeouts but he will be a plus batting average guy and have a huge OBP as he has a great eye and draws a ton of walks (again .392 OBP last year). All I can say about Harper is read this outlook by Baseball America on their recent posting of the Nationals top 10 prospects.

BA Forecast - "Harper looks like a sure fire superstar in the making, and he has a very real chance to develop into the best all around player in baseball."

All I can say is Wow to that.

NL King Strategy for Bryce Harper for 2012 & Beyond:
Provided Bryce Harper is available in your league for 2012 and you are in a keeper league and you can draft minor leaguers, this is my strategy advice for you. Currently, the only starting outfielder we know for sure the Nats have is Jason Werth. Harper will most likely start the season in the minors. Not sure what Adam LaRoche's time table is and how healthy he is, as well as how much he will play. If LaRoche is healthy and will play 1B that means Mike Morse will play Left Field. I would imagine it will take a very big spring training by Bryce Harper to make the Nats on opening day but that would present an amazing opportunity for NL only keeper league owners.

If this happens I want you to set aside up to $14 for Bryce Harper on draft day in your auction league (assuming a $260 budget). You might say that is crazy spending $14 on a player who will start the year in the minors. It's not crazy talk, because I expect Harper to be up with the Nats by early June which would still leave 2/3 of the season left. On top of that I expect Harper from that point on to give his owners a $20 season which over the final 2/3 would translate to around $14 worth of value. There is also a very good chance that Harper could be up sooner and when he comes up put up $30 year from that point forward. So Harper would be a solid contributor for us in 2012 but also we would have a fantastic keeper in Harper for 2013 and beyond (depending upon your league rules on keepers). Starting next season I would expect Harper to be a $30 player, so a $30 player at $14 is quite a deal. That's of course if you have to spend $14 maybe you can land him for $12 or even $10 or even single digits in your draft.

Save draft dollars for Bryce Harper in your draft no matter when he comes up and you will have an absolute stud at a low price for maybe the next year or two or even three depending on your league rules. For those who watch the Showtime show Homeland this is called playing The Long Game but at the same time Harper will give us good value next year. The owner in your league who follows this strategy will have absolute steal.

NL King - C.Lizza
@TheNLKing

NL King: Matt Kemp - 2012 Top NL Only Fantasy Baseball Draft Pick

2011-12-01T18:17:00.064-05:00

Finally! The Matt Kemp breakout we've been waiting for! In 2011, Kemp hit 39HR, 126RBI, 115R, 40SB, .324 Avg. Considering all 5 categories, the only other player I can think of who had season like that in the last five years was Eric Brynes in 2007 (21HR, 83RBI, 103R, 50SB, .286 Avg). So coming into the 2012 season Matt Kemp is a slam dunk to repeat last season right? Well I am telling you Kemp surely has the talent to repeat last season but there are a number of warning signs Mr. Kemp to consider.

Warning Signs:
1. First and foremost, Matt Kemp just signed an 8-year $160 million dollar extension a couple of weeks ago. Many times in the past when a player has signed that kind of guaranteed contract two things come up. First, the player has a tendency to become complacent. These players are human beings and after getting a contract like that there is a tendency to work a little less and enjoy life a little more. The other side of it sometimes after a player signs a contract like that he tries to prove he is worth that contract and puts way too much pressure on himself. The result is the player gets off to a very slow start which greatly impact his final numbers.

2. Going into the 2012 season there was a lot of talk about Matt Kemp and his amazing talent but the perceived lack of focus, drive, dedication etc. In fact, last winter on one of the MLB network hot stove shows Larry Bowa who was around Matt Kemp as one of the Dodger coaches from 2008 through 2010 said and to paraphrase that "Matt Kemp is a 5-tool talent who brings two tools a night". This kind of comment on someone who was around Kemp for three years says a lot and should give you cause for concern in terms of a complacency issue.

3. Kemp has always had strong power and speed numbers, but his 2010 season was one very similar to Arizona's Chris Young. Kemp did have 28HR but was in the 80's in terms of runs & rbi's and while he had 19 steals he was thrown out 15 times and Kemp just hit .249 in 2010. There were a lot of questions about Kemp going into last season.

4. You have to figure other teams are going to make someone else beat them in that Dodger lineup next season.

Now I will give you reasons to believe in Kemp.....

5. Matt Kemp has always had this elite ability and he is entering his prime years now. So it's no surprise he put together a huge year in terms of power and speed. While he hit .249 in 2010 in his 3 full seasons, prior to that Kemp hit .297, .290 and .342.

6. The coaching staff, Don Mattingly from 1984 - 1987 was one of the top three players in all of baseball and the only reason that stopped playing was because of a bad back. One would have to think Mattingly's influence has had a huge effect on Kemp. In addition, last season Davey Lopes joined the Dodger coaching staff from Philadelphia. Lopes as a coach is an awesome base stealer technician - teacher in helping his players learning the art of the stolen base. Lopes did this in Philadelphia and was an amazing base stealer as a player. While Lopes had real good speed he also new the art of stealing bases and this was passed on to Kemp. Lopes had 557 career steals and just to show how well he knew how to steal bases in 1985 when Lopes was 40 years old he played for the Cubs and stole 47 bases in 51 attempts. Like I said in 2010 Kemp had 19 steals in 34 attempts, in 2011 Kemp had 40 steals in 51 attempts. That Davey Lopes factor and odds are Kemp we get better and better at stealing bases with Davey Lopes around.

7. The initial signs are Kemp is still very hunger to prove he is one of the top 2 or 3 players in baseball as he recently proclaimed that in 2012 Kemp is gunning for a 50-50 season between HR's & SB's.

8. Matt Kemp has that kind of scary talent to put up monster numbers year after monster year.

NL King Recommendation:
I think I have made compelling arguments to be wary of the warning signs but realize Matt Kemp's talent. Bottom line is it will be very hard for Kemp to duplicate last season and I do fully expect teams to be very careful with him. That translates to Kemp should see a lot less pitches to hit next year and teams will make someone else beat them. Provided he avoids the injury bug (last 4 seasons has played at least 155 games per season) I expect him to have a strong year across the board but his numbers I think we be down some in 2012 with the exception that I can see a few more steals. So come draft day buy Matt Kemp and expect a strong year just not last years numbers.

NL King - C.Lizza
@TheNLKing

NL King: Analyzing the Percentage Categories for NL Only Leagues

2011-11-29T18:07:00.002-05:00

The NL King loves to give fantasy baseball advice and my favorite topic to discuss is the percentage categories in fantasy baseball and how often they get over looked during draft preparation. Most owners look towards power, speed, wins, saves or strikeouts, but, the majority of the time they don't ask themselves - how does my batting average look? What about my ERA and Ratio? Why is this?
The percentage categories are just not as sexy as HR or SB or K’s. In a standard 5 X 5 league the percentage categories are three of the ten categories. So they’re crucial for any fantasy owners success. What makes these categories so difficult to navigate is they’re very volatile, one day your numbers can be up and the next down. You can really see this especially on the pitching side what two or three disastrous outings can do to your ERA and Ratio (WHIP).
First rule of thumb for the percentage categories is you do not want to fall too far behind over the first couple months of the season. Frankly, these categories are too hard to come back from. In most instances, when I see a team who is far behind in the percentage categories on Memorial Day, they never recover. For instance, if your team hit .250 for the first half of the season and you need your team to hit above .265 to stay competitive, that means your hitters would need to hit around .285 for the second half. That's very difficult. You need all your players to chip in and help you in these categories or at least not hurt it and give you a push average, ERA or Ratio. A push means that this would be your league's medium. So if your leagues’ push batting average is .263 and if you have a good hitter helping you in various categories and hits .263 you can rely on your higher batting average players to help you rise in that category. Basically if you can have positive numbers on 2/3 of your roster from both hitting and pitching for the percentage categories and a push from the remaining 1/3 of your roster you will do very well in these categories.

The second rule of thumb is you need to look at your leagues standings the last three years and look at the final numbers in your league for batting average, ERA and Ratio to see what percentages fall in the top third and what falls at least in the middle of the categories. This will give you an idea what your goals have to be for the upcoming season for these categories.

Batting Average: In batting average you have more of an error factor than ERA and Ratio. Quite simply you have 14 hitters and 9 pitchers in just about every league. Also most rosters a very large percentage of their hitters play every day, while in terms of the pitchers, the starters pitch once every 5 days and relievers pitch between 3 to 4 innings a week. There are a lot of hitters who can really help you in the other categories but produce poor batting averages. I am not saying these players cannot be on your team BUT you must pick your spots. You cannot have too many of these players and I would say I wouldn’t have more than 2 of these players. Furthermore if you do have a player like this, that player MUST make a significant impact in the other categories, such as players as Dan Uggla of the Atlanta Braves or Chris Young of the Arizona Diamondbacks. Players like Rod Barajas who give you decent power numbers especially for a catcher, in my estimation, should not be on your team. They are an overall negative to how much they help you in the other hitting categories which will be wiped away by their .220 batting average over 400+ AB's. Do not draft these players. Like I said, above guys like Dan Uggla who hit .233 last season and most of his years he has hit in the .240's still produced strong numbers with 36HR's, 82RBI's and 88R's. Chris Young is a lifetime .240 hitter and has only hit above .250 once in his six year career (hit .257 in 2010). But despite his .236 average last year, Chris Young still had 20HR, 71RBI, 89R & 22SB. You can have these kind of players on your team but you must limit them and for every one of these guys you have, you need to offset them with an everyday hitter who is going to hit at least .300.

Trend Analysis Batting Average: I constructed a chart for the last four years in my own league for each percentage category and came to some stark realizations of where the NL numbers are heading (again I am in a 12 team NL only 5 X 5 Keeper League). I’m sure just by following baseball everyone knows the hitting numbers are down and the pitching numbers are up. But how much up and down? In my league last season a team batting average of .2656 finished in 3rd place. That same batting average in 2008 would have resulted in an 11th place finish. In fact here is a little chart for .2656 batting average for my 12 team league:

2011 - 3rd Place Finish
2010 - 6th Place Finish
2009 - 8th Place Finish
2008 - 11th Place Finish

In fact in 2008, half my league finished with a team batting average of .270 or better but in the last two seasons only two teams per season finished with a batting average of .270 better. Now using my numbers is just one league but I am in a very competitive league and it illustrates how batting averages are decreasing. Your goal for a team batting average should be between .267 and .268 heading into 2012. This should allow you to finish in the upper third of that category. If you can construct a team with a .270 batting average I think you will thrive.

ERA and Ratio: We want to make sure we have solid numbers in these categories to stay competitive. How do we do that? We avoid all pitchers who are most likely to have negative numbers in these categories. The one exception I would make would be for a closer who can give us at least 30 saves. In 2008 I had Brian Wilson who had terrible percentage numbers (4.62 ERA and 1.44 Ratio) but had 41 saves and 67K's in 62 innings. I also had Wilson at a cheap price. A situation like this is not ideal but can work as it did for Wilson who only had 62 innings that season. Never draft a starter who is going to produce those kind of numbers in ERA and Ratio. Again, you need to look at your league standings the last three years and see what team ERA's and Ratios are falling in the upper third of the category. That must be your goal. Everyone needs to respect these categories as they are very volatile and it's so hard to make up ground when you fall way behind the pack. Much more difficult than batting average because you have a lot less numbers to work with in terms of IP than you do AB's even if your league allows daily moves.

One of my upcoming articles will be about "Putting Together a Pitching Staff" and we will go into further detail on how we attack the percentage categories. But just to give you a taste, our ERA and Ratio will come from our dominant starter(s), very good starters, our closer and our secret weapon... middle relievers. The last third of our roster will be with push pitchers.

Trend Analysis ERA & Ratio: Again using the chart I constructed from my league the last four years the ERA and Ratio final team numbers are staggering in terms of how much they changed. In terms of ERA the team that finished in last place last season in my league had a 4.14 ERA. That same ERA in 2008 would have finished in 6th place middle of the pack. In fact in 2011 3/4 of my league finished with an ERA below 4.00. In 2008 only 1/3 of my league finished with a team ERA below 4.00. In terms of ratio last season 2/3 of my league had a team ratio under 1.30. In 2008 only 2 teams, that's 1/6 finished with a team ratio under 1.30. Each year since 2008, the pitching numbers have been getting better and better, many reasons but that's an article in itself.

I hope this gives everyone a road map on how to attack these categories for the upcoming season. I will do an article on building a pitching staff over the next month and that will hit home the points on ERA and Ratio among the other three categories as well.

NL King - C.Lizza
@TheNLKing

The Fantasy Man's 2012 Fantasy Baseball Second Base 2B Rankings

2011-11-26T06:10:00.001-05:00

The Fantasy Man's 2012 Fantasy Baseball Second Base 2B Rankings

1. Robinson Cano - No brainer top 5 overall
2. Ian Kinsler - 30/30 again in mid prime
3. Dustin Pedroia - 20/20/.300+ super solid pick
4. Chase Utley - Has #1 2B fantasy talent so this could be a nice value
5. Ben Zobrist - He's a bit inconsistent week by week but numbers are there at the end
6. Brandon Phillips - the rare 5 category 2B
7. Dan Uggla - Big power, stinky BA
8. Howie Kendrick - Position eligibility, entering prime, possible breakout, just needs to stay healthy
9. Dustin Ackley - the next Chase Utley, just needs a supporting cast
10. Danny Espinoza - 20/20 potential but super inconsistent in 2011
11. Rickie Weeks - Had his best year yet the final numbers weren't too exciting
12. Neil Walker - Power/speed a bit disappointing in '11 but a full season and a half under belt
13. Brian Roberts - Assuming healthy, should get you at least .280/10-15HR/85+R/25+ SB
14. Jemille Weeks - Could be boom or bust, BA should dip a bit but speed is real
15. Jason Kipnis - small sample shows power/speed, I can't go crazy here
16. David Murphy - Could be top 10 2B by end of 2012 if healthy
17. Gordon Beckham - We've seen talent, now we just need him to put it together, new coach should help
18. Kelly Johnson - Nice power, few SB's, the rest blows
19. Aaron Hill - Lost power, added 20+ SB in 2011, the rest blows
20. Darwin Barney - Nice serviceable player
21. Jose Altuve - Good contact hitter, 15+ SB speed, 5-10 HR
22. Johnny Giavotella - Like Altuve with slightly less speed
23. Freddie Sanchez - Serviceable
24. Orlando Hudson - Serviceable

I don't even know where to go from here. Best bet is to make sure you have one of the top 17 in my opinion. This might be the weakest position in 2012 other than catcher....

NL King is Back! NL Only League Questions for 2012

2011-11-21T13:48:00.006-05:00

By the NL King - C. Lizza


Fantasy Baseball season is back and the NL King is ready help your win your NL Only league again in 2012.  Just to recap, I play in a super competitive keeper auction NL only league. Same guys every year, big money with a ton of strategy and preparation.  I love to share my knowledge and The Fantasy Man gives me a place to do that here at Fantasy Baseball Express.  I'm just a regular guy who love fantasy baseball so I'm back to provide my insight to NL Only leaguers for 2012. I hope you enjoy and I encourage any comments and feedback below. Good luck in 2012.

This years off-season kickoff  article will be about asking key questions in the NL, so let's set up the scene.

I will be doing a lot of articles on these questions between now and mid January.  At that point I would imagine the crux of 
the substantial free agents will be signed as well as significant trading in MLB that will effect the National League. 
Once spring training starts, we'll gave a good idea as to who the starting players for each team and I will start doing the 
rankings articles by position. So let's start asking questions in no particular order that you will need answers to this off-season....

These are the questions we need to ask ourselves no in order to prepare and research properly for 2012.  Let's just get our feet wet here.  Ask yourself these questions now and hopefully you won't be in the bookstore looking for a fantasy mag 10 
minutes before your draft....

Support the cause!  get the Keep Jose Reyes T-shirt here!

Support Jose Reyes at www.KeepReyes.com


- What went right for your fantasy team last year and what went wrong? If you finished in the money,  what worked? 
If you didn't finish in the money, why not?

- What players emerged last year (i.e. Craig Kimbrel, Jesus Guzman) ? Who took a step backwards (Carlos Lee, Jason Bay)?  Why did this happen to these players (team, ballpark, contract, age, etc)?

- Astros AL Bound for 2013 what effect will that have in 2012 for NL leagues?

- How do your keepers look heading into next season? What are the strengths and weaknesses of your keeper list and of your draft for 2012? How is the off-season trade market look? How do your keepers match up compared to the rest of your league?

- The percentage categories are changing dramatically over the last 4 years, will that continue?

- What will be the impact of this years free agent crop on the NL?

- The New Marlins Stadium - how will it affect Marlins players for fantasy baseball?

The Mets also moved in, who will that affect?

- Matt Kemp's $160 million dollar contract - what will that mean for his stats in 2012?

- What prospects / minor leaguers should we keep tabs on for 2012? Potential call up?

These are some of the questions we will answer over the next 6 weeks before the position rankings articles. 
And don't worry, there will be more questions to answer. I hope everyone enjoys the off-season articles my next one 
will be right after Thanksgiving and focuses on the percentage categories and how important and volatile they are and how 
they are changing dramatically in the NL.

Everyone have a great Thanksgiving day !!!!

NL King - C.Lizza

The Fantasy Man's 2012 Fantasy Baseball First Base Rankings

2011-11-20T10:52:00.003-05:00

The Fantasy Man's 2012 Fantasy Baseball First Base Rankings

1. Albert Pujols - Doesn't matter where he signs
2. Miguel Cabrera - Close to Pujols numbers but younger
3. Adrian Gonzalez - Power drought in 2011 will turn you a profit in 2012
4. Prince Fielder - Dependable and reliable source of power, solid BA, etc.
5. Joey Votto - Top notch numbers all around
6. Mark Teixeira - The negative post season talk will have him more motivated in 2012
7. Ryan Howard - Probably a nice value pick in the late 2nd or 3rd round possibly, possibly later
8. Paul Konerko - He scares me a bit, I won't pick him before the 6th round
9. Michael Young - Position eligibility is super valuable
10. Mike Morse - Legit power, decent BA, up and coming team, I love the upside
11. Justin Morneau - A healthy Morneau puts him at #7 or #8, probably "steal of the draft"
12. Gaby Sanchez - Nice upside here
13. Adam Lind - This guy drives me nuts, numbers look good at end of season, super streaky
14. Freddie Freeman - only way to go is up for this guy, cant go wrong for a decent price
15. Ike Davis - Should be valued lower in drafts because of injury, dude can hit, Mets moved fences in
16. Mark Trumbo - Legit power, probably a .260-.270 type hitter at 1B
17. Kendrys Morales - Could take a half to get back on track at DH
18. Mark Reynolds - BA is garbage but draft him for the 30+ power and find BA elsewhere
19. Adam Dunn - lol
20. Eric Hosmer - Nice upside, good BA/power combo potential
21. Mitch Moreland - Fluid swing, grinder kind of guy, I like the upside, will be super cheap
22. Paul Goldschmidt - Big time power, should be a nice sleeper, grab cheap for a few years
23. Justin Smoak - Love the power but too inconsistent, pitchers ballpark, no protection
24. Aubrey Huff - You get a good power streak at least once a year good for 8-10 HR at a time
25. James Loney - I'm not doing the sleeper thing again, but showed some of that promise in 2nd half
26. Todd Helton - Just a serviceable but reliable bat for some BA and some RBI's
27. Matt LaPorta - He's in the Loney boat but without the 2nd half promise in '11
28. Jesus Guzman - Big sleeper, tore up the waiver wire late last season but SD will hurt power
29. Carlos Lee - My pick for Konerko of 2010 or Berkman of 2011
30. Garrett Jones - Serviceable, won't wow you but possesses a power/speed 20/10 combo potential
31. Daric Barton - If only this dude could hit consistently, still young for an unexpected break out
32. Anthony Rizzo - Great talent, nice sleeper, but San Diego sucks the lifeblood out of your team
33. Brett Wallace - If he makes the team, should see a slight increase in production

DH's to consider if your position eligibility rule is low:
Victor Martinez - Played 6 games at 1B, with C eligibility would be #10 on this list
Billy Butler - Played 11 games at 1B, considering age, I'd satsh between Morse and Morneau
David Ortiz - Let's see where he ends up but otherwise top 15

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The Fantasy Man's 2012 Fantasy Baseball Catchers Rankings

2011-11-15T16:20:00.001-05:00

The Fantasy Man's 2012 Fantasy Baseball Catchers Rankings

1. Brian McCann - He's only 27!!!
2. Joe Mauer - He's due for a rebound
3. Victor Martinez - A healthy year still gets you .300/20+/90+
4. Mike Napoli - He was a beast in the second half in 2011
5. Carlos Santana - Only gets better
6. Matt Wieters - .262/22/68 in 2011 is a step up - loads of potential here
7. Buster Posey - Has to show he's healthy
8. Miguel Montero - Good solid player
9. Alex Avila - Lots of upside here if he can be consistent
10. Geovany Soto - Typical 20+HR potential pop but low BA - Higher ceiling then the rest
11. Yadier Molina - .305/14/65 in 2011 and only 29! He's on the rise, solid, and dependable
12. J.P. Arencibia - Monster power, should get a better BA in 2012
13. Wilson Ramos - Second year could be boom or bust but I like a little boom
14. Russell Martin - Serviceable in a great lineup
15. Salvador Perez - Loads of potential here, nice sneaky sleeper pick
16. Chris Ianetta - 29 in April, I'd say potential breakout but who knows...
17. Jarrod Saltalamacchia - I like Salty to break out faster then Ianetta
18. John Buck - Back to reality
19. Kurt Suzuki - I still don't see the big break out here
20. John Jaso - Not the OBP/Leadoff hog we all though but some potential there
21. Jonathan LuCroy - Some room here for upside
22. Jeff Mathis - 3HR in 247AB? Either major sleeper or bust, only 28, hit 21HR in '05 AAA
23. Carlos Ruiz - Might get you some BA
24. Josh Thole - Upside in BA/OBP
25. Miguel Olivo - 15HR+ power but lacks contact skills
26. Rod Barajas - When he's hot, he's hot
27. A.J. Pierzynski - Serviceable
28. Chris Snyder - Will he get a starting job somewhere?
29. Ryan Doumit - Will he get a starting job somewhere?
30. Nick Hundley - Not much power or BA potential

Some others to consider as the offseason rolls on:
Jorge Posada
Hank Conger
Tyler Flowers
Devin Mesoraco
A.J. Ellis
Tim Federowicz

2012 Fantasy Baseball Rankings, Strategies, and Advice

2011-11-13T20:06:00.000-05:00

It's that time of the year again as The Fantasy Man starts to think about Fantasy Baseball advice, rankings, strategies, etc. Over the next few weeks I plan to release my 2012 rankings as I'm sure many of you don't mind getting started a bit early this year.

With fantasy football at full speed and Tim Tebow taking over the NFL, the focus turns to the many question marks going into 2012. Will the New York Mets keep Jose Reyes? Will Jonathan Papelbon dominate the National League? Prince Fielder? Albert Pujols? Big off season coming our way!

Here's a look into the Fantasy Baseball Express future...

Monday November 14th - Catchers
Wednesday November 16th - First Basemen
Friday November 18th - Second Basemen
Monday November 21st - Shortstops
Wednesday November 23rd - Third Basemen
Monday November 28th - Outfielders
Monday December 5th - Starting Pitchers
Wednesday December 7th - Relief Pitchers

We'll see how well I stick to this schedule! I have a trip to Scotland coming up and also a trip to Vegas, both for work but I'm pretty confident this schedule will go down. So stand by and stick around and lets get the 2012 fantasy baseball season off to a great start!

The Fantasy Man joins FanDuel.com

2011-08-09T11:38:00.000-04:00

The day has finally come! After six years of helping fantasy sports players win their leagues as The Fantasy Man, building a podcast, a blog, website and a brand, it's time to take these experiences to the next level. I have joined the team at FanDuel as their Customer Support Manager.

FanDuel.com lets you play and win at fantasy sports in a day instead of waiting the whole season. Players can draft a new team at any time, and pitch it head-to-head against a single opponent - or a league of opponents - for real money. The player whose team has the most fantasy points after the games have completed wins the cash prize.

This is the future of fantasy sports and I am happy and lucky to be a part of it from the beginning. My job is to create a successful user experience. So if you have a problem, an issue, a question, you can submit a support ticket and get a response from a real person. Of course, we have an extremely helpful FAQ/help page, so reading through that first should answer all your questions.

As for The Fantasy Man and Fantasy Baseball Express, I'll most likely still be posting up rankings and advice at my usual pace (slow in the summer, heavy in the winter) but may start winding down at some point. We do however still have the NL King on board to help provide some additional content and some others who like to chime in once and a while. So I'd say we'll continue on like normal but not sure what I will do about the podcasts yet, I guess we'll see how it goes.

Also, if you'd rather not see Fantasy Baseball Express die or would like to take over The Fantasy Man persona, I'm willing to talk about letting these domains go. I'd be willing to put them up for sale. I have every fantasy sport "express" domain and could be a sweet boost for someone new in the business to start a new fantasy website/brand and already have traffic, SEO, and advertisers already built in. Interested? Let me know.

Anyway, so give FanDuel a chance. It's a great site, it's a great game, and we're working daily to make the site the best out there. We have so many new features planned over the coming months that it would be stupid not to try it out, especially with football season coming up.

Thank you everyone for the support over the last six years! It's been a lot of fun and I've communicated with a lot of great people over the years. Keep that love for fantasy sports! There's nothing like it! Thank you.

Mike

2011-08-01T09:26:00.000-04:00

The NL King is here to help you fantasy baseball nuts as you going forward toward that championship. If you're reading this, you're most likely in the hunt for the money. If you're not reading this, well, then I guess you're not reading this.

Anyway, this article is on my friend Ubaldo Jimenez, to help AL Only owners who are not familar with Ubaldo. I know Ubaldo's career very well as not only have I followed it being an NL Only guy but I have had Ubaldo on my team a couple of times in recent years. Back in early summer of 2007, the season did not go my way and being in a keeper league I rebuilt for the following season. In addition to trades, I tried to find a couple of young guys who could make an impact in 2008. That summer I picked up off our league waiver wire a young reliever on the Giants who threw hard named Brian Wilson. That worked out well. In addition I picked up a young starter with the Rockies named Ubaldo Jimenez. I read about Jimenez in Basball America and what was said at the time is Jimenez has nasty stuff but he has a lot of moving parts in his delivery and because of that early on in his career control will probably be an issue. While Ubaldo showed good signs of becoming a front of the rotation starter that summer in 2007, in 2008 Jimenez walked too many batters. Then in 2009 Jimenez cut his walks down by 18 while pitching 20 more innings. In fact in 2009 Jimenez finished with 15W, 3.47 ERA, 1.23 Ratio & 198K in 218 IP. I felt going into 2010 Jimenz could be on the verge to taking that big step and as we all know he did in a big way.

I traded for Jimenez in my league in the off-season thinking he had arrived to the big time. What happened this year from various things I have read is his off-season conditioning program could have been way better for starters. On top of that I believe the cut on his cuticle which bothered him all spring really hurt Jimenez in April and May. Jimenez was also a victim of poor run support this year as well. Before his nightmare one last inning before the trading deadline Jimenez had been pitching well the last a number of starts excluding his outing before against Arizona. My point being Jimenez numbers as of now are not as bad as they look.

Jimenez is throwing his fastball 93-94 this year instead of the 98 last year. What I can tell the AL Only owners is with the change of scenary, being in a pennant race, and being in Cleveland who has a good thing going with all those young players, I believe Jimenez will finish 2011 strong. I know he is going from the NL to the AL but keep in mind it's the AL Central. I wouldn't bet the farm but as a NL fantasy player who has followed Jimenez the last few years if you can land Jimenez in your league Pounce because I believe he will finish up strong.

NL King - C.Lizza

Ubaldo Jimenez, King of the Road

2011-06-14T19:46:00.000-04:00

As a fellow Ubaldo Jimenez fantasy baseball team owner, I feel everyone's pain out there. You've heard about his velocity being down, the cut on his cuticle, the fact the last two months last season he was ordinary, yada, yada, yada. As a NL Only league fantasy nut, I am here to tell you that the problem with Ubaldo Jimenez this year can really be narrowed down to one thing. For whatever the reason, Ubaldo has pitched beyond awful at home this year. The bad news is that it could be in his head and he could be trying to do too much. It's all between the ears for Mr.Jimenez. This whole situation reminds me of the exchange between Rick "Wild Thing" Vaughn and Jack Parkman. "This one is called the Eliminator.... if you can get a piece of it, I'll let you rename it!
Let's break down the stats:
Home: 7 Starts, 0-5, 7.05 ERA, 1.89 Ratio, 29K's in 37 IP
Road: 5 Starts, 1-2, 2.06 ERA, 0.82 Ratio, 33K's in 35 IP

So basically we need Jimenez to break out of his home funk. Don't give up yet. He is very capable of going on a tear. Ubaldo has been a good pitcher the past three years. In daily leagues, start him on the road and bench at home until he proves he's capable. Knowing this, you may be able to buy low and acquire Jimenez on the cheap. Hang in there Ubaldo owners.

NL King - C.Lizza

Will the Mets KEEP JOSE Reyes in 2012 and Beyond?

2011-06-09T19:22:00.001-04:00

Even if The Fantasy Man can recognize a bad situation when he see's one. The New York Baseball Mets need to re-sign Jose Reyes simply because there's no player out there to replace him and play the defense and hit triples the way Jose does it! Simple as that. You want to complain about his legs, past injury problems, or the fact that a six year deal puts Reyes at an age where he might not be as effective with his legs as he is now, then go ahead. But, you and I both know that Jose Reyes "is" the Mets! So as a baseball lover, I created a way for New Yorkers, Mets fans, and Jose Reyes fans to show their support for Jose and make Mets brass want to re-sign but also let Reyes know that you want him back.

I found this photo on the Internet! I love it! I love that guy's face at the bottom!

Check out the website at http://www.keepreyes.com/ where you can support through http://twitter.com/KeepJoseReyes and also grab a KEEP JOSE Reyes t-shirt! Get the blue tee here and the white tee here!

Get the KEEP JOSE Reyes T-shirt for only $19.40

Following a Beginner and Realizing Key Fantasy Baseball Strategies!

2011-06-07T16:59:00.012-04:00

I've been looking over my 3-4 team (lost by 4 points to an unbeaten team last week) and asking myself how I can get better. To update you on that, I have made a few more Add/Drop moves, including adding 1B Eric Hosmer before anyone else could (Dang, it feels good to be a gambler!) and I dropped C/1B Mike Napoli to add some depth to my Starting pitching. I'm also told that I've added 1B Justin Smoak to my team, in place of Mitch Moreland, who sorta wore out his welcome. Seems like forever ago that I made that move, but nonetheless, I've been pleased with that move. * edit - Further update, I have since dropped Smoak. First Basemen are proving easy to come by at his skill level. *

Which brings me to this point...looking over my last article and how good I think my team looks overall, save for a couple spots, I've realized that there is a key strategy I must put in play here. I think this applies to any sort of league that doesn't have a whacked-out scoring system. Do your best to get points from every position every day.

Thank you Captain Obvious! Should we try outscoring our opponents on a weekly basis too?

First off, I don't like your tone. Secondly, I've been looking at the basic “draft offense first” strategy from one perspective. It's a view that says you can rely on points from your offense primarily day-in and day-out, and you can get pitching that is halfway decent later on. However, there is another view I'm finding now. If you can load up on offensive studs, you can use your bench on Starting Pitching. Have at least one SP for every day, and you'll set yourself up nicely. In my case, I have a total of 3 bench spots. Ideally, I'd put three pitchers in those spots each day. If I have a SP in a RP spot, like Philip Humber for example, even better. He'll probably score more points for me than a #4 RP would. So with 5 SP spots available, 3 bench, 1 RP spot dedicated to a worthy SP who happens to qualify as a RP, I can get 9 pretty good SP options total. I only have 7 SP's right now, which presents the basic subject of this article...

I've identified my weak spots in the field. SS is fairly weak, and 1B has been improved with Smoak and Hosmer *Edit – again, dumped Smoak *. I feel very good about my guys overall. The trick for me is, improve the weak spots by dealing off the excess position players. A guy like Chipper Jones is great trade bait for me, but is he and a high-scoring OF like Jeff Francoeur or one of those First Basemen mentioned earlier enough to land me a top 1B like Adrian Gonzalez or SS Troy Tulowitzki?

The answer is apparently “no”, although it could be that the people I'm talking with aren't paying attention to their teams. Or they all started reading my articles.

The basic trade logic I've come up with in fantasy ball states that you generally want to be receiving the best player in the deal. If you can improve in multiple spots by trading away the best player in the deal, that may be acceptable, but trading strictly for depth is a bad idea. If I'm trading away the best player, either I have another deal in mind that I'm going to make immediately after or I think my opponent is overpaying for what he's getting. Based on that principle, I can only conclude that Shortstop is SO shallow this year, that nobody wants to trade off their starter/depth.

So what is a guy supposed to do? I'm willing to greatly upgrade an opponent at 2, heck maybe 3 positions to get one guy, and we can't get something worked out? Well, this means I'll have to modify my plan, and it's a plan you n00bs may want to keep in mind.

I'll get into this in my next piece, but the bottom line is taking your weaker SP's, who may still be pretty good, and dropping them in favor of pitchers who can help you now. Say you've got Bud Norris pitching on Monday. Fine pitcher, but he's useless to you on Tuesday. In fact, he may be useless until Saturday, save for a relief appearance in a crazy-long game. Maybe you find Travis Wood in the free agent pool, and he pitches Tuesday. Why not snag him before the action starts up on Tuesday? Like I said, I'll get more into this idea next time.

I've said before that I favor trades when making a move. Unfortunately, that's not always practical, as you have to count on hyenas and yahoos in your league cooperating with you. Out of the 60 moves or so that I've made, exactly 0 have been trades.

* Edit – I would like to clarify that my worthy opponents are neither “hyenas” nor “yahoos.” They are, in fact, wonderful people who are all bigger than I am, and despite the fact that they could probably beat me up if they wanted to, they are charitable sort who would let someone like me call them names and then have a chance to retract those statements at a later time, lest I be pummeled with, and I'm quoting here, “Biblical proportions of pain.” As I am familiar with the epic destructiveness depicted in the Bible, I choose to retract the statements made about my opponents. Why? Because I had nothing to close this article with, so I opted to be silly.

David Bobke

Time to Shake up Your Fantasy Baseball NL Only League Roster?

2011-05-24T06:28:00.000-04:00

This fantasy baseball season is almost already at the quarter mark and many of you are either disappointed or ..... really disappointed with your fantasy baseball team. So if you're sitting in the middle of the standings or even worse, at the bottom, it might be time to shake things up..... or is it? My advice is be careful and you must have a plan. The first thing you need to do is look at each category and see where you're struggling. With a bit of improvement in your players performances, things can change dramatically so and a "shake up " could disrupt that potential improvement. You need to look at your players individually and see who is struggling and why. Is your team down because you just don't have enough starting pitching or saves or speed or power? Or is the reason you have a proven player just off to a terrible start? For instance, on my NL Only team I have Ubaldo Jimenez. Now I would venture to say in my league, which is a 12 team 5X5 NL only league, Jimenez being conservative is a $30 player. But for the first six weeks of the season Jimenez now only has not performed at that level but probably has been a negative $15 player in my estimation so far. That's a big weight to carry. Think of Jacob Marley in Charles Dickens, "A Christmas Carol"... that kind of weight. My point being is when I look at the categories for my team in Wins, Ratio and ERA this will have a big impact. So instead of getting the impact starting pitcher I drafted, I am getting a negative player and then some. This is where my particular team has faltered. If Jimenez decides to turn it around, he only can take care of most of my problems making a shake up on my team useless. However, I am betting on Ubaldo Jimenez for the rest of the year and will not currently make any drastic moves to shake things up. Sometimes its about being patient and sticking with your guy.

The reason I illustrate Jimenez is because even though my team is middle of the pack right now, making a trade just to shake things up is not a smart move for me personally. But, not all situations this season are like mine. You may indeed need to make some changes especially if you are employing players who are performing poorly but have never proven themselves or you have too many injuries and too much dependance on the waiver wire, both of which can decimate a team. If you are short in certain categories and need to make a trade to make things happen in those categories then you need to do look at everyone's roster and find a trade that works and is a smart move. Must keep in mind certain players get off to great starts and certain others start out slow. There have been many players to have huge years who had a bad first six weeks to the season. Look at your roster and carefully analyze each player and why you are struggling in particular categories. Sometimes it's hard being patient and you may need to make a trade ASAP to help your team but don't make a trade just because you feel the need to shake things up.

Everyone be well.

NL King - C.Lizza

Fantasy Baseball Prospect Watch

2011-05-15T12:09:00.000-04:00

It's just about that time of year when teams are filling holes due to injuries or poor performances and fantasy baseball leaguers are drooling over being the first to grab the next big superstar off the waiver wire. If you were smart and had the space, hopefully you drafted a few of these talented young players at the end of your draft and stashed away for what's about to come in the next few weeks. Below are a few of the prospects you need to keep an eye on as teams start to make the call ups. Most will arrive in June, so you'll want to get ahead of the game and grab and stash these players now in hopes they will fill a spot or upgrade your active roster when they become activated.

Eric Hosmer, 1B, KC - You might have already missed the boat here as he was called up last week while sending down Kila Ka'aihue. I was a fan of Kila and thought he'd atleast last a little longer but Hosmer has done well hitting a few HR's and coming up big against the Yankees. I got to see this guy hit for three games this week, this dude can rake! He's also better defensively than Kila and Billy Butler, so he should stick around in the majors the entire season.

Mike Moustakas, 3B, KC - Moustakas is the next best hitting prospect in the majors in my opinion. He's a HR and RBI machine and the Royals are carrying Wilson Betemit at 3B. While Betemit has actually been hitting well, he's just keeping the spot warm for Moustakas who the Royals probably want to hold back for service time as he's clearly ready. Moustakas is currently hitting .256/6HR/26RBI in 125AB.... that's money! I think I'll call him Money Moustakas!

Dustin Ackley, 2B, SEA - currently batting .247/5HR/17RBI/6SB in 150AB. At first glance, the batting average looks like he needs more seasoning, which is probably true, but he's got a .374OBP with 31BB and 24K. So more walks then K's. I love that and you should too. We know the majors will be a different situation but you have to like what he's showing in AAA. If he can get one hot 10 day stretch here in May, he'll be ready for a call up in June! He's already been compared to Chase Utley.

Dayan Viciedo, UT, CWS - The 22 year old Viciedo has been forced all around the field as the White Sox have no where for him to play. However, the White Sox currently stink and need some kind of offensive shakeup to get their bats going. Viciedo is currently hitting .307/5HR/29RBI. He's doesn't run much and he's not much of a walker, but he can hit and makes great contact. He's that type of hitter that never has a bad at bat. Since he came from Cuba and has been scuffled back and forth between the majors and minors the last 2 years, he doesn't get much respect on the prospect lists. This guy will get called up this year and make a splash and you'll miss the keeper boat if you're not paying attention. Don't let the lack of hype pass you by, this guy can hit for AVG and power.

Desmond Jennings, OF, TB - Remember this guy? Currently batting .291/5HR/17RBI/8SB while sporting a .404OBP with 21BB/29K in 134AB. Sounds like he's ready. I'm not sure how much longer Sam Fuld can hold onto a spot but Jennings is ready. If he's sitting on that waiver wire, it's only a matter of time.

Julio Teheran, SP ATL - Already experienced a cup of tea in a spot start for Atlanta that didn't make you burst out of your shoes but in AAA he's currently at 1.91ERA/1.06WHIP/32K in 37IP with only 28H/12BB/0HR. He's clearly dominating AAA and the fact that Atlanta brought him up tells you that you should see him again soon. He's only 20 years old so even if he does get the call, temper your expectations. Otherwise though, he'll make for a great keeper and trade bait in the off-season because his stuff is super nasty!

Anthony Rizzo, 1B, SD - Rizzo is tering up AAA batting .373/10HR/45RBI/5SB/.442OBP. This is the guy that takes over the the power lost from Adrian Gonzalez. He's a low hyped prospect that can easily out hit the others above.

Brett Lawrie, 3B, TOR - Currently ripping up AAA batting .338/8HR/25RBI/9SB in 157AB. Lawrie needs work on his defense and is really the reason he's still in the minors other than service time of course. Lawrie possesses the power/speed combo we fantasy baseballers covet and he'll get a shot this summer if he keeps hitting like this, but let's hope that defense is improving!

So these are the big prospects we need to keep an eye on as they seem like the best to make an impact in the second half of 2011. Don't be lazy, do your homework, look at stats, look at team situations and make sure you grab and stash these guys early, especially in keeper leagues.

The Fantasy Man

Fantasy Baseball - Love and Hamstrings

2011-05-09T11:18:00.002-04:00

What can I say about the Disabled List? It's like your weird Uncle. He's given you some great gifts over the years, maybe a great piece of advice here or there, but he's a nut. You don't mind seeing him, but you want him out of your house before he finds the Peppermint Schnapps.

My Disabled List consists of two spots. For several weeks, I never needed it, but now I am loaded with hurt players. It started with Rafael Furcal, then Victor Martinez. Logan Morrison was next up, and I was already out of spots. Since then, Jose Contreras and Pablo Sandoval have become DL-eligible as well, so I've had several tough decisions to make. I like the DL, don't get me wrong, it's handy...but when it's active, you get a sort of visceral attitude toward it.
Now I want this to serve as a guide to you n00bs because I am one of you after all, but rest assured, there is no ideal way to handle a lot of injuries (unless you can DL ALL of them, then Mazel Tov to ya).

As I said, Furcal went on the DL first. I was ready to cut him anyway, but I figured I'd throw him on the list and pick someone else up. I had the DL spot free, I may as well keep him regardless. V-Mart went on next, so that filled the DL. Once Morrison went on though, I had to move someone else off the DL and onto my active roster, or cut someone. That was a pretty easy decision, needless to say. Morrison to DL, Furcal, out.

The decisions since then have been trickier. I've made roster moves like crazy these last few weeks. Most of the moves are to spot-start Pitchers that I think have good matchups. I've solidified my Catcher position by snagging Mike Napoli from an impatient owner (qualifies for 1B as well, which is handy since I still only have Moreland there). To replace Morrison for a couple weeks, I felt like I could pick up a hot Outfielder and hope he sticks to it for a while. I got Jeff Francoeur, who has been filling in quite well for Morrison. I dropped Ryan Franklin (finally) and picked up Mitchell Boggs just around the time Franklin had officially lost his closer role.

As these injuries have piled up though, I've found that my ability to keep adding/dropping Starting Pitchers during the week to maximize my opportunities from those spots has been very limited. I think I've actually been doing better since I stopped doing that. Seems odd, you'd think that when I have a Starter going every day that I'd be gaining more points, but that hasn't panned out somehow. But hey, stick with what works, right? Perhaps this roster immobility is a blessing in disguise.

Anyway, I finally elected to let SP Jordan Zimmerman go in favor of SS/2B Darwin Barney because I need the SS. I have Marco Estrada who has been stellar for me in the...well, the one game he's pitched since then (losing 4-2 as I finish this piece). But, he qualifies as an RP as well as a SP. I slotted him in a RP role (so my 4 relievers were him, Rivera, K-Rod, and Boggs), and that worked nicely. Zimmerman became flexible after another questionable outing, so I'm opting to go short a RP in favor of having some depth to my bench offensively.

I think that's ultimately the best advice I can give as a newbie. If the DL starts to become more Hyde than Jekyll, consider how important the player in question is. Keep them if you can, but if it's like the decision I had with Furcal/V-Mart/Morrison, then you may have to dump someone. If they're valuable enough, ride it out. I don't like saying that you should have a dead spot on your roster for 2 weeks, but if they're good enough, you'll have to look at trade options and keep eyes on your long-term roster. Shrewd pickups, a good deal or two, and you can cover up that hole on your roster for a while. I'd recommend, if your league is anything like mine (Points League), going short a SP. Marco Estrada is moving back to the pen shortly (presumably) now that Greinke is back. I hate being short an RP, but my other closers are strong enough that I can survive it in the short term.

A good way to see how valuable your players are...check out the Players list in your league, and look over everyone, not just Free Agents, but everyone. Line them up by “Points” or “Points Per Game” and look over the list. Obviously, you'll need to do a little filtering, but you should be able to determine who the best/hottest players are throughout the year. My general rule is, if I have one player in the Top 10 (10 teams in my league, hence that number) at each position, I'm in good shape. I make adjustments for guys who missed time for whatever reason, and I will cut my guys some slack for having a player outside of the Top 10 who is gaining ground at a solid pace (like say, a Mitchell Boggs, who didn't start scoring big points until recently).

For example...here's how my 2-2 team looks:

My top C is ranked 3rd in points. With V-Mart coming back (and surprisingly, not that far outside the Top 10) I know I'm doing well there.
1B - Napoli and Moreland are ranked 16th and 19th. That sucks. Definitely an area I need to address.
2B– Cano is #1.
3B – A-Rod, Chipper, and the Panda are ranked 4, 6, and 8 in my league. I can easily afford to trade one of these guys.
SS – Picked up Yunel Escobar and Barney, which puts me in slightly better shape here. They're ranked 10th and 15th though. Not bad for a shallow position, but certainly a spot I need to monitor. Barney the Dinosaur would almost be an improvement over the guys I drafted...almost...the kid's show host is not available in my league though.
OF – Among my 6 active OF's and one on the DL, they rank 7, 31, 32, 34, 39, 45, 46. Not so hot. On the other hand, my top 4 are all underachieving, and I'm still confident they'll get it turned around. Cargo, McCutchen, Choo, Bruce...can you blame me for waiting it out with these guys (BTW, just got the news on Choo, and I'm not concerned about any suspensions, although I wonder how this will affect him over the next few days)? 39th is a strong spot for my 5th and final OF in a daily lineup, and they've all had very good days for me at some point.
DH – Ortiz is only 11th, but just had a great day, and I'm really not concerned with his current pace. I think this stock will rise as the year goes on. Maybe not the top DH, but he'll be quietly solid.
P – Top 3 SP's are 9, 31, and 50. Not great at all. My top 3 RP's are 8, 18, and 22. Starting Pitching could use some help, but given the major fluctuations I've had through the year so far, I'm neither surprised nor bothered by this. Carpenter, Kuroda, Nolasco, and Masterson are holding their own, and that's all I'm asking of them. SP was going to be my weak position, so I can't say I'm shocked here.

So I definitely have room for improvement. I like the idea of taking risks in fantasy sports, so I'll keep looking at Shortstops, maybe First Basemen that come up from the minors if they're in a good spot. But again, that DL will have to help me out, just like that crazy Uncle coming over to fix my sink.

David Bobke