This could be the end of the line for Justin Morneau. Morneau, who suffered from a concussion during the 2010 season, was shut down early last season after experiencing recurring symptoms. When healthy, Morneau has been one of the top fantasy performers at first base. But he’s missed so many games recently, that he’s become one of the most questionable picks in fantasy leagues. Unless he can overcome his injury, Morneau may not be worth the risk this season.
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There’s a stigma about AJ Burnett. With the news of his potential trade to the Pittsburgh Pirates, the general opinion of Burnett is incredibly low. That’s not completely unwarranted, as the 35-year-old has posted an ERA over 5.00 the past two seasons. As a result of his recent struggles, Burnett wasn’t even drafted in our Reader Mock Draft. Still, Burnett has been an effective pitcher in the past, and even though he’s been a huge disappointment the past two seasons, there’s still some reason to believe he’ll surprise some people next season.

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Last week, Eno Sarris put up a post asking our wonderful readers to participate in a mock draft. As usual, the readers came through. Since this is a website that makes a living doing analysis, it would only be fair if we looked at the reader mock draft and offered our opinions. Here’s a look at some of the early rounds of our reader mock draft.

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Carlos Pena is a Tampa Bay Ray again. While it’s easy for fantasy owners to reminisce about the 116 home runs Pena hit between 2007-2009, Pena’s 2010 was the worst offensive showing on his career. After re-establishing some of his value in Chicago this past season, Pena will return to the Trop in 2012. Though Pena has experienced success there before, the park is tougher on lefties than Wrigley Field. At age 34 (in May), will Pena continue to be a useful fantasy option — or will the Trop do him in once again?

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Even LL Cool J would allow you to call it a comeback. Bartolo Colon defied Father Time last season, returning to the majors with a vengeance. Along the way, he posted a 2.9 WAR, his best performance since the 2005 season. In order to build on his comeback season, Colon signed a one-year deal with the Oakland Athletics. Out of the AL East and in a more forgiving park, will Colon actually be more valuable this season?

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A pitcher in Petco Park should always be on your fantasy radar. With the trade of Anthony Rizzo, Andrew Cashner became the most recent pitcher to be acquired by the Padres. While Cashner will pitch out of the bullpen next season, he still could have some fantasy value. Things could get more interesting in 2013, when Cashner could move into the rotation. Knowing that Cashner might be far more valuable a season down the road, is it worth it to take a chance on him in a keeper or dynasty league next season?
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There’s no place like home. No one knows this more than Mat Latos, who called the cavernous Petco Park his home over the last three and a half seasons. That all changed on Saturday, as Latos was traded to the Cincinnati Reds for a bevy of prospects. While Latos has shown flashes of greatness in the past, we’ve seen Petco Park make pitchers look substantially better than they deserve. With Latos moving to one of the more hitter-friendly ballparks in the National League, how much can we expect him to regress?

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Last night, the RotoGraphs crew got together and conducted our first mock draft of the season. The draft, held at Mock Draft Central, was a standard 5X5 keeper/dynasty league draft. Rosters requirements were as follows: C, 1B, 2B, SS, 3B, 5 OF, CI, MI, UTIL, 9 P, 5 BENCH. Throughout the week, we’ll have articles analyzing the draft. I’ll kick things off with my thoughts about the first couple of rounds.

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The Houston Astros aren’t going to be a good baseball team next season. But that doesn’t mean they should be ignored in fantasy baseball. Players on lowly teams like the Astros can often fall under the radar — becoming the ideal sleeper candidates. The Astros have at least two such players next season in Bud Norris and J.D. Martinez. Both players took steps towards relevancy last season, and appear poised for larger roles this year. What should owners expect out of Norris and Martinez going forward?

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