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.

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.

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