by Todd Lammi
Continuing on the same theme from my previous post, we are now going to look at the fantasy baseball ADP for outfielders and utility players / designated hitters.
Fantasy baseball outfielders: Nelson Cruz of the Texas Rangers seems to be going pretty high in drafts this year, currently listed with an ADP of 133. He turns 29 in June and is currently penciled in as the starting outfielder, but with Marlon Byrd and the recently signed Andruw Jones around, Cruz cannot afford to get off to a slow start or he will lose at bats. He had only 115 at bats in the majors last year but in that small sample size he seems to have a much better grasp of the strike zone than during his previous tours. There will be quite a few more solid, dependable players available at this stage of the draft for Cruz to warrant a selection this high.
Delmon Young with an ADP of 219 seems to be too high as well. Twins manager Ron Gardenhire has publicly said Delmon Young is currently on the outside looking in for a spot in his starting outfield. Whether the Twins are trying to trade Young or simply light a fire under him, it does not sound well for his playing time at least initially this season. Young has displayed a decent average and a few steals, but little power and an inability to walk to get on base. Again, I think there are better options than Young at this point of the draft.
Nick Swisher at 199 must be getting drafted by a lot of New York Yankee fans in the mock drafts to be this high. He was originally slotted in at first base after being traded for in November but then the Yankees went out and signed Mark Teixeira. Manager Joe Girardi said Swisher will have a chance to compete with Xavier Nady for the right field job, but barring a trade, expect Nady to be in the outfield opening day and Swisher riding the bench.
With the outfield player pool being so much larger than the other positions, there are a lot of great options late in the rounds that could provide some of the same type of stats as those players going in the middle rounds of the draft.
Matt Joyce, now with the Tampa Bay Rays is a late round source of power with an ADP of 344. He might be part of a platoon, but as a left-handed hitter, he owns the majority of the at bats. Could be good 20-25 home runs and a .260 average in 400-450 at bats. Currently projected to hit 7th in the Rays lineup.
Jody Gerut, slated to start in center field for the San Diego Padres currently is being selected around 370th overall . He had been out of the major leagues since 2005 before last season. His numbers in 2008 were not that far off from his stats in 2004, the last time he had a full-time job, except for a few more home runs and a few less walks. With San Diego on a tight budget, expect Gerut to get the start and put up numbers in the range of .275 avg 15 hr 65 rbis and 12 steals.
Chris Duncan of the St. Louis Cardinals, trying to return from an injury marred 2008 is currently running an ADP of 442. He had back surgery last season and says he is feeling no effects this year. With Tony LaRussa having Skip Schumaker attempt to make the shift from the outfield to second base, there is a spot open in the outfield for Duncan or rookie Colby Rasmus to grab. With the down year Rasmus had in Triple-A, expect Duncan to get first crack at the job if Shumaker winds up in the infield.
