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2010 Fantasy Baseball Rankings – Starting Pitcher strikeouts

Posted by Todd Lammi on February 9th, 2010

by Todd Lammi

One of the things I look at when I am doing the 2010 fantasy baseball rankings for pitchers is strikeouts. While I use that category in conjunction with several others, I think to pick one category and have it stand alone by itself, strikeouts are the most important.

The biggest reason is because strikeouts limit the damage to ERA numbers. Once the ball is hit and put in play, the pitcher becomes subjective to too many things out of his control. He has to worry about his defense being able to field the ball, the luck of where the ball is placed when hit, in addition to possibly giving up a home run which factors in the weather for the day as well as the dimensions of the ballpark among other things.

It also limits the ERA in respect to staying out of the big inning. If there is man on third base and as a pitcher you cannot afford to give up a hit anywhere on the diamond, be it fly ball or ground ball, you need to have the stuff to be able to bear down and strike out a hitter when needed.

With that said, here is a listing of the top starting pitchers from 2009 with the highest percentage of swing and miss strikes.

1) Rich Harden – 26%

2) Francisco Liriano – 20%

3) Jorge de la Rosa – 19%

4) Ryan Dempster – 19%

5) Jonathan Sanchez – 19%

6) Javier Vazquez – 19%

7) Chad Billingsley – 18%

8.) Neftali Feliz – 18%

9) Gio Gonzalez – 18%

10) Cole Hamels – 18%

11) Felix Hernandez – 18%

12) Mat Latos – 18%

13) Jon Lester – 18%

14) Tim Lincecum – 18%

15) Bud Norris – 18%

16) CC Sabathia – 18%

17) Justin Verlander – 18%

18) Clay Buchholz – 17%

19) Gavin Floyd – 17%

20) Tommy Hanson – 17%

I included Feliz assuming he will be a starting pitcher this year. Interesting to see a few rookies like Latos and Norris appear. Liriano in second position shows he still has good stuff, just a matter of his confidence improving. Two guys that people are discounting this season according to their fantasy baseball ADP are Hamels and Billingsley who are both on the list so I expect them to bounce back from seasons that were below expectations.

Take note that on Monday, 2/15 I will be releasing the FBT Fantasy Baseball Draft Guide for just $9.99. It’s better than any magazine you will find on the stands because the information will be updated weekly up until Opening Day and the data will be in excel format so it will be easy to use. For that low price, you will get:

Over 450 player projections – easily sortable by league or position. Includes all player ages as of Opening Day.
All of the player notes that have been posted on the website as a quick cheat sheet to use during your draft.
Expanded player rankings for all positions.
A weekly article (that will not appear on the website) in regards to fantasy strategy for winning an auction or draft league.
An in-depth article on how to use the player projections. Player rankings and projections are great, but if they are not used correctly, you are not getting the most out of them.
Advice and guidance from someone that has been in the trenches and won leagues before. A lot of people writing articles or doing projections are just that, writers that have not been able to successfully win at fantasy baseball. In the 20 years that I have been playing fantasy baseball, I have won draft and auction leagues in multiple formats and can relate that information to you the reader.

2010 Fantasy Baseball Rankings – Closers (Part II)

Posted by Todd Lammi on February 8th, 2010

by Todd Lammi

This is the second part of the 2010 fantasy baseball rankings looking at the group of closers ranked 16-30.

16) Trevor Hoffman – had his lowest ERA since 1998 so you know there is some regression coming. ERA and WHIP ratio aided by his improvement against left-handed hitters, holding them to a .222 average compared to .291 in 2008.

17) Frank Francisco – first season as full-time closer was a success outside of two trips to the disabled list which seemed to impact his second half numbers. Had a 2.28 ERA and .94 WHIP ratio the first half of the season. After the All-Star break, the ERA was 5.82 and the WHIP was 1.34.

18) Mike Gonzalez – had career high in innings pitched last season after coming back from Tommy John surgery in 2008. No doubt he can get the job done with a career ERA of 2.57 and 1.22 WHIP ratio. Question will always be how many innings does he get in before he gets hurt, with time on the disabled list four of the past five seasons.

19) Chad Qualls – good value based on his current fantasy baseball ADP. Knee ligament tear that ended his season in ‘09 should not affect him in 2010. High ground ball rate plus good control means he should be solid as closer going forward.

20) David Aardsma – solid season on paper but I have some concerns going forward. High fly ball rate of 54% last season yet cut his home run per fly ball rate in half. If that regresses to the mean in 2010, his ERA jumps into the high three’s. Still has issues with command, walking 4.3 hitters per nine innings last year. Career WHIP ratio in the major leagues is 1.49.

21) Carlos Marmol – extremely hard to hit, but his inability to throw strikes makes his job as a closer far from safe. Walk rate jumped to 7.9 per nine innings last season, up from 4.2 in 2008. Like Aarsdma, Marmol is a fly ball pitcher and faces regression in his ERA after allowing only two home runs in 74 innings last year.

22) Bobby Jenks – ERA spiked due to nine home runs allowed after giving up 10 the last three seasons combined. Has been easier to hit the last two years with batting average against of .198 in 2007 rising to .230 in ‘08 and to .250 last year. Questions about him are always going to revolve around his ablity to stay in shape.

23) Ryan Franklin – helped his ERA by allowing only two home runs after giving up 10 in 2008. Luck ran out after the All-Star break when his ERA was 3.33 and WHIP ratio was 1.70. Blew three of six saves in September.

24) Kerry Wood – first season in the American League did not go well for Wood as his home runs allowed more than doubled from the previous season and his control reverted back to 2007 level. Was much better the second half of the season with a 2.96 ERA and 1.32 WHIP ratio.

25) Brad Lidge – two seasons of extremes when looking at 2008 and 2009. Blew 11 saves last season after going a perfect 41 for 41 in 2008. Allowed 11 home runs and batting average against jumped to .301. Had surgery on his elbow in November and on his knee in January so it is questionable whether he will be ready for the start of the season. Possible that his knee injruy that bothered him in April and landed him on the disabled list in June was responsible for some of his issues last season.

26) Matt Capps – another closer who saw his home run total jump in 2010. After allowing five home runs in ‘08, Capps gave up 10 in 2009. Walk rate also increased, allowing 2.8 walks per nine innings after walking only five batters in 53 2/3 innings in 2008. With only a one year contract with the Washington Nationals, there is a good chance that he gets moved at the trade deadline.

27) Leo Nunez – took the closer job away from Matt Lindstrom, but encountered some problems with the long ball, surrendering 13 home runs in 68 2/3 innings. Walk rate increased for the second straight season which offset his improvement in batting average allowed.

The following teams have multiple players in a battle for the closer position. The closer will most likely be determined at some point during spring training.

28) Toronto Blue Jays – Jason Frasor, Scott Downs, Kevin Gregg

29) Houston Astros – Brandon Lyon, Matt Lindstrom

30) Pittsburgh Pirates – Octavio Dotel, Joel Hanrahan, Evan Meek

The FBT Fantasy Baseball Draft Guide is now available for purchase for just $9.99. You can view a sample here to see the template for the top 10 catchers and top 10 starting pitchers.

The Draft Guide includes the following:

Projections in Excel for 480 players using the standard 5 x 5 fantasy baseball categories
Cheat sheets already set up to be printed out
Expanded player rankings for all positions
Ages for all players as of opening day
Word / PDF document that explains how to use the projections and some tips for some neat things to do in Excel.
The first article that will be only available to subscribers (and not posted on the website) for “how to win your fantasy baseball draft league”. This is a seven page document with 3,500 words of fantasy baseball goodness based on my 20 years of playing in fantasy baseball leagues.
You will also receive weekly reports every Monday that feature updates to rankings and a new article all the way up to opening day.
Support for any questions you have in regards to Excel to ensure you get the most out of the data.

Order now to get the information you need to dominate the competition!!!

2010 Fantasy Baseball Rankings – Closers (Part I)

Posted by Todd Lammi on February 7th, 2010

by Todd Lammi

This is the ninth report in the series of our 2010 fantasy baseball rankings looking at the closers. This is the most volatile position on your fantasy baseball team despite having the smallest category impact compared to other spots on your roster.

Each year there are usually 10 or more people that did not start the season at closer that end up getting a good amount of saves. That means that roughly 1/3 of the major league baseball teams are going to have closer issues. This makes the top tier of closers that much more valuable for their dependability and consistency. It also means once the top tiers of closers are gone, you don’t need to chase saves because there is a good chance multiple people from the middle to low tier is going to lose their job that you draft, and / or you are going to be able to get extra saves through free agency during the season.

With that said, let’s examine the 2010 fantasy baseball rankings for slots 1-15.

1) Jonathan Broxton – dominant first year as closer, highlighted by 114 strikeouts and a .165 batting average against. Strikeout value pushes him to the top of the closer list.

2) Joe Nathan – 2008 and 2009 seasons were pretty identical except for a few more saves and a couple of more home runs allowed that boosted his ERA up.

3) Jonathan Papelbon – numbers look okay on the surface, but underneath stats give me some pause. Reverted back to fly balls ways like 2007. Of course the higher fly ball percentage means there is more of a chance for home runs to be surrendered.

4) Mariano Rivera – keeps getting older and every year people question will this be the year his performance finally drops off and every season he answers the bell. I predict he answers the bell once again in 2010.

5) Joakim Soria – shoulder problems and time on the disabled list kept his numbers down, except for his strikeout rate which jumped 2.9 per nine innings.

6) Francisco Rodriguez – three straight seasons of walk rate going up and strikeout rate going down. Second half was brutal with a 6.75 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP ratio.

7) Andrew Bailey – was a starter for three years in the minors. Spent some time as a reliever in Double-A in 2008 and then again the in Arizona Fall league. Reliance on cutter seems to suit him better as a closer.

8.) Heath Bell – throttled right-handed hitters, holding them to a .138 batting average which was 116 points better than 2008. Surrendered zero home runs in the first half but then gave up three long balls after the All-Star break which jacked up his ERA.

9) Jose Valverde – missed a month and half of the early part of the season on the disabled list with a strained calf. Second half stats were back at his elite level with a 1.64 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP ratio.

10) Huston Street – lost his job as closer in April and once he got it back he was lights out converting 35 of 37 save opportunities. Stats were similar to his 2007 year. New contract extension gives him stability as the Colorado Rockies closer.

11) Brian Wilson – lowered his bating average against by 40 points and controlled home runs better in 2009; result was a 1.88 drop in ERA. Was better in the second half of the season with a 1.64 ERA and 1.15 WHIP ratio.

12) Francisco Cordero – 2009 ERA and WHIP ratio look good on paper, but of concern is the drop in the strikeout rate of 2.2 per nine innings. Has been easier to hit by right-handers the last two seasons so expect some regression for his ERA in 2010.

13) Billy Wagner – came back from Tommy John surgery and looked good in a small sample size at the end of 2009. Good enough that he landed the closer job for the Atlanta Braves. The Braves have some options in the bullpen to close games out so there will be some innings and saves he loses out on, even assuming full health.

14) Rafael Soriano – has had a big jump in his strikeout rate over the past two seasons, increasing his rate by 3.3 per nine innings. Injury history knocks his value down a few spots after spending time on the disabled list in three of the past five seasons.

15) Brian Fuentes – left Coors Field and somehow got worse. Possible combination of age plus the move to the American League impacted his numbers. Strikeout rate had a big drop going down by 4.3 per nine innings from 2008.

The FBT Fantasy Baseball Draft Guide is now available for purchase for just $9.99. You can view a sample here to see the template for the top 10 catchers and top 10 starting pitchers.

The Draft Guide includes the following:

Projections in Excel for 480 players using the standard 5 x 5 fantasy baseball categories
Cheat sheets already set up to be printed out
Expanded player rankings for all positions
Ages for all players as of opening day
Word / PDF document that explains how to use the projections and some tips for some neat things to do in Excel.
The first article that will be only available to subscribers (and not posted on the website) for “how to win your fantasy baseball draft league”. This is a seven page document with 3,500 words of fantasy baseball goodness based on my 20 years of playing in fantasy baseball leagues.
You will also receive weekly reports every Monday that feature updates to rankings and a new article all the way up to opening day.
Support for any questions you have in regards to Excel to ensure you get the most out of the data.

Order now to get the information you need to dominate the competition!!!

Next up in the series for the 2010 fantasy baseball rankings will be closers 16 – 30.

2010 Fantasy Baseball Rankings – Starting Pitchers (Part III)

Posted by Todd Lammi on February 6th, 2010

by Todd Lammi

This is the third part of the 2010 fantasy baseball rankings looking at the group of starting pitchers ranked 41-60.

41) Carlos Zambrano – four straight seasons of declining value in terms of dollars earned. High number of innings pitched at an early age seem to be taking a toll on him now despite being only 28. Has spent time on the disabled list the last two seasons. Only positive sign in ‘09 was the strikeout rate bounced back last year to his 2005 level.

42) Tim Hudson – made the comeback from Tommy John surgery and fared pretty well at the end of the year outside of WHIP ratio. I would be conservative with his forecast and use his 2005 numbers as your baseline.

43) Rich Harden – injuries and lack of innings keep him this low in the rankings. Has not pitched over 150 innings in a season since 2004 when he tossed 189 2/3. Has spent time on the disabled list each of the past five seasons, missing an average of 80 days per year. Lack of innings has biggest impact on wins as his career high stands at only 11, also back in 2004.

44) Clay Buchholz – finished the season in strong fashion with a solid September, going 4-1 with a 2.87 ERA and 1.09 WHIP ratio. Batting average against dropped by 40 points in August and by another 32 points in September.

45) Kevin Slowey – wrist surgery ended his season in July. Strikeout rate improved but he was able to be hit easier in 2009 than in 2008. Fly ball pitcher that is prone to giving up home runs. Needs to start getting more ground balls to get his ERA down. Health is also a factor after spending parts of last two seasons on the disabled list.

46) Scott Kazmir – was scuffling in Tampa Bay in 2009, then a change of scenery to Los Angeles and he turned into a different pitcher, albeit in a small sample size. His 5.92 ERA and 1.54 WHIP for the Rays suddenly became 1.73 and 1.05 with the Angels. Health risk tempers expectations going forward with him missing a month or more of time in three of the last four years.

47) Jonathan Sanchez – was it really that easy for the light bulb to go on? Threw a no-hitter in early July and was then a totally different pitcher the second half of the season. Had a 3.83 ERA and 1.24 WHIP ratio after the All-Star break with a 10.4 K/9 rate., while holding batters to a .206 average. Going to be hard to maintain those numbers until he improves his walk rate which was 4.9 per nine innings.

48) J.A. Happ – ERA regression coming in 2010 as luck and a high strand rate held it under three last season. Needs to build on the improvements he made the second half of the season to his walk and strikeout rates.

49) Hiroki Kuroda – slightly increased his strikeout rate, but had his season cut short by injuries. His fantasy baseball ADP is lower than where he should be going for a guy with an ERA under 3.80 and a WHIP ratio in the 1.20 range since coming to the United States. One downside is he turns 35 in February and spent time on the disabled list each of the past two seasons.

50) Randy Wolf – his 2009 season came out of nowhere when you look at the last few years of his career. You can bet that his ERA and WHIP ratio are going back up in 2010. Has been healthy the last two seasons after missing three months per year with injuries from 2005 – 2007. Helped himself last season by holding left-handed hitters to a .159 batting average compared to a .283 mark in 2008.

51) Francisco Liriano – I had him ranked here before his performance in winter ball. Overall numbers for 2009 were not pretty, but a deeper look gives some reason for hope. Home numbers show a 4.55 ERA with a 1.26 WHIP ratio compared to 6.75 and 1.77 on the road so there is still skill there. Have to think some of it is mental now that he is two years removed from Tommy John surgery. It sounds like from his comments that he has rediscovered his confidence as well as his fastball this off season. We shall see if he can carry that performance over to spring training.

52) Johnny Cueto – looked like he was taking a step up from his rookie season when he fell apart the second half of the year. Had 3.62 ERA and 1.23 WHIP the first half of the season. Numbers that fell off to 5.81 and 1.58 the second half of the year and included a stint on the disabled list. Stats also tailed off the second part of 2009 as well so you have to wonder if his body can hold up for an entire season.

53) Rick Porcello – racked up 14 wins at the tender age of 20. Second half had much better numbers with a 3.76 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP ratio. Has the stuff to improve his strikeouts totals. Ground ball rate in the 50th percentile bodes well for his future.

54) Jorge de la Rosa – was just a thrower the first half of the season with strikeouts and not much else. Morphed into a pitcher the second half of the season as ERA was 3.46 and WHIP ratio was 1.30 while maintaining a high K rate. Was much better on the road with 3.32 ERA and 1.28 WHIP versus 5.21 and 1.44 at Coors Field.

55) Daisuke Matsuzaka – missed four months worth of time with shoulder problems, this coming on the heels of him missing almost a month in 2008 with the same issue. Looked okay in four starts in September and October but walks are still the biggest issue for him. I would set your expectations around his 2007 season with fewer strikeouts and less innings pitched.

56) Jeff Niemann – turned in a good rookie campaign after spending the previous two seasons in Triple-A. Stats were similar between the two halves except for the improvement in strikeouts, improving his rate from 5.1 to 7.4 after the All-Star break.

57) Ervin Santana – was not able to fully build on his 2008 breakout campaign as a sprained ligament in his elbow affected his first half stats. Was much better the second half of the season with a 3.90 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP ratio despite giving up 16 home runs in just under 100 innings.

58) Mark Buehrle – pretty consistent numbers every season except for some fluctuations to his strikeout rate. Ability to limit walks and keep home runs in check ensures that his ERA stays under four the majority of the years.

59) Joe Blanton – enjoyed his first full season in the National League, as he increased his strikeout per nine rate by 2.4. It’s always easier to pitch with confidence when you have a high scoring offense giving you 7.4 runs of support per start.

60) Shaun Marcum – missed the entire 2009 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery the latter part of 2008. Tossed 15 2/3 innings in the minor leagues last season, so not enough of a sample size to draw any real conclusions from. No reason he can’t come back close to his 2007 season.

The FBT Fantasy Baseball Draft Guide is now available for purchase for just $9.99. You can view a sample here to see the template for the top 10 catchers and top 10 starting pitchers.

The Draft Guide includes the following:

Projections in Excel for 480 players using the standard 5 x 5 fantasy baseball categories
Cheat sheets already set up to be printed out
Expanded player rankings for all positions
Ages for all players as of opening day
Word / PDF document that explains how to use the projections and some tips for some neat things to do in Excel.
The first article that will be only available to subscribers (and not posted on the website) for “how to win your fantasy baseball draft league”. This is a seven page document with 3,500 words of fantasy baseball goodness based on my 20 years of playing in fantasy baseball leagues.
You will also receive weekly reports every Monday that feature updates to rankings and a new article all the way up to opening day.
Support for any questions you have in regards to Excel to ensure you get the most out of the data.

Order now to get the information you need to dominate the competition!!!

Next up in the series for the 2010 fantasy baseball rankings will be closers.

2010 Fantasy Baseball Rankings – Starting Pitchers (Part II)

Posted by Todd Lammi on February 5th, 2010

by Todd Lammi

This is the second part of the 2010 fantasy baseball rankings looking at the group of starting pitchers ranked 21-40.

21) Clayton Kershaw – much like Yovani Gallardo, had struggles with control and made it through six innings in only 16 of 31 starts. Much better in second half of season when he posted 2.27 ERA and 1.16 WHIP with a 10.9 K/9 ratio. Allowed only seven home runs in 171 innings. Won’t take the next step until he improves his command.

22) Javier Vazquez – current fantasy baseball ADP has him much higher as the 11th starting pitcher. People I guess are not adjusting his numbers with the move back to the much tougher American League East. I guess people also forgot what his line was the last time he pitched in New York, when he posted a 4.91 ERA with a 1.29 WHIP. Still will be good for strikeouts and wins, but ERA and WHIP will will be much higher than it was last year.

23) Ricky Nolasco – Tumultuous first half that saw him sent down to the minor leagues for awhile. Much better after the All-Star break with a 4.39 ERA and 1.12 WHIP. Improved strikeout rate to 10 per nine innings in the second half.

24) Chad Billingsley – first half was vintage Billingsley with 3.38 ERA and 1.23 WHIP. Numbers blew up in July and September to skew the final totals. Expect a rebound back to 2008 levels.

25) Wandy Rodriguez – was dominant at home, posting a 2.08 ERA and 1.06 WHIP versus 4.05 and 1.44 on the road, which was similar to his 2008 season as well. Really underrated in fantasy baseball terms as he’s passed over in fantasy baseball drafts for people with more name recognition. Good chance you will be able to land him a round or two later than you should.

26) Brandon Webb – underwent shoulder surgery in August. Started throwing in November and has not reported any problems or setbacks. As more news comes out in spring training, I would expect him to start slowly moving up owners’ draft boards.

27) Jair Jurrjens – despite his great 2009 campaign, a few smalls signs of concern. Ground ball rate dropped by nine percentage points, walk rate is still a little high at three batters per game and his ERA will be higher in 2010. On the positive side, he improved against right-handed hitters, limiting batters to a .212 batting average, which was an improvement of 48 points from 2008.

28) Ryan Dempster – numbers regressed slightly in 2009 as batters started to figure him out a little more in his second season as a starter. Improved his walk rate for a fourth straight season. ERA should be around the same in 2010 but WHIP ratio should go down a few ticks.

29) Brett Anderson – just 21 last season and showed improvement the second half of the year. Had practically the same number of innings pitched both halves; boosted his strikeouts by 22 in the second half and almost cut his home run rate in half. Keeps going higher in mock drafts ever week so a guy that started out as a potential sleeper pick is now to the point of being almost overrated with how much owners are moving him up their draft boards.

30) James Shields – became easier to hit in 2009 giving up an extra 23 points in batting average. First half of the season he had a 3.77 ERA and 1.28 WHIP ratio. Became prone to the long ball after the All-Star break, allowing 17 home runs in 90 2/3 innings and ERA rose to 4.67.

31) Jered Weaver – Was not able to maintain his excellent first half as he was hit hard after the All-Star break. Batting average against was 53 points higher in half two. Needs to build up endurance to be able to make it through 200 innings without impacting his performance later in the season.

32) John Lackey – not a lock for 200 innings after missing a month and half the last two seasons with injuries. His 2008 and 2009 seasons were pretty similar stat wise. Just know that wins and strikeouts have downside with the injury risk he carries.

33) Matt Garza – made some gains in 2009, boosting his strikeout rate by 2.2 per nine innings. Needs to improve his numbers on the road and outside of the division to make the next jump. ERA and WHIP at Tropicana Field were 3.24 and 1.20 versus 4.85 and 1.34 on the road. Went 6-3 against the American League East and was 2-9 versus the rest of the league.

34) Scott Baker – maintained his strikeout rate from 2008. Unlucky in first half with a low strand rate that accounted for the high ERA. Second half was much better with a 3.28 ERA and 1.17 WHIP. WHIP should always be solid with his ability to limit walks.

35) Gavin Floyd – ERA and WHIP were pretty close in 2008 and 2009. Downside was the loss of six wins going from 17 down to 11. That’s what happens when you lose almost 2.5 runs per game of support. Did make a noticeable step forward in strikeouts. Bumped up his swing and miss percent of strikes by three percentage points in ‘09.

36) Max Scherzer – move to American League means some of the gains he would of made in ERA and WHIP in second full season may now appear flat numbers wise. Will get his share of strikeouts; just needs to be a little more consistent from start to start to get to the next level.

37) A.J. Burnett – piles up strikeouts and will get wins with the New York Yankees, but the rising WHIP ratio hurts a fantasy staff. Despite being healthy the last two seasons, still has some injury risk to him after missing two months in 2006 and again in 2007.

38) Roy Oswalt – battled through back problems in 2009 and the stats suffered. Passed on surgery and opted for a new workout routine to strengthen his core muscles. Watch for news in spring training to see if he is fully healthy.

39) John Danks – ERA and WHIP were similar in both halves of the 2009 season, but strikeouts fell way of in second half as K rate per nine dropped by 2.4. Have to figure that the blister and circulatory problem he had in July affected him the rest of the year.

40) David Price – came alive after the All-Star break, with a 4.27 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP ratio. But what happened to the strikeouts? His 5.9 K/9 rate the second half was a far cry from his 9.0 rate in the minor leagues. Command dramatically improved in the second half going from seven walks per nine innings down to just 2.7.

The FBT Fantasy Baseball Draft Guide is now available for purchase for just $9.99. You can view a sample here to see the template for the top 10 catchers and top 10 starting pitchers.

The Draft Guide includes the following:

Projections in Excel for 480 players using the standard 5 x 5 fantasy baseball categories
Cheat sheets already set up to be printed out
Expanded player rankings for all positions
Ages for all players as of opening day
Word / PDF document that explains how to use the projections and some tips for some neat things to do in Excel.
The first article that will be only available to subscribers (and not posted on the website) for “how to win your fantasy baseball draft league”. This is a seven page document with 3,500 words of fantasy baseball goodness based on my 20 years of playing in fantasy baseball leagues.
You will also receive weekly reports every Monday that feature updates to rankings and a new article all the way up to opening day.
Support for any questions you have in regards to Excel to ensure you get the most out of the data.

Order now to get the information you need to dominate the competition!!!

Next up in the series for the 2010 fantasy baseball rankings will be starting pitchers 41-60.

2010 Fantasy Baseball Rankings – Starting Pitchers (Part I)

Posted by Todd Lammi on February 4th, 2010

by Todd Lammi

This is the eighth report in the series of our 2010 fantasy baseball rankings looking at the starting pitchers.

1) Tim Lincecum – totaled 260+ strikeouts for the second straight season. People worry about his size and that he might break down, but the pitching motion taught to him by his dad seems to be working out so far. Has replaced John Santana as the one pitcher that will go in the first round in fantasy baseball drafts.

2) Roy Halladay – has turned up the strikeouts the last two seasons boosting his K/9 ratio by two per game. Has won 16+ games four consecutive years with an offense not as good as the new one he will be playing for in Philadelphia. Also gets the benefit of moving from the American League East to National League East which should only help his numbers. Great chance that he gets his third 20 win season this year. To fully the realize the impact of what a move from the American League to the National League means, check out the numbers for Cliff Lee and Javier Vazquez last season.

3) Dan Haren – mirror seasons almost between his 2008 and 2009 numbers. Three consecutive years of almost 200 strikeouts and a tight range of numbers for his ERA and WHIP ratio. Second straight year of improvement in batting average allowed to right-handed hitters. As consistent as they come.

4) Zack Greinke – the mental part of his game finally caught up to the talent and a star was realized. A phenomenal season in 2009 but I don’t want to pay for a repeat that is not likely happening in 2010. Did not allow more than three earned runs in a start until the beginning of June. Let’s see what happens if he faces some adversity this season and how he copes with it.

5) Felix Hernandez – third straight season of falling ERA as he has now shaved a full two earned runs from his mark in 2006. High strand rate kept his ERA under three so expect some correction there. Second straight year of improvement in batting average allowed to right-handed hitters.

6) CC Sabathia – concerns about workload early in his career never materialized as he has been a workhorse every season. Best chance in the American League to crack 20 wins with the offense around him and a stud closer. Much better the second half of the season with a 2.74 ERA and a strikeout per inning.

7) Justin Verlander – a combination of lowering his walk rate by 1.5 per nine innings and boosting his strikeout rate by 2.8 per nine allowed him to edge out Lincecum for the strikeout title. Much better pitcher at home last season with 2.81 ERA and 1.08 WHIP at Comerica Park vs. 4.04 and 1.26 on the road.

8.) Johan Santana – underwent arthroscopic surgery on his elbow in September and is supposed to be ready for spring training. Can’t assume an automatic bounce back to 2007 as his strikeout was down the last two years upon moving to the National League which is not a good sign. Usually a move to the league with no designate hitter boosts a pitchers strikeout numbers. Watch his stats in spring training to see how he is performing.

9) Adam Wainwright – was death on right-handed hitters last year, holding them to a .217 batting average. Dominant after the All-Star break with a 2.10 ERA and 1.10 WHIP ratio. Should be good for more of the same in 2010 if his arm can handle the 100 inning jump.

10) Josh Johnson – really not that far off from his 2006 season when he was last healthy except with better command. Like Wainwright, had a 100 innings jump from 2008 to 2009. Does having undergone Tommy John surgery already preclude him from future injury risk? I guess only time will tell.

11) Jon Lester – HUGE jump in strikeout numbers, boosting his K/9 rate by 3.5. After an awful first two months of the season, he was dominant the rest of the way with a 2.37 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP.

12) Tommy Hanson – his .225 batting average against would have been seventh best if he had enough innings to qualify. Took some time to adjust to the major leagues the first half of the season. Flashed his stuff after the All-Star break with a 2.91 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and more than a strikeout per inning. Right-handed hitters had no chance against him, batting a meager .192.

13) Chris Carpenter – numbers are terrific but age (will be 35 in April) plus his injury history makes him less than reliable. Has spent time on the disabled list four straight seasons. May be worth owning only if he falls a few rounds in the draft or you can get him at a discount in an auction. Tough to own him at full price knowing the odds are stacked against you.

14) Cliff Lee – fantasy baseball ADP slightly higher than where I see him. Sure, he was a beast in Philadelphia, but now he is back in the American League. Before the trade, control in Cleveland was worse than 2008 with 1.30 WHIP in ‘09 vs. 1.11 in ‘08. Strikeout rate was also slightly down with 6.9 in ‘08 and 6.3 in ‘09 in American League. When is off, the numbers can be tough to stomach. Had five starts where he gave up six or more earned runs in a game.

15) Josh Beckett – numbers turn out fine at the end of the season, but always seems to have a month or two each year where he gets clobbered so keep that in mind if you own him for the first time. Set a career high in innings pitched and strikeouts in 2009. Has only manged to toss 200 innings or more in three of eight seasons.

16) Yovani Gallardo – despite missing all of 2008, turned in a good season in 2009. Win total held in check due to control issues and pitch count numbers that keep him from working deeper in games. Managed to make it to six innings or more in just 17 of his 30 starts. Splits seem to show that he wore down the second half of the season. Had a 3.22 ERA and 1.23 WHIP the first half and went 4.56 and 1.45 after the All-Star break.

17) Matt Cain – got his head back in the game in 2009 after struggling with lack of run support in 2008. Had the lowest run support of any starting pitcher in 2008 and it affected him on the mound. Got an extra 1.24 runs per mound appearance in ‘09 and pitched much better. Strand rate kept his ERA low so expect a little regression this season.

18) Cole Hamels – not much difference in 2008 vs. 2009 except for being much more hittable by right-handed hitters. After allowing a .215 batting average in ‘08, that number rocketed up to .282 in ‘09. Much better after the All-Star break with a 3.76 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and a 7.8 K/9 rate. First half featured elbow issues in March and an injured ankle in May that probably accounted for the higher numbers. No reason for him not to return to 2008 levels.

19) Jake Peavy – some risk to him, having thrown 200 innings in only three of six seasons. Loses the comfort of Petco Park which helped to surpress his ERA. Strikeout rate probably drops by at least one per game with the move to the American League.

20) Ubaldo Jimenez – how much the world has changed that a Colorado Rockies pitcher would crack the top 20 starters. Ground ball rate of 53% helps to limit some of the impact of Coors Field. Limits damage by keeping hits in the ballpark. Ranked seventh in home runs allowed in ‘09 and tied for second in long balls surrendered in ‘08.

The FBT Fantasy Baseball Draft Guide is now available for purchase for just $9.99. You can view a sample here to see the template for the top 10 catchers and top 10 starting pitchers.

The Draft Guide includes the following:

Projections in Excel for 480 players using the standard 5 x 5 fantasy baseball categories
Cheat sheets already set up to be printed out
Expanded player rankings for all positions
Ages for all players as of opening day
Word / PDF document that explains how to use the projections and some tips for some neat things to do in Excel.
The first article that will be only available to subscribers (and not posted on the website) for “how to win your fantasy baseball draft league”. This is a seven page document with 3,500 words of fantasy baseball goodness based on my 20 years of playing in fantasy baseball leagues.
You will also receive weekly reports every Monday that feature updates to rankings and a new article all the way up to opening day.
Support for any questions you have in regards to Excel to ensure you get the most out of the data.

Order now to get the information you need to dominate the competition!!!

Next up in the series for the 2010 fantasy baseball rankings will be starting pitchers 21-40.

2010 Fantasy Baseball Rankings – Designated Hitters

Posted by Todd Lammi on February 4th, 2010

by Todd Lammi

This is the seventh report in the series of our 2010 fantasy baseball rankings looking at the designated hitters / utility players.

1) Vladimir Guerrero – strikeouts inching up, the few walks he takes inching down, though not a surprising trend as he turns 35 in a few days. In a good hitting environment in Texas and still owns a high batting average. Stats were much better after the All-Star break when he hit 11 home runs in 207 at bats.

2) David Ortiz – maybe it was simply a case of his eyesight being affected that caused the power outage the first part of the year. After hitting one home run in his first 178 at bats, he got eye drops for dry eyes in early June and then belted out 27 home runs over the next four months. Average has dropped almost 100 points in two years. Struggled to make contact even in the second half of the season when he was hitting home runs, fanning 23% of the time vs. 18% in 2009.

3) Hideki Matsui – shows he still has plenty of power in his game, though turning 36 in June means he could miss some time. Has spent time on the disabled list three of the past four seasons. Keep at bat projections in the 450-500 range.

4) Travis Hafner – has missed time the last two years due to shoulder issues which has sapped him of some of his power. Struggles to hit left-handed pitching the last two seasons means days of his .300 batting average are over. Set at bat projections for no more than 400 and be happy with anything over that.

5) Pat Burrell – first half injury likely affected his power. Tried to make up ground the second half of the season and turned into a strikeout machine, fanning in 32% of his at bats. Playing time at risk with the options the Tampa Bay Rays have and prospects coming up in the minors.

6) Andruw Jones – really just a one trick pony now with some power and not much else. Not much chance for the batting average to go up when you strike out 36% of the time. Right now locked in as the Chicago White Sox designated hitter. Reports are he is in great shape coming into training camp, but being in shape doesn’t fix a broken swing.

7) Mike Jacobs – assuming he finds a starting job somewhere. You know what you get with Jacobs, 400 at bats and 20 home runs with batting average downside which could be helped if he is played exclusively against right-handed pitching.

8.) Jim Thome – recently signed with the Minnesota Twins. Playing time is going to be the issue as there has already been contradicting quotes from the general manager and manager just how he will be used. I have him penciled in for 300 at bats which still should yield home runs in the upper teens.

9) Randy Ruiz – made major league debut at the age of 30 in 2008. Owns minor league average of .304 so ability to hit for average is there. Should see time at the very least against left-handed pitching and in brief sample showed he had no problem with right-handers as well.

10) Ken Griffey Jr. – has value in an AL only league, with power to hit 20 home runs in 400 at bats. Not much use in a mixed league format unless you have daily transactions.

Over 450 player projections – easily sortable by league or position. Includes all player ages as of Opening Day.
All of the player notes that have been posted on the website as a quick cheat sheet to use during your draft.
Expanded player rankings for all positions.
A weekly article (that will not appear on the website) in regards to fantasy strategy for winning an auction or draft league.
An in-depth article on how to use the player projections. Player rankings and projections are great, but if they are not used correctly, you are not getting the most out of them.
Advice and guidance from someone that has been in the trenches and won leagues before. A lot of people writing articles or doing projections are just that, writers that have not been able to successfully win at fantasy baseball. In the 20 years that I have been playing fantasy baseball, I have won draft and auction leagues in multiple formats and can relate that information to you the reader.

Next up in the series for the 2010 fantasy baseball rankings will be starting pitchers.

2010 Fantasy Baseball Rankings – Outfield (Part III)

Posted by Todd Lammi on February 3rd, 2010

by Todd Lammi

This is the third installment of the 2010 fantasy baseball rankings looking at the position of outfield. Notable players that I have ranked higher than their fantasy baseball ADP include Juan Pierre, Cody Ross and Ryan Ludwick. Players that are ranked lower than their current ADP include Michael Bourn, Michael Cuddyer and Rajai Davis.

Just to give you some context to my rankings, I rank all players according to the players in their own position. You really have several ways you can rank players, either as a whole group and then break them out by position, which is what I use to draft the first six to eight rounds. After that point, it becomes a matter of filling out your roster by position and that’s where the rankings I have posted on the site come into play.

With that said, let’s examine the 2010 fantasy baseball rankings for slots 41-60.

41) Garrett Jones – has always shown power in the minor leagues although not to the extent he showed in 314 at bats. The batting average was a surprise as he had a .258 career minor league mark. Offers added flexibility of qualifying at first base and outfield.

42) Michael Cuddyer – power spike at age 30, with consistent splits before and after the All-Star break. I don’t see this as a new home run level though, I would forecast for the low 20’s and be happy with anything above that.

43) Ryan Ludwick – 2008 season now looks like the outlier with 2009 the new baseline. Was on pace for 30 home runs last year before power fell off in the second half. Slugged 15 home runs in 246 at bats the first half, but only hit seven long balls in 240 at bats after the break.

44) Juan Pierre – don’t understand why everyone is discounting him so much. Should see 550 at bats and steal 50+ bases. Unlike all the other high steal players in the outfield, Pierre has the best track record and the most solid batting average. Pro-rate his numbers to 520 at bats last season and it puts him at roughly 85 runs, 46 RBI and 45 steals. Some really good value here based on his current fantasy baseball ADP.

45) Chris Coghlan- solid rookie season but even better in the second half of the season. After the All-Star break, hit .372 with 54 runs and seven home runs. Not a whole lot of power upside, but will score a lot of runs hitting first and will have a solid batting average. Should steal some more bases; swiped 34 in 2008 and 24 in 2007 in the minor leagues. Great batting eye, minor league walk to strikeout ratio was 154 to 147.

46) Vernon Wells – power never came back from the broken wrist that caused him to miss 50 games in 2008. Just underwent underwent surgery on his left wrist in November and is supposed to be ready to start hitting in January. Watch reports on him in spring training to see how the wrist responds and set his power projection numbers appropriately.

47) Jermaine Dye – this ranking is assuming he finds a starting job somewhere as he is currently still unsigned. Had a great first half hitting .302 with 20 home runs and 55 RBI before falling off the cliff the second half, batting a paltry .179 with only seven home runs and 26 RBI. Based on the splits, have to assume there was an injury that affected him the second half of the season.

48) Corey Hart – has not been able to improve on his numbers from 2007. Not a god sign when he is in the prime age to be having a breakout. Average and power has dropped two straight years against left-handed pitching. Couldn’t even count on him for stolen bases last year as he was successful just 65% of the time.

49) Colby Rasmus – needs to improve his plate discipline and average against left-handed pitching to take the next step up. Hit only .160 against southpaws in 106 at bats last year. First half was .278 with 46 runs, 11 home runs and 34 RBI. Second half was in the tank with a .206 average and five home runs in 204 at bats. I think the heel injury that began bothering him June affected him the second half of the season. Should be able to steal more bases as he had double digit steals every year in the minor leagues and an 81% success rate.

50) Nick Swisher – if you can handle the yearly variations in his batting average, the rest of the categories are pretty consistent year in and year out. Rebounded against left-handed pitching and his batting average came back up from 2008 level. Offers added flexibility by also qualifying at first base.

51) Cody Ross – underrated and picked after players with “the name”. If you removed all of the players names and looked at just the stats, I think a lot of owners would have him ranked higher on their fantasy baseball draft board.

52) Michael Bourn – don’t see how he has an ADP that puts him in the top 20 outfielders. Career minor league average of .285 but strikes out too much to get much higher than that in the majors. Improvement against left-handed pitching by almost 100 points helped keep his average up. In a mixed league draft, it becomes hard to own a player like Bourn for three reasons.

a. you should try to get five category players as much as possible. Especially in the first three rounds, this should be your focus. Concentrate on getting 40-50% of your stolen base goal in the first 3-4 rounds depending how many teams are in your league.

b. carrying a player like Bourn puts you at a disadvantage in home runs and RBI, putting you two categories behind other owners that are drafting a more balanced team. It also means you are relying on him for that one category and if he turns an ankle or injures a hamstring, you lose the value of his steals. A hitter than has power and steals, even if he stops running, at least you have the value of his power.

c. drafting Bourn weakens you at another position. If you take a player like Bourn in the 5th or 6th round which is what his current fantasy baseball ADP is, that means you are taking a weak hitter at another position where there is less depth. In a 23 round draft, your last few hitters taken are most likely a corner player, an outfielder or two, utility hitter and possibly a catcher. So if you planned on taking an outfielder in round 20 and say a third basemen in round 6, you might have ended up with say Aramis Ramirez and Brett Gardner who could get you 40 steals. Instead by taking Bourn that high, you end up with Bourn at OF and Edwin Encarnacion at 3B.

53) Nyjer Morgan – more batting average upside than Bourn as Morgan owns a .294 career minor league average and a .303 mark in the major leagues. Had 18 steals in 278 at bats with Pittsburgh and then ran wild after going to the Washington Nationals, stealing 24 bases in 191 at bats. His stolen base attempt rate has been one every 9.6 plate appearances in the major leagues with a 70% success rate. If we give him 600 plate appearances, then an estimate of around 45 steals sounds reasonable.

54) Rajai Davis -I have him penciled in for 450 at bats. The Oakland A’s outfield looks pretty crowded in addition to finding at bats for Jake Fox and top prospect Michael Taylor who will ready for major league action by mid-season possibly.

55) Julio Borbon – hit for average in college, in the minors and then once he got to the major leagues, .30o+ in every stop. I would expect similar numbers to Morgan, only difference is this will be Borbon’s first season as a full-time starter so there might be some growing pains.

56) Juan Rivera – pro-rate out his 2008 numbers to match 2009 at bats and the stat lines are pretty much the same. Made marked improvement against left-handed pitching, boosting his average by 100 points. Only negative is his past injury history.

57) Josh Willingham – started the year with limited at bats due to the crowded Nationals outfield. In the second half when given regular playing time, numbers returned to 2007 levels. Should be good for 500+ at bats in 2010.

58) Franklin Gutierrez – Seattle gave him a chance for full-time at bats and he responded. Power stat splits were even first half and second half of the season. After going only 5 for 10 in stolen base attempts in first half, he was a perfect 11 for 11 after the All-Star break.

59) Mike Cameron – decent power numbers late in the draft if you can afford to take the hit to your team batting average. Stolen bases fell to single digits last year. Now at age 37, will probably remain that way going forward.

60) Travis Snider – needs to improve his plate discipline and cut down on his strikeouts in order to make sure he hangs on to starting spot. Won the starting join in 2009, hit .242 and was sent back to Triple-A. Came back in August and was slightly worse, striking out in 37% of his at bats.

The FBT Fantasy Baseball Draft Guide is now available for purchase for just $9.99. You can view a sample here to see the template for the top 10 catchers and top 10 starting pitchers.

The Draft Guide includes the following:

Projections in Excel for 480 players using the standard 5 x 5 fantasy baseball categories
Cheat sheets already set up to be printed out
Expanded player rankings for all positions
Ages for all players as of opening day
Word / PDF document that explains how to use the projections and some tips for some neat things to do in Excel.
The first article that will be only available to subscribers (and not posted on the website) for “how to win your fantasy baseball draft league”. This is a seven page document with 3,500 words of fantasy baseball goodness based on my 20 years of playing in fantasy baseball leagues.
You will also receive weekly reports every Monday that feature updates to rankings and a new article all the way up to opening day.
Support for any questions you have in regards to Excel to ensure you get the most out of the data.

Order now to get the information you need to dominate the competition!!!

Next up in the series for the 2010 fantasy baseball rankings will be designate hitters / utility players.

2010 Fantasy Baseball Rankings – Outfield (Part II)

Posted by Todd Lammi on February 2nd, 2010

by Todd Lammi

Continuing the sixth report looking at the 2010 fantasy baseball rankings for outfielders, here is a look at spots 21 – 40. I have a few people ranked lower than their current ADP in Josh Hamilton (obvious possible downside there) and Ichiro Suzuki as mentioned in the previous article. I also have several players ranked a few spots higher than their current ADP in Denard Span, Jay Bruce and Nolan Reimold.

Let’s take a look at the 2010 fantasy baseball rankings for slots 21-40 to see how they shake out.

21) Alfonso Soriano – knee bothered him all season and accounted for the drop in stolen bases among other things. Stats were good in April with seven home runs and four stolen bases before the knee issue started in May. Reunited with hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo from Texas, so perhaps he gets his batting average back up.

22) Shane Victorino – solid consistent stats across the board as his 2009 line matched 2008 except for stolen bases. Those should be rebound a bit this year.

23) Josh Hamilton – injuries ruined his 2009 campaign limiting him to only 336 at bats. I would not expect a bounce back all the way to his 2008 numbers. Remember that his ‘08 season was driven by ridiculous first half numbers of 21 home runs and 95 RBI in only 377 at bats. In the second half of the season that year when the hot streak wore off, he was a more realistic 11 home runs and 35 RBI in 247 at bats.

24) Torii Hunter – a groin injury cut short what was turning in a career season for Hunter. Should be good for a 20-20 season in ‘10 with an average around .280

25) Hunter Pence – somewhat saved his season by hitting 12 home runs the last two months of the year. Has not been able to crack 80 runs scored or 85 RBI in any season in the Houston Astros lineup.

26) Ichiro Suzuki – spelled out my case for him yesterday. Average varies too much from year to year to automatically project him in the .350 range. Stolen bases could be held to same levels as 2009 if he bats second with the arrival of Chone Figgins.

27) Andrew McCutchen – it was quite a 2009 for McCutchen as upon arriving in the majors suddenly improved his power and his stolen base success rate from the minor leagues. Power was aided by a hot streak in August when he jacked eight home runs. The other three months of the season he managed to hit only four. Keep the power expectations around the same for 2010 with more stolen bases thrown in.

28) Nate McLouth – numbers were in line with the previous year when you factor in he had 100 less at bats. His 2008 batting average looks like an outlier as he been under .260 every other season.

29) Denard Span – Ichiro lite without the upside for batting average. Best thing is you can get him several rounds later than he should be going.

30) Jay Bruce – wrist injury limited him to 345 at bats, but still managed to deliver 20+ home runs. Average has not been pretty in the majors, but was .308 in the minor leagues so he has the chance to improve on that if he can improve his plate discipline. Made some gains in that department despite the smaller sample size by increasing his walk rate by three percentage points.

31) Alex Rios – a bad year all around turned even worse after being claimed by the Chicago White Sox on waivers. In 146 at bats with his new club, Rios managed to hit only .199. Have to chalk it up as one of those off years that players sometimes have (see Jason Bay 2007).

32) Raul Ibanez – was on fire the first half of the season before coming back down to earth in the second half. Hit just .232 with 12 home runs in 241 at bats after the All-Star break. Had a career year at age 37. Don’t expect a repeat in 2010.

33) Carlos Quentin – still has not had over 480 at bats in a full season after missing time with Plantar Fasciitis in foot last year and also missed time in 2007 with a bad hamstring and torn labrum. Power was tracking to 2008 numbers, but batting average regressed to years pre-2008. Career batting average now sits at .254.

34) Johnny Damon – spike in home runs driven by new home ballpark where he knocked out 17 of his 24 long balls. Still offers five category value which will be at a slightly lower level in a few categories depending where he signs.

35) Jason Kubel – gradual increases in playing time have led to upticks in stats the last two seasons. Inability to produce against left-handed pitching limits the upside to his numbers. Last season in 148 at bats, Kubel hit 2.43 with two home runs and 20 RBI against southpaws.

36) Adam Jones – had a big first off before tailing off after the All-Star break and an injury ended his season. Still needs to improve plate discipline to take the next step up in average.

37) Carlos Gonzalez – RBI total limited because 10 of his 13 home runs were solo shots. Like Jones, he still needs to work on plate discipline. Interesting though that his walk to strikeout ratio was the best when batting first, 13 to 24 vs. 15 to 46 in other spots in the batting order. Held his own against lefties, but with the depth of the Colorado Rockies, we will need to see if he plays full time against them in 2010.

38) Nolan Reimold – combine his Triple-A numbers and the Baltimore Orioles stats in 467 at bats and you get 70 runs, 24 home runs, 72 RBI and 14 steals. I think he will post a line similar to that in a full-time role this season. People want to discredit him as an older rookie but when you go to college and are advanced one level per year, you are going to hit the major leagues at the age of 25 or 26 so he is right on time in my eyes.

39) Brad Hawpe – four straight years of pretty similar numbers give or take a few stats. At bats always limited to around 500 as he sits against some left-handed pitching. Should be in line for more of the same in 2010 with the Rockies outfield depth.

40) Carlos Beltran – out at least the first month of the season after undergoing microfracture surgery on his knee and could be out even longer. Right now I have him down for 475 at bats. Should have a better guess as we get closer to the start of the season how his health is. If you are drafting now, I think this is the upside of his value.

The FBT Fantasy Baseball Draft Guide is now available for purchase for just $9.99. You can view a sample here to see the template for the top 10 catchers and top 10 starting pitchers.

The Draft Guide includes the following:

Projections in Excel for 480 players using the standard 5 x 5 fantasy baseball categories
Cheat sheets already set up to be printed out
Expanded player rankings for all positions
Ages for all players as of opening day
Word / PDF document that explains how to use the projections and some tips for some neat things to do in Excel.
The first article that will be only available to subscribers (and not posted on the website) for “how to win your fantasy baseball draft league”. This is a seven page document with 3,500 words of fantasy baseball goodness based on my 20 years of playing in fantasy baseball leagues.
You will also receive weekly reports every Monday that feature updates to rankings and a new article all the way up to opening day.
Support for any questions you have in regards to Excel to ensure you get the most out of the data.

Order now to get the information you need to dominate the competition!!!

Next up in the series for the 2010 fantasy baseball rankings will be outfielders 41-60.

2010 Fantasy Baseball Rankings – Outfield (Part I)

Posted by Todd Lammi on February 1st, 2010

by Todd Lammi

This is the sixth report in the series of our 2010 fantasy baseball rankings looking at the top 20 outfielders. Before I get a flood of emails from readers, I will tell you that Ichiro Suzuki is not in the list, so no, I did not miss him. I see a lot of people are drafting him high as he has a current fantasy baseball ADP of 42 and is the 10th outfielder being selected.

To me, he is one of those people that are drafted based on his name and not necessarily his value. I will shows you my projections for two players and you decide how much difference there is.

Player A 95 runs 8 home runs 65 RBI 24 steals .295 avg.

Player B 90 runs 7 home runs 46 RBI 29 steals .318 avg.

Player A is Denard Span who has an ADP of 123 and is currently going 81 picks after Ichiro, who is Player B.

With that said, let’s take a look at the 2010 fantasy baseball rankings to see where the players rank.

1) Ryan Braun – made small gains in plate discipline which was nice to see in his second year. Has roughly the same stats as Chase Utley, only difference is the position scarcity which puts Utley number four overall and Braun number five.

2) Matt Kemp – fell just short of the 30-30 club in 2009 and should be ready to break that barrier this year. Drove in over 100 runs despite batting seventh or eighth for 41% of his at bats.

3) Matt Holliday – when it was all said and done, put up similar stats to the year before in Colorado. Should continue to post stats long the same lines now back in the National League with St. Louis.

4) Jacoby Ellsbury – put in a nice sophomore season, stealing double figure bases every month except for August when he stole eight. Should score 100 runs or more every season in the Red Sox lineup. Has improved his stolen base percentage since reaching the major leagues, as he now as a career 85% success rate.

5) Carl Crawford – 2009 numbers returned to 2007 levels after injuries derailed his 2008 season. Went crazy on stolen bases in the first-half of the season with 44 bags, but only stole 16 after the All-Star break and was caught nine times.

6) Jason Bay – looks like he become more home run conscious last season as his strikeout rate went up almost seven percentage points. Showed he could handle playing in a big market environment. Now the question is whether he can handle the dimensions of Citi Field.

7) Justin Upton – turned in a 20-20 season at the age of 22. Much more patient at home than on the road with 37 walks compared to 18 in similar number of at bats. Still has power upside into the 30 home run range.

8.) Grady Sizemore – elbow and abdominal injuries wrecked his 2008 campaign. Still struggles to hit left-handed pitching, batting under .225 three of the past four years. Set your expectations against his 2006 season, with less runs and a lower batting average.

9) Jayson Werth – exploded at age 30 in his first season as a full-time starter. The at bats were the most he has had in a season since 2002, when he split time between Triple-A and the Toronto Blue Jays. Power should regress a little bit but the stolen bases should continue thanks to a 89% career success rate.

10) Nick Markakis – two straight seasons of declining stats in home runs and stolen bases, which is not the right direction to be trending when you are only 26 years old. Still has solid stats and has hit 40+ doubles the last three seasons so there may be a few more home runs lurking.

11) Adam Lind – turned in a monster power season with 46 doubles and 35 home runs. Stats were solid all around; every month of the season, home vs. road and lefty vs. right pitching.

12) Nelson Cruz – numbers would have been even better if not for an injury last season that kept him under 475 at bats. I have him ranked higher than his current fantasy baseball ADP so I think there is draft value here. Numbers were in line with his pro-rated line from the end of the 2008 season. Steals were an added bonus, but not out of the blue as he had 24 in ‘08 at Triple-A.

13) Curtis Granderson – will enjoy hitting in Yankees stadium for half of his games. Needs to improve against left-handed pitchers to get his batting average back up. Hit only .183 in 180 at bats with nine RBI against southpaws.

14) Andre Ethier – gradual increase in power the last two years although part of the jump in home runs was just due to more at bats. Average dropped as he had trouble with lefties, batting only .194 in 165 at bats.

15) Manny Ramirez – was on fire in April hitting .372 and then was suspended for PED use. Put up so-so numbers upon his return and hit 10 home runs in 231 after the All-Star break. Will be 38 in May so I would not count on a return to over 30 home runs again.

16) Adam Dunn – as consistent as they come in power with close to 40 home runs and 100+ RBI each season. You know his batting average is going to be in the .240 – .260 range so you will need to offset it with other people in your lineup. Offers the added bonus of qualifying at first base as well this season.

17) B.J. Upton – gave back the gains in his walk rate from 2008. Second straight year of almost 30 point drop in batting average. Went on a tear in June hitting .324 with five home runs, 22 RBI and 14 steals; then disappeared for the rest of the season. Stole 31 bases in 81 games and then managed to only swipe 11 after the All-Star break. Still have to hold out hope that he turns things around at age 25 and gets back to his 2007 numbers.

18) Carlos Lee – fifth straight season of 100+ RBI. Disappointing to see him score almost the same number of runs as 2008 despite an additional 188 plate appearances. A number that does not figure to get any better after losing Miguel Tejada from the lineup. The days of his double digit steals seem to be over.

19) Shin-Soo Choo – numbers in line with pro-rating his 2008 stats. Has the speed to go 20-20 for the next few seasons. Solid batting average and an overall ADP of 69 makes him a nice value in the fifth or sixth round.

20) Bobby Abreu – you have to love the consistency that Abreu brings to the table, driving in 100+ RBI in seven straight seasons and scoring no less than 96 runs during that time period. His lowest at bat total in the last 10 years was 546 back in 1999. Now at age 36, he still should be good for another couple of years.

The FBT Fantasy Baseball Draft Guide is now available for purchase for just $9.99. You can view a sample here to see the template for the top 10 catchers and top 10 starting pitchers.

The Draft Guide includes the following:

Projections in Excel for 480 players using the standard 5 x 5 fantasy baseball categories
Cheat sheets already set up to be printed out
Expanded player rankings for all positions
Ages for all players as of opening day
Word / PDF document that explains how to use the projections and some tips for some neat things to do in Excel.
The first article that will be only available to subscribers (and not posted on the website) for “how to win your fantasy baseball draft league”. This is a seven page document with 3,500 words of fantasy baseball goodness based on my 20 years of playing in fantasy baseball leagues.
You will also receive weekly reports every Monday that feature updates to rankings and a new article all the way up to opening day.
Support for any questions you have in regards to Excel to ensure you get the most out of the data.

Order now to get the information you need to dominate the competition!!!

Next up in the series for the 2010 fantasy baseball rankings will outfielders 21-40.

2010 Fantasy Baseball Rankings – Third Base

Posted by Todd Lammi on January 31st, 2010

by Todd Lammi

This is the fifth report in the series of our 2010 fantasy baseball rankings looking at the position of third base. Third base looks to be the shallowest position this season with a strong top tier of players and not many players with real upside potential later in the draft.

Keep in mind the additional flexibility offered by players like Pablo Sandoval, Jorge Cantu, Mark DeRosa, Chase Headley, Jhonny Peralta, Mark Teahen, Garrett Atkins and Jake Fox as they all qualify at two or more positions. If I have two players that are rated close together, I will usually give the nod to the player that qualifies at two positions to help manage my lineup during the season.

Let’s take a look at the 2010 fantasy baseball rankings to see where the value is.

1) Alex Rodriguez – the number three overall pick and locked in still as the number one third basemen. Did not start running until the second half of the season when he stole 11 of his 14 bases so he should steal closer to 20 bases in 2010.

2) Evan Longoria – reduced his strikeout rate by 3% in 2009. If he can make similar strides this season, the closer he gets to pushing his batting average toward .300. Should post low double digit steal totals this year.

3) David Wright – some people are still drafting him ahead of Longoria in fantasy baseball mock drafts this year which I think is a mistake. No one has been able to produce a solid reason for Wright’s huge drop in power going from 33 home runs to only 10 last season. Was lucky to hit over .300 with a huge 40% hit rate which was four percentage points higher than his career high. Never seemed to find his swing all season as he had a seven percentage point increase in his strikeout rate. It could have been the result of the New York Mets new ballpark and Wright changed his batting approach to accommodate and / or all of the injury issues the Mets faced and the disappointing season affected him as well. Either way, I think it is prudent not to assume an automatic return to his 2008 stats.

4) Mark Reynolds – his 2010 fantasy baseball ADP has varied, from the beginning to the end of the second round in mixed league drafts. No chance for upside in batting average when he strikes out in 39% of his at bats. His strikeout rate has slightly increased the last two seasons so there is downside to his numbers. If hits .239 again as he did in 2008, that costs you approximately two to three points off your team’s batting average which means you need to offset him with high average hitters at other positions if you want to finish in the top three in the batting average category.

5) Ryan Zimmerman – rebounded from his torn labrum in 2008 and put up numbers similar to his 2007 season. Would be nice if he returned to his stolen bases total from 2006 but that is quibbling. For now, enjoy the four category performance that he provides.

6) Pablo Sandoval – qualifies at first base or third base. Should be a .300 hitter for the next 10 years or so. Power came quicker than expected as he blasted 25 home runs and 44 doubles at age 23. Hit over .300 every month last season except for July when he hit .298.

7) Aramis Ramirez – I have him ranked very close to Sandoval, but you know that Ramirez will some time during the season. Since 2002, he has had over 550 at bats in only 3 of 7 years. Missed time with a dislocated shoulder last season but should be fine to start 2010.

8.) Chone Figgins – has steadily raised his walk rate the past few seasons, giving him more times on base and opportunity for stolen bases. One negative though is his stolen base success rate has been slowly dropping the last five years, from 79%, 77%, 77%, 72% to 71% last season.

9) Michael Young – power spike at age 32 brought him back to 2005 levels, so expect some regression in 2010. Puts up nice stats because he consistently gets 630+ at bats ever year except last season. As a career .302 hitter, he is a good asset for team batting average.

10) Gordon Beckham – will provide extra flexibility the second or fourth week in the season with his move to second base this year, depending on you fantasy baseball league rules. Spent a total of 233 at bats in the minor leagues before coming up to the Show. Average should trend up as he adjusts to major league pitching.

11) Ian Stewart – legit power but still struggles to make contact. Career minor league batting average of .293 but has come no where close to that in the majors. Upped his strikeout rate to a Mark Reynolds-esque 40% after the All-Star break. Still struggles to hit left-handed pitching, batting a meager .178 last season. Recent addition of Melvin More means there could be a platoon in the works.

12) Adrian Beltre – multiple injuries ruined his 2009 season and sapped him of his power. I would use his 2005 numbers as the baseline with a few more steals sprinkled in.

13) Alex Gordon – still waiting for him to live up to the expectations based on his minor league performance but so far it has not happened. Even though he was limited by injuries last season, it was nice to see that he kept his 2008 gains in his walk rate. With hype now suppressed, he is finally being drafted where he should have been in years past.

14) Jorge Cantu – even though power has fluctuated, RBI total has remained consistent and should continue to do so in 2010. Improved performance against left-handed pitching has helped to boost his batting average.

15) Chipper Jones – age is finally catching him up with. Project him for 425 at bats and consider anything more as gravy.

16) Kevin Kouzmanoff – should enjoy being away from Petco Park where he hit under .230 each of the last two seasons. Will be interesting to see if he is able to adjust to the Oakland A’s patient approach at the plate after never walking more than 32 times in a season in the major leagues.

17) Casey McGehee – moved into the starting lineup in June and never looked back. Not the greatest player defensively, but neither is top prospect Mat Gamel so McGehee should be good for 500+ at bats this season. Offers the added flexibility of also qualifying at second base.

18) Casey Blake – not a sexy pick and he is old, but still gets the job done every year. Should be solid once again in 2010 for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

19) Jhonny Peralta -what happened to the power? Turned into a ground ball machine last year and the home runs disappeared. Should bounce back a little bit but probably not all the way to 20 home runs again.

20) Chase Headley – hit more home runs at home, but batted almost 100 points less. Should be able to add a few more home runs as he continues to develop.

The FBT Fantasy Baseball Draft Guide is now available for purchase for just $9.99. You can view a sample here to see the template for the top 10 catchers and top 10 starting pitchers.

The Draft Guide includes the following:

Projections in Excel for 480 players using the standard 5 x 5 fantasy baseball categories
Cheat sheets already set up to be printed out
Expanded player rankings for all positions
Ages for all players as of opening day
Word / PDF document that explains how to use the projections and some tips for some neat things to do in Excel.
The first article that will be only available to subscribers (and not posted on the website) for “how to win your fantasy baseball draft league”. This is a seven page document with 3,500 words of fantasy baseball goodness based on my 20 years of playing in fantasy baseball leagues.
You will also receive weekly reports every Monday that feature updates to rankings and a new article all the way up to opening day.
Support for any questions you have in regards to Excel to ensure you get the most out of the data.

Order now to get the information you need to dominate the competition!!!

Next up in the series for the 2010 fantasy baseball rankings will be the top 20 outfielders.

2010 Fantasy Baseball Rankings – Shortstops

Posted by Todd Lammi on January 30th, 2010

by Todd Lammi

This is the fourth report in the series of our 2010 fantasy baseball rankings looking at the position of shortstop. If you miss out on one of the top tier shortstops early, your options in the middle to later in the draft will offer you the potential to pick up some players with stolen bases but not much power.

This position features quite a few question marks as we head into fantasy baseball draft season. Will Jose Reyes rebound from surgery and still be able to steal 50+ bases? Can J.J. Hardy bounce back in a new environment after being demoted to AAA last season? Does rookie Ian Desmond get the chance to start at shortstop or does he start the season in the minor leagues?

Those of some of the questions to consider as you prepare for key players to focus in on. Let’s take a look at the 2010 fantasy baseball rankings to see where the value is.

1) Hanley Ramirez – the number one shortstop and the number two pick overall in fantasy baseball drafts. The stolen bases are trending downward going from 50 to 35 to 27 the last three seasons but the five-category package at a hard position to fill solidifies his status as the second best player.

2) Jimmy Rollins – even in an off year he still went 21-77-31. He gets 670+ at bats every year and will score a ton of runs in the Philadelphia Phillies batting order. There had to something wrong with him the first half of the season that was never reported with the stat line he put up. The numbers then returned to normal after the All-Star break as he went 14-43-15.

3) Troy Tulowitzki – much like Aaron Hill, he bounced back after a subpar 2008 and put up stats similar to his 2007 numbers. His career 57% success rate stealing bases means he might not run as much going forward. His 20 steals last year were 13 higher than his previous best total

4) Jose Reyes – the boom or bust pick of the shortstop position. His current fantasy baseball ADP has him going at the middle-to-end of the second round making him a potential steal IF he returns to form, as he was a top 5 pick in fantasy baseball drafts in previous seasons. Coming back from surgery due to a torn tendon in his hamstring and he has had some hamstring issues in the past make him a risky pick. He will be worth watching closely in spring training to see how well he is running.

5) Derek Jeter – he must not have liked what he heard about his regressing defense after the 2008 season. His new workout in the off-season I think played a part in him boosting his offensive numbers, coupled with a new stadium that is kind to hitters. Still showing no sign of slowing down at age 35.

6) Alexei Ramirez – solid numbers across the board in his second season as he improved his plate discipline from 18 walks and 61 strikeouts to 49 and 66 in 62 more at bats.

7) Miguel Tejada – showed no signs of easing up at age 35 and even boosted his numbers last year, adding eight doubles, 20 more RBI and tacking on an additional 30 points in batting average. Age, coupled with moving back to the American East where the division is stacked with good pitching should give Tejada’s numbers a slight decrease across the board.

8.) Jason Bartlett – where did the power come from? Went from a single home run in 2008 to 14 last year. A change in the batting order helped to account for the increase in numbers. Hit lead-off 218 times, where he hit half of his home runs from after batting ninth in all of 2008.

9) Asdrubal Cabrera – provides added flexibility of qualifying at second base and shortstop. Look for continued growth in 2010; should be bumped up a few spots in dynasty leagues.

10) Elvis Andrus – wow, nice season as 21-year-old rookie where he put up similar numbers in both halves of the season. When doing fantasy baseball projections, it is important to keep in mind position in the batting order as noted with Bartlett above. If Andrus ends up hitting second like he did part of the year in 2009, 40 stolen bases is a good possibility.

11) Yunel Escobar – the second best hitter in the Atlanta Braves lineup. Much more consistent in all categories than the next two players after him on my 2010 fantasy baseball rankings.

12) Stephen Drew – struggled out the gate with an injury and never made up ground. His 2009 numbers look pretty much the same as 2007. When I hear the name Drew, I just think of missed at bats. Another player that gets drafted much higher than he should based on name and “potential”.

13) J.J. Hardy – there was no hot streak in 2009 to carry him like he had in 2008 and 2007. After spending the end of the of the season in the minor leagues and traded to the Minnesota Twins in the off-season, Hardy should see an improvement in numbers, especially if he gets slotted second in the batting order. Of some concern to note is his strikeout rate, which has crept up 7 percentage points over the last two years.

14) Everth Cabrera – quite a jump for Cabrera, going from a Rule-V pick that had never played above Single-A, to a solid shortstop for the San Diego Padres. Has some defensive issues but the team should let him work through them. An outside shot to lead all the shortstops in steals depending on the health of Reyes.

15) Alcides Escobar - handled himself quite well in 125 at bats with Milwaukee, batting .304 with four steals. No real power to speak of but should provide solid batting average and stolen bases in his first full season.

16) Rafael Furcal – another shortstop getting drafted much too high. His back surgery last July seems to have robbed him of his wheels. Without the 25+ steals, he is just another guy.

17) Marco Scutaro – not too often you see guys in their mid-30’s become full-time starters and parlay that into a nice payday. Should be good for another season of slightly reduced numbers now with the Boston Red Sox.

18) Erick Aybar – add up his numbers from 2007 and 2008 and presto, you have his 2009 year. He has decent speed, but unfortunately he has not learned to steal bases correctly yet, as evidenced by his 65% success rate in the minor leagues and 59% rate in the Show.

19) Ryan Theriot – no power, but he is nice to own if you are looking for stolen bases late in your fantasy baseball draft.

20) Orlando Cabrera – assuming he has a starting job.

The FBT Fantasy Baseball Draft Guide is now available for purchase for just $9.99. You can view a sample here to see the template for the top 10 catchers and top 10 starting pitchers.

The Draft Guide includes the following:

Projections in Excel for 480 players using the standard 5 x 5 fantasy baseball categories
Cheat sheets already set up to be printed out
Expanded player rankings for all positions
Ages for all players as of opening day
Word / PDF document that explains how to use the projections and some tips for some neat things to do in Excel.
The first article that will be only available to subscribers (and not posted on the website) for “how to win your fantasy baseball draft league”. This is a seven page document with 3,500 words of fantasy baseball goodness based on my 20 years of playing in fantasy baseball leagues.
You will also receive weekly reports every Monday that feature updates to rankings and a new article all the way up to opening day.
Support for any questions you have in regards to Excel to ensure you get the most out of the data.

Order now to get the information you need to dominate the competition!!!

Next up in the series for the 2010 fantasy baseball rankings will be third basemen.

2010 Fantasy Baseball Rankings – Second Base

Posted by Todd Lammi on January 29th, 2010

by Todd Lammi

This is the third report in the series of fantasy baseball rankings looking at the position of second base. In 2010, second base and third base seem to be two of the thinnest positions to draft from. After the top 10 second basemen are off the board, there are some questions associated with quite a few of the players from that point forward.

Your best bet is to make sure you have secured a second basemen early in your fantasy baseball draft and not be worried about looking through the waiver wire during the course of the season because your player has either lost his job or is under performing.

Let’s take a look at the 2010 fantasy baseball rankings to see how the position stacks up.

1) Chase Utley – it was another solid season for Utley in 2009 as he stole a career-high 23 stolen bases. ADP has him as high as number three and as low as seven so if you are picking after the middle of the first round, don’t expect to see him sliding to you.

2) Ian Kinsler – he was the only 30-30 player in all of baseball last season. Home runs took a big jump as he raised his fly ball percentage 11 points. Batting average and his propensity to get injured are the two things that have him teetering on the edge of a first round status in fantasy baseball drafts.

3) Brandon Phillips – a lock for a 20/20 season in 2010 and this is the year he should break 100 RBI for the first time in his career with an improved lineup around him.

4) Dustin Pedroia – I have him rated very close to Phillips. Pedroia offers more runs scored and a better chance for a .300 batting average compared to the extra power and a few more steals that Phillips brings to the table.

5) Brian Roberts – the stolen bases are dropping each year he gets older, going from 50 in 2007 to 40 in 2008 and 30 last fantasy baseball season. Still should be good for 25-30 for another season or two.

6) Ben Zobrist – took advantage of injuries last season and became of one of the hottest free agent pickups of the season. Provides the extra flexibility of qualifying in the outfield in the 2010 fantasy baseball season. The stolen bases are not a surprise as much because Tampa Bay is a running team. I would expect some regression in his power numbers. In 1,330+ minor league at bats, he had a total of 23 home runs.

7) Robinson Cano – his new stadium helps the power numbers as a left-handed hitter although his splits were close in 2009 with 14 home runs at home and 11 on the road. Was consistent every month last year, hitting at least .270+ with three or more home runs.

8.) Aaron Hill – turned in a magical age 27 fantasy baseball season last year, by more than doubling him home run output from 2007. Turned some of those 47 doubles from ‘07 into more home runs in ‘09. Don’t pay for 35+ home runs in 2010; project him for the 25-30 range and you will be much better off.

9) Dan Uggla – as consistent as they come at second base. You can annually pencil him in for 30 home runs and 90 RBI. Needs to improve against left-handed pitching to get his average back up, hitting in the low .200’s the previous two years against southpaws.

10) Jose Lopez – continued to grow last season as he bumped up his home run total for the third straight year. Second year of 40+ doubles and he increased his home run output by eight. He is a great value pick, going a full two rounds later than Uggla in fantasy baseball drafts.

11) Howie Kendrick - continues to tease fantasy baseball owners by putting up some nice stats in 375 at bats. Was sent to the minor leagues for a stretch last season but came back on fire, hitting .358 with six home runs and 36 RBI in only 165 at bats after the All-Star break. Always is drafted much higher than what his value really is.

12) Rickie Weeks – was off to a strong start before a wrist injury and surgery ended his 2009 season. Much like Kendrick, Weeks’ numbers look enticing if you project him out to 600 at bats, but injuries have held him back through his short career. Power usually suffers the following season after wrist injuries so don’t pro-rate out his 2009 numbers as a new home run level for him.

13) Kelly Johnson – great value pick because he will go after another 5-10 players on my fantasy baseball rankings based on current ADP numbers. Unfortunately too many fantasy baseball owners focus just on previous season’s numbers when forecasting stats and don’t look at a player’s body of work as a whole. Yes, he he had a rough year last season and eventually lost his job, thanks in part to some bad luck as evidenced by a nine percentage point drop in his hit rate last season. With the change of scenery to Arizona, look for him to return to his 2008 level.

14) Clint Barmes – doubled his home runs totals in 2009 as he swung for the fences. Strikeout rate has increased by a total of eight percentage points over the last two years as he looks for the long ball. Still should be good for another year of double digit home runs and stolen bases.

15) Placido Polanco – pretty stable numbers year-to-year which should continue with the high powered Philadelphia Phillies lineup. Will qualify at third base around the second to fourth week of the season depending on the position eligibility rules of your fantasy baseball league.

16) Scott Sizemore – heads into spring training as the starting second basemen for the Detroit Tigers. Should be good for double digit home runs and steals in his rookie season.

17) Martin Prado – qualifies at second base, shortstop and third base. Took over as the starting second basemen and never looked back last year. Nice to have as a middle infielder to support batting average. Prado holds a career batting avergae of .300 in the minor leagues and .307 in the Show.

18) Mark Ellis – should be able to reach double-digit home runs and steals assuming he can muster 450 at bats. In the last year of his contract with a club option for next season, there is a chance he could be dealt at the trade deadline if Oakland is out of the race.

19) Orlando Hudson – currently a free agent but should have a starting job by the time spring training starts. Does not stand out in any one category but is pretty solid across the board

20) Felipe Lopez – see Orlando Hudson

The FBT Fantasy Baseball Draft Guide is now available for purchase for just $9.99. You can view a sample here to see the template for the top 10 catchers and top 10 starting pitchers.

The Draft Guide includes the following:

Projections in Excel for 480 players using the standard 5 x 5 fantasy baseball categories
Cheat sheets already set up to be printed out
Expanded player rankings for all positions
Ages for all players as of opening day
Word / PDF document that explains how to use the projections and some tips for some neat things to do in Excel.
The first article that will be only available to subscribers (and not posted on the website) for “how to win your fantasy baseball draft league”. This is a seven page document with 3,500 words of fantasy baseball goodness based on my 20 years of playing in fantasy baseball leagues.
You will also receive weekly reports every Monday that feature updates to rankings and a new article all the way up to opening day.
Support for any questions you have in regards to Excel to ensure you get the most out of the data.

Order now to get the information you need to dominate the competition!!!

Next up in the series for 2010 fantasy baseball rankings will be shortstops.

2010 Fantasy Baseball Rankings – First Base

Posted by Todd Lammi on January 27th, 2010

by Todd Lammi

This is the second in our series of fantasy baseball rankings looking at the position of first base. There is some good depth at this position with the added flexibility of guys like Victor Martinez, Kevin Youkilis, Pablo Sandoval, Jorge Cantu and Garrett Jones.

There are really two clusters or tiers of players in the first six rounds or so of mixed league drafts. The key will be picking out the player that performs above the others in that group to give you the best chance of winning your fantasy baseball league.

With that said, let’s take a look at the 2010 fantasy baseball rankings for first base in 2010.

1) Albert Pujols – owners that picked Pujols first last season got an extra bonus with an additional 10 home runs and nine stolen bases compared to the previous year. Pujols has been chosen as the number one pick in all 33 NFBC scoring fantasy baseball drafts at Mock Draft Central so far this year.

2) Ryan Howard – this is great in two cases for people picking at the end of the first round in fantasy baseball drafts. One is you will most likely get the chance to draft Howard if you want him, as the current ADP has him as the fifth first basemen. Secondly, if you get him, you are getting a player with more value than the players drafted in front of him.

3) Mark Teixeira – should put up similar numbers to 2009 as he enjoyed the benefit of the new Yankees’ stadium, hitting 24 home runs vs. 15 on the road and a healthy Alex Rodriguez in the lineup for the entire season.

4) Prince Fielder – had a monster 2009 season that puts him in the first round of fantasy baseball drafts this season. Has not been distracted by his big potential pay day looming after 2011 or the possibility of the Milwaukee Brewers potentially trading him this season or next.

5) Miguel Cabrera – he turns the fantasy baseball magical age of 27 in April. Whether he continues his consistent numbers of years past is in some question after recently admitting to undergoing alcohol abuse treatment.

6) Lance Berkman – Berkman is much in the same boat as Howard. Berkman’s ADP is lower than several players below him, yet I expect him to have more value. People are discounting Berkman because of his injury and age, but he is one of the few first baseman than can get you .300-90-30-100-10 and last year was his first year on the disabled list since 2005.

7) Joey Votto – lots of people are on the Votto bandwagon this season as his current ADP has him as the 6th best first basemen and going in the second round in most mixed league fantasy baseball drafts. The only problem with owners picking him as high as the second round means people are projecting him at around .290-30-100-8 which is somewhat of a leap of faith. If he falls short of those numbers, you have now lost in terms of value with your pick in the second round.

8.) Kevin Youkilis – offers the added flexibility of qualifying at third base in 2010. I have him ranked just ahead of Justin Morneau due to the injury concerns and the fact Youkilis hits in a better lineup.

9) Justin Morneau – carries a little risk coming off two injuries that can affect power hitters, with wrist surgery and a stress fracture in his vertebrae occurring at the end of the season.

10) Adrian Gonzalez – had 64 less at bats last season due to a huge increase in walks and still managed to hit more home runs. Only negatives are the lineup he plays in limits his RBI total and he has hit over .300 only one time in his career. He gets a bump in value once / if he is traded by the San Diego Padres. Gonzalez hit 28 home runs on the road last season and only 12 at home.

11) Carlos Pena – depends on how bad you want the power and if your team can absorb the batting average when choosing between Pena and Kendry Morales. Hurt by a 44 point drop in batting average against right-handed pitching last year. Expect a slight rebound and that his overall batting average is back in the .240 range.

12) Kendry Morales – had a fantasy baseball breakout year in 2009, finally get a full season of at bats. If you are a big believer in second-half stats providing growth for the following year, go the extra dollar on him in an auction format. Morales hit .330 after the break vs. 284 with four more home runs and 10 more RBI in 32 less at bats.

13) Derrek Lee - entered the time machine and went back to his 2005 levels in 2009. Now at age 34, don’t expect a repeat this year, there will be some regression likely. Take note that although the power came back, the stolen bases did not so keep the projections realistic.

14) Billy Butler – it seems like he has been around for quite a few years without fulfilling the high expectations from his minor league numbers, but the fact is he turns just 24 in April of this year. Turned up the power in a big way in 2009 with 21 home runs and 51 doubles!. If you have played fantasy baseball before, you know that eventually some of those doubles will turn into home runs as he continues to fill out. This might be the last year you can get him cheap.

15) James Loney – improved at the plate in 2009, taking an additional 25 walks while cutting his strikeouts by 17. But unless your fantasy baseball league uses on base percentage as a category, he isn’t as valuable. His 15 home runs in only 344 at bats in 2007 are now the outlier.

16) Paul Konerko – another fork in the road during the fantasy baseball draft, whether you want Konerko, Chris Davis or Adam LaRoche who I have grouped in the same tier. Approaching his mid 30’s now, you pretty much know what you are going to get with Konerko. His 2009 stats were in line with his 2007 numbers.

17) Chris Davis – really depends on how much risk you like to take in your fantasy baseball drafts whether you want to roll the dice on him. People that want him will look at his 93 at bats in September when he hit .290 after his demotion to the minor leagues. People that stay away will look at his 38% strikeout rate and say there is no way he keeps a job. The power is legit; whether he can hold on to the job is another question, especially with top prospect Justin Smoak already in AAA.

18) Adam LaRoche – you can pencil him in for 70 runs scored, 25 home runs and 85 RBI every year it seems. If you draft him, understand the history. He is a slow starter and puts up much better numbers in the second half every season. If you own him, don’t dump him cheap at the All-Star break.

19) Todd Helton – was able to control his back condition last season and got 544 at bats. Still carries a little bit of risk to miss time, but is a decent corner infielder to own to help boost your fantasy baseball team’s batting average.

20) Aubrey Huff – should be good for 15-20 home runs and 80+ RBI as the clean up hitter for the San Francisco Giants.

The FBT Fantasy Baseball Draft Guide is now available for purchase for just $9.99. You can view a sample here to see the template for the top 10 catchers and top 10 starting pitchers.

The Draft Guide includes the following:

Projections in Excel for 480 players using the standard 5 x 5 fantasy baseball categories
Cheat sheets already set up to be printed out
Expanded player rankings for all positions
Ages for all players as of opening day
Word / PDF document that explains how to use the projections and some tips for some neat things to do in Excel.
The first article that will be only available to subscribers (and not posted on the website) for “how to win your fantasy baseball draft league”. This is a seven page document with 3,500 words of fantasy baseball goodness based on my 20 years of playing in fantasy baseball leagues.
You will also receive weekly reports every Monday that feature updates to rankings and a new article all the way up to opening day.
Support for any questions you have in regards to Excel to ensure you get the most out of the data.

Order now to get the information you need to dominate the competition!!!

Next up in the series for 2010 fantasy baseball rankings will be second basemen.

2010 Fantasy Baseball Rankings – Catchers

Posted by Todd Lammi on January 26th, 2010

by Todd Lammi

This is the first series of our fantasy baseball rankings looking at the position of catcher. If you are playing in a mixed fantasy baseball league that only has one catcher spot, it is okay to wait toward the latter part of a draft or auction because there is some depth down to around 15 catchers or so. If, however, you are playing in a league that requires two catchers, or in an American League or National League only league, I would try to acquire good catchers rather than tanking the position with a lower stat player.

The reason being, during the fantasy baseball season, there are hardly ever rookie catchers that come up to the major leagues that are going to make an impact to your team that you could claim as a free agent. There are a lot more options at other positions where you will be able to claim free agents to improve your roster. Having a better catcher than the rest of the owners in your league gives you an advantage at that position, plus you will have the chance to improve your roster more at other positions through free agency.

The only caveat I will mention in mixed leagues with two catchers is how high do you want to draft a catcher. The only risk with drafting a catcher is the nicks and bumps they get throughout the season, catching for 150+ games, taking pitches off their body and collisions at home plate. While injuries can happen to any player, there is a better chance that catchers end up being a little more banged up throughout the season. A case in point is Geovany Soto last season, who put up about half the numbers most owners were expecting from him. In most leagues he was drafted in rounds 7-10 depending on the size of your fantasy baseball league, but in reality his value earned placed him in rounds 15-20.

With all that said, let’s take a look at the 2010 fantasy baseball rankings for catchers.

1) Joe Mauer – he will be overrated this year. Yes, he is the best catcher so it may be heard to call him overrated, but he is going the first round in fantasy baseball drafts this year which is way too high. He had a magical year in 2009 hitting 19 more home runs that the previous season. I have to believe there is some power regression coming, down to the 20 home run range or possibly even lower.

2) Victor Martinez – the second best catcher and really not that far away from Joe Mauer, outside of the batting average. Martinez offers the added flexibility of being eligible at first base as well.

3) Brian McCann – would be neck and neck with Martinez if he played in the American League where his runs scored would be higher, but McCann is a solid number three catcher, ahead of the next tier of fantasy baseball catchers.

4) Matt Wieters – I have the next five of six catchers grouped really close to each other in Tier 4, but have Wieters on top for now based on his youth and upside. Probably is one year away from making the jump up to McCann’s level.

5) Jorge Posada – bounced back nicely from his injured 2008 season. Now 39, he has been amazingly consistent for the past 10 seasons, hitting 20 or more home runs every season outside of his injury year in 2008 and 2005 when he hit 19.

6) Geovany Soto – has lost 40 pounds in the off-season and should be ready to bounce back from his disappointing 2009 year. Despite the low batting average, if you project his at bats out to his 2008 totals, he still would have hit roughly 16 home runs and 71 RBI last year.

7) Miguel Montero – Montero was the fantasy baseball breakout at catcher in 2009. With Chris Snyder possibly being traded out of Arizona, Montero should see 500+ at bats this season.

8.) Russell Martin – there once was a catcher named Jason Kendall that used to be pretty good back in the day. At the age of 26, Kendall hit .320 with 14 home runs, 58 RBI and 22 stolen bases. After that season, Kendall’s stolen bases fell off to 13, 15, 8, 11, 8, 11. Martin looks like he may be on the same arc as Kendall’s, with two seasons of declining numbers in home runs and stolen bases. I think Martin is the fantasy baseball catcher of 2010 with the most upside / downside depending where is he drafted. His current ADP (average draft position) is the 10th round in a 15-team mixed fantasy baseball league draft.

9) Kurt Suzuki – had solid improvement year-over-year, doubling his home run and RBI total in only 40 more at bats. He turned on the power after the All-Star break, hitting 10 home runs in 263 at bats. Could see more RBI in 2010 depending where he hits in the lineup. In 2009, he had over 100 at bats hitting second, third, fifth and sixth.

10) Bengie Molina – I have him 10th in my fantasy baseball rankings for now, as it looks like he will get the majority of at bats for the San Francisco Giants, pushing Buster Posey to AAA to start the season or to a backup with the major league team. Watch the situation in spring training for word from the Giants on where Posey will play. If they carry Posey on the big league club, I would think he would get maybe two starts per week which would cut 100 at bats from Molina’s stats from the season.

11) Mike Napoli – solid power, but limited at bats keeps his value in the middle of the fantasy baseball rankings at catcher. Got some extra bats (62) at DH last year with Vladimir Guerrero sidelined due to injury. Thanks to defensive issues, he will still share time with Jeff Mathis at catcher so project 325 at bats for Napoli at the high end this season.

12) Ryan Doumit - another injury filled season for Doumit in 2009 as he put up stats similar to 2007 in comparable at bats. Will be 29 in April and only has one major league season of more than 400 at bats. Has the ability to put up good power numbers when healthy. The downside is the injury risk and the potential of being traded, as Doumit’s name was floated in trade talk during the winter.

13) A.J. Pierzynski – the most consistent fantasy baseball catcher you will find every season with little deviation in his numbers. He is in his final year of his contract and with prospect Tyler Flowers knocking on the door, there is an off chance A.J. could be traded during the season if the Chicago White Sox fall out of the race, so AL only owners take note.

14) Chris Iannetta – good power numbers in limited at bats, but the batting average takes a toll on your team numbers. Shared time with Yorvit Torrealba last season and could be in for more of the same with the recently signed Miguel Olivo so keep the at bat projections realistic.

15) Yadier Molina – continues to show gradual improvement at the plate and even threw in nine steals last season. A nice pick as a number two catcher for the batting average support. Upside is .300 with 10 home runs and 10 steals.

16) Carlos Ruiz – similar stats to what he produced in 2007. With the recent three-year contract extension and the trade of top prospect Lou Marson to Cleveland for Cliff Lee last year, Ruiz is locked in as the starter.

17) John Baker – I had Baker on my watch list last year and he came up with solid numbers in his first year as starter for the Florida Marlins. The platoon with Ronny Paulino keeps his limit to around 375 at bats so expect similar type fantasy baseball stats in 2010.

18) Nick Hundley – missed seven weeks last year due to injury which limited his at bats in 2009. If the San Diego Padres give him 400+ at bats this season, Hundley could hit 10-12 home runs with 45-50 RBI. The downside is the batting average which might be around .240.

19) Kelly Shoppach – lots of strikeouts, lots of power when he connects. Should see the majority of at bats ahead of Dioner Navarro for the Tampa Bay Rays.

20) Ramon Hernandez – a disappointing season in his first year in Cincinnati, but he has a full-time job and qualifies also at first base so things should be slightly better in 2010.

The FBT Fantasy Baseball Draft Guide is now available for purchase for just $9.99. You can view a sample here to see the template for the top 10 catchers and top 10 starting pitchers.

The Draft Guide includes the following:

Projections in Excel for 480 players using the standard 5 x 5 fantasy baseball categories
Cheat sheets already set up to be printed out
Expanded player rankings for all positions
Ages for all players as of opening day
Word / PDF document that explains how to use the projections and some tips for some neat things to do in Excel.
The first article that will be only available to subscribers (and not posted on the website) for “how to win your fantasy baseball draft league”. This is a seven page document with 3,500 words of fantasy baseball goodness based on my 20 years of playing in fantasy baseball leagues.
You will also receive weekly reports every Monday that feature updates to rankings and a new article all the way up to opening day.
Support for any questions you have in regards to Excel to ensure you get the most out of the data.

Order now to get the information you need to dominate the competition!!!

Next up in the series for 2010 fantasy baseball rankings will be first basemen.

Fantasy Baseball 2010 – Multiposition Eligibility

Posted by Todd Lammi on January 25th, 2010

by Todd Lammi

Here is a list of all the Fantasy Baseball 2010 players with multiposition eligibility. This list is especially helpful for a number of reasons.

1) Players with multiposition eligibility have a little more value than a player at one position when comparing similar stats. For example, you may have Pablo Sandoval and Joey Votto in the same tier at first base, but the flexibility of having a guy that can play two positions slots Sandoval ahead of Votto then.

This becomes more critical playing in a one year league where injuries always happen. It also gives you more flexibility when grabbing a player from the free agent list the more ability you have to shift your lineup around to get your best counting stats in the lineup.

2) Players with multiposition ability have a better chance of getting playing time. This becomes important in larger leagues, 15-20 teams, or AL or NL only leagues. The ability of Omar Infante to to play three positions means he can get 300-400 at bats this year as a reserve, and he is someone that you can grab late or cheaper in an NL draft or auction league.

3) Multiposition players are a great source of end game picks in an auction format for AL or NL only leagues. Finding a player for $1 or $2 that can get you 300 to 400 at bats in a only league is of great value. If miss out on a position, say shortstop and you are scrambling for a player at the end of an auction, knowing you have three to five options available to choose from is better than knowing only the shortstop qualified players which might leave you stuck with a hitter that gets only 50 to 100 at bats.

Below is a list of all the Fantasy Baseball 2010 players that qualify at more than position, based on 10 games and 20 games.

Name	10 games	20 games
Garrett Atkins	1B, 3B	1B, 3B
Willy Aybar	1B, 2B, 3B	1B, 2B
Jeff Baker	2B, 3B	2B, 3B
Clint Barmes	2B, SS	2B
Jose Bautista	3B, OF	3B, OF
Ronnie Belliard	1B, 2B, 3B	2B
Andres Blanco	2B, SS	2B
Willie Bloomquist	2B, SS, OF	SS, OF
Emilio Bonifacio	SS, 3B, OF	SS, 3B
Asdrubal Cabrera	2B, SS	2B, SS
Jorge Cantu	1B, 3B	1B, 3B
Jamey Carroll	2B, SS, OF	2B, SS
Juan Castro	2B, SS	2B, SS
Alex Cora	2B, SS	SS
Chris Coste	C, 1B	C
Craig Counsell	2B, SS, 3B	2B, SS, 3B
Bobby Crosby	1B, 3B	1B, 3B
Michael Cuddyer	1B, OF	1B, OF
Mark DeRosa	1B, 3B, OF	3B, OF
Greg Dobbs	3B, OF	none
Adam Dunn	1B, OF	1B, OF
Darin Erstad	1B, OF	OF
Josh Fields	1B, 3B	3B
Mike Fontenot	2B, 3B	2B, 3B
Jake Fox	3B, OF	3B, OF
Alberto Gonzalez	2B, SS	2B, SS
Khalil Greene	SS, 3B	3B
Jerry Hairston	2B, SS, 3B, OF	SS, 3B, OF
Bill Hall	3B, OF	3B, OF
Jack Hannahan	1B, 3B	3B
Brendan Harris	2B, SS, 3B	SS, 3B
Willie Harris	2B, OF	OF
Chase Headley	3B, OF	3B, OF
Anderson Hernandez	2B, SS	2B, SS
Ramon Hernandez	C, 1B	C, 1B
Micah Hoffpauir	1B, OF	1B, OF
Omar Infante	2B, SS, 3B, OF	2B
Maicer Izturis	2B, SS	2B, SS
Garrett Jones	1B, OF	1B, OF
Adam Kennedy	2B, 3B	2B, 3B
Jeff Keppinger	2B, SS, 3B	2B, 3B
Mark Kotsay	1B, OF	1B, OF
Jose Lopez	1B, 2B	2B
Mark Loretta	1B, 3B	3B
Julio Lugo	2B, SS	2B, SS
Victor Martinez	C, 1B	C, 1B
Casey McGehee	2B, 3B	2B, 3B
Daniel Murphy	1B, OF	1B, OF
Jayson Nix	2B, SS, 3B	2B
Augie Ojeda	2B, SS, 3B	2B, SS, 3B
Ramiro Pena	SS, 3B	SS, 3B
Jhonny Peralta	SS, 3B	SS, 3B
Martin Prado	1B, 2B, 3B	1B, 2B, 3B
Nick Punto	2B, SS	2B, SS
Robb Quinlan	1B, OF	OF
Mark Reynolds	1B, 3B	1B, 3B
Ryan Roberts	2B, 3B, OF	2B
Luis Rodriguez	2B, SS	2B, SS
Brendan Ryan	2B, SS	SS
Pablo Sandoval	1B, 3B	1B, 3B
Ramon Santiago	2B, SS	2B, SS
Skip Schumaker	2B, OF	2B, OF
Ian Stewart	2B, 3B	2B, 3B
Nick Swisher	1B, OF	1B, OF
Fernando Tatis	1B, 3B, OF	1B, 3B, OF
Mark Teahan	1B, 3B, OF	3B, OF
Joe Thurston	2B, 3B	2B, 3B
Matt Tolbert	2B, 3B	2B, 3B
Juan Uribe	2B, SS, 3B	2B, SS, 3B
Luis Valbuena	2B, SS	2B, SS
Ramon Vazquez	2B, SS, 3B	2B, SS
Eugenio Velez	2B, OF	2B, OF
Omar Vizquel	2B, SS, 3B	SS, 3B
Ty Wigginton	1B, 3B	1B, 3B
Kevin Youkilis	1B, 3B	1B, 3B
Delwyn Young	2B, OF	2B, OF
Ben Zorbist	2B, OF	2B, OF

The FBT Fantasy Baseball Draft Guide is now available for purchase for just $9.99. You can view a sample here to see the template for the top 10 catchers and top 10 starting pitchers.

The Draft Guide includes the following:

Projections in Excel for 480 players using the standard 5 x 5 fantasy baseball categories
Cheat sheets already set up to be printed out
Expanded player rankings for all positions
Ages for all players as of opening day
Word / PDF document that explains how to use the projections and some tips for some neat things to do in Excel.
The first article that will be only available to subscribers (and not posted on the website) for “how to win your fantasy baseball draft league”. This is a seven page document with 3,500 words of fantasy baseball goodness based on my 20 years of playing in fantasy baseball leagues.
You will also receive weekly reports every Monday that feature updates to rankings and a new article all the way up to opening day.
Support for any questions you have in regards to Excel to ensure you get the most out of the data.

Order now to get the information you need to dominate the competition!!!

Coming next in the Fantasy Baseball 2010 series will be a look at the fantasy baseball rankings by position for 2010.

Fantasy Baseball – May Pitcher Rankings

Posted by Todd Lammi on June 2nd, 2009

by Todd Lammi

Instead of using some complicated formula to review May statistics, here is a breakdown of the numbers for the month sorted by category, for pitchers.

# PLAYER TEAM IP
1 Roy Halladay TOR 46
1 Zack Greinke KAN 46
3 CC Sabathia NYY 45.2
4 Carl Pavano CLE 45
5 Jered Weaver LAA 43
5 Johnny Cueto CIN 43
7 Adam Wainwright STL 42.2
8 Jason Marquis COL 42.1
8 Mark Buehrle CHW 42.1
8 Jake Peavy SDG 42.1
8 Edwin Jackson DET 42.1
8 Zach Duke PIT 42.1
13 Cliff Lee CLE 42
14 Justin Verlander DET 41.1
15 Derek Lowe ATL 40.2
15 Ted Lilly CHC 40.2
15 Matt Garza TAM 40.2
15 Ubaldo Jimenez COL 40.2
19 Barry Zito SFO 40.1
19 Matt Cain SFO 40.1

# PLAYER TEAM SO
1 Justin Verlander DET 56
2 Jake Peavy SDG 52
3 Javier Vazquez ATL 44
3 Zack Greinke KAN 44
5 Johan Santana NYM 42
5 Chad Billingsley LAD 42
7 Jon Lester BOS 41
7 Tim Lincecum SFO 41
9 Aaron Harang CIN 40
10 J. Zimmermann WAS 39
11 CC Sabathia NYY 37
11 Jorge De La Rosa COL 37
11 Max Scherzer ARI 37
14 Roy Halladay TOR 36
14 Ted Lilly CHC 36
14 Edwin Jackson DET 36
14 Felix Hernandez SEA 36
17 Dan Haren ARI 35
17 Cole Hamels PHI 35
17 Wandy Rodriguez HOU 35
17 James Shields TAM 35

# PLAYER TEAM Wins
1 Carl Pavano CLE 5
1 Justin Verlander DET 5
1 Rick Porcello DET 5
1 Tim Wakefield BOS 5
5 Derek Lowe ATL 4
5 Roy Halladay TOR 4
5 Ted Lilly CHC 4
5 Johan Santana NYM 4
5 Jason Marquis COL 4
5 Bronson Arroyo CIN 4
5 CC Sabathia NYY 4
5 Todd Wellemeyer STL 4
5 Edwin Jackson DET 4
5 John Maine NYM 4
5 Matt Cain SFO 4
5 Kevin Slowey MIN 4
5 Matt Palmer LAA 4
5 Randy Johnson SFO 4
19 Andy Pettitte NYY 3
19 Livan Hernandez NYM 3

# Player Team WHIP
1 Jake Peavy SDG 0.87
2 Justin Verlander DET 0.90
3 Zack Greinke KC 0.91
4 Johnny Cueto CIN 0.95
4 Jered Weaver LAA 0.95
6 CC Sabathia NYY 0.96
7 Scott Feldman TEX 1.01
8 Roy Halladay TOR 1.04
8 Edwin Jackson DET 1.04
8 Josh Outman OAK 1.04
11 Mark Buehrle CHW 1.06
11 Dan Haren ARI 1.06
11 Rick Porcello DET 1.06
14 Ted Lilly CHC 1.08
14 Brian Tallet TOR 1.08
16 Matt Palmer LAA 1.10
16 Javier Vazquez ATL 1.10
18 Scott Baker MIN 1.11
18 Zach Duke PIT 1.11
20 Tim Lincecum SFO 1.12

# Player Team ERA
1 Rick Porcello DET 1.50
2 Justin Verlander DET 1.52
3 Zack Greinke KC 1.57
4 Roy Halladay TOR 1.76
5 Jake Peavy SDG 2.13
6 Jered Weaver LAA 2.30
7 Edwin Jackson DET 2.34
8 Randy Wolf LAD 2.35
9 Josh Beckett BOS 2.38
10 Johan Santana NYM 2.43
11 Matt Cain SF 2.45
11 Josh Outman OAK 2.45
13 Mark Buehrle CHW 2.55
14 CC Sabathia NYY 2.56
15 Clayton Kershaw LAD 2.57
15 Cliff Lee CLE 2.57
17 Scott Feldman TEX 2.70
17 Livan Hernandez NYM 2.70
19 Johnny Cueto CIN 2.72
19 Josh Johnson FLA 2.72

RK PLAYER TEAM SV SO
1 Heath Bell SDG 15 26
2 F. Cordero CIN 14 22
2 F. Rodriguez NYM 14 27
4 Trevor Hoffman MIL 13 14
4 Ryan Franklin STL 13 16
4 Brian Fuentes LAA 13 19
4 Brad Lidge PHI 13 26
4 J. Papelbon BOS 13 28
9 Bobby Jenks CHW 12 15
9 Chad Qualls ARI 12 23
9 Matt Capps PIT 12 12
9 Brian Wilson SFO 12 23
13 Mariano Rivera NYY 11 26
13 Frank Francisco TEX 11 19
13 George Sherrill BAL 11 21
13 Jonathan Broxton LAD 11 39
17 Joe Nathan MIN 10 22
17 Fernando Rodney DET 10 17
17 Matt Lindstrom FLA 10 22
20 Kerry Wood CLE 8 21

Fantasy Baseball – May Outfield Rankings

Posted by Todd Lammi on June 2nd, 2009

by Todd Lammi

Instead of using some complicated formula to review May statistics, here is a breakdown of the numbers for the month sorted by RBI, for outfielders.

Who needs Manny Ramirez? Juan Pierre was 12th among outfielders with 18 RBI in the month of May. Gerardo Parra (#23) seems to have successfully made the jump from AA to the major leagues with little problems. Although he does not have much power, think 10 home runs to 15 home runs max, he will hit close to .300 and drive in runs. Carl Crawford put up staggering numbers in May, with .355-28-3-15-21.

Nick Swisher has slowed down after his big April, with a line of .150-9-3-10-0 in May. Daniel Murphy has not been able to take advantage of the absence of Carlos Delgado, posting .176-8-3-10-0. Jordan Schafer was ticketed for Triple-A after going .158-8-0-5-1 with 40 strikeouts in 101 at bats. Dexter Fowler has struggled the second and third time around the league as pitchers adjusted, going .237-10-0-3-2.

RK	PLAYER	TEAM	AB	BA	R	HR	RBI	SB
1	Jason Bay	BOS	106	0.264	19	10	30	3
2	Raul Ibanez	PHI	109	0.312	20	10	29	1
3	Adam Dunn	WAS	107	0.243	16	10	27	0
	M. Cuddyer	MIN	109	0.312	23	8	26	2
4	Torii Hunter	LAA	102	0.304	18	4	26	9
6	Brad Hawpe	COL	83	0.361	14	5	23	0
	Jermaine Dye	CHW	88	0.261	20	7	21	0
	Justin Upton	ARI	110	0.373	25	7	21	5
7	Johnny Damon	NYY	115	0.304	25	6	21	2
	Shin-Soo Choo	CLE	106	0.311	18	4	21	1
11	Nelson Cruz	TEX	103	0.311	19	8	19	7
	Adam Jones	BAL	105	0.333	16	7	18	3
	Nate McLouth	PIT	106	0.255	15	5	18	5
	Nick Markakis	BAL	121	0.240	15	5	18	1
12	Juan Pierre	LAD	111	0.369	23	0	18	9
	Jay Bruce	CIN	113	0.212	17	9	17	2
	Carlos Beltran	NYM	96	0.323	21	4	17	6
16	Jose Guillen	KAN	97	0.289	9	2	17	0
19	Jayson Werth	PHI	101	0.248	19	6	16	7
	Matt Holliday	OAK	103	0.291	18	5	16	4
	Ben Zobrist	TAM	80	0.313	14	4	16	4
	Ryan Braun	MIL	92	0.315	21	4	16	1
	Gerardo Parra	ARI	69	0.319	10	1	16	0
	C. Granderson	DET	111	0.270	19	6	15	6
	Colby Rasmus	STL	85	0.212	7	5	15	0
24	Gary Sheffield	NYM	66	0.348	21	4	15	2
	Carl Crawford	TAM	121	0.355	28	3	15	21
	G. Anderson	ATL	84	0.286	6	1	15	0
29	Josh Hamilton	TEX	59	0.237	12	4	14	0
	Cody Ross	FLA	94	0.287	16	4	14	2
	Reed Johnson	CHC	41	0.366	11	3	14	1
	Matt Kemp	LAD	113	0.292	16	3	14	7
	Alex Rios	TOR	116	0.302	16	5	13	2
	J.D. Drew	BOS	89	0.258	17	4	13	0
	Juan Rivera	LAA	91	0.319	11	4	13	0
	Aaron Rowand	SFO	106	0.283	16	3	13	2
	G. Sizemore	CLE	114	0.211	13	3	13	3
	R. Spilborghs	COL	83	0.241	13	3	13	4
	Ben Francisco	CLE	95	0.295	12	3	13	6
	Clete Thomas	DET	85	0.282	13	3	13	1
	J. Hermida	FLA	111	0.270	9	2	13	3
41	Chris Duncan	STL	88	0.227	8	2	13	0
33	Randy Winn	SFO	105	0.314	16	0	13	5
44	Mike Cameron	MIL	97	0.247	13	6	12	0
	Carlos Lee	HOU	106	0.349	15	3	12	1
	Milton Bradley	CHC	82	0.268	14	3	12	0
	Ryan Raburn	DET	40	0.300	9	3	12	1
	F. Gutierrez	SEA	94	0.277	12	2	12	2
	Eric Byrnes	ARI	88	0.239	11	1	12	3
50	A. Soriano	CHC	111	0.216	15	5	11	1
	Nolan Reimold	BAL	60	0.267	7	5	11	0
	Scott Hairston	SDG	100	0.300	12	4	11	4
	Vernon Wells	TOR	119	0.252	14	2	11	6
	Marlon Byrd	TEX	92	0.283	14	2	11	2
	Corey Hart	MIL	99	0.232	14	2	11	1
	David DeJesus	KAN	104	0.250	15	1	11	1
	Melky Cabrera	NYY	84	0.321	9	1	11	2
	Elijah Dukes	WAS	44	0.273	4	1	11	1
	Brandon Moss	PIT	82	0.305	11	1	11	0
	J. Willingham	WAS	76	0.303	16	8	10	0
	Ichiro Suzuki	SEA	130	0.377	11	3	10	5
	Nick Swisher	NYY	80	0.150	9	3	10	0
	Daniel Murphy	NYM	68	0.176	8	3	10	0
	Denard Span	MIN	113	0.283	20	2	10	6
	G Matthews Jr.	LAA	59	0.271	10	1	10	0
	S. Victorino	PHI	121	0.298	19	1	10	5
	Jeff Francoeur	ATL	109	0.229	14	1	10	1
	Ryan Sweeney	OAK	101	0.238	8	1	10	2
	Nick Stavinoha	STL	43	0.256	3	1	10	1
60	M. Ordonez	DET	89	0.315	13	0	10	1
	Gabe Gross	TAM	47	0.277	9	2	9	1
71	Bobby Abreu	LAA	82	0.232	12	1	9	6
	Fernando Tatis	NYM	66	0.227	8	1	9	0
	Hunter Pence	HOU	98	0.388	16	1	9	1
	Delwyn Young	PIT	51	0.275	5	0	9	1
	Ryan Ludwick	STL	43	0.186	7	3	8	1
76	Brian Giles	SDG	86	0.221	10	2	8	0
	Andruw Jones	TEX	53	0.245	4	2	8	0
	Jody Gerut	MIL/SDG	58	0.172	5	2	8	1
81	B.J. Upton	TAM	124	0.218	21	2	8	10
	Chase Headley	SDG	74	0.203	4	2	8	4
	Andre Ethier	LAD	95	0.211	11	1	8	2
	S. Podsednik	CHW	101	0.297	10	0	8	3
	Michael Bourn	HOU	109	0.303	17	0	8	10
	Laynce Nix	CIN	62	0.242	11	3	7	0
	Fred Lewis	SFO	89	0.258	19	3	7	3
85	Omar Infante	ATL	46	0.348	7	1	7	1
	J. Hoffmann	LAD	15	0.200	2	1	7	0
89	Endy Chavez	SEA	53	0.264	6	1	6	3
	Willy Taveras	CIN	108	0.269	19	1	6	7
	David Murphy	TEX	62	0.290	13	1	6	1
	Jose Bautista	TOR	52	0.231	8	0	6	3
	Mitch Maier	KAN	32	0.344	5	0	6	0
	Jacoby Ellsbury	BOS	120	0.308	16	0	6	11
	Nyjer Morgan	PIT	94	0.245	12	0	6	4
	Rocco Baldelli	BOS	32	0.250	3	2	5	0
	Travis Buck	OAK	49	0.245	9	2	5	0
96	Manny Ramirez	LAD	14	0.214	3	1	5	0
	Ross Gload	FLA	36	0.306	5	1	5	0
	Craig Monroe	PIT	39	0.205	1	1	5	0
	Coco Crisp	KAN	82	0.220	12	1	5	9
	Chris Young	ARI	82	0.159	6	1	5	2
	Seth Smith	COL	49	0.204	8	1	5	1
	Drew Macias	SDG	15	0.267	3	1	5	0
	K. Fukudome	CHC	65	0.277	12	1	5	3
	Gabe Kapler	TAM	41	0.146	4	0	5	1
	Matt Diaz	ATL	37	0.378	9	0	5	0
	Delmon Young	MIN	55	0.236	5	0	5	1
	Jordan Schafer	ATL	101	0.158	8	0	5	1
	Brett Gardner	NYY	52	0.327	13	2	4	4
	Matt Murton	COL	37	0.270	7	1	4	1
	Lou Montanez	BAL	31	0.226	2	1	4	0
	Matt LaPorta	CLE	42	0.190	10	1	4	2
110	Austin Kearns	WAS	63	0.222	7	0	4	1
	Carlos Quentin	CHW	56	0.196	5	0	4	1
	W. Balentien	SEA	67	0.209	7	0	4	0
	Josh Anderson	DET	53	0.226	3	0	4	4
118	Eric Hinske	PIT	34	0.294	4	1	3	0
	A. Amezaga	FLA	33	0.182	3	0	3	1
	Chris Duffy	MIL	22	0.136	2	0	3	0

Fantasy Baseball – May Third Base Rankings

Posted by Todd Lammi on June 1st, 2009

by Todd Lammi

Instead of using some complicated formula to review May statistics, here is a breakdown of the numbers for the month sorted by RBI, for third basemen.

Evan Longoria continues to pace third basemen, and at his current rate looks like a top half of the first round pick in fantasy baseball drafts next year. David Wright has the average and steals but no power as I discussed earlier here.

Finally an Andy LaRoche sighting after several years of hype, but it looks like he has sacrificed power for batting average, which is not a good thing for fantasy baseball owners. Willy Aybar has a chance for regular at bats with Akinori Iwamura out for the season. Missing the top 30 were Melvin Mora .260-11-1-6-1 and Garrett Atkins .148-7-0-6-0. This would mark the third straight year that Atkins’ numbers have declined although no one could have anticipated such a huge drop off.

RK	PLAYER	TEAM	AB	BA	R	HR	RBI	SB
1	Evan Longoria	TAM	115	0.296	21	7	31	1
2	David Wright	NYM	98	0.378	16	2	22	9
3	R. Zimmerman	WAS	117	0.342	24	6	19	0
	Mark Reynolds	ARI	107	0.271	21	8	18	8
4	Casey Blake	LAD	85	0.353	17	4	18	0
6	Alex Rodriguez	NYY	77	0.260	11	7	17	0
7	Joe Crede	MIN	68	0.265	9	6	16	0
	Brandon Inge	DET	102	0.235	15	5	15	0
8	Mark DeRosa	CLE	103	0.291	18	3	15	0
10	Andy LaRoche	PIT	94	0.330	13	2	14	1
	Pablo Sandoval	SFO	94	0.309	11	2	14	1
12	Chipper Jones	ATL	77	0.312	12	3	13	1
	Pedro Feliz	PHI	97	0.289	9	0	13	0
14	Mike Lowell	BOS	114	0.307	13	4	12	0
	Willy Aybar	TAM	72	0.306	15	3	12	0
	K. Kouzmanoff	SDG	98	0.214	7	3	12	1
17	Adrian Beltre	SEA	116	0.250	13	3	11	2
	Geoff Blum	HOU	60	0.217	5	1	11	0
19	Scott Rolen	TOR	83	0.289	14	1	10	1
	Mike Fontenot	CHC	74	0.216	4	1	10	2
	Josh Fields	CHW	90	0.233	6	1	10	1
	Ian Stewart	COL	64	0.141	8	4	9	0
22	Chone Figgins	LAA	111	0.333	19	0	9	11
	Mark Teahen	KAN	99	0.273	12	3	8	0
24	Craig Counsell	MIL	84	0.345	13	1	8	0
	Michael Young	TEX	107	0.364	12	1	8	2
	Ty Wigginton	BAL	68	0.250	5	2	7	0
	Adam Rosales	CIN	87	0.241	12	2	7	0
27	Wes Helms	FLA	40	0.250	2	1	7	1
	Emilio Bonifacio	FLA	119	0.235	11	0	7	3

Fantasy Baseball – May Shortstop Rankings

Posted by Todd Lammi on June 1st, 2009

by Todd Lammi

Instead of using some complicated formula to review May fantasy baseball statistics, here is a breakdown for the numbers for the month sorted by RBI, for shortstops. It has been a pretty topsy-turvy year at shortstop with top three shortstops Jose Reyes and Jimmy Rollins under performing, and the breakouts of Jason Bartlett and Marco Scutaro.

Miguel Tejada looked dead in April with zero home runs and four RBI but bounced back nicely in May to lead all shortstops in RBI. Jason Bartlett will miss at least the first two weeks of June on the disabled list with a sprained ankle. Jerry Hairston Jr. has been one of the bright spots on offense for the Cincinnati Red, playing six different positions already this season.

At least Jimmy Rollins is stealing bases, because he is not displaying signs of picking up his batting average or hitting home runs any time soon. Stephen Drew looks lost at the plate, striking out 19 times in 65 at bats in May. Missing time early in the season on the disabled list with a hamstring injury did not help. It also does not help the Arizona Diamondbacks continue to bat him clean up when he is struggling which puts more pressure on him to produce. He struck out eight times in the last three games of May. Juan Castro had more RBI than Rafael Furcal in May and is good insurance to have on the bench in National League only leagues as Furcal battles through minor injuries.

RK	PLAYER	TEAM	AB	BA	R	HR	RBI	SB
1	Miguel Tejada	HOU	108	0.380	16	5	25	1
2	Jason Bartlett	TAM	80	0.388	18	4	23	9
	Yunel Escobar	ATL	91	0.319	17	3	17	0
3	J.J. Hardy	MIL	80	0.313	16	2	17	0
	Ryan Theriot	CHC	99	0.273	18	5	15	2
5	Jhonny Peralta	CLE	95	0.316	8	1	15	0
7	Jerry Hairston Jr.	CIN	102	0.294	25	6	14	4
	Alexei Ramirez	CHW	96	0.281	10	2	14	4
9	Derek Jeter	NYY	112	0.321	17	3	13	6
	Orlando Cabrera	OAK	123	0.228	14	2	12	0
	Jimmy Rollins	PHI	126	0.238	22	2	12	8
	Adam Everett	DET	66	0.318	10	1	12	3
10	Edgar Renteria	SFO	85	0.235	8	0	12	3
14	Hanley Ramirez	FLA	103	0.359	21	6	11	5
	Troy Tulowitzki	COL	99	0.242	12	2	11	3
16	Alex Gonzalez	CIN	67	0.254	3	1	10	0
	Stephen Drew	ARI	65	0.215	9	1	10	0
	Marco Scutaro	TOR	121	0.322	19	0	10	4
	Ramon Santiago	DET	43	0.349	9	2	9	0
19	Jack Wilson	PIT	67	0.239	8	1	9	0
21	Cristian Guzman	WAS	121	0.298	20	2	8	0
	Jose Reyes	NYM	59	0.271	9	1	8	7
	Juan Uribe	SFO	54	0.315	3	0	8	0
	Nick Punto	MIN	66	0.152	10	0	8	4
	Nick Green	BOS	53	0.321	5	0	8	1
26	Brendan Harris	MIN	84	0.238	8	2	7	0
	Elvis Andrus	TEX	89	0.303	12	2	7	4
28	Juan Castro	LAD	34	0.382	11	1	6	0
	Khalil Greene	STL	41	0.171	1	0	6	1
30	Omar Vizquel	TEX	33	0.333	4	0	5	2

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Archive for the ‘By Position’ Category

2010 Fantasy Baseball Rankings – Starting Pitcher strikeouts

2010 Fantasy Baseball Rankings – Closers (Part II)

2010 Fantasy Baseball Rankings – Closers (Part I)

2010 Fantasy Baseball Rankings – Starting Pitchers (Part III)

2010 Fantasy Baseball Rankings – Starting Pitchers (Part II)

2010 Fantasy Baseball Rankings – Starting Pitchers (Part I)

2010 Fantasy Baseball Rankings – Designated Hitters

2010 Fantasy Baseball Rankings – Outfield (Part III)

2010 Fantasy Baseball Rankings – Outfield (Part II)

2010 Fantasy Baseball Rankings – Outfield (Part I)

2010 Fantasy Baseball Rankings – Third Base

2010 Fantasy Baseball Rankings – Shortstops

2010 Fantasy Baseball Rankings – Second Base

2010 Fantasy Baseball Rankings – First Base

2010 Fantasy Baseball Rankings – Catchers

Fantasy Baseball 2010 – Multiposition Eligibility

Fantasy Baseball – May Pitcher Rankings

Fantasy Baseball – May Outfield Rankings

Fantasy Baseball – May Third Base Rankings

Fantasy Baseball – May Shortstop Rankings

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