Word to the Winners - Fantasy Baseball Advice

National League Fantasy Baseball Team MVPs - by Evan Cohen.

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The Major League Baseball season is approaching the three-quarters games played mark heading into this week. You know who is your fantasy baseball team’s Most Valuable Player, but are you aware who is the fantasy MVP from each team in Major League Baseball. The standard fantasy baseball scoring system will be used to determine the team MVP. Offensively, home runs, batting average, stolen bases, runs batted in and runs are the five fantasy baseball stats. For pitchers, wins saves, earned run average, strikeouts and walks plus hits divided by innings pitched (WHIP) will be used. I will also provide the runner up for each team.

Atlanta Braves- For a team that was very active at the trade deadline, the Braves were a team that has had solid fantasy baseball line up. With Andruw Jones struggling and Chipper Jones being his usual consistent self, the guy playing the shortstop spot that has been the best. Edgar Renteria has quietly had a nice season. Although he is injured right now with a sprained ankle, he is contributing all around with 11 HR’s, 11 SB’s, 74 runs, a .336 avg. and 53 RBI’s

Runner Up- Tim Hudson has also been solid this year for fantasy baseball purposes. Although John Smoltz has been their best pitcher, the numbers on Hudson say otherwise with 12 wins with a 2.95 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP. He has also whiffed 98 hitters.

Washington Nationals- This has been a surprise team on the field. For fantasy baseball purposes it is hard to find two guys worthy of consideration here. 1B Dmitri Young gets the MVP here with a .339 avg. He also has 10 HR’s and 62 RBI’s. Young has zero steals and has scored 48 runs.

Runner up- 3B Ryan Zimmerman gets the nod here. While his numbers are a little better then Young’s, consider Young was a long shot to make the roster as a non-invitee before the season. Zimmerman has scored 65 runs with 17 HR’s and 61 RBI’s. Throw in four steals and a .272 avg. and you get the next best guy.

New York Mets- This team is loaded with fantasy baseball studs. It makes it tough to pick, but let’s go with another SS. Jose Reyes does so many good things to help the Mets and your team. Reyes has .303 batting average along with eight homers and 45 RBI’s. The most telling fantasy baseball stats are his league leading 53 SB’s. Plus he has scored 79 runs.

Runner up- Pitcher John Maine has emerged as an ace on a staff with 300 game winner, Tom Glavine, and future Hall of Famer, Pedro Martinez. Since Martinez has yet to throw a pitch this year, Maine is the easy choice. 12 wins, a 1.16 WHIP and 3.27 ERA along with 114 K’s round out the numbers.

Philadelphia Phillies- This is another team loaded with fantasy baseball all-stars. Any number of players could make the list, but yet another SS makes the grade. Jimmy Rollins is hitting for power, average and is running the bases. Rollins has 21 HR’s, 66 RBI’s and has scored 93 runs. Rollins is also hitting a respectable .291.

Runner up- OF Shane Victorino has been a pleasant surprise for fantasy baseball owners. He is hitting .284 on the season. He has also belted 11 HR’s with 42 RBI’s and has scored 72 times. Victorino has stolen 32 bases as well. One thing to note is that Victorino is currently injured but should return shortly and be just as productive.

Florida Marlins- This was a no-brainer here. In case you were wondering if it would be anyone other then a SS, you were wrong. Hanley Ramirez has been outstanding this year so far. Like Rollins, he is hitting for power, running and stealing bases. A .341 avg., 19 HR’s, 32 SB’s, 54 RBI’s and 84 runs are his fantasy baseball stats.

Runner up- A little bit of a tough pick here. 3B Miguel Cabrera could be an easy selection, but one guy who has come out of no where to save games for the Marlins. Closer Kevin Gregg has been solid in the back of the bullpen. He has 23 saves after taking over for an army of other closers. He 59 K’s in 62 innings. He also has a 3.19 ERA and 1.23 WHIP.

Chicago Cubs- Derrick Lee, 1B, has been solid and has begun to hit more home runs as of late. He has 12 so far. Lee has also driven in 58 with 65 runs scored, five steals and a .326 avg. Pitcher Carlos Zambrano has also been worthy of consideration but has not been as consistent as Lee this season.

Runner up- 3B Aramis Ramirez has been great for the Cubs all year despite missing some time with an injury. ARam has a .317 avg. with 16 HR’s and 69 RBI’s. He has scored 45 runs and hasn’t stolen a base. Don’t expect many there.

Cincinnati Reds- We have our first pitcher for the NL MVP list here. Aaron Harang has some how won 10 games for this miserable bunch. He has a 1.19 WHIP and 3.54 ERA to go along with 138 K’s.

Runner up- On a team that is loaded with power hitter, 2B Brandon Phillips has emerged as a solid all around threat in the Reds line up. He has already posted a 20/20 season for HR’s and SB’s with 20 and 21 respectively. Phillips has hit .276, scored 70 times and driven in 64.

Houston Astros- Free agent signee, Carlos Lee, has been everything the team has hoped for. He is batting .300 with 24 HR’s and 91 RBI’s. Lee has stolen eight bags and scored 66 runs. Lee has added a legitimate threat to the Astros outfield in a down year.

Runner up- Rookie Hunter Pence, another Astros OF, was the front runner for NL Rookie of the Year until he was injured. The youngster was hitting .330 with 12 HR’s and 45 RBI’s. Pence also has eight steals and scored 42 runs.

Milwaukee Brewers- The Brew Crew has surprised many and has had some solid fantasy baseball players. All- Star 1B Prince Fielder gets the slight nod over closer, Francisco Cordero. Prince has already belted a career high 33 homers. He has also driven in 84 runs while scoring74 times. He has a .287 avg. and zero steals.

Runner up- Closer Francisco Cordero slightly gets the edge here over rookie phenom 3B Ryan Braun. If Braun were up all season, he would the TEAM MVP. In the meantime, Cordero has saved 34 games. He has a 1.16 WHIP and 3.28 ERA. Cordero has K’ed 61 hitters in 46.2 IP.

Pittsburgh Pirates- Much like the Nationals, this was a tough choice to make. Even though OF Jason Bay has not played up to his potential, he still is the man here because the rest of the team isn’t as good. Bay has a .260 avg. with 17 HR’s and 71 RBI’s. He has scored 56 runs and just three steals.

Runner up- Pitcher Tom Gorzelanny is the choice by default. He has the team lead in wins with nine. He has 87 K’s and a 3.55 ERA with a 1.29 WHIP.

St. Louis Cardinals- 1B Albert Pujols is the obvious choice here. The 2005 NL MVP is hitting .318 with 24 HR’s and 73 RBI’s. Pujols has also scored 70 runs and stolen two bases. All these fantasy baseball stats despite very little protection in the Cards line up.

Runner up- OF Chris Duncan gets the honor of runner up because no one on the Cardinals pitching staff is worth the choice here. Duncan has 20 HR’s and 44 RBI’s with just two steals. He has scored 47 runs and is batting .285.

Arizona Diamondbacks- The D’backs don’t throw out anything special for fantasy baseball purposes. However, one guy has used a career season to earn a brand new contract extension with the team. OF Eric Byrnes, fresh of a new reported three year, 30 million dollar deal to stay in the Valley, leads the team in every major offensive category. Byrnes is hitting .303 with 17 HR’s and 64 RBI’s. He has 66 runs and 28 SB’s.

Runner up- Closer Jose Valverde has been just as solid as the rest of the bullpen with few exceptions this season. Valverde has 33 saves with 54 K’s in 45 IP. Papa Grande has a 2.92 ERA and 1.24 WHIP. OF Chris Young could also make the list, but his .240 batting average hurts him.

Colorado Rockies- If no one knew about OF Matt Holliday before this season, they do now. Holliday has arrived as an elite fantasy baseball player. He is batting .340 with 21 HR’s and 90 RBI’s. Holliday has crossed the plate 75 times and stolen seven bags.

Runner up- Another OF gets the call here. Brad Hawpe is batting .291 this season and has scored 55 times. He has left the yard 19 times and knocked in 72 Rockies. Hawpe has yet to steal a base.

Los Angeles Dodgers- Here is a new position to the list for the NL Fantasy Baseball MVP list. C Russell Martin is the top guy for the Dodgers. He is hitting .296. Martin has also scored 60 runs with 12 homers and 68 RBI’s. The one fantasy baseball stat that jumps out of you is the number of steals Martin has so far for a catcher. That number is 18.

Runner up- The Dodgers closer, Takashi Saito, has been perhaps the most consistent closer in the NL this year. He has saved 27 games and a miniscule WHIP of 0.75. Saito has a 1.48 and managed to win one game for LA. He has also recorded 49 K’s in 42.2 IP. Starter Brad Penny also gets consideration for this honor.

San Diego Padres- The Padres would not be where they are without their starting pitching. Two guys could be the choice here, but when you look at the big picture, Jake Peavy is the winner. He has 11 wins with 154 K’s in 145 IP. Peavy has posted a 1.07 WHIP and 2.30 ERA.

Runner up- Chris Young, currently on the 15 day DL, has been just as solid as Peavy. Young has nine wins and a 1.82 ERA. He also has a 0.99 WHIP. He has punched out 114 batters in 118.2 IP.

San Francisco Giants- This whole season has been about OF Barry Bonds getting the all-time home run record. Bonds, as of the writing of this article, is tied with Hank Aaron for first with 755 HR’s. Despite the constant circus around him, Bonds has been the team’s best fantasy baseball player. Bonds has 21 HR’s and 50 RBI’s. He has also managed to steal five bases on a couple of bad legs, and scored 57 runs while batting .272. Much like Albert Pujols with the St. Louis Cardinals, he doesn’t have much protection around him.

Runner up- Tim Lincecum, a rookie pitcher for the Giants, is the choice as runner up because the rest of the Giants offense hasn’t been consistent and the pitching has been below par. The righty, often compared to the Houston Astros Roy Oswalt, has won just six games. He has 113 K's in 105.1 IP. His ERA is 3.59 and the WHIP is 1.21.

There is your look at the National League Fantasy Baseball MVPs up until this point in the season. Check back for more fantasy baseball articles on Fantasy Baseball Starters.com throughout the rest of the season for more information and stories on the 2007 season.

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