For those that are having a serious case of the NFL blues, here’s an older fantasy football video that’s pretty sweet.
Category: Fantasy Football (Page 124 of 324)
All 2009 Fantasy Articles | 2009 Position Rankings
As someone who loyally subscribes to the “wait for pitching” strategy on draft day, I’m always on the lookout for value starters. Experience has shown me that there are plenty of nice starting pitching bargains in the middle and late rounds every year, and if I’m diligent enough, I can also add pitching via the waiver wire during the season. All of which allows me to load up on as much hitting as I can in the early rounds, understanding that the more offensive firepower I have on my roster, the easier it will be to trade for a top-line starter should I find myself in need of reinforcements for the stretch run.
Of course, that doesn’t mean I ignore pitching on draft day. Far from it. Those SP bargains I mentioned above are available each year, if you know what to look for. Sure, it’s nice to have a reliable horse like Johan Santana or Brandon Webb anchoring your pitching staff, but the cost of adding someone like that is usually a little too steep for my tastes. So instead, my goal is to take five to seven solid starters who can deliver quality ratios while racking up strikeouts. Ideally, I also look for guys who pitch for successful teams, hoping that will translate to wins for my team.
The guys I target tend to fall into one of four categories: Young Guns, Rebound Vets, Undervalued Arms and Late Steals. As I’ve admitted in previous posts, I’m a sucker for upside but that doesn’t mean I’ll fall for any promising youngster with a lively arm. I’m also a sucker for a good revival story so I’m always looking for veterans with a solid track record whose stock has fallen because of an off year, while guys in the undervalued category tend to fly under the radar despite their consistent production. Finally, I try to wrap up every draft with one or two late-round picks that could pay off big in the long run.
Below, I’ve listed several pitchers I’ve got my eye on in each of these four categories, using the Average Draft Position (ADP) from ESPN’s draft kit as a guide. I’ve included the ADP as well as the SP rank (SP13, for example) for each of the 16 starters below. These aren’t, of course, the only guys who would qualify in these categories, just the ones at the top of my list. If you’re thinking about stockpiling bats early in your draft, maybe they should be at the top of your list too.
All 2009 Fantasy Articles | 2009 Position Rankings
If you’re a fantasy baseball or football owner and you don’t read Rotoworld every day (or, in my case, several times a day), you’re not only missing out, but you may very well be costing yourself a chance at a league title. As far as free and comprehensive fantasy advice goes, nobody does it better than Rotoworld. Their player updates pull from all sorts of local and national sources and are updated throughout the day, and their columnists offer up plenty of great insight, both during the season and leading up to draft day. They even have their own draft guide, although you’ve got to pay $15 for that.
Howard Megdal (who, as far as I can tell, is new to the Rotoworld staff this season) just posted a great article about the value of youth and health on draft day:
So when I draft, I want as much predictability as possible. Therefore, my two touchstones are getting as many players in their age peak (roughly 25-30), with an added focus on injury history. Such a strategy provides no guarantees—no strategy does—but puts me in the best position to consolidate my gains. And as a bonus—a healthy player of peak age, more likely than not, is going to be a player who has that surprise season you were hoping for from the rookie, anyway.
I’m always amazed by how many owners don’t pay attention to age or injury history during their drafts, especially in the early rounds. Every year, someone drafts a guy like AJ Burnett too early, and every year Burnett goes down with some kind of injury. Go ahead and take Lance Berkman in the second round — I’ll gladly wait another round or two and snag the younger Adrian Gonzalez or Prince Fielder. Upside, upside, upside.
Megdal goes on to target some of the likely first-rounders that he’s avoiding this year:
Ian Kinsler is another top-12 player with red flags of the white bandage variety. For the third straight season, he showed that when healthy, he is an offensive force at a position, second base, with very few of them. But he played in just 121 games, this time due to a sports hernia, and his season-high through three seasons is 130. No reason he can’t help a fantasy team—but let someone else draft his injury history first.
Also consider dropping Jimmy Rollins, who played in 137 games last season and already has back issues in spring training, and Carl Crawford, who was limited to 109 games with a finger injury last year. Crawford in particular appears to be healthy this spring—but grab the guy who just put up 150-160 games in 2008. An extra 10-15 games out of your best player could be the difference in some leagues.
Instead of Kinsler, who averaged fewer than 124 games per season from 2006-2008, how about Brandon Phillips, who has averaged around 150 games per season? Phillips is 27, suggesting that his best year may come in 2009.
I’m pretty high on both Kinsler and Phillips, as I noted in my second base preview, but while Kinsler is younger (by one year) and may arguably have a little more upside, Phillips has the much healthier track record and can be snagged a little later than Kinsler, which likely makes him the better value of the two. When you consider the premium you’ll need to pay for Kinsler (a late first or early second rounder), Phillips becomes that much more intriguing.
Megdal wisely suggests not becoming a slave to this (or any) draft strategy, because remaining too loyal to a plan could close you out of any mid- to late-round bargains that may fall into your lap. But when it comes to debating the merits of Carlos Delgado vs. Adrian Gonzalez, AJ Burnett vs. Edinson Volquez, or Carlos Lee vs. Nick Markakis, you’d be wise to go with the younger, healthier guy.
All 2009 Fantasy Articles | 2009 Position Rankings
Ugh…DH’s. Is there anything less thrilling when it comes to fantasy baseball? They’re like the equivalent to kickers when it comes to talking about fantasy football. Still, you have a utility spot to fill in your lineup and there is some power to be had here, which means we’re apt to discuss some kind of approach to drafting designated hitters.
So here it goes: Avoid them if at all possible. That’s right, forget about them and don’t, under any circumstances, draft Big Papi in the top 20. It makes no sense to spend a high pick on a hitter with deteriorating power who is just as likely to miss a chunk of the season again as he is to hit 30 home runs.
Look, we mean no harm to Ortiz – he’s still a quality player and he could have a bounce back year. But chances are Jim Thome will produce just as many home runs and you can have him much later in the draft.
Of course, the question is, do you even want to select Thome, or any other DH for that matter? By the time you need to address your utility position, your starting roster should be set and you will have already started to stockpile pitchers. You can take a guy like Thome or maybe roll the dice on a Travis Hafner rebound, but understand that, in most leagues, any DH you select is going to eat up your util slot since they don’t qualify at any other position, which diminishes your overall roster flexibility. Why not save that utility slot for another OF or a corner infielder, someone who can fill several different spots on your roster and someone who, quite frankly, could be more valuable to you? Then you can get back to finding the next Tim Lincecum or cashing in on one of the many prospects you’ve already targeted as sleepers.
The one thing you will find at DH is power, which will make some of these guys appealing if you find yourself a little weak in that department on draft day. Below are your best bets to give you a fair amount of dingers and RBI’s this season. Don’t worry about what they’ll produce in terms of an average; if you select a DH sniffs .280 this year, drop to your knees and thank the fantasy gods for the gift.
Jim Thome, Chicago White Sox
Sure he’s old and fragile, but Thome may also produce 35 home runs this year while batting cleanup for the Chi Sox. Bonus: You can also have him in the later rounds while some chump over values Big Papi.
Pat Burrell, Tampa Bay Rays
Burrell slumped in the second half of last year after posting 23 home runs before the All-Star break, but a change of scenery could do him a lot of good and he could zero in on a 30-home run season.
Billy Butler, Kansas City Royals
Ah, the young sleeper of the group; Butler posted a .444 slugging percentage over the final three months of the season last year and at only 23, he has a ton of potential. He’s an unknown risk, but he could be a high reward type of player, capable of blasting 25-plus home runs.
Jason Kubel, Minnesota Twins
Kubel will see plenty of time at DH for the Twins this year and could produce 20-25 home runs after hitting a career-best of 20 in 2008. He also might chip in 85 RBI hitting in a lineup that consists of Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau and Joe Crede.
Gary Sheffield, Detroit Tigers
Shef has to stay healthy, but he hits in a solid lineup (as long as Curtis Granderson stays healthy that is) and could be in store for a bounce back season. He’s aging, but he represents good value later in the draft and might have one more 20-home run season left in him.
Below our official ranking of designated hitters.
1. David Ortiz, BOS
2. Jim Thome, CHW
3. Travis Hafner, CLE
4. Pat Burrell, TB
5. Hideki Matsui, NYY
6. Billy Butler, KC
7. Jason Kubel, MIN
8. Gary Sheffield, DET
9. Rocco Baldelli, BOS
10. Frank Thomas, OAK
11. Kila Ka’aihue, KC
12. Cliff Floyd, SD
13. Hank Blalock, TEX
14. Juan Rivera, LAA
15. Ryan Garko, CLE
According to ESPN.com, the Cowboys have officially released wide receiver Terrell Owens.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones did not deny the team is discussing the possible release of Owens in late February.
“There are several decisions on our roster we have to look at,” Jones said at the time. “This is the time of year we do that. I’m not trying to be trite, but as you all know we’re evaluating players in college, we’re evaluating free agents and we’re evaluating our own roster. This is an ongoing thing, not any different than this time last year.”
The Cowboys paid Owens a $12 million signing bonus just last year, included as part of a new four-year, $34 million deal.
There has been talk since the end of the Cowboys’ 9-7 season, in which they missed the playoffs, that they would consider cutting Owens to improve locker room morale.
Wow. There possibility of the ‘Boys cutting Owens has always been there since the season ended, but just a couple months ago it appeared that Jerry Jones would hold onto the toxic wideout and roll the dice that he wouldn’t be a distraction next season.
Maybe Jones has finally realized that talent can only take a team so far and that chemistry plays a major role into whether or not it’s successful. T.O. has always been a fantastic player, but despite his competitive nature, he’s selfish and can be incredibly disruptive. Now that he’s gone, maybe some guys like Tony Romo will play with an air of freshness next season, even though there’s no doubt Dallas is losing one of its best players.
As for possible destinations for T.O., the Raiders certainly come to mind, although he’ll likely want to go to a competitor. Would anyone be surprised if Daniel Synder made a play and Owens goes to Washington in an effort to try to stick it up the Cowboys’ asses next season?
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