Love ’em or hate ’em, they are the New York Yankees and they are still the face of American baseball. They are about winning, they are about hardware (or bling if that’s the word you prefer) and they are all about the big market spending. But we’re not here to judge right now. Whether you think this year’s plundering of the free agent market was more Brittney Spears “Oops, I did it again,” or more Urkel “Did I do that?”, it doesn’t matter, because this is the fantasy baseball section of FanGraphs and that’s what we’re talking here. Our assignment is to tell you who is in this team’s outfield and what that means to fantasy owners, so let’s bypass the small-market, crybaby tantrums and let’s talk game. Read the rest of this entry »

The answer was probably not “stand pat.”

The Toronto Blue Jays had an incredibly disappointing 2013 season, coming in well below expectations. While part of it was statistical anomaly – not often will so many players have sub-par seasons simultaneously – it turns out that parts of the team had been overrated entering the season. Hindsight, and all that.

So when the Jays rotation ended up 26th in total value based on Wins Above Replacement, 29th in ERA, 28th in FIP and 28th in innings pitched, many expected the Jays to fortify the sizeable investment they made the prior offseason.

But one of the longest MLB Trade Rumors tags has borne little fruit. Josh Johnson is out and replacing him is…still to be determined. Any improvement from the staff will have to come from in-house, a scary proposition considering that the team’s would-be-appreciable depth is really just a large competition at the back end masquerading as a plethora of options. After the top two names, it’s a whole lot of question marks, leaving the excellent Andrew Stoeten of Drunk Jays Fans to throw his hands up at the entire mess:
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The Nationals starting rotation was already pretty good last year and they may be even better this season. The top four features one of the best young (and overall) pitchers in the game and a trio of strong veterans. It’s that last slot that will provide all the drama during spring training. And given the contenders, it’s one worth watching, even for shallow mixed leaguers.

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In the recent past, the Rays have played a lot of mix and match with their outfielders. This year, the starting three might have a firm grasp on everyday starts, so there could be less scope for useful fantasy platoons. In the event of injuries, the Rays possess a number of secondary options that could be useful as spot starters.

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Time for the first basemen! At least one entrant here will cause some consternation, but it’s probably a good time to remember that the bar for offense at first base is incredibly high. The 15th-ranked first baseman this year might hit .275 with 30 homers. Heck, the 20th-rhanked guy could do that.

So enjoy this list twice. They’ll probably fill two (to three) positions on your roster.

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While I can’t speak for the rest of the writing staff, I must say that I enjoy doing these Depth Chart Discussions. Our fearless leader, Eno Sarris tells us what division we’re looking at for the week and we sign up for the depth charts we want to cover. More often than not, we end up choosing one that we either really like to discuss or one that we want to actually learn more about, but every so often, one comes along where someone has to take one for the team. Valuing my ability to be a team player, the Miami Marlins infield is my sacrifice. Read the rest of this entry »

Fresh off a season that saw the Braves relievers lead all of baseball, they return the vast majority of their arms. While their team xFIP was nearly a run higher than their ERA, indicating some regression is likely, they are also anchored by one of baseball’s premier closers. Couple that with the fact that the majority of their arms are under 30 and they work in a pitcher-friendly park, and there’s little reason to doubt the team should be a solid source of fantasy value again in 2014.

The closer
Craig Kimbrel

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Every member of the Washington Nationals outfield faces some crucial questions this season. Can Bryce Harper put up MVP-caliber production? Will Jayson Werth continue to defy Father Time? Can Denard Span return to 2009 form in possibly the final year of his deal? All three players have substantial fantasy upside, and the benefit of playing on what should be one of the better teams in baseball this season. While Harper and Werth should still be effective fantasy assets even if they fail to live up to expectations, they could ruin fantasy teams based on how high they are being selected. Span comes with less risk, but the potential for great reward. The real question is, how likely is it that these players actually reach their lofty upsides?

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After a far too long three week break from publishing my first Pod Projection, it’s time to get back on the saddle. Today I’ll take you through my projection for the young Rockies third baseman, Nolan Arenado. He’s a man who is sure to be considered a sleeper by many, which of course immediately jacks up his price and no longer qualifies him as a sleeper.

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Episode 95

The latest episode of The Sleeper and the Bust is now live! Jason Collette joins Eno Sarris to preview the Texas Rangers and the Tampa Bay Rays.

As usual, don’t hesitate to tweet us any fantasy questions you have that we may answer on our next episode.

You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or via the feed.

Thanks to Ian Miller aka Teen Archer, for the new intro music Approximately 62 min of joyous analysis.

ADP results from NFBC

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