In fantasy, there are certain truths that we as owners have grown to expect and rely upon. Power comes from the corners, speed comes from the middle and the outfield is a nice blend of the two. So when it came to drafting a third baseman, you had a choice — invest heavily for one of the marquee names and get your 30-40 bombs or take a more economical approach and pay less for a 20-25 home run guy and shuffle your remaining bid dollars or picks around to create a more well-balanced but still powerful roster. When Mike Moustakas smacked 20 home runs in his first full season in 2012 and posted a .171 ISO, we were given another economical option, but one who also had the potential to to produce even more. With solid power numbers in the minors, he had some hype to him but considering he was only a 20-home run guy, the price tag wasn’t too high. Until, of course, that power you paid for never arrived. Read the rest of this entry »

Your opinions of Dayton Moore and Ned Yost aside, one of the biggest problems with the Kansas City Royals over the last few years has been that glaring hole at second base. While waiting for prospect Johnny Giavotella to develop, they’ve tried to plug the hole with names like Chris Getz and Yuniesky Betancourt and surprisingly (insert sarcastic eye roll here), it just hasn’t worked. Betancourt is usually capable of playing well for about a month, though the 30 days aren’t necessarily right in a row, Getz is incapable of staying healthy, and Johnny G just hasn’t developed past being a mediocre fielder and all-around lousy hitter at the major league level. When the prospect of making a run at the playoffs in 2013 became more than just a pipe dream, the team made a few minor deals to tweak the roster, one of which was bringing in an underachieving Emilio Bonifacio from Toronto to fill a super-utility role. There was nothing terribly exciting about the move at first and the Royals just seemed to be spinning their wheels, but once they finally handed the second base job over to the diminutive speedster full-time, Bonifacio took off and literally ran away with the job. Read the rest of this entry »

Before the season began and we were doing our Depth Chart Discussion series, I drew the Phillies infield as one of my assignments and had a chance to take a closer look at second baseman Chase Utley. I’ll admit that, in preparation, there was, and probably still is, a bit of fanboy inside me with regard to him as I was a proud owner in my primary keeper league from 2005 through 2009. However, for the sake of trying to be a reliable source of fantasy information, I had to face the harsh reality that those days were long gone and the man playing second base for the Phitin’ Phils right now may wear the same jersey and have the same slicked back hair, but he was not the same player he was during that five-year stretch. My concerns were high and my expectations were low, but after three straight years of decline and injury, Utley surprised us all with a season reminiscent of the good ol’ days. He hit for power, he hit for average and he stayed relatively healthy. Now the questions is, is he still capable of doing it again or did we just witness Utley’s last stand? Read the rest of this entry »

Yes you do. We all do. We all know who Paul Goldschmidt is, and if you don’t, then you have no business being involved in fantasy baseball, plain and simple. The only reason for the headline was for the pure enjoyment of a good play-on-words. In fact, choosing which pun to use for the title was the hardest part of writing this article. Goldschmidt Sandwich? You’ve Got Some Goldschmidt on Your Face? Goldschmidt Happens? I Drafted The Best First Baseman in Fantasy Baseball and Took a Big Goldschmidt on the Rest of My League? The options are endless and the debate over which one is funnier is probably more complex than the debate over which first baseman is the best in fantasy baseball. It’s tough to argue against Zach Sanders’ ranking of Chris Davis as number one thanks to his power output this year, but looking forward, I’ll take Goldschmidt over him every chance I get. Read the rest of this entry »

While they say that the only certainties in life are death and taxes, another truism we can all seem to bank on is that change is inevitable. Nothing stays the same and evolution is a daily part of our lives in virtually every aspect. How you react and adjust to that change is the key to your survival. You can remain stuck in your ways, fight against the current and struggle each and every day or you can roll with the punches, accept the need to adapt and thrive through change. Last season Adrian Gonzalez found himself at one of those evolutionary crossroads, made the conscious decision to change and adapt, and now fantasy owners are left wondering if drafting this “new and improved” version of the formerly heavy-hitting first baseman is going to be worth the price of admission moving forward. Read the rest of this entry »

Last year when we did our position-by-position post-season recaps, I wrote a piece touting Miguel Montero for his consistent performance and exceptional draft value. His numbers between 2009 and 2012, save for the one injury-riddled year he played just 85 games, were very consistent as he posted an average in the .280’s with 15 to 18 home runs each season while also maintaining that relative consistency in both his walk and strikeout rates and other batted ball data. That consistency, coupled with his always reasonable price tag, made him a pleasure to own and someone I felt confident in recommending as your fantasy catcher. But this past season, that consistency was replaced with struggle and because Montero didn’t cost you much on draft day, he became the poster boy for “you get what you pay for.” The decline is in full-swing and it’s time to move on from him. Read the rest of this entry »

When discussing a fantasy baseball ‘Least Valuable Player,’ we’re looking at a few different things to factor in. Obviously, an under-performing stat line is one. But we’re also looking at the relative cost of the player in relation to other players at his position. If he didn’t cost you more than a 15th round draft pick or $2 in your auction and he didn’t perform well, then so be it. Very little harm done. But when you’ve used a third or a fourth round pick on him and he doesn’t meet expectations, it’s a much bigger deal. We’re also taking into account that player’s in-season trade value. Some guys who are in a slump, you can still trade them on name and reputation, but when the performance is so bad that no one wants to trade for them, an LVP award is just begging to be won. For me, this season, no one epitomizes the LVP award more than Cubs shortstop Starlin Castro.

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Remember how great it was during Jason Kipnis’ rookie year? You probably got him for cheap in your draft and right out of the gate, he starts producing. Sure, he hit just .256 for that first month, but he also had three home runs, 12 RBI and four stolen bases. Not bad for your low-budget, rookie second baseman. But then the calendar flipped to May and Kipnis flipped a switch…a power switch, that is. He batted .295 for the month, hit another five home runs with another 18 RBI and another seven stolen bases. Two months in and he’s already paying big dividends. With a solid  month of June, he totally crushed it in the first half, batting .277 with 11 home runs, 49 RBI and 20 stolen bases; basically the line you hoped he would have by the end of the season. And just to help make you feel more comfortable about his performance, his walk rate was slightly better than league average (8.9%), he had just a 15.4% strikeout rate and posted a solid .345 on-base percentage. He was the total package. Read the rest of this entry »

While my array of fantasy baseball teams benefited from the likes of MVP candidates such as Chris Davis, Mike Trout, Jose Fernandez and Paul Goldschmidt, I am going to buck the trend and hand over the MVP honors to Kansas City Royals closer Greg Holland. The debate over the value of a closer is a recurring hot-button issue and, obviously, I sit on the side of the fence that preaches their importance. But even those who like to dismiss the position can’t deny how tremendous a value Holland was to those who owned him this year. Read the rest of this entry »

With the fantasy baseball season coming to an end, we can all now sit back, relax and enjoy the MLB playoffs. If you’ve got a dog in this hunt, I wish you nothing but the best. If not, then pick someone you’ll at least enjoy watching should they win the whole thing. This should be a fun October. But in the meantime, it’s my turn to step up and review the 10 Bold Predictions I made back in late March. I felt pretty good about them going in, and here’s how they ended up coming out… Read the rest of this entry »