The NL MVP race does not have all the pizazz of the AL race, which has two guys with 30-plus home runs and the chance for a second triple crown in a row.
My contenders to win it would be Allen Craig, who is hitting .333 with 74 RBIs, Paul Goldschmidt at .313 with 21 home runs and 77 RBIs, and Michael Cuddyer, hitting .330 with 16 home runs and 55 RBIs.
I'd also give an honorable mention to Jean Segura, who has cooled off a bit of late, but is still hitting .325 with 121 hits and 27 stolen bases. Segura has been killing it in fantasy, so gotta give him a mention.
Without too much conviction on my pick, I'll take Goldschmidt, who is putting up the best numbers on a team that, at the moment, is leading the division.
For other midseason awards, see below:
[Editor's note: This post is by John Trifone (@JohnnyT0122), who also contributes at our NFL site: Eat, Drink and Sleep Football (see John's archives).]
Showing posts with label Milwaukee Brewers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Milwaukee Brewers. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Sunday, June 9, 2013
Ryan Braun (thumb) leaves today's game early
Milwaukee Brewers left fielder Ryan Braun left today's game against the Philadelphia Phillies in the third inning due to right thumb soreness, the team tweeted.
For Braun, it's not a new injury as he sat out Wednesday's game due to thumb soreness as well.
“We’ve got to figure out what to do there,” Roenicke said (before today's game), per beat writer Adam McCalvey. “We’ve got to start going in the right direction with him, and sometimes it’s not. … I’m hoping we don’t have to [place him on the disabled list], but we start making gains and he says, ‘Yeah, I feel really good today,’ and then all of a sudden it’s a bad day and a setback.
“We keep going this back and forth. He’s out there playing, hitting third for us, and I expect the Braun that I’ve seen for the last two years, and he’s not the same. He’s still getting hits, he’s still helping us win games, but he’s not that guy that can carry a team like I know he can.”
Before leaving the game, Braun was 0-for-1 with a strike out.
Through 57 games, Braun is hitting . with nine home runs, 36 runs batted in, 30 runs scored and four stolen bases.
For Braun, it's not a new injury as he sat out Wednesday's game due to thumb soreness as well.
“We’ve got to figure out what to do there,” Roenicke said (before today's game), per beat writer Adam McCalvey. “We’ve got to start going in the right direction with him, and sometimes it’s not. … I’m hoping we don’t have to [place him on the disabled list], but we start making gains and he says, ‘Yeah, I feel really good today,’ and then all of a sudden it’s a bad day and a setback.
“We keep going this back and forth. He’s out there playing, hitting third for us, and I expect the Braun that I’ve seen for the last two years, and he’s not the same. He’s still getting hits, he’s still helping us win games, but he’s not that guy that can carry a team like I know he can.”
Before leaving the game, Braun was 0-for-1 with a strike out.
Through 57 games, Braun is hitting . with nine home runs, 36 runs batted in, 30 runs scored and four stolen bases.
Friday, March 22, 2013
2013 Fantasy Baseball Rankings - Top 50 Outfielders
In the vast majority of fantasy baseball drafts this season, the first player selected is going to be an outfielder. While that much is certain, the specific outfielder that goes first overall is much less of a lock.
Although Detroit Tigers third baseman Miguel Cabrera could make a strong argument that he should be the first overall pick, the decision for most fantasy owners will come down to Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun or Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout.
That said, it's like choosing between a Rolls Royce or a Bentley. In other words, there's not really a wrong choice.
As the unanimous choice for American League Rookie of the Year, Trout finished second in the AL MVP voting behind Cabrera, the first triple-crown winner of my lifetime. Not only did Trout get six of the 28 first-place votes over the triple-crown winner, he began the season in the minor leagues.
Despite playing his first 20 games of 2012 in the minors, the 20-year-old (now 21) made the most of his opportunity once he was called up. Trout hit .326 with 30 home runs and 49 stolen bases in only 139 games. In addition, he scored 129 runs and finished with 83 runs battted in.
Imagine what his stat line would have been had he started the year in Anaheim.
Adding in his minor league numbers, his 2012 totals over both levels were 150 runs scored, 31 home runs, 96 runs batted in and 55 stolen bases.
Like Trout, Braun is a player that will help fantasy owners in all five roto categories and both players had 30/30 seasons in 2012. Trout had a 30/50 season; Braun actually had a 40/30 season.
In fact, Braun has back-to-back 30/30 seasons under his belt.
Since being called up in 2007, Braun has hit above .300 in all but one season (.285 in 2008) and .319 or better in four of those six seasons. In addition, Braun has scored more than 100 runs in four consecutive seasons and driven in more than 100 runs in each of the past five seasons.
Perhaps he won't steal 30-plus bases for a third consecutive year, but Braun is a lock for a line of .300/100/30/100/20 with upside in all five of those categories.
Can CarGo Go For More than 145 Games?
In addition to Braun and Trout, several outfielders should go in the first round of drafts including Colorado Rockies outfielder Carlos Gonzalez.
The glass-half-full view with CarGo is that he has three consecutive 20/20 seasons despite playing 145 games or less in each of those seasons.
Of course, the glass-half-empty view is that he has averaged only 135.7 games per year over the past three years.
If healthy (or close to healthy) for a full season, Gonzalez can post a monster stat line. Back in 2010 with 145 games played, he posted a career-best line of .336/111/34/117/26.
As a career .299 hitter, a lot would have to go right for him to approach the .336 average he had that season, but he certainly has a shot of repeating his production in the counting statistics if he can set a new career high in games played.
Onward and Heyward
After a disappointing and injury-plagued (shoulder) sophomore season in 2011, Atlanta Braves rightfielder Jason Heyward had a breakout season last year.
Not only did he play a career-high 158 games, but the J-Hey Kid set career highs in hits (158), home runs (27), runs scored (93), runs batted in (82) and stolen bases (21).
Heyward is expected to move to second (from third) in the batting order this year so it's likely that he scores a few more runs but drives in the same or maybe fewer runs.
Only 23 years old and as a former top prospect, Heyward should continue to improve his overall game and fantasy production.
A Teenager No More
At only 19 years old, Washington Nationals phenom Bryce Harper won the National League Rookie of the Year award in 2012.
Like Trout, Harper made his big league debut last season on April 28th and for the (not quite) full season, he hit 22 home runs and stole 18 bases. In addition, he finished fifth in the league in runs scored (98).
Harper carries positive momentum with him as he enters his second season.
In his final 12 regular-season games last year, he hit .415 with three home runs, eight runs batted, 11 runs scored and five steals. In 19 games this spring, Harper is hitting .396 with three home runs, eight runs, 12 runs batted in and two steals.
While we may be a season or two away from the day that Harper becomes a perennial MVP candidate, he has all the physical tools and virtually unlimited potential. With Trout's monster season as a 20-year-old last year, maybe we're not as far away as some would think.
Here are my top 50 fantasy outfielders (based on Yahoo! eligibility):
1. Ryan Braun, Milwaukee Brewers
2. Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels
3. Matt Kemp, Los Angeles Dodgers
4. Andrew McCutchen, Pittsburgh Pirates
5. Carlos Gonzalez, Colorado Rockies
6. Jose Bautista, Toronto Blue Jays
7. Josh Hamilton, Los Angeles Angels
8. Giancarlo Stanton, Miami Marlins
9. Justin Upton, Atlanta Braves
10. Bryce Harper, Washington Nationals
11. Jason Heyward, Atlanta Braves
12. Adrian Gonzalez, Los Angeles Dodgers
13. Matt Holliday, St. Louis Cardinals
14. Jacoby Ellsbury, Boston Red Sox
15. Adam Jones, Baltimore Orioles
16. Jay Bruce, Cincinnati Reds
17. Alex Gordon, Kansas City Royals
18. Allen Craig, St. Louis Cardinals
19. Yoennis Cespedes, Oakland Athletics
20. Shin-Soo Choo, Cincinnati Reds
21. Ben Zobrist, Tampa Bay Rays
22. B.J. Upton, Atlanta Braves
23. Alex Rios, Chicago White Sox
24. Michael Bourn, Cleveland Indians
25. Desmond Jennings, Tampa Bay Rays
26. Curtis Granderson, New York Yankees
27. Carlos Beltran, St. Louis Cardinals
28. Melky Cabrera, Toronto Blue Jays
29. Mark Trumbo, Los Angeles Angels
30. Austin Jackson, Detroit Tigers
31. Nick Markakis, Baltimore Orioles
32. Martin Prado, Arizona Diamondbacks
33. Carl Crawford, Los Angeles Dodgers
34. Shane Victorino, Boston Red Sox
35. Carlos Gomez, Milwaukee Brewers
36. Hunter Pence, San Francisco Giants
37. Nelson Cruz, Texas Rangers
38. Andre Ethier, Los Angeles Dodgers
39. Josh Willingham, Minnesota Twins
40. Ichiro Suzuki, New York Yankees
41. Ben Revere, Philadelphia Phillies
42. Mike Morse, Seattle Mariners
43. Norichika Aoki, Milwaukee Brewers
44. Michael Cuddyer, Colorado Rockies
45. Alejandro De Aza, Chicago White Sox
46. Angel Pagan, San Francisco Giants
47. Adam Dunn, Chicago White Sox
48. Nick Swisher, Cleveland Indians
49. Dexter Fowler, Colorado Rockies
50. Brett Gardner, New York Yankees
For a second opinion, check out Duncan Sanford's outfielder rankings. (Or view our consensus third basemen rankings here.)
Other positions: C - 1B - 2B - 3B - SS - OF - SP - RP
To keep track of our updates, follow us on Twitter @EDSBaseball, LIKE us on Facebook and/or add us to your Google+ circle.
Although Detroit Tigers third baseman Miguel Cabrera could make a strong argument that he should be the first overall pick, the decision for most fantasy owners will come down to Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun or Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout.
That said, it's like choosing between a Rolls Royce or a Bentley. In other words, there's not really a wrong choice.
As the unanimous choice for American League Rookie of the Year, Trout finished second in the AL MVP voting behind Cabrera, the first triple-crown winner of my lifetime. Not only did Trout get six of the 28 first-place votes over the triple-crown winner, he began the season in the minor leagues.
Despite playing his first 20 games of 2012 in the minors, the 20-year-old (now 21) made the most of his opportunity once he was called up. Trout hit .326 with 30 home runs and 49 stolen bases in only 139 games. In addition, he scored 129 runs and finished with 83 runs battted in.
Imagine what his stat line would have been had he started the year in Anaheim.
Adding in his minor league numbers, his 2012 totals over both levels were 150 runs scored, 31 home runs, 96 runs batted in and 55 stolen bases.
Like Trout, Braun is a player that will help fantasy owners in all five roto categories and both players had 30/30 seasons in 2012. Trout had a 30/50 season; Braun actually had a 40/30 season.
In fact, Braun has back-to-back 30/30 seasons under his belt.
Since being called up in 2007, Braun has hit above .300 in all but one season (.285 in 2008) and .319 or better in four of those six seasons. In addition, Braun has scored more than 100 runs in four consecutive seasons and driven in more than 100 runs in each of the past five seasons.
Perhaps he won't steal 30-plus bases for a third consecutive year, but Braun is a lock for a line of .300/100/30/100/20 with upside in all five of those categories.
Can CarGo Go For More than 145 Games?
In addition to Braun and Trout, several outfielders should go in the first round of drafts including Colorado Rockies outfielder Carlos Gonzalez.
The glass-half-full view with CarGo is that he has three consecutive 20/20 seasons despite playing 145 games or less in each of those seasons.
Of course, the glass-half-empty view is that he has averaged only 135.7 games per year over the past three years.
If healthy (or close to healthy) for a full season, Gonzalez can post a monster stat line. Back in 2010 with 145 games played, he posted a career-best line of .336/111/34/117/26.
As a career .299 hitter, a lot would have to go right for him to approach the .336 average he had that season, but he certainly has a shot of repeating his production in the counting statistics if he can set a new career high in games played.
Onward and Heyward
After a disappointing and injury-plagued (shoulder) sophomore season in 2011, Atlanta Braves rightfielder Jason Heyward had a breakout season last year.
Not only did he play a career-high 158 games, but the J-Hey Kid set career highs in hits (158), home runs (27), runs scored (93), runs batted in (82) and stolen bases (21).
Heyward is expected to move to second (from third) in the batting order this year so it's likely that he scores a few more runs but drives in the same or maybe fewer runs.
Only 23 years old and as a former top prospect, Heyward should continue to improve his overall game and fantasy production.
A Teenager No More
At only 19 years old, Washington Nationals phenom Bryce Harper won the National League Rookie of the Year award in 2012.
Like Trout, Harper made his big league debut last season on April 28th and for the (not quite) full season, he hit 22 home runs and stole 18 bases. In addition, he finished fifth in the league in runs scored (98).
Harper carries positive momentum with him as he enters his second season.
In his final 12 regular-season games last year, he hit .415 with three home runs, eight runs batted, 11 runs scored and five steals. In 19 games this spring, Harper is hitting .396 with three home runs, eight runs, 12 runs batted in and two steals.
While we may be a season or two away from the day that Harper becomes a perennial MVP candidate, he has all the physical tools and virtually unlimited potential. With Trout's monster season as a 20-year-old last year, maybe we're not as far away as some would think.
Here are my top 50 fantasy outfielders (based on Yahoo! eligibility):
1. Ryan Braun, Milwaukee Brewers
2. Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels
3. Matt Kemp, Los Angeles Dodgers
4. Andrew McCutchen, Pittsburgh Pirates
5. Carlos Gonzalez, Colorado Rockies
6. Jose Bautista, Toronto Blue Jays
7. Josh Hamilton, Los Angeles Angels
8. Giancarlo Stanton, Miami Marlins
9. Justin Upton, Atlanta Braves
10. Bryce Harper, Washington Nationals
11. Jason Heyward, Atlanta Braves
12. Adrian Gonzalez, Los Angeles Dodgers
13. Matt Holliday, St. Louis Cardinals
14. Jacoby Ellsbury, Boston Red Sox
15. Adam Jones, Baltimore Orioles
16. Jay Bruce, Cincinnati Reds
17. Alex Gordon, Kansas City Royals
18. Allen Craig, St. Louis Cardinals
19. Yoennis Cespedes, Oakland Athletics
20. Shin-Soo Choo, Cincinnati Reds
21. Ben Zobrist, Tampa Bay Rays
22. B.J. Upton, Atlanta Braves
23. Alex Rios, Chicago White Sox
24. Michael Bourn, Cleveland Indians
25. Desmond Jennings, Tampa Bay Rays
26. Curtis Granderson, New York Yankees
27. Carlos Beltran, St. Louis Cardinals
28. Melky Cabrera, Toronto Blue Jays
29. Mark Trumbo, Los Angeles Angels
30. Austin Jackson, Detroit Tigers
31. Nick Markakis, Baltimore Orioles
32. Martin Prado, Arizona Diamondbacks
33. Carl Crawford, Los Angeles Dodgers
34. Shane Victorino, Boston Red Sox
35. Carlos Gomez, Milwaukee Brewers
36. Hunter Pence, San Francisco Giants
37. Nelson Cruz, Texas Rangers
38. Andre Ethier, Los Angeles Dodgers
39. Josh Willingham, Minnesota Twins
40. Ichiro Suzuki, New York Yankees
41. Ben Revere, Philadelphia Phillies
42. Mike Morse, Seattle Mariners
43. Norichika Aoki, Milwaukee Brewers
44. Michael Cuddyer, Colorado Rockies
45. Alejandro De Aza, Chicago White Sox
46. Angel Pagan, San Francisco Giants
47. Adam Dunn, Chicago White Sox
48. Nick Swisher, Cleveland Indians
49. Dexter Fowler, Colorado Rockies
50. Brett Gardner, New York Yankees
For a second opinion, check out Duncan Sanford's outfielder rankings. (Or view our consensus third basemen rankings here.)
Other positions: C - 1B - 2B - 3B - SS - OF - SP - RP
To keep track of our updates, follow us on Twitter @EDSBaseball, LIKE us on Facebook and/or add us to your Google+ circle.
Sunday, March 3, 2013
Aramis Ramirez getting MRI on knee today
After injuring his left knee while sliding yesterday, Brewers third baseman Aramis Ramirez is scheduled to get an MRI today, per Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
The glass-half-full view is that there appears to be no swelling, which probably rules out the ACL. But Ramirez says he isn't sure if the injury is serious.
"I don't know; I've never had knee problems before, so I don't know what to expect," Ramirez said. "It doesn't feel too good right now, but the good thing is it's not swelling at all. It's just sore."
"According to what our doctors said, they felt pretty good yesterday when they examined him," manager Ron Roenicke said. "I feel pretty good about it. There's not a lot of swelling in there. Hopefully it's what we think it is, and he'll just be out a couple days."
Not only did Ramirez hit .300 in back-to-back seasons, but he hit 27 home runs with 92 runs and 105 runs batted in, all of which were four-year highs, in his first season with the Brewers. In addition, he set a career high with nine steals. He had more than two steals in only one other season (five in 2001).
In our consensus fantasy baseball rankings, Ramirez is our ninth-ranked third baseman.
The glass-half-full view is that there appears to be no swelling, which probably rules out the ACL. But Ramirez says he isn't sure if the injury is serious.
"I don't know; I've never had knee problems before, so I don't know what to expect," Ramirez said. "It doesn't feel too good right now, but the good thing is it's not swelling at all. It's just sore."
"According to what our doctors said, they felt pretty good yesterday when they examined him," manager Ron Roenicke said. "I feel pretty good about it. There's not a lot of swelling in there. Hopefully it's what we think it is, and he'll just be out a couple days."
Not only did Ramirez hit .300 in back-to-back seasons, but he hit 27 home runs with 92 runs and 105 runs batted in, all of which were four-year highs, in his first season with the Brewers. In addition, he set a career high with nine steals. He had more than two steals in only one other season (five in 2001).
In our consensus fantasy baseball rankings, Ramirez is our ninth-ranked third baseman.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Ryan Braun wins appeal, 50-game suspension overturned
A couple of months ago, it was announced that Brewers left fielder Ryan Braun would be suspended for 50 games for violating the league's policy against performance-enhancing drugs.
Today Braun, the 2011 N.L. MVP, became the first player to win an appeal of a PED suspension, which means he will be able to play Opening Day and the remaining 161 games this season.
According to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, Braun won the appeal "not so much on contesting the result of the test but the testing process itself."
Per Haudricourt, here's part of the statement from MLB: " ... While we have always respected that process, Major League Baseball vehemently disagrees with the decision rendered today by arbitrator Shyam Das.”
With the ruling, we have moved Braun up to No. 3 in our fantasy outfielder rankings behind only Matt Kemp and Jose Bautista.
Not only did Braun set career highs in batting average (.332) and stolen bases (33) last year, but he was one of only four players to finish with a 30-30 season. Braun is five-category stud as he has driven in 100-plus runs for four straight seasons and scored 100-plus runs for three straight seasons.
Today Braun, the 2011 N.L. MVP, became the first player to win an appeal of a PED suspension, which means he will be able to play Opening Day and the remaining 161 games this season.
According to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, Braun won the appeal "not so much on contesting the result of the test but the testing process itself."
Per Haudricourt, here's part of the statement from MLB: " ... While we have always respected that process, Major League Baseball vehemently disagrees with the decision rendered today by arbitrator Shyam Das.”
With the ruling, we have moved Braun up to No. 3 in our fantasy outfielder rankings behind only Matt Kemp and Jose Bautista.
Not only did Braun set career highs in batting average (.332) and stolen bases (33) last year, but he was one of only four players to finish with a 30-30 season. Braun is five-category stud as he has driven in 100-plus runs for four straight seasons and scored 100-plus runs for three straight seasons.
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Report: Ryan Braun faces 50-game suspension for PEDs
Brewers left fielder Ryan Braun has tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs, according to a report by ESPN's Outside the Lines.
Per the report, the failed test has not been announced since Braun is appealing the result through arbitration.
In the offseason, Braun signed a five-year extension worth roughly $105 million. Braun, who was named the 2011 N.L. MVP, hit a career-high .332 with 33 home runs, 111 runs batted in and scored 109 runs.
Braun also stole a career-high 33 bases and was one of four players to finish with 30-30 seasons. The other three were Matt Kemp, Ian Kinsler and Jacoby Ellsbury.
Per the report, the failed test has not been announced since Braun is appealing the result through arbitration.
Braun's spokeman released the following statement (via ESPN): "There are highly unusual circumstances surrounding this case which will support Ryan's complete innocence and demonstrate there was absolutely no intentional violation of the program. While Ryan has impeccable character and no previous history, unfortunately, because of the process we have to maintain confidentiality and are not able to discuss it any further, but we are confident he will ultimately be exonerated.Per the report, Braun failed an initial test and MLB had the World Anti-Doping Agency lab in Montreal conduct a second test, which revealed the testosterone was not produced naturally within Braun's body.
In the offseason, Braun signed a five-year extension worth roughly $105 million. Braun, who was named the 2011 N.L. MVP, hit a career-high .332 with 33 home runs, 111 runs batted in and scored 109 runs.
Braun also stole a career-high 33 bases and was one of four players to finish with 30-30 seasons. The other three were Matt Kemp, Ian Kinsler and Jacoby Ellsbury.
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Ryan Braun's MRI shows inflammation but no structural damage
Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun missed a fourth consecutive game on Wednesday. And although he won't play in the series opener against the Reds on Thursday, he could return as early as Friday, per MLB.com's Adam McCalvey.
Braun had an MRI today and the results showed inflammation in a tendon behind the knee -- but no structural damage.
"I think it was the best-case result," Braun said, per Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. "They said the only thing that could have been better was if it was more in the muscle. It's kind of more hamstring than calf. It's in a tendon behind my knee that's in between the calf and the hamstring. It doesn't get as much blood flow as a muscle does.
"I'm not in pain or anything like that. It's just that, unfortunately, I'm not able to do baseball activities. The goal is to minimize the time missed. It's more beneficial to miss a little time now than a long time down the road."
If Braun doesn't play this weekend, he said he won't play in the All-Star Game next week.
On the season, Braun is hitting .320 with 16 home runs, 62 runs batted in and 19 stolen bases. Along with Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp, Braun is one of two players in baseball that is hitting at least .300 with 15-plus homers and 15-plus steals.
Braun had an MRI today and the results showed inflammation in a tendon behind the knee -- but no structural damage.
"I think it was the best-case result," Braun said, per Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. "They said the only thing that could have been better was if it was more in the muscle. It's kind of more hamstring than calf. It's in a tendon behind my knee that's in between the calf and the hamstring. It doesn't get as much blood flow as a muscle does.
"I'm not in pain or anything like that. It's just that, unfortunately, I'm not able to do baseball activities. The goal is to minimize the time missed. It's more beneficial to miss a little time now than a long time down the road."
If Braun doesn't play this weekend, he said he won't play in the All-Star Game next week.
On the season, Braun is hitting .320 with 16 home runs, 62 runs batted in and 19 stolen bases. Along with Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp, Braun is one of two players in baseball that is hitting at least .300 with 15-plus homers and 15-plus steals.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Fantasy Baseball: 2011 Outfielder Rankings
Our top three fantasy outfielders in 2011 are the same top three fantasy outfielders that most other sites have in their top three. However, I've seen all three in the top spot at a relatively even split. In an ideal world, I'd like to get my No. 1 outfielder as the third outfielder off the board.
Here are our top 50 outfielders in fantasy baseball for 2011:
1. Ryan Braun, Brewers: Although Braun hit a career-low 25 home runs in 2010, he has 90-plus runs, 97-plus runs batted in and 14-plus steals every year. Plus, he has hit .300-plus in three out of four seasons.
2. Carlos Gonzalez, Rockies: What a breakout season it was for Gonzalez! Despite missing 15 games, he finished with a line of .336-111-34-117-26. As solid as he was across the board, CarGo played much better at Coors Field (.380, 26 homers, 76 RBIs) than on the road (.289, eight homers, 41 RBIs) in 2010.
3. Carl Crawford, Red Sox: Crawford set career highs in runs scored (110), home runs (19) and runs batted in (90) last year in Tampa. In the past five years, Crawford has hit over .300 four times. And with the exception of his 109-game season in 2008, Crawford has stolen 46-plus bases every year since 2003.
4. Matt Holliday, Cardinals: Excluding his .290 batting average in his rookie season (.290), Holliday's full-year batting averages have been .300-plus every year. While he's unlikely to ever steal 28 bases again (as he did in 2008), Holliday will help in all counting numbers to the tune of roughly 95-100 runs, 100-110 runs batted in, 25-30 homers and 10-15 steals.
5. Matt Kemp, Dodgers: Other than a small year-over-year increase in home runs (26 to 28), Kemp's numbers declined across the board in 2010 from 2009. After three straight seasons hitting .290-plus, his average plummeted to .249. In addition, he saw year-over-year declines in runs scored (97 to 82), runs batted in (101 to 89) and stolen bases (34 to 19).
6. Josh Hamilton, Rangers: When projecting Hamilton's fantasy value, the first thing you need to take into consideration is the number of games you expect him to play. Even so, he can be highly productive when he misses plenty of games as he proved last year by being named the A.L. MVP despite missing almost 30 games.
7. Shin-Soo Choo, Indians: In 2010, three players hit .300-plus, hit 20-plus home runs and stole 20-plus bases: Florida's Hanley Ramirez, Colorado's Carlos Gonzalez and Choo. For Choo, he's done so in back-to-back seasons (his only two where he has played 100-plus games).
8. Nelson Cruz, Rangers: Over the past two seasons, Cruz has missed 88 games but he still managed to hit 55 home runs and steal 37 bases during that span. That's a 162-game pace of 37 home runs and 25 steals.
9. Justin Upton, Diamondbacks: Upton, the number one overall draft pick in 2005, is still only 23 years old and undoubtedly has plenty of upside. Over the past two years, Upton have averaged 21.5 home runs and 19 steals despite averaging only 135.5 games. With good health, Upton should easily reach 20-20 with the potential for 30-25.
10. Andrew McCutchen, Pirates: Like Justin Upton, McCutchen was a high first-round pick in 2005 and has plenty of upside. As a 23-year-old, McCutchen finished with a line of .286-94-16-56-33. Since he'll start the season batting third in the Pirates' lineup, McCutchen should see his RBIs increase by a significant amount over last year's 56.
11. Ichiro Suzuki, Mariners: Since Ichiro won't help you in home runs and runs batted in, his value is tied to how well he performs in the batting average and steals categories. Over the past four seasons, he's had two seasons with .350-plus batting averages and two seasons with 40-plus steals. Only if he could do both in the same season (which he hasn't since 2001 and likely won't) ...
12. Jayson Werth, Nationals: Werth will play half of his games in Washington instead of Philadelphia, which is a bit of a concern, in 2011. That said, I can see a season of .275-100-25-100-15 (or close to it) for Werth.
13. Jose Bautista, Blue Jays: Although there's virtually no chance that he duplicates his 54-homer performance from 2010, Bautista could hit 35 or so homers with 100 runs batted in. Even better, he also has position eligibility at third base.
14. Jason Heyward, Braves: Heyward, who will turn 22 years old in August, hit .301 after the All-Star break in his rookie season last year. This spring, Heyward has been hitting the ball well (.356 average over 18 games). I see a line of .290-90-25-90-10 for Heyward in 2011.
15. Hunter Pence, Astros: Pence set career highs in runs scored (93), runs batted in (91) and stolen bases (18) in addition to tying his existing career high in home runs (25) in 2010. With a solid average (career .287 hitter), Pence should help in all categories at a very fair price.
16. Alex Rios, White Sox: There were 38 outfielders that hit 20-plus home runs in 2010. There were 15 outfielders that stole 30-plus bases in 2010. There were only two that did both -- Rios and Cincinnati's Drew Stubbs. The worry about Rios is his inconsistency and 15 (of his 21) home runs and 23 (of his 34) stolen bases came before the All-Star break.
17. Andre Ethier, Dodgers: Ethier got off to a hot start (.392 average, 11 homers and 38 runs batted in through 33 games) before fracturing his right pinky finger, which he feels bothered him after he came back too soon from the injury. He still managed to finish the season with a .292 average, 23 home runs and 82 runs batted in despite missing 23 games.
18. Mike Stanton, Marlins: Between Double-A and the Marlins, Stanton hit 43 home runs and 111 runs batted in combined. Stanton has big-time power and could come close to hitting 40 homers in his first full season in the big leagues. (Take our poll on how many home runs Stanton will hit in 2011.)
19. Jay Bruce, Reds: Bruce, who will turn 24 in April, hit .281 -- .338 from August to October -- with 25 home runs last season. As MLB.com's John Schlegel points out, Bruce has hit more home runs (68) than any other player his age and he ranks 41st all-time for most home runs in his first three seasons.
20. Jacoby Ellsbury, Red Sox: As the Red Sox leadoff hitter, Ellsbury should hit for a good average and rack up a ton of steals and runs. If you're a glass-half-empty kind-of guy, he won't do much to help in the power categories.
21. B.J. Upton, Rays: In the past two seasons, Upton has hit .241 or less. On a positive note, however, Upton has stolen 40-plus bases for three consecutive seasons. In addition, he hit 18 home runs last year while setting a career high in doubles (38). Had a couple of those doubles been homers, he would have been the only 20-40 outfielder last season.
22. Delmon Young, Twins: Young, baseball's top overall draft pick in 2003, hit nearly .300 (.298, to be exact) while setting career highs in home runs (21) and runs batted in (112) last year.
23. Chris Young, Diamondbacks: Young set career highs in runs scored (94), runs batted in (91), stolen bases (28) and batting average (.257) while belting 27 home runs. Provided the composition of your team will help you withstand the negative impact Young will have on your team's batting average, Young will help you all other categories.
24. Shane Victorino, Phillies: From 2006 to 2009, Victorino hit .281 or better every season. Although his batting average slipped to .259 in 2010, it was also the only season since 2006 in which his BABIP was below .300. Expect a bounce-back in average for the Flyin' Hawaiian, who has averaged 92 runs, 14 homers and 33 steals over the past four seasons.
25. Drew Stubbs, Reds: While Stubbs won't help any in batting average, Stubbs was one of only two outfielders to hit 20-plus home runs and steal 30-plus bases in 2010, as noted above.
26. Colby Rasmus, Cardinals
27. Corey Hart, Brewers
28. Curtis Granderson, Yankees
29. Nick Markakis, Orioles
30. Carlos Lee, Astros
31. Torii Hunter, Angels
32. Bobby Abreu, Angels
33. Adam Jones, Orioles
34. Michael Bourn, Astros
35. Ben Zobrist, Rays
36. Juan Pierre, White Sox
37. Carlos Quentin, White Sox
38. Vernon Wells, Angels
39. Brett Gardner, Yankees
40. Nick Swisher, Yankees
41. Aubrey Huff, Giants
42. Grady Sizemore, Indians
43. Jason Bay, Mets
44. Rajai Davis, Blue Jays
45. Michael Cuddyer, Twins
46. Carlos Beltran, Mets
47. Chris Coghlan, Marlins
48. Denard Span, Twins
49. Manny Ramirez, Rays
50. Tyler Colvin, Cubs
Feel free to send fantasy baseball questions to me via Twitter at @EDSBaseball or post them in our fantasy baseball forum.
See our fantasy rankings for infielders: C - 1B - 2B - SS - 3B
Here are our top 50 outfielders in fantasy baseball for 2011:
1. Ryan Braun, Brewers: Although Braun hit a career-low 25 home runs in 2010, he has 90-plus runs, 97-plus runs batted in and 14-plus steals every year. Plus, he has hit .300-plus in three out of four seasons.
2. Carlos Gonzalez, Rockies: What a breakout season it was for Gonzalez! Despite missing 15 games, he finished with a line of .336-111-34-117-26. As solid as he was across the board, CarGo played much better at Coors Field (.380, 26 homers, 76 RBIs) than on the road (.289, eight homers, 41 RBIs) in 2010.
3. Carl Crawford, Red Sox: Crawford set career highs in runs scored (110), home runs (19) and runs batted in (90) last year in Tampa. In the past five years, Crawford has hit over .300 four times. And with the exception of his 109-game season in 2008, Crawford has stolen 46-plus bases every year since 2003.
4. Matt Holliday, Cardinals: Excluding his .290 batting average in his rookie season (.290), Holliday's full-year batting averages have been .300-plus every year. While he's unlikely to ever steal 28 bases again (as he did in 2008), Holliday will help in all counting numbers to the tune of roughly 95-100 runs, 100-110 runs batted in, 25-30 homers and 10-15 steals.
5. Matt Kemp, Dodgers: Other than a small year-over-year increase in home runs (26 to 28), Kemp's numbers declined across the board in 2010 from 2009. After three straight seasons hitting .290-plus, his average plummeted to .249. In addition, he saw year-over-year declines in runs scored (97 to 82), runs batted in (101 to 89) and stolen bases (34 to 19).
6. Josh Hamilton, Rangers: When projecting Hamilton's fantasy value, the first thing you need to take into consideration is the number of games you expect him to play. Even so, he can be highly productive when he misses plenty of games as he proved last year by being named the A.L. MVP despite missing almost 30 games.
7. Shin-Soo Choo, Indians: In 2010, three players hit .300-plus, hit 20-plus home runs and stole 20-plus bases: Florida's Hanley Ramirez, Colorado's Carlos Gonzalez and Choo. For Choo, he's done so in back-to-back seasons (his only two where he has played 100-plus games).
8. Nelson Cruz, Rangers: Over the past two seasons, Cruz has missed 88 games but he still managed to hit 55 home runs and steal 37 bases during that span. That's a 162-game pace of 37 home runs and 25 steals.
9. Justin Upton, Diamondbacks: Upton, the number one overall draft pick in 2005, is still only 23 years old and undoubtedly has plenty of upside. Over the past two years, Upton have averaged 21.5 home runs and 19 steals despite averaging only 135.5 games. With good health, Upton should easily reach 20-20 with the potential for 30-25.
10. Andrew McCutchen, Pirates: Like Justin Upton, McCutchen was a high first-round pick in 2005 and has plenty of upside. As a 23-year-old, McCutchen finished with a line of .286-94-16-56-33. Since he'll start the season batting third in the Pirates' lineup, McCutchen should see his RBIs increase by a significant amount over last year's 56.
11. Ichiro Suzuki, Mariners: Since Ichiro won't help you in home runs and runs batted in, his value is tied to how well he performs in the batting average and steals categories. Over the past four seasons, he's had two seasons with .350-plus batting averages and two seasons with 40-plus steals. Only if he could do both in the same season (which he hasn't since 2001 and likely won't) ...
12. Jayson Werth, Nationals: Werth will play half of his games in Washington instead of Philadelphia, which is a bit of a concern, in 2011. That said, I can see a season of .275-100-25-100-15 (or close to it) for Werth.
13. Jose Bautista, Blue Jays: Although there's virtually no chance that he duplicates his 54-homer performance from 2010, Bautista could hit 35 or so homers with 100 runs batted in. Even better, he also has position eligibility at third base.
14. Jason Heyward, Braves: Heyward, who will turn 22 years old in August, hit .301 after the All-Star break in his rookie season last year. This spring, Heyward has been hitting the ball well (.356 average over 18 games). I see a line of .290-90-25-90-10 for Heyward in 2011.
15. Hunter Pence, Astros: Pence set career highs in runs scored (93), runs batted in (91) and stolen bases (18) in addition to tying his existing career high in home runs (25) in 2010. With a solid average (career .287 hitter), Pence should help in all categories at a very fair price.
16. Alex Rios, White Sox: There were 38 outfielders that hit 20-plus home runs in 2010. There were 15 outfielders that stole 30-plus bases in 2010. There were only two that did both -- Rios and Cincinnati's Drew Stubbs. The worry about Rios is his inconsistency and 15 (of his 21) home runs and 23 (of his 34) stolen bases came before the All-Star break.
17. Andre Ethier, Dodgers: Ethier got off to a hot start (.392 average, 11 homers and 38 runs batted in through 33 games) before fracturing his right pinky finger, which he feels bothered him after he came back too soon from the injury. He still managed to finish the season with a .292 average, 23 home runs and 82 runs batted in despite missing 23 games.
18. Mike Stanton, Marlins: Between Double-A and the Marlins, Stanton hit 43 home runs and 111 runs batted in combined. Stanton has big-time power and could come close to hitting 40 homers in his first full season in the big leagues. (Take our poll on how many home runs Stanton will hit in 2011.)
19. Jay Bruce, Reds: Bruce, who will turn 24 in April, hit .281 -- .338 from August to October -- with 25 home runs last season. As MLB.com's John Schlegel points out, Bruce has hit more home runs (68) than any other player his age and he ranks 41st all-time for most home runs in his first three seasons.
20. Jacoby Ellsbury, Red Sox: As the Red Sox leadoff hitter, Ellsbury should hit for a good average and rack up a ton of steals and runs. If you're a glass-half-empty kind-of guy, he won't do much to help in the power categories.
21. B.J. Upton, Rays: In the past two seasons, Upton has hit .241 or less. On a positive note, however, Upton has stolen 40-plus bases for three consecutive seasons. In addition, he hit 18 home runs last year while setting a career high in doubles (38). Had a couple of those doubles been homers, he would have been the only 20-40 outfielder last season.
22. Delmon Young, Twins: Young, baseball's top overall draft pick in 2003, hit nearly .300 (.298, to be exact) while setting career highs in home runs (21) and runs batted in (112) last year.
23. Chris Young, Diamondbacks: Young set career highs in runs scored (94), runs batted in (91), stolen bases (28) and batting average (.257) while belting 27 home runs. Provided the composition of your team will help you withstand the negative impact Young will have on your team's batting average, Young will help you all other categories.
24. Shane Victorino, Phillies: From 2006 to 2009, Victorino hit .281 or better every season. Although his batting average slipped to .259 in 2010, it was also the only season since 2006 in which his BABIP was below .300. Expect a bounce-back in average for the Flyin' Hawaiian, who has averaged 92 runs, 14 homers and 33 steals over the past four seasons.
25. Drew Stubbs, Reds: While Stubbs won't help any in batting average, Stubbs was one of only two outfielders to hit 20-plus home runs and steal 30-plus bases in 2010, as noted above.
26. Colby Rasmus, Cardinals
27. Corey Hart, Brewers
28. Curtis Granderson, Yankees
29. Nick Markakis, Orioles
30. Carlos Lee, Astros
31. Torii Hunter, Angels
32. Bobby Abreu, Angels
33. Adam Jones, Orioles
34. Michael Bourn, Astros
35. Ben Zobrist, Rays
36. Juan Pierre, White Sox
37. Carlos Quentin, White Sox
38. Vernon Wells, Angels
39. Brett Gardner, Yankees
40. Nick Swisher, Yankees
41. Aubrey Huff, Giants
42. Grady Sizemore, Indians
43. Jason Bay, Mets
44. Rajai Davis, Blue Jays
45. Michael Cuddyer, Twins
46. Carlos Beltran, Mets
47. Chris Coghlan, Marlins
48. Denard Span, Twins
49. Manny Ramirez, Rays
50. Tyler Colvin, Cubs
Feel free to send fantasy baseball questions to me via Twitter at @EDSBaseball or post them in our fantasy baseball forum.
See our fantasy rankings for infielders: C - 1B - 2B - SS - 3B
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Fantasy Baseball: 2011 Third Basemen Rankings
Third base isn't exceptionally deep, but a couple of solid options (Boston's Kevin Youkilis and Seattle's Chone Figgins) will earn eligibility at the position in April.
Here are our top 15 fantasy third basemen for 2011:
1. Evan Longoria, Rays: Everywhere you look, Longoria will likely be the top-ranked fantasy third baseman and you'll likely need a top-five to have the chance to draft him. As the third-overall pick in the 2006 draft, Longoria is still only 25 years old with plenty of upside. In other words, a season of .294-100-33-113-15, which are his career highs, (or better) is certainly possible in 2011. (And hopefully there won't be any more stolen AK-47 stories this year.)
2. David Wright, Mets: After a disappointing 2009 season, Wright was shy of a 30-20 season by exactly one home run and one stolen base. By hitting a career-low .283 last year, Wright ended a streak of five consecutive seasons of hitting .300-plus. In other words, if things fall into place, Wright has as good of a chance as any third basemen to finish with a line of .300-100-30-100-20.
3. Ryan Zimmerman, Nationals: Zimmerman missed 20 games last season, but he set career highs in home runs (33), runs scored (110) and runs batted in (106) while playing 157 games in 2009. Although he won't steal many bases, he will provide a boost in all of the other four categories.
4. Alex Rodriguez, Yankees: A year older? Who isn't, right? Granted, A-Rod is nowhere near the all-around fantasy stud he once was and he hasn't played more than 138 games in any of the past three seasons. That said, Rodriguez has posted 30-plus homers and 100-plus runs batted in every season since 1998 including in the past three seasons. In my opinion, he's sliding to a point where he could out to be a bargain in most drafts.
5. Kevin Youkilis, Red Sox: Although he's not yet eligible at third base, he will be at some point in April depending on your league's eligibility requirements. Here's what I wrote about Youkilis in our first base rankings, where he's No. 7: "Over the past five seasons, Youkilis has not played more than 147 games in any year. Provided he stays healthy for a full season, Youkilis could/should put up around or more than 100 runs, 100 runs batted in, 30 homers while hitting .300."
6. Adrian Beltre, Rangers: Beltre, who turns 32 years old in April, is now entering his 14th season in the big leagues. Only twice in his 13 years has he hit over .300 with 28-plus home runs and 100-plus runs batted in. Coincidentally, both of those seasons happened before getting a big contract. While he has the skills to do it a third time in his career in 2011, I'd like to see back-to-back strong seasons from Beltre before I'm a buyer at these prices.
7. Jose Bautista, Blue Jays: Bautista led all of baseball in home runs last year with 54, which is nearly equal to his home run output from 2004 to 2009 (59 home runs total). While a repeat performance is highly unlikely, there's a good chance that he can follow up last year's league-leading performance with 35-40 homers in 2011.
8. Casey McGehee, Brewers: Only two other third basemen -- Longoria and A-Rod -- have more runs batted in than McGehee (149) since July 1, 2010. While he won't steal bases, like most third basemen won't, McGehee will help in the other four statistical categories in standard 5x5 categories at a very reasonable cost.
9. Aramis Ramirez, Cubs: Last year, Ramirez hit only .241, which was lowest batting average since 2002. From 2004 to 2009, Ramirez hit .289 or higher every season including .300-plus in four out of six seasons. Although Ramirez only played 124 games last year, he drove in 100-plus runs in all five seasons in which he has played 125-plus games since 2003. Provided he can stay healthy, a bounce-back season seems reasonable.
10. Pablo Sandoval, Giants: Sandoval broke out in 2009 -- hitting .330 with 25 home runs and 90 runs batted in. Although he had a disappointing season in 2010, Sandoval is only 24 years old, lost a substantial amount of weight in the off-season and shortened his swing. Based on his average draft position of 127 from Mock Draft Central, Sandoval seems to offer more reward than risk this season.
11. Pedro Alvarez, Pirates: There's no doubt that Alvarez has tremendous upside and potential. Although Alvarez struck out in 34.3 percent of his major league at bats last year, he combined for 29 home runs and 117 runs batted in between Triple-A and the big leagues.
12. Martin Prado, Braves: Prado, who played mostly second base and some third base last year, is moving to left field for the Braves and soon will be eligible at three fantasy positions. In a career-high 140 games last season, Prado hit .307 and 15 home runs with 100 runs scored.
13. Michael Young, Rangers: Young, who is a career .300 hitter, hit 20 home runs in back-to-back seasons for the first time since the 2004 and 2005 seasons. While he may or may not hit 20-plus homers in three straight seasons for the first time in his career, Young is one of the more consistent hitters in the game.
14. Mark Reynolds, Orioles: The good news? Reynolds is the only player in baseball to hit 100-plus home runs and steal 40-plus bases during the past three seasons. The bad news? He's hit .234 during that span while striking out an average of 213 times per season.
15. Ian Stewart, Rockies: Stewart isn't going to win a batting title any time soon and missed about a quarter of the 2010 season. But with good health, Stewart has the power to hit 25-30 home runs in an offense that features two of baseball's elite hitters: Carlos Gonzalez and Troy Tulowitzki.
Feel free to send fantasy baseball questions to me via Twitter at @EDSBaseball or post them in our fantasy baseball forum.
See our other fantasy rankings for infielders: C - 1B - 2B - SS
Here are our top 15 fantasy third basemen for 2011:
1. Evan Longoria, Rays: Everywhere you look, Longoria will likely be the top-ranked fantasy third baseman and you'll likely need a top-five to have the chance to draft him. As the third-overall pick in the 2006 draft, Longoria is still only 25 years old with plenty of upside. In other words, a season of .294-100-33-113-15, which are his career highs, (or better) is certainly possible in 2011. (And hopefully there won't be any more stolen AK-47 stories this year.)
2. David Wright, Mets: After a disappointing 2009 season, Wright was shy of a 30-20 season by exactly one home run and one stolen base. By hitting a career-low .283 last year, Wright ended a streak of five consecutive seasons of hitting .300-plus. In other words, if things fall into place, Wright has as good of a chance as any third basemen to finish with a line of .300-100-30-100-20.
3. Ryan Zimmerman, Nationals: Zimmerman missed 20 games last season, but he set career highs in home runs (33), runs scored (110) and runs batted in (106) while playing 157 games in 2009. Although he won't steal many bases, he will provide a boost in all of the other four categories.
4. Alex Rodriguez, Yankees: A year older? Who isn't, right? Granted, A-Rod is nowhere near the all-around fantasy stud he once was and he hasn't played more than 138 games in any of the past three seasons. That said, Rodriguez has posted 30-plus homers and 100-plus runs batted in every season since 1998 including in the past three seasons. In my opinion, he's sliding to a point where he could out to be a bargain in most drafts.
5. Kevin Youkilis, Red Sox: Although he's not yet eligible at third base, he will be at some point in April depending on your league's eligibility requirements. Here's what I wrote about Youkilis in our first base rankings, where he's No. 7: "Over the past five seasons, Youkilis has not played more than 147 games in any year. Provided he stays healthy for a full season, Youkilis could/should put up around or more than 100 runs, 100 runs batted in, 30 homers while hitting .300."
6. Adrian Beltre, Rangers: Beltre, who turns 32 years old in April, is now entering his 14th season in the big leagues. Only twice in his 13 years has he hit over .300 with 28-plus home runs and 100-plus runs batted in. Coincidentally, both of those seasons happened before getting a big contract. While he has the skills to do it a third time in his career in 2011, I'd like to see back-to-back strong seasons from Beltre before I'm a buyer at these prices.
7. Jose Bautista, Blue Jays: Bautista led all of baseball in home runs last year with 54, which is nearly equal to his home run output from 2004 to 2009 (59 home runs total). While a repeat performance is highly unlikely, there's a good chance that he can follow up last year's league-leading performance with 35-40 homers in 2011.
8. Casey McGehee, Brewers: Only two other third basemen -- Longoria and A-Rod -- have more runs batted in than McGehee (149) since July 1, 2010. While he won't steal bases, like most third basemen won't, McGehee will help in the other four statistical categories in standard 5x5 categories at a very reasonable cost.
9. Aramis Ramirez, Cubs: Last year, Ramirez hit only .241, which was lowest batting average since 2002. From 2004 to 2009, Ramirez hit .289 or higher every season including .300-plus in four out of six seasons. Although Ramirez only played 124 games last year, he drove in 100-plus runs in all five seasons in which he has played 125-plus games since 2003. Provided he can stay healthy, a bounce-back season seems reasonable.
10. Pablo Sandoval, Giants: Sandoval broke out in 2009 -- hitting .330 with 25 home runs and 90 runs batted in. Although he had a disappointing season in 2010, Sandoval is only 24 years old, lost a substantial amount of weight in the off-season and shortened his swing. Based on his average draft position of 127 from Mock Draft Central, Sandoval seems to offer more reward than risk this season.
11. Pedro Alvarez, Pirates: There's no doubt that Alvarez has tremendous upside and potential. Although Alvarez struck out in 34.3 percent of his major league at bats last year, he combined for 29 home runs and 117 runs batted in between Triple-A and the big leagues.
12. Martin Prado, Braves: Prado, who played mostly second base and some third base last year, is moving to left field for the Braves and soon will be eligible at three fantasy positions. In a career-high 140 games last season, Prado hit .307 and 15 home runs with 100 runs scored.
13. Michael Young, Rangers: Young, who is a career .300 hitter, hit 20 home runs in back-to-back seasons for the first time since the 2004 and 2005 seasons. While he may or may not hit 20-plus homers in three straight seasons for the first time in his career, Young is one of the more consistent hitters in the game.
14. Mark Reynolds, Orioles: The good news? Reynolds is the only player in baseball to hit 100-plus home runs and steal 40-plus bases during the past three seasons. The bad news? He's hit .234 during that span while striking out an average of 213 times per season.
15. Ian Stewart, Rockies: Stewart isn't going to win a batting title any time soon and missed about a quarter of the 2010 season. But with good health, Stewart has the power to hit 25-30 home runs in an offense that features two of baseball's elite hitters: Carlos Gonzalez and Troy Tulowitzki.
Feel free to send fantasy baseball questions to me via Twitter at @EDSBaseball or post them in our fantasy baseball forum.
See our other fantasy rankings for infielders: C - 1B - 2B - SS
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Fantasy Baseball: 2011 Second Basemen Rankings
The biggest question at second base heading into the 2011 season is what will fantasy owners get from Phillies second baseman Chase Utley.
When healthy and at his best, Utley is elite. He has posted career highs in the standard five rotisserie categories, as follows: .332-131-33-105-23.
The problem is the health, or lack thereof, of Utley's knee, which will likely land him on the disabled list to start the season. From a fantasy perspective, the bigger worry is that improvement in his knee seems to be moving a snail's pace. How soon will he be back? Will the injury linger and affect his performance when he's back on the field?
Here are our top 15 fantasy second basemen for 2011:
1. Robinson Cano, Yankees: With the exception of stolen bases, Cano puts up elite stats across the board at a relatively weak position. Cano, who set career highs in home runs (29) and runs batted in (109) in 2010, has the second-most hits in all of baseball over the past two seasons.
2. Dustin Pedroia, Red Sox: In addition to hitting over .300 for his career, Pedroia gives fantasy owners the potential for a 15-20 season. Despite missing half of last year, Pedroia ranks tenth in the majors in runs scored (286) from 2008 to 2010.
3. Dan Uggla, Braves: At a position where power hitters are less common, Uggla has a been a model of consistency when it comes to power. In each of the past four seasons, Uggla has hit 31-33 home runs and has driven in 90-plus runs including a career-high 105 last season. But will you get his career-low .243 (2009) or career-high .287 (2010) batting average? Although he's a career .354 hitter in his new home ballpark (Turner Field), the answer likely falls somewhere in between that range.
4. Ian Kinsler, Rangers: The biggest knock on Kinsler is playing time (123.6 games per season over past five years). If healthy, Kinsler has the potential to put up elite numbers. For example, when he played a career-high 144 games (2009), Kinsler hit 31 homers and stole 31 bases.
5. Brandon Phillips, Reds: For the first time in four seasons, Phillips failed to have a 20-20 season. In 2010, he finished with 18 home runs and 16 stolen bases. The majority of Phillips' at-bats in 2010 came at one of the top two spots of the lineup after mostly batting cleanup in 2009. The effect? His runs batted in dropped from 98 in 2009 to a five-year low of 59 in 2010.
6. Chase Utley, Phillies: Two seasons removed from a 30-20 season, Utley will most likely begin the 2011 season on the disabled list after missing a total of 47 games last year. If he were healthy, Utley would be second on this list.
7. Rickie Weeks, Brewers: Speaking of health, Weeks played an average of 95 games per season from 2005 through 2009 before playing a career-high 160 games last year. Naturally, he set career-highs in runs scored (112), hits (175), home runs (29) and runs batted in (83) in 2010. The only way he approaches those numbers again is if he can stay healthy for two seasons in a row. Before last year, he hadn't done that for one season in a row.
8. Martin Prado, Braves: Prado, who played mostly second base and some third base last year, is moving to left field for the Braves and soon will be eligible at three fantasy positions. In a career-high 140 games last season, Prado hit .307 and 15 home runs with 100 runs scored.
9. Gordon Beckham, White Sox: After hitting 14 homers with 63 runs batted in over 103 games in his rookie season, Beckham seemed poised for a breakout season last year. The eighth overall pick in the 2008 draft got off to an incredibly slow start in 2010, but he picked up the pace as he hit .310 after the All-Star break. Beckham, who will bat second for the White Sox this season, is a guy I've targeted in most of my drafts this year.
10. Ben Zobrist, Rays: Like Prado, Zobrist has multi-position eligibility as a second baseman and outfielder (and first baseman in Yahoo! leagues). After a breakout season in 2009 (.297-91-27-91-17), Zobrist really struggled down the stretch last season. After the All-Star break, Zobrist hit only .177 and hit .200 or lower per month from July to October. On a positive note, Zobrist stole a career-high 24 bases in 2010 and will likely have even more base-stealing opportunities as the team's leadoff hitter.
11. Aaron Hill, Blue Jays: Not only did Hill have the lowest BABIP (.196) of his career, it was the lowest in all of baseball. Even with the horrible BABIP and batting average (.205), Hill still managed to hit 26 home runs in 2010.
12. Kelly Johnson, Diamondbacks: In his first season with the Diamondbacks, Johnson set career highs in runs (93), hits (166), home runs (26), runs batted in (71) and stolen bases (13) in 2010. Johnson hit .311 with 16 of his 26 home runs at Chase Field last year.
13. Howie Kendrick, Angels: The direction of his batting averages over the past four seasons isn't what you'd like to see: .322 (2007), .306 (2008), .291 (2009) and .279 (2010). That said, he set career highs in several counting statistics: runs scored (67), runs batted in (75), stolen bases (14) and tied his career high in home runs (ten).
14. Chone Figgins, Mariners: Since 2004, Figgins has stolen 30-plus bases every season. In five of the past six seasons, he has stolen 40-plus bases. Figgins is having a good spring (.349 average and four steals in 16 games).
15. Brian Roberts, Orioles: When healthy, Roberts has provided fantasy owners with lots of runs and stolen bases and a decent batting average. Before missing 100-plus games in 2010, Roberts stole 30-plus bases for four consecutive seasons although he went from 50 (2007) to 40 (2008) to 30 (2009).
Feel free to send fantasy baseball questions to me via Twitter at @EDSBaseball or post them in our fantasy baseball forum.
When healthy and at his best, Utley is elite. He has posted career highs in the standard five rotisserie categories, as follows: .332-131-33-105-23.
The problem is the health, or lack thereof, of Utley's knee, which will likely land him on the disabled list to start the season. From a fantasy perspective, the bigger worry is that improvement in his knee seems to be moving a snail's pace. How soon will he be back? Will the injury linger and affect his performance when he's back on the field?
Here are our top 15 fantasy second basemen for 2011:
1. Robinson Cano, Yankees: With the exception of stolen bases, Cano puts up elite stats across the board at a relatively weak position. Cano, who set career highs in home runs (29) and runs batted in (109) in 2010, has the second-most hits in all of baseball over the past two seasons.
2. Dustin Pedroia, Red Sox: In addition to hitting over .300 for his career, Pedroia gives fantasy owners the potential for a 15-20 season. Despite missing half of last year, Pedroia ranks tenth in the majors in runs scored (286) from 2008 to 2010.
3. Dan Uggla, Braves: At a position where power hitters are less common, Uggla has a been a model of consistency when it comes to power. In each of the past four seasons, Uggla has hit 31-33 home runs and has driven in 90-plus runs including a career-high 105 last season. But will you get his career-low .243 (2009) or career-high .287 (2010) batting average? Although he's a career .354 hitter in his new home ballpark (Turner Field), the answer likely falls somewhere in between that range.
4. Ian Kinsler, Rangers: The biggest knock on Kinsler is playing time (123.6 games per season over past five years). If healthy, Kinsler has the potential to put up elite numbers. For example, when he played a career-high 144 games (2009), Kinsler hit 31 homers and stole 31 bases.
5. Brandon Phillips, Reds: For the first time in four seasons, Phillips failed to have a 20-20 season. In 2010, he finished with 18 home runs and 16 stolen bases. The majority of Phillips' at-bats in 2010 came at one of the top two spots of the lineup after mostly batting cleanup in 2009. The effect? His runs batted in dropped from 98 in 2009 to a five-year low of 59 in 2010.
6. Chase Utley, Phillies: Two seasons removed from a 30-20 season, Utley will most likely begin the 2011 season on the disabled list after missing a total of 47 games last year. If he were healthy, Utley would be second on this list.
7. Rickie Weeks, Brewers: Speaking of health, Weeks played an average of 95 games per season from 2005 through 2009 before playing a career-high 160 games last year. Naturally, he set career-highs in runs scored (112), hits (175), home runs (29) and runs batted in (83) in 2010. The only way he approaches those numbers again is if he can stay healthy for two seasons in a row. Before last year, he hadn't done that for one season in a row.
8. Martin Prado, Braves: Prado, who played mostly second base and some third base last year, is moving to left field for the Braves and soon will be eligible at three fantasy positions. In a career-high 140 games last season, Prado hit .307 and 15 home runs with 100 runs scored.
9. Gordon Beckham, White Sox: After hitting 14 homers with 63 runs batted in over 103 games in his rookie season, Beckham seemed poised for a breakout season last year. The eighth overall pick in the 2008 draft got off to an incredibly slow start in 2010, but he picked up the pace as he hit .310 after the All-Star break. Beckham, who will bat second for the White Sox this season, is a guy I've targeted in most of my drafts this year.
10. Ben Zobrist, Rays: Like Prado, Zobrist has multi-position eligibility as a second baseman and outfielder (and first baseman in Yahoo! leagues). After a breakout season in 2009 (.297-91-27-91-17), Zobrist really struggled down the stretch last season. After the All-Star break, Zobrist hit only .177 and hit .200 or lower per month from July to October. On a positive note, Zobrist stole a career-high 24 bases in 2010 and will likely have even more base-stealing opportunities as the team's leadoff hitter.
11. Aaron Hill, Blue Jays: Not only did Hill have the lowest BABIP (.196) of his career, it was the lowest in all of baseball. Even with the horrible BABIP and batting average (.205), Hill still managed to hit 26 home runs in 2010.
12. Kelly Johnson, Diamondbacks: In his first season with the Diamondbacks, Johnson set career highs in runs (93), hits (166), home runs (26), runs batted in (71) and stolen bases (13) in 2010. Johnson hit .311 with 16 of his 26 home runs at Chase Field last year.
13. Howie Kendrick, Angels: The direction of his batting averages over the past four seasons isn't what you'd like to see: .322 (2007), .306 (2008), .291 (2009) and .279 (2010). That said, he set career highs in several counting statistics: runs scored (67), runs batted in (75), stolen bases (14) and tied his career high in home runs (ten).
14. Chone Figgins, Mariners: Since 2004, Figgins has stolen 30-plus bases every season. In five of the past six seasons, he has stolen 40-plus bases. Figgins is having a good spring (.349 average and four steals in 16 games).
15. Brian Roberts, Orioles: When healthy, Roberts has provided fantasy owners with lots of runs and stolen bases and a decent batting average. Before missing 100-plus games in 2010, Roberts stole 30-plus bases for four consecutive seasons although he went from 50 (2007) to 40 (2008) to 30 (2009).
Feel free to send fantasy baseball questions to me via Twitter at @EDSBaseball or post them in our fantasy baseball forum.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Fantasy Baseball: 2011 First Basemen Rankings
Without question, first base is the deepest position for everyday players. The top seven or eight first basemen will likely be drafted in the first two rounds of your 12-team league.
Some players on our list played 10-19 games at first base in 2010, which means the player may or may not qualify as a first baseman in your league. For example, Yahoo! leagues require a player to appear in at least ten games at that position in the previous year. For ESPN leagues, the requirement is 20-plus games.
Based on lower eligibility requirements, first base is even deeper for participants in Yahoo! leagues than those participating in ESPN leagues.
Here are the top 20 fantasy first basemen for 2011:
1. Albert Pujols, Cardinals: Through ten seasons, Pujols has had career lows of .312 batting average (2010), 32 home runs (2007) and 103 runs batted in (2007). While that is the worst-case scenario, a typical (average) season for the career .331 hitter is 41 home runs and 123 runs batted in.
2. Joey Votto, Reds: While first base is loaded with talent, Votto finished no lower than top-five in all five standard rotisserie categories. The reigning N.L. MVP set career-highs in runs scored (106), home runs (37), runs batted in (113), steals (17) and batting average (.324) as well.
3. Adrian Gonzalez, Red Sox: During his five years as a Padre, Gonzalez hit .267 and 57 home runs (one per 24.7 at bats) with 201 runs batted in at home. On the road, however, Gonzalez hit .307 and 104 home runs (one per 15.1 at bats) with 300 runs batted in. The change of scenery can only do Gonzalez some good despite finishing 2010 with an average of .298, 31 home runs and 101 runs batted in.
4. Miguel Cabrera, Tigers: Over the past three seasons, only two first basemen have hit over .300 with 100 home runs and 350 runs batted in: Cabrera and Pujols. If it weren't for his alcohol problems highlighted by his run-in with the law in February, Cabrera would have been ranked ahead of all first basemen not named Albert Pujols.
5. Mark Teixeira, Yankees: Teixeira, who hit a career-low .256 in 2010, hit .280-plus every season and over .300 three times from 2004 to 2009. With seven consecutive seasons of 30-plus homers and 100-plus RBIs, you know what you'll get in the power department from Teixeira. But will Teixeira hit .256, .280 or .300?
6. Prince Fielder, Brewers: Last year, Fielder set a four-year low in home runs (32) and runs batted in (83) while hitting a career-worse .261. The year before, Fielder set career highs in runs batted in (141) and average (.299) while posting the second-highest homer total (46) of his career. Splitting the difference would be 39 home runs, 112 runs batted in and a .280 average. Sounds good to me.
7. Kevin Youkilis, Red Sox: Over the past five seasons, Youkilis has not played more than 147 games in any year. Provided he stays healthy for a full season, Youkilis could/should put up around or more than 100 runs, 100 runs batted in, 30 homers while hitting .300. His bigger value will come once he gains eligibility at the much more talent-scarce position of third base.
8. Ryan Howard, Phillies: Over the past five years, no player has more home runs (229) or runs batted in (680) than Howard. In addition, Howard leads the majors in strikeouts (922) during that span.
9. Adam Dunn, White Sox: From 2004 to 2010, Dunn has hit 38-plus home runs and driven in 100-plus runs six times (the 'off' season of 2006 was 92 RBIs). Trading in a half-season of games in Washington for U.S. Cellular Field can't hurt Dunn's power production and it wouldn't surprise me to see Dunn lead baseball in home runs. However, will he hit .260-plus for a third straight season?
10. Justin Morneau, Twins: Although he hasn't played a regular-season game since suffering a concussion in July, a full season from a healthy Morneau would make him a huge bargain at this spot. Morneau played exactly one-half of a season (81 games) last year and hit .345 with 18 home runs and 56 runs batted in. Before last season, Morneau drove in 100-plus runs for four straight years and hit 30-plus homers in three of those seasons.
11. Buster Posey, Giants: As one of the top three catchers in our fantasy rankings, however, you will more likely use Posey as your team's catcher despite his eligibility at first base. Manager Bruce Bochy has stated that Posey will get full days off when he's not catching, which means a season of around 135 games. That said, Posey should hit around .300 and 20 home runs in 2011.
12. Billy Butler, Royals: If there's one thing you can bank on from Butler, it's his strong batting average. Whether we see a power surge from Butler remains to be seen, but he's only 24 years old and has hit the most doubles (96) in baseball over the past two years combined. If only he could turn a few of those doubles into homers ...
13. Pablo Sandoval, Giants: With 11 games logged at first base in 2010, Sandoval may be eligible at first base in your league. He disappointed in the follow-up performance to his breakout season of 2009 (.330 average, 25 homers, 90 runs batted in). Sandoval, who is only 24 years old, could be primed for a bounce-back season after losing weight in the off-season and shortening his swing.
14. Paul Konerko, White Sox: It's unlikely that Konerko will duplicate his 2010 numbers (.312 average, 39 home runs and 111 runs batted in). Then again, only five other players hit .300-30-100 or better last season. Three of those other five were first basemen: Pujols, Cabrera and Votto.
15. Kendry Morales, Angels: Morales, who will begin the 2011 season on the disabled list, hasn't played a game since May 29th. In his only full season or close to it (152 games), Morales hit .306 with 34 home runs and 108 runs batted in.
16. Carlos Lee, Astros: Ending a four-year streak of hitting .300-plus, Lee posted a career-low batting average (.246) while hitting only 24 home runs (lowest total since 2001) with 89 runs batted in (lowest since 2002). Considering Lee also had his lowest BABIP (.238) of his career in 2010, an improvement over last season seems reasonable.
17. Aubrey Huff, Giants: Last year, Huff hit .290 with 26 home runs and 86 runs batted in. Huff, who is a career .283 hitter, should hit relatively close to .290 again although I would be surprised to see him exceed his home run total from 2010.
18. Carlos Pena, Cubs: The good news? Pena will go yard in one out of every 13.4 (or so) at bats, which was his average during his four years in Tampa. The bad news? He got a hit in less than every five at bats last season. (Take small consolation in the fact that only Aaron Hill had a lower BABIP in all of baseball than Pena last year.) The moderate news? He was tied for 11th in baseball in walks (87) last year so his on-base percentage isn't horrible if that helps you.
19. Adam Lind, Blue Jays: After a breakout season in 2009 (.305 average, 35 homers, 114 runs batted in), Lind disappointed fantasy owners in 2010 (.237-23-72). Not only did he hit .174 and .156 last May and June, respectively, but he hit only one home run in 90 at bats during June. Perhaps his better second-half performance and solid spring (hitting .341 through 16 games) bodes well for Lind.
20. Adam LaRoche, Nationals: LaRoche is a career .295 hitter that hits a homer every 18.3 at bats. In the second half, that is. LaRoche is notorious for his poor first-half performances (career .252 hitter and homer every 24.8 at bats before the All-Star break) and his (relative) strong performances (noted earlier) after the break.
As we noted above, first base is exceptionally deep. Players outside our top 20, such as Gaby Sanchez (Florida), Ike Davis (Mets), Mitch Moreland (Texas) and Brandon Belt (San Francisco) as a few examples, of players with upside that are viable fantasy options.
Feel free to send fantasy baseball questions to me via Twitter at @EDSBaseball or post them in our fantasy baseball forum.
Some players on our list played 10-19 games at first base in 2010, which means the player may or may not qualify as a first baseman in your league. For example, Yahoo! leagues require a player to appear in at least ten games at that position in the previous year. For ESPN leagues, the requirement is 20-plus games.
Based on lower eligibility requirements, first base is even deeper for participants in Yahoo! leagues than those participating in ESPN leagues.
Here are the top 20 fantasy first basemen for 2011:
1. Albert Pujols, Cardinals: Through ten seasons, Pujols has had career lows of .312 batting average (2010), 32 home runs (2007) and 103 runs batted in (2007). While that is the worst-case scenario, a typical (average) season for the career .331 hitter is 41 home runs and 123 runs batted in.
2. Joey Votto, Reds: While first base is loaded with talent, Votto finished no lower than top-five in all five standard rotisserie categories. The reigning N.L. MVP set career-highs in runs scored (106), home runs (37), runs batted in (113), steals (17) and batting average (.324) as well.
3. Adrian Gonzalez, Red Sox: During his five years as a Padre, Gonzalez hit .267 and 57 home runs (one per 24.7 at bats) with 201 runs batted in at home. On the road, however, Gonzalez hit .307 and 104 home runs (one per 15.1 at bats) with 300 runs batted in. The change of scenery can only do Gonzalez some good despite finishing 2010 with an average of .298, 31 home runs and 101 runs batted in.
4. Miguel Cabrera, Tigers: Over the past three seasons, only two first basemen have hit over .300 with 100 home runs and 350 runs batted in: Cabrera and Pujols. If it weren't for his alcohol problems highlighted by his run-in with the law in February, Cabrera would have been ranked ahead of all first basemen not named Albert Pujols.
5. Mark Teixeira, Yankees: Teixeira, who hit a career-low .256 in 2010, hit .280-plus every season and over .300 three times from 2004 to 2009. With seven consecutive seasons of 30-plus homers and 100-plus RBIs, you know what you'll get in the power department from Teixeira. But will Teixeira hit .256, .280 or .300?
6. Prince Fielder, Brewers: Last year, Fielder set a four-year low in home runs (32) and runs batted in (83) while hitting a career-worse .261. The year before, Fielder set career highs in runs batted in (141) and average (.299) while posting the second-highest homer total (46) of his career. Splitting the difference would be 39 home runs, 112 runs batted in and a .280 average. Sounds good to me.
7. Kevin Youkilis, Red Sox: Over the past five seasons, Youkilis has not played more than 147 games in any year. Provided he stays healthy for a full season, Youkilis could/should put up around or more than 100 runs, 100 runs batted in, 30 homers while hitting .300. His bigger value will come once he gains eligibility at the much more talent-scarce position of third base.
8. Ryan Howard, Phillies: Over the past five years, no player has more home runs (229) or runs batted in (680) than Howard. In addition, Howard leads the majors in strikeouts (922) during that span.
9. Adam Dunn, White Sox: From 2004 to 2010, Dunn has hit 38-plus home runs and driven in 100-plus runs six times (the 'off' season of 2006 was 92 RBIs). Trading in a half-season of games in Washington for U.S. Cellular Field can't hurt Dunn's power production and it wouldn't surprise me to see Dunn lead baseball in home runs. However, will he hit .260-plus for a third straight season?
10. Justin Morneau, Twins: Although he hasn't played a regular-season game since suffering a concussion in July, a full season from a healthy Morneau would make him a huge bargain at this spot. Morneau played exactly one-half of a season (81 games) last year and hit .345 with 18 home runs and 56 runs batted in. Before last season, Morneau drove in 100-plus runs for four straight years and hit 30-plus homers in three of those seasons.
11. Buster Posey, Giants: As one of the top three catchers in our fantasy rankings, however, you will more likely use Posey as your team's catcher despite his eligibility at first base. Manager Bruce Bochy has stated that Posey will get full days off when he's not catching, which means a season of around 135 games. That said, Posey should hit around .300 and 20 home runs in 2011.
12. Billy Butler, Royals: If there's one thing you can bank on from Butler, it's his strong batting average. Whether we see a power surge from Butler remains to be seen, but he's only 24 years old and has hit the most doubles (96) in baseball over the past two years combined. If only he could turn a few of those doubles into homers ...
13. Pablo Sandoval, Giants: With 11 games logged at first base in 2010, Sandoval may be eligible at first base in your league. He disappointed in the follow-up performance to his breakout season of 2009 (.330 average, 25 homers, 90 runs batted in). Sandoval, who is only 24 years old, could be primed for a bounce-back season after losing weight in the off-season and shortening his swing.
14. Paul Konerko, White Sox: It's unlikely that Konerko will duplicate his 2010 numbers (.312 average, 39 home runs and 111 runs batted in). Then again, only five other players hit .300-30-100 or better last season. Three of those other five were first basemen: Pujols, Cabrera and Votto.
15. Kendry Morales, Angels: Morales, who will begin the 2011 season on the disabled list, hasn't played a game since May 29th. In his only full season or close to it (152 games), Morales hit .306 with 34 home runs and 108 runs batted in.
16. Carlos Lee, Astros: Ending a four-year streak of hitting .300-plus, Lee posted a career-low batting average (.246) while hitting only 24 home runs (lowest total since 2001) with 89 runs batted in (lowest since 2002). Considering Lee also had his lowest BABIP (.238) of his career in 2010, an improvement over last season seems reasonable.
17. Aubrey Huff, Giants: Last year, Huff hit .290 with 26 home runs and 86 runs batted in. Huff, who is a career .283 hitter, should hit relatively close to .290 again although I would be surprised to see him exceed his home run total from 2010.
18. Carlos Pena, Cubs: The good news? Pena will go yard in one out of every 13.4 (or so) at bats, which was his average during his four years in Tampa. The bad news? He got a hit in less than every five at bats last season. (Take small consolation in the fact that only Aaron Hill had a lower BABIP in all of baseball than Pena last year.) The moderate news? He was tied for 11th in baseball in walks (87) last year so his on-base percentage isn't horrible if that helps you.
19. Adam Lind, Blue Jays: After a breakout season in 2009 (.305 average, 35 homers, 114 runs batted in), Lind disappointed fantasy owners in 2010 (.237-23-72). Not only did he hit .174 and .156 last May and June, respectively, but he hit only one home run in 90 at bats during June. Perhaps his better second-half performance and solid spring (hitting .341 through 16 games) bodes well for Lind.
20. Adam LaRoche, Nationals: LaRoche is a career .295 hitter that hits a homer every 18.3 at bats. In the second half, that is. LaRoche is notorious for his poor first-half performances (career .252 hitter and homer every 24.8 at bats before the All-Star break) and his (relative) strong performances (noted earlier) after the break.
As we noted above, first base is exceptionally deep. Players outside our top 20, such as Gaby Sanchez (Florida), Ike Davis (Mets), Mitch Moreland (Texas) and Brandon Belt (San Francisco) as a few examples, of players with upside that are viable fantasy options.
Feel free to send fantasy baseball questions to me via Twitter at @EDSBaseball or post them in our fantasy baseball forum.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Zack Greinke to start season on DL
After an MRI revealed a hairline fracture in one of his ribs and a bruise in another, Brewers pitcher Zack Greinke is expected to miss the next two to four weeks and start the season on the disabled list.
Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports tweeted that Greinke will miss the first three starts of the season.
Greinke, who has made a couple of spring training appearances, suffered the injury a couple of weeks ago while playing basketball.
"I've been doing this for a couple of years now and people always said, 'You're going to get hurt.' It finally caught up to me, playing basketball," Greinke said, per Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. I was going up for a rebound and fell on the side. I was hoping it was just bruised. I had a lot of fun doing it but it wasn't worth it."
Greinke won the 2009 AL Cy Young award, but he finished with a record of 10-14, an ERA of 4.17 and 181 strikeouts last year. His ERA the All-Star break (4.72) was a full run higher than what it was before the break (3.71). Despite posting an ERA of 2.16 and striking out 242 batters in 2009, Greinke won only 16 games that year due to a lack of run support.
With the transition to the National League and to a team that should provide greater run support than he received in Kansas City, Greinke should bounce back in 2011 when he returns from injury.
According to Mock Draft Central, Greinke is currently the seventh pitcher and 46th player off the board in fantasy baseball drafts. If folks overreact to the injury news, however, it's possible that Greinke could become a bit of a bargain.
Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports tweeted that Greinke will miss the first three starts of the season.
Greinke, who has made a couple of spring training appearances, suffered the injury a couple of weeks ago while playing basketball.
"I've been doing this for a couple of years now and people always said, 'You're going to get hurt.' It finally caught up to me, playing basketball," Greinke said, per Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. I was going up for a rebound and fell on the side. I was hoping it was just bruised. I had a lot of fun doing it but it wasn't worth it."
Greinke won the 2009 AL Cy Young award, but he finished with a record of 10-14, an ERA of 4.17 and 181 strikeouts last year. His ERA the All-Star break (4.72) was a full run higher than what it was before the break (3.71). Despite posting an ERA of 2.16 and striking out 242 batters in 2009, Greinke won only 16 games that year due to a lack of run support.
With the transition to the National League and to a team that should provide greater run support than he received in Kansas City, Greinke should bounce back in 2011 when he returns from injury.
According to Mock Draft Central, Greinke is currently the seventh pitcher and 46th player off the board in fantasy baseball drafts. If folks overreact to the injury news, however, it's possible that Greinke could become a bit of a bargain.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Brewers, Gallardo agree to extension
The Milwaukee Brewers have signed Yovani Gallardo, who turned 24 years old in February, to a five-year contract extension, per Adam McCalvy of MLB.com.
This deal, which guarantees Gallardo $30.1 million, will keep their young ace in town through the 2014 season. There is a club option for a sixth year (2015).
Gallardo would have been eligible for arbitration after this season and eligible for free agency after the 2013 season.
"We are thrilled to sign one of our top young players to a long-term deal," said Melvin in a news release. "We view Yovani as a top of the rotation performer who has a chance to become one of the elite pitchers in the game. He is the cornerstone of our starting rotation and the ideal pitcher to build our staff around for future seasons."
Last year, Gallardo became the fourth Brewer pitcher to have struck out 200 batters in one season. He finished the year with a record of 13-12, 3.73 ERA and 204 strike outs in 185 2/3 innings.
After signing Gallardo and outfielder Ryan Braun to long-term extensions, the Brewers will continue to work on signing first baseman Prince Fielder to a long-term deal next, despite placing blame on a team like the Yankees for the economic imbalance in baseball.
This deal, which guarantees Gallardo $30.1 million, will keep their young ace in town through the 2014 season. There is a club option for a sixth year (2015).
Gallardo would have been eligible for arbitration after this season and eligible for free agency after the 2013 season.
"We are thrilled to sign one of our top young players to a long-term deal," said Melvin in a news release. "We view Yovani as a top of the rotation performer who has a chance to become one of the elite pitchers in the game. He is the cornerstone of our starting rotation and the ideal pitcher to build our staff around for future seasons."
Last year, Gallardo became the fourth Brewer pitcher to have struck out 200 batters in one season. He finished the year with a record of 13-12, 3.73 ERA and 204 strike outs in 185 2/3 innings.
After signing Gallardo and outfielder Ryan Braun to long-term extensions, the Brewers will continue to work on signing first baseman Prince Fielder to a long-term deal next, despite placing blame on a team like the Yankees for the economic imbalance in baseball.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Ryan Braun "ticked off" GM Melvin
Milwaukee Brewers All-Star Ryan Braun was/is frustrated by his team's pitching. In turn, he has frustrated general manager Doug Melvin.
Speaking after the conclusion of the Brewers-Cubs series on Sunday, Braun said that the Cubs pitchers "threw the ball a lot better than our starters did."
Braun also said, "We're at the point right now where it would be important for us to go out there and acquire somebody."
Melvin didn't take too kindly to Braun's comments regardless of whether he's right or wrong.
Speaking after the conclusion of the Brewers-Cubs series on Sunday, Braun said that the Cubs pitchers "threw the ball a lot better than our starters did."
Braun also said, "We're at the point right now where it would be important for us to go out there and acquire somebody."
Melvin didn't take too kindly to Braun's comments regardless of whether he's right or wrong.
"It was inappropriate for him to say what he said, and I'm not happy about it," Melvin told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Monday.
"To make the statements he made and also get on his teammates like that, it was irresponsible on his part. It just ticked me off."
I couldn't agree with Melvin more. If you have a problem with someone, anyone, everyone on your team, tell them - not the media.
The Brewers are currently one game behind division-leading St. Louis and one game ahead of the Cubs.
Currently, the Brewers are ranked 24th on majors in team ERA (4.47).
Monday, June 22, 2009
Not quite mid-season awards: N.L. MVP
Over the weekend, I began the process of selecting my Cy Youngs and MVPs in both leagues by making my N.L. Cy Young pick based on production thus far.
Obviously, a lot can change between now and October, but today I will pick my National League MVP through June 22nd.
After his 6-for-12 performance this weekend with three home runs and ten RBI, the NL MVP race is the most clear-cut of the four award races.
The award goes to Albert Pujols, who becomes only the third player to begin a career with nine consecutive 25-home run seasons. Despite my personal bias (Pujols is my favorite player), it's hard to argue with this pick.
Pujols leads the N.L. in runs scored (56), home runs (26), runs batted in (68), OBP (.448) and OPS (1.169). He is also hitting .329 on the season. He nearly has as many home runs (26) as he has strikeouts (27).
As an added bonus, he's on pace to steal 21 bases. In fact, his nine steals lead the majors for first baseman. And the Cardinals currently lead the N.L. Central.
So, the real battle is for runner-up.
Runner-up: Raul Ibanez, Phillies - For me, it came down to Prince Fielder and Ibanez, who is on the 15-day DL. Ibanez, who is off to a torrid start excluding being placed on the DL, is in the top three in the N.L. in runs (51), home runs (22), runs batted in (59) and OPS (1.027).
In addition, Ibanez is hitting .312 for the Phillies, who currently lead the N.L. East.
Honorable Mention (not necessarily in order): Prince Fielder (Brewers), Matt Kemp (Dodgers), David Wright (Mets), Adrian Gonzalez (Padres) and Ryan Braun (Brewers).
Obviously, a lot can change between now and October, but today I will pick my National League MVP through June 22nd.
After his 6-for-12 performance this weekend with three home runs and ten RBI, the NL MVP race is the most clear-cut of the four award races.
The award goes to Albert Pujols, who becomes only the third player to begin a career with nine consecutive 25-home run seasons. Despite my personal bias (Pujols is my favorite player), it's hard to argue with this pick.
Pujols leads the N.L. in runs scored (56), home runs (26), runs batted in (68), OBP (.448) and OPS (1.169). He is also hitting .329 on the season. He nearly has as many home runs (26) as he has strikeouts (27).
As an added bonus, he's on pace to steal 21 bases. In fact, his nine steals lead the majors for first baseman. And the Cardinals currently lead the N.L. Central.
So, the real battle is for runner-up.
Runner-up: Raul Ibanez, Phillies - For me, it came down to Prince Fielder and Ibanez, who is on the 15-day DL. Ibanez, who is off to a torrid start excluding being placed on the DL, is in the top three in the N.L. in runs (51), home runs (22), runs batted in (59) and OPS (1.027).
In addition, Ibanez is hitting .312 for the Phillies, who currently lead the N.L. East.
Honorable Mention (not necessarily in order): Prince Fielder (Brewers), Matt Kemp (Dodgers), David Wright (Mets), Adrian Gonzalez (Padres) and Ryan Braun (Brewers).
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Ryan Braun sits with tight back
Milwaukee Brewers leftfielder Ryan Braun did not play in Saturday's game against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Braun's back tightened in Friday night's game and he was a game-time decision for Saturday's game.
He is hitting .314 with five homeruns and 16 runs batted in this season.
Braun's back tightened in Friday night's game and he was a game-time decision for Saturday's game.
He is hitting .314 with five homeruns and 16 runs batted in this season.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Yovani Gallardo beats Pirates by himself
Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Yovani Gallardo single-handedly beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 1-0.
Not only did Gallardo set a career-best with 11 strikeouts and not allow any runs in eight innings, but he hit a homerun in the seventh inning for the game's only run.
Not only did Gallardo set a career-best with 11 strikeouts and not allow any runs in eight innings, but he hit a homerun in the seventh inning for the game's only run.
"This ought to be pretty fast," [Brewers manager Ken] Macha said after settling into a seat in front of reporters. "Hitting: Gallardo. Pitching: Gallardo. Any questions?"In Brewers' history, they have had 16 games in which a homerun led to the only runs scored in a victory. But this was the first time that it was hit by a Brewers' pitcher.
"It's not surprising anymore," [Carlos] Villanueva (who pitched a scoreless ninth inning) said. "He won it. He pitched eight innings and he hit the home run. All around, it was Yovani Gallardo Day."
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Could Peavy end up in Milwaukee?
Per Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune, he wouldn't be surprised if the Milwaukee Brewers, who traded for C.C. Sabathia last off-season, make a push for Padres ace Jake Peavy.
Peavy has a full no-trade clause in his contract until 2010. After that he'll have the ability to veto trades from certain teams.
Like last year, the Brewers will have a strong offense led by Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder. However, to compete for the N.L. Central crown, they will most likely need pitching help.
With the exception of 2006, Peavy has had a sub-3.00 ERA in each of the past five seasons.
It's unlikely that Peavy ends up in Milwaukee, but I would be surprised if he's pitching in San Diego in September. Unless he's the road pitcher.
Peavy has a full no-trade clause in his contract until 2010. After that he'll have the ability to veto trades from certain teams.
Like last year, the Brewers will have a strong offense led by Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder. However, to compete for the N.L. Central crown, they will most likely need pitching help.
With the exception of 2006, Peavy has had a sub-3.00 ERA in each of the past five seasons.
It's unlikely that Peavy ends up in Milwaukee, but I would be surprised if he's pitching in San Diego in September. Unless he's the road pitcher.
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