Word to the Winners - Fantasy Baseball Advice

MLB Fantasy Preview - by Paul AJ Pelletier.

Hello everyone and welcome to Fantasy Starters Fantasy Preview.

I am about to take a different approach to a fantasy article.  What I mean by that is that I will not talk much about A-ROD and others that usually go in the first 3 rounds or so.  WHY?  Because we all know that Jimmy Rollins is a first round pick and we do not need to read about it.  I will be focusing more on sleepers and up and comers in all positions.  I am going to break down every team in MLB by division. 

AL CENTRAL
The division as a whole will once again be fighting for the top spot to make the playoffs, as the wild card spot will most likely go to someone in the AL East.  Making the biggest splash during the off-season are the Tigers who look to recapture that title.

The Detroit Tigers have made a number of changes during the off season and look to challenge not only for the division title or the pennant, but the World Series crown as well.  Miguel Cabrera will look to set career highs thanks to the talent surrounding him such as Placido Polanco who comes to play nightly and always comes through in the clutch, Gary Sheffield who is the glue to this solid line-up and last year’s silver slugger Magglio Ordenez.  Out till mid-April is Curtis Granderson who strikes out a lot, but did reach 20 homers, steals, doubles & triples last year.

The Cleveland Indians will have few surprises this year, but here are a few worth mentioning.  Travis Hafner now has the DH duties which should see his fantasy numbers slide.  Grady Sizemore will lead off and will put up his numbers and relief pitcher Rafael Betancourt will soon be a stud as he is an up and comer.

The Chicago White Sox have Paul Konerko’s .281 career average with four seasons of 30+ homers and will look for him to be a consistent contributor.  Closer Bobby Jenks is rising in stock thanks to his 41 straight batters retired streak.  On the sleeper side of things look for Jerry Owens Center/Left Fielder to miss the first week but still get the starting job once healthy.

The Kansas City Royals hope for Billy Butler who had 52 RBIs while only at bat a mere 329 times to put up those numbers throughout the entire season if they are to compete.  With Alex Gordan who is on the rise, Zack Greinke a sleeper in the making and Brian Bannister who had a good rookie year and is now high on rotation, the Royals look to compete.  Truly they have their work cut out for them just to stay out of the division’s cellar.  We have to mention that Jose Guillen is still a stud even with his 15 game suspension. 

The Minnesota Twins will once again struggle to compete mostly thanks to the lack of spending as they always have one of the better teams per dollar, but really can’t play with the big boys spending habits.  Now for the players:  Francisco Liriano was fantastic two years ago and now with his elbow soreness behind him, he should be back to form in 08.  Delmon Young who came over in a six player trade had a .288, 13 homers, 93 RBIs last year and should help their line-up.  A healthy Joe Mauer this year will look to repeat his .347 from two years ago as he spent most of last year injured with .293 in 109 games.  Michael Cuddyer is a solid, but silent player who can be a sleeper in fantasy.  Another note is that Joe Nathan is a great starter and may be on his way out as he is in a contract year.

AL EAST

In this division you have three teams all claiming they have the best starting rotation, hoping that will bring them to the top of what could be the toughest division to play in.  The Red Sox will once again challenge for all the glory, but with the Yankees and Blue Jays both forcing them to play their best ball all year it should be an interesting campaign.

The Boston Red Sox will count on all their studs to do their thing and hope that Julio Lugo puts up his 2nd half numbers of .280 throughout the entire year.  Jacoby Ellsbury is a great hitter and still rising now that he is a starter and will only get better with time.  Clay Bucholz is an up and coming rookie who was the top pitcher in the minors.

The New York Yankees will once again go for everything thanks to their heavy hitters and strong pitching, but did they do enough in the off season to compete in the division. 
Pitching is of a concern here and this is why.  Joba Chamberlain and his 100mph fastball and 80-90 slider will start in the bullpen and Chein Ming Wang is not a great fantasy prospect thanks to his WHIP.  2nd baseman Robinson Cano is 26 years old and is a huge up and comer about to turn 27.  Ian Kennedy is polished & changes his speed well.

The Toronto Blue Jays can boast to have the best starting rotation in my eyes with AJ Burnett who is a risk/reward injury prone power arm and of course Roy Halladay.  Scott Rolen is another risk/reward player with a power bat but does have injury problems.  Alex Rios is still rising and looks to have a great fantasy year.  Dustin McGowan is a huge/great sleeper to keep your eye on as well as Shawn Marcum.  If either of these two blossom they will have the best pitching in the division.  One final note is that Vernon Wells who was a bust in 07, should bounce back for fantasy owners.

The Tampa Bay Rays will look to Carl Crawford, who is always drafted high due to expectations, but has yet to get 20 homers with 85 RBIs to actually deliver on what is expected of him.  BJ Upton is a star on the rise, looking to rise even higher than most expect.  Evan Longoria is a rookie with huge power potential who will not start on the line up but could come in half way through the year.  Scott Kazmir will be ready to be play in a week or two and will look to become a stud.

The Baltimore Orioles will have to fight to stay out of last place in the division and will hope that Ramon Hernandez’s durability won’t become an issue.  One other note is that George Sherrill has been named the closer to start the season.

AL WEST
The AL West is beginning to look a little lopsided with the Angels making it tough for anyone to try to win the division

The Los Angeles Angels are once again looking to be the leader of the west pack.  Here are some of the fantasy prospects to keep an eye on.  Howie Kendrick is worth having on your fantasy roster as he has proven himself in every level during his way up to the majors.  At 3rd base is Brandon Wood who is an up and comer sleeper pick.  Gary Matthews will be pushed by newly acquired Torii Hunter which will help get him back on track.  Chone Figgins is great for leagues that value steals as he had 41 last year.
There is no shortage of pitchers here with Jon Garland’s 10 wins last year and only looking to get better while John Lackey came of age last year with 19 wins.  HOT OFF THE PRESS:  Kelvim Escobar and his 18 wins last year will be shelved till June with a shoulder injury that might require surgery.  Stay tuned as he might be calling it a career.
 
The Seatlle Mariners made a huge stride forward by trading for Erik Bedard who spots well and will beat you at the plate.  The 21 year old Felix Hernandez is poised for a big breakout this year and hopefully allowing JJ Putz to match his 40 saves and 1.38 ERA last year.  Raul Ibanez will be looking to get a 3rd year of 100 RBIs even with Jose Guillen.  On the sleeper side of things you have Jeff Clement who was the best hitting catcher in the minors last year.

The Texas Rangers will look to Michael Young to get some power back as it has dropped in the last few years.  Josh Hamilton will continue to rise thanks to his .292, 19 homer and 47 RBIs in only 90 games.  Joahuin Benoit is a sleeper in the waiting as well as Ian Kinsler who is returning to second base after 96 runs, 20 homers and 23 stolen bases.  On the IF side is Hank Blalock.  If he can recover from surgery and live up to what was expected of him he will become a fantasy friend. 

The Oakland Athletics are now officially rebuilding (again) and have some young talent that might make a fantasy splash.  Huston Street’s strikeout rate of 11.34 will be hard to match now that the A’s traded away Dan Haren.  Daric Barton is a first baseman who had the best pure batting average in the minors.  Justin Duchscherer will be a sleeper in their rotation and Santiago Casilla will be one to watch in the bullpen.  Jack Cust had a breakout year as DH and is a hopeful as well as Jack Hannahan who hit .278 with 24 RBIs with only 144 at bats.

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