It’s not feasible, wordpress-wise, to print and link all of the outfielders in a single post. And once the season gets going, we are splitting the RotoGraphs staff into positional correspondents – and the short straw would certainly be starters and outfielders if we were going to keep those positions in the hands of a single writer. So instead, you’ll have an American League outfield correspondent and an NL one (hint: you’re looking at him). Same for pitchers.

But in the meantime, you mixed leaguers are left wondering where you should get your best outfield rankings. Wonder no longer, because I’ve shared a mixed-league composite of the RotoGraph outfield rankings in this google document right here. Hopefully this will help you dominate your league. Starters will come later in the week, and you can always find this post by hitting the ‘outfielders’ tag in the ‘categories’ box to your bottom right. Here are the AL Outfielders and the NL Outfielders if you want more analysis.

The FanGraphs in-house league drafted last week, and 60 cans of PBR and Tecate into the Arizona dawn, we were mostly finished. My domination – though assured – will be even sweeter against competition like the FanGraphs staff. Despite the danger of putting the cart before the horse, I’ll call PBR the champagne of beers and crack one open for myself.

Well, maybe. I tend to be a little bipolar with my fantasy teams. It’s either all good or all terrible. Tell me what you think.

12-Team Ottoneu LWTS Points
It’s A Perm
C Geovany Soto $26
C Ryan Doumit $1
Read the rest of this entry »

The regular season has yet to begin, but let’s take a look at two players that are owned in less than 50% of Yahoo! leagues…

Read the rest of this entry »

I have always been tempted to draft as cheap a pitching staff as possible, though I have never used this strategy before in a mock draft or a real one. In an auction, this strategy is simply called the $9 pitching staff. In a snake draft, you would draft all your hitters in rounds 1-14 and then fill out your pitching staff over the remaining 9 rounds. Unfortunately, the $9 pitching staff auction strategy will put you at a severe disadvantage versus your competitors who are all likely spending at least $55 more than you on pitching. However, a straight draft puts teams on a much more even playing field, so although your rotation would likely be worse than the rest of your leaguemates’, the difference would not be as large as it would be in an auction league. So let us use actual average draft position data from CBS Sports leagues to construct a cheap pitching staff.

Read the rest of this entry »

OK, RotoGraphers.  Your Monday morning cup of coffee from this week forward will be accompanied by some sort of discussion revolving around catchers and all the fantasy deliciousness they provide.  Since the season has yet to begin and several of you are still waiting to draft, let’s talk about when is the best time to grab your help behind the dish.  Is it wise to invest a late 2nd/early 3rd round pick on Joe Mauer or is the position deep enough to wait until later?  Fresh cup of java in hand….let’s get to it… Read the rest of this entry »

While the New York Mets have produced plenty of slap stick comedy in recent years — Bernazard The Brawler’s WWE alter-ego, Mystery Diagnosis: Carlos Beltran, and Oliver Perez, aspiring (and flailing) $12 million LOOGY — it only feels like the club from Queens has been presided over by Abbott and Costello.

Sandy Alderson has replaced Omar Minaya as GM, and Terry Collins moves from minor league field coordinator to manager, ending Jerry Manuel’s tenure. But a question that so vexed Abbott looms large for the Mets: What’s on second? Luis Castillo got the boot, and 21-year-old Ruben Tejada has been sent AAA after an ultra-aggressive promotion to the majors last year. That still leaves a gaggle of middle infielders vying to be Jose Reyes‘ DP partner. Here’s a quick look at the contenders, listed by fantasy relevance, along with their respective ZiPS projections for 2011.

Read the rest of this entry »

When attempting to identify an undervalued fantasy asset, some owners will look at first and second half splits. If a specific player really excelled in the second half of the season, that player is often viewed as a player on the rise. Edwin Jackson and Brian Matusz are two players that fall into that category this season. Despite their strong finishes, both players still enter 2011 with question marks. In the RotoGraphs Player Rankings, Jackson and Matusz ranked right next to each other in the Red Hot Chili Peppers tier (the fourth tier). While I could sit here and debate Mike Podhorzer’s taste in music, it would probably be more helpful to you, the reader, if I took a look at how Jackson and Matusz will perform this season, and whether they will build on their strong second halves.
Read the rest of this entry »

Remember him? If not, it may be because he has been on the DL more days than he has been off it (note: this may or may not be true) since his Major League Debut in 2005. In fact, if you thought Rich Harden was injury prone, Brandon McCarthy actually has him beat. According to the Baseball Injury Tool, McCarthy has dealt with injury issues on 14 different occasions since 2006, while Harden only suffered through 13 during that same time span. So now that we have established just how much McCarthy’s career has been ruined by injuries so far, let me discuss why he makes for a great gamble for your lonely dollar in an AL-Only auction.

Read the rest of this entry »

After finishing my last post on the potential return to the majors for Brandon Webb, I was inspired to continue down the path of the walking wounded and talk about another AL starting pitcher I  met along the way.  He’s also coming back from major surgery, is on schedule to make his team’s Opening Day roster and a first week start, and for me, remains a high risk candidate in which to invest.  So when it comes to draft day, you’ve got to ask yourself one question: Do I feel lucky?  Well, do ya, punk? Read the rest of this entry »

Mike rolled out our American League Starting Pitcher Rankings on Thursday and although the ensuing debate seemed far more concerned about everyone’s favorite band, there were some names towards the bottom of the barrel worth keeping an eye on for draft day (or the wire in the case of already-drafted leagues, of course). One in particular that I’ve been tracking is Marc Rzepczynski.

Read the rest of this entry »