Fantasy Links — 9/9/2009

Eight teams are participating in daytime baseball this afternoon and the rest of the clubs will get underway later tonight. With a whole lot of action in store for 9/9/09, let’s hit some links…

Eric Mack of CBS Sports provides a handful of starters who are destined for success down the stretch. “If you still are playing Fantasy Baseball,” Mack writes, “you are either fighting out the last few weeks for wins, ERA, strikeouts, WHIP and saves or you are desperately trying to line up a winning staff in your Head-to-Head playoffs.” Daisuke Matsuzaka, John Smoltz, Brad Penny and Barry Zito headline his list.

Florida’s Chris Coghlan tops Knox Bardeen’s latest edition of “Fantasy Fill-Ins” over at AOL Fanhouse. The rookie outfielder is batting .424/.457/.485 in the month of September and .307/.380/.444 overall. Bardeen also likes Luis Castillo, Placido Polanco and Adam LaRoche for the regular season’s final few weeks.

Derek Ambrosino of The Hardball Times discusses some of the more disappointing top 2009 fantasy picks, and looks ahead to their value for 2010. Corey Hart, Cole Hamels and Alexei Ramirez top the list. Can we expect them to rebound next season, and are these guys worth hanging onto in keeper leagues?

Mike Silver, also writing for The Hardball Times, calls the Giants’ Jonathan Sanchez “the pitching equivalent of the three-true-outcomes hitter” because he “matches eyepopping strikeout rates with equally huge walk rates.” What does that mean for his long-term fantasy value? Well, if he can tone down the walks while maintaining an effective wildness, things are looking up. As Silver notes, “the hurler has amassed a career 75.3 percent contact rate over 388.1 innings through parts of four seasons.” That’s one of the best ongoing rates in all of baseball.

Tim Dierkes of RotoAuthority hosts this week’s “fantasy roundtable,” asking four other fantasy baseball experts this question: “Have you ever quit on a fantasy team of yours? If so, what were the circumstances? If not, how were you able to maintain your motivation even after you had no chance?”

Have a link, comment or question you’d like to send my way? I’m always looking for new content and fantasy strategies. Shoot me an e-mail or find me on Twitter.