In fantasy baseball, drafting isn't quite as important. Had I not lucked out with picking up CarGo (Carlos Gonzalez) off free agency last season, I would have never won the league. Still, drafting well makes life a whole lot easier, and lord knows baseball is the sport for a lazy man.
With your lethargy in mind, I'm happy to provide the top sleepers and stinkers to watch for in 2011!
Sleepers:
Ryan Raburn - This Tiger has shown major power with limited ABs, including 15 HRs last year in 371 ABs, and 16 HRs the year before in only 261 ABs. Now playing more regularly, 30 HRs is a realistic possibility. As a major bonus, he's 2B eligible in Yahoo leagues. Sure, he's got less range defensively than Keanu Reeves has range for acting, but it's all about the offense in fantasy baseball.
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| Keanu saw Raburn's stats and was like "woah..." |
Michael Morse - As a DC metro area resident, I am totally pumped that this guy will be the everyday right fielder for the Natinals. Similar to Raburn, Morse has shown power in limited playing time. He hit 15 HRs in only 266 ABs last year, and to secure a starting spot he walloped 9 HRs this spring to lead the Grapefruit League. No buyer's remorse here.
Jordan Zimmermann - Jumping from batter's box to the rubber, Zimmermann could emerge as the best pitcher on the Nationals' staff. As The Crystal Method will tell you regarding K/9, "that's the name of the game" when it comes to drafting pitchers: the higher the better. Zimmermann has always been around 9, and he's made a successful recovery from Tommy John surgery. Some might shy away from him because of the team he's pitching for, but he's going for $1 in most auction drafts, which is almost as big a steal as this next guy.
Rajai Davis - I luckily landed this freakishly fast outfielder for $1 and he's got major upside, having moved from the quiet, spacious grass of Oakland Coliseum to the less spacious, but equally quiet, turf of the Skydome. There are few players that can reach 50 steals like Davis, and in a smaller park with a more potent lineup, you can expect bumps in both OBP and SLG. With a double impact on OPS, you can see that he's a BFD who'll be a PTPer this year. Oh yeah, and he's 2L2Q.
David Freese - I know I bad-mouthed the entire Cardinals infield outside of Pujols in an earlier post, but Mr. Freese has major potential. Not only has he batted over .300 throughout the minors, he's unburdened by a cryogenic suit. With 3B weaker than in previous years, this guy is a great option late in drafts.
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| Ice to see you available in later rounds! |
I don't want to be a sour sabremetrician, so I'll just provide a few lemons to look out for as you build your team. Plus I know some of the jokes are killing you inside....
Stinkers:
Jose Reyes - Not only did he steal a disappointing 30 bases last year, he plays for the Mets. As my friend Mike said during our draft, the team's already imploding. He said this right as his internet connection dropped out and he auto-bought Reyes for $37. *insert uproarious laughter* He's just a hamstring tear away from fantasy irrelevance, and with injury issues over the past two years, picking him early is a bad idea. And I know something about bad ideas. If you want steals, look at Jacoby Ellsbury for 1/3 of the price.
Mark Reynolds - I can't emphasize enough what a bad idea it is to draft this guy. If you love homers, he'll provide a few, but at what cost to the rest of your stats, and your soul. He batted .198 last year and struck out over 200 times for the 3rd consecutive year. Now he's bringing the gale force winds of those whiffs to the inner harbor of B-more, where the USS Constellation will be rollicking in the waves as Reynolds is confounded by the strong pitching of the AL East. And Orioles fans thought they'd never miss the days of Melvin Mora.
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| Get used to this sight, Orioles fans. |
Joakim Soria - This is just a case of great player, bad team. Soria's skill and stats are great, but we could be looking at one of the worst starting pitching staffs ever assembled. Legit ace Zack Greinke has fled to Milwaukee, and his replacement as the top starter has a career 5.60 ERA. You're not going to get many saves when you give up runs at that rate. Soria's currently selling for $15 on average when better opportunities can be had for much less (Matt Thornton for $3, Jonathan Broxton for $4). If "being a good sport" was a stat category in fantasy, then Soria would be priceless.
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