Headed into the season in my main league, I was pretty excited about the prospect of my outfield. In left field, there was Mike Trout, probably the most valuable player in fantasy. In right field, Domonic Brown, about to break out. They’d be flanking my center fielder, someone who not all that long ago was one of the most valuable fantasy player himself.

Sadly, it didn’t work out that way for Matt Kemp, who ended up being one of fantasy’s biggest busts. (Fortunately for me, I could easily move Trout to center and spot in left with, at various points, Evan Gattis, Norichika Aoki, and Alfonso Soriano.)

I feel a little bad listing Kemp with someone who was simply atrocious like B.J. Upton, because there was obviously a lot more to it than that. Really, there were three different Kemps this year: Read the rest of this entry »

When Yuniesky Betancourt earns more fantasy value than you, you know you’ve had a bad season. Or in other terms, if you decided to draft B.J. Upton this year, then you’re gonna have a bad time. According to Zach Sanders’ end of season dollar value calculator, Upton broke the hearts of Braves fans and his fantasy owners by generating negative fantasy value, ranking a sad 461st out of 482 players. When factoring in his ADP of 48, he ranked as the most value-sucking player according to our value leaderboard.

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There were definitely warning signs. Despite coming off the second-best offensive season of his career, Josh Hamilton was a bit of a fantasy lightening rod last offseason. There was plenty of evidence that his age, approach and new home park would contribute to him being a poor fantasy option. At the same time, Hamilton’s upside was tough to ignore. Over the previous five years, Hamilton showed he was capable of being the best hitter in baseball. That upside was the reason Hamilton remained an early fantasy draft pick despite legitimate concerns. His failures made it hard to pick another player for fantasy LVP.

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Well, Chris Davis is obviously the “real” Fantasy MVP. His ADP according to FantasyPros was seven spots worse than Hunter Pence’s, and he ended up eight spots better in the final rankings. But if you’d have asked me which guy I’d rather have going into this season, I would have easily reached for the power source in Davis. There were just too many warning signs with Pence to pick him. Right?

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A player can’t be drafted fifth overall, sign for $7.5 million, and not retain extremely high visibility for his minor league career. This is especially true of a player drafted into a franchise with a recent history of struggles that has sent its fanbase constantly scouring the farm system for signs of hope. Add in the prospect in question being a local high school multi-sport hero, and you have a player who will constantly be under the microscope.

That is the situation Royals outfield prospect Bubba Starling has constantly found himself in in his professional career. He was the fifth overall pick in 2011 and passed up a football scholarship at Nebraska for the massive bonus. Many reported that he had five tools, but like many multi-sport high school hitters, he combined impressive athleticism with rawness.

Two years into his career, Starling has had mixed results that have led many to question whether it’s time to jump off the bandwagon, while others point to his relative youth (he’s still just 21) and hold out hope for stardom. I did get to see Starling three times in the 2013 season, and today I’m going to take my shot at projecting him.

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If you’re in a league that allows daily roster adjustments, whether it’s head to head or roto, then streaming is probably what you’re all about here at the end. With four more days of games, every little bit helps and picking up the right player could mean the difference between a win and a “if only I had another week to play.” While Mike Podhorzer covers the recommended streamer candidates for pitchers over the next two days, I’ll throw you a few hitters who could give you that one final push. Some may be available, some might not, but all are swinging a hot bat right now and if you can use them…use them. Read the rest of this entry »

The Reds are a playoff team with a pretty good outfield, but one man is lurking in the background, preparing to steal all your bags, and possibly your heart. The Reds have some decisions to make this offseason, and one question facing them is “what the heck do we do with Billy Hamilton?” In celebration of Hamilton’s spectacular and otherworldly speed, the present offer sought to present some possible outcomes to the most handsome reader.

What you will find below is a possible fantasy line for Hamilton, listed in the following format: AB/HR/R/RBI/SB/AVG. After each line is presented for your viewing pleasure, two numbers follow. The first is the value of that fantasy line in standard mixed leagues, and the second is the value of such a line in NL-only leagues, both of which are calculated by the intrepid author’s own special spreadsheet derived from 2013 Steamer player environment. While fantasy drafts deal in whole dollars, cents are presented to show the differences before rounding.

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Despite being 33 years old, Athletics outfielder Coco Crisp is putting together his best fantasy season since his time with Cleveland in 2004 and 2005. He swatted his 21st home run of the season last night and is one of only eight players who have stolen at least 19 bases and collected at least 20 home runs.

Interestingly, only one of those players, Ian Desmond, is not an outfielder. But Coco Crisp is probably the most unexpected name on that list. Sure, Will Venable is rather surprising, but he’s more fulfilling what many fantasy owners always hoped he would become. Crisp is wholly different. He’s never hit 20+ home runs in a single season. He’s never posted an ISO north of .165 — and even that came nine seasons ago in 2005.

It feels unsatisfying to argue a player cannot do something again because they’ve never previously accomplished that feat. Obviously, track record matters, and Crisp has 11 full seasons under his belt. That makes the lone 20+ HR season even more of an outlier. But there are some things to like about what Crisp is doing.

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Wow. You look at that calendar and it just hits you like a ton of bricks. With only about a dozen games to go for each team, this is it. We’ve basically got one more scoring period to go in roto leagues and this is likely it for most head to head championships. It’s crazy how quickly this season seems to have slipped by. But if you’re still looking for that quick fix, that body to fill that roster hole with a splash of productivity, well, we’ll just keep throwing stuff against the wall and see what sticks for you. For my final waiver wire piece of the 2013 regular season I give you a pair of dynamic superstars who could very well be available in your not-so-deep-leagues. Read the rest of this entry »

Red Sox outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury is in the middle of a resurgent season. It couldn’t come at a better time for Ellsbury, as he’s slated to be a free-agent once the playoffs end. Ellsbury may not add any more value to his regular season numbers, as a fractured foot threatens to keep him out until close to the playoffs. Even then, it’s tough to know whether he’ll be healthy enough to pad his free-agent case. Ellsbury should be an interesting case once he hits the market. The 29-year-old has flashed the ability to be one of the best players in the game, but injuries have limited his production over his career. Those issues make it difficult to determine how much Ellsbury will command on the market.

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