All posts under "Preseason Prep" - Page 14

SEATTLE MARINERS Abraham Almonte - Almonte has somehow moved his way into the discussion for the starting CF job, and now that value that I hinted at a month ago doesn't necessarily have to wait for the inevitable Hart or...

Kyle Seager (3B - SEA). Seager is a player who could be undervalued in 2014, as I believe there is room for significant improvement in his numbers. Seager put up a fairly unremarkable .260/.338/.426 line in 2013, with 22 HR...

David Hale, Atlanta Braves: Hale is going to make the Braves rotation in a sort of default way as injuries to Kris Medlen and Brandon Beachy will have them somewhat scrambling to fill the rotation. Freddy Garcia will man the...

David Murphy (OF - CLE). Murphy signed with Cleveland as a free agent after a horribly disappointing final season in Texas, in which Murphy slashed a weak .220/.282/.374. Murphy should post better numbers in 2014, given that his BA was...

Houston Astros A Full Season of Brett Oberholtzer Oberholtzer became a staple of the Astros rotation just as the calendar turned to August last year. He appeared in thirteen games (ten starts) and pitched to a 2.76 ERA in 71.2...

Milwaukee Brewers Who will be the starting LF? Khris Davis showed great power numbers in limited action at the end of the 2013 season. Davis was able to hit 11 HR's in only 136 AB's. That projects out to 40...

Houston Astros Is Matt Dominguez a late round sleeper? Dominguez did not have the most productive year last season. 2013 was his first full season in the big leagues, and struggled overall with his offensive game. While Dominguez did display...

Welcome to a special all-pitcher edition of the blog. I am personally not a believer in spending big $$ or early draft picks on pitching, notwithstanding the current trend in fantasy leagues toward drafting/buying pitchers earlier than in previous years...

ATLANTA BRAVES Alex Wood - With Kris Medlen and Brandon Beachy both succumbing to injuries in the past few days, Alex Wood's role with the Braves has become quite a bit clearer: he is now a near-lock to open the...

Chicago Cubs Javier Baez Mania I talked about Javier Baez a couple weeks ago but I think he has earned another write-up. This time, instead of talking just stats, I'd like to talk expectations for the youngster. With Starlin Castro's...

Milwaukee Brewers Ryan Braun-MIL-OF: Post PED Suspension Ryan Braun is out to prove all of his critics wrong in 2014. He wants to prove that he is one of the top players in the game and more importantly, he wants...

Colorado outfield Carlos Gonzalez and Michael Cuddyer have the corners locked up, but the battle for the center field job remains on. Drew Stubbs entered camp as the prohibitive favorite given his tools, but right now the leader has to...

Pittsburgh Pirates: The Grilli Situation Jason Grilli, who missed time last season with a flexor strain in his right forearm, is taking things at a much slower pace than other Pirate pitchers during Spring Training. According to team sources, Grilli...

Houston Astros Jose Altuve: Does he rank among the top 10 at 2B? When first remembering Altuve's 2013 season, the overall disappointment is usually the first thing that creeps into my head. His plate discipline hurt his overall offensive game,...

Notes from the Grapefruit and Cactus Leagues... Johan Santana- BAL- The Orioles signed Santana to a minor league deal. In workouts he was reportedly topping out in the 80s so he is not back to the dominant form he had...

Kansas City Royals Mike Moustakas Ready to Breakout? After coming up through the Royals system and being tagged as a cornerstone for the franchise for years to come, Mike Moustakas has struggled mightily. It's a key year for the young...

Chris Young (OF - NYM). Rebound Candidate or Bust? In an effort to upgrade what was essentially a Triple A outfield in 2013, the Mets signed Chris Young to a one-year, $7.2M contract, with the idea of starting him in...

CHICAGO WHITE SOX Adam Eaton - I'm intrigued by Eaton's fantasy value this year, as it looks like he'll be the everyday leadoff man and the team has already come out and said that he will have the "green light"...

Nelson Cruz, Baltimore Orioles: Fresh off his 50 game suspension for suspected PED use, Cruz signed a one year $8 million contract with the Orioles. The Orioles may have a bargain for the 2014 season if they can limit Cruz...

Milwaukee Brewers Jonathan Lucroy-MIL-C: Top Fantasy Catcher or Career Year in 2013? Some fantasy owners will question whether last year was a fluke for Lucroy or was it the beginning of Lucroy establishing himself as a top tier option at...

Pittsburgh Pirates: The Battle for Right Field Whenever your rightfielders collectively produce an OBP less than .300 and OPS+ well below 100, most organizations might ponder a trade. But, that's just not the Pirates style. Normally, the fanbase might gripe...

Dodgers 2B job battle Early reports on Alex Guerrero defensively appear to be encouraging, making him the heavy favorite for this job given the team's $28 million investment. Dee Gordon, Justin Turner, and Chone Figgins represent the competition, but...

Hi Folks, Welcome to the start of the 2014 fantasy baseball season! With Pitchers and Catchers reporting in a few short weeks, one of the ways I open a new season is by taking a look back at the previous...

Andrelton Simmons turned in a fantastic first full season in the majors, and was rewarded with a 7 year $58 million contract Thursday from the Braves. Simmons was valuable to fantasy lineups last season thanks to his above average power at shortstop.

Toronto Blue Jays RA Dickey (SP-TOR) - Does he deserve to start on opening day? On Tuesday, RA Dickey was named the opening day starter for Toronto. After winning the NL CY Young award in 2012, he was traded to...

Boston Red Sox Clay Buchholz- Fantasy Ace or Injury waiting to happen? Last week, when we touched upon the Red Sox rotation, I wrote about Jon Lester. Lester is the anti-thesis to Clay Buchholz. Lester's days of being a fantasy...

Toronto Blue Jays Colby Rasmus - Post Hype Sleeper or 2013 Overachiever? Colby Rasmus was one of the surprise stories of 2013. After breaking into the league with the Cardinals in 2009 with expectations of being the next five-tool superstar,...

CHICAGO WHITE SOX Jose Abreu - Jose Abreu is likely the most difficult player to forecast for 2014, with so few Cuban comparables relative to most other foreign countries, a baseball change that likely accounted for a not-so-insignificant portion of...

Notes from the Grapefruit and Cactus Leagues...as all pitchers and catchers have reported and position players for the Tigers, Phillies, Pirates, Cardinals and Mariners report today. Ryan Dempster- BOS- Dempster will not be pitching for the Red Sox or anyone...

Fantasy news related to the Brewers, Cubs, Reds, and the rest of the league.

Boston Red Sox Will Middlebrooks- Cheap power at third or a dead spot in your fantasy lineup? Few players were more Jekyll and Hyde in 2013 than Red Sox Third Baseman, Will Middlebrooks. The first half of the season in...

Observations from the Grapefruit and Cactus Leagues...Pitchers and catchers will be reporting today for the Braves, Orioles, Cubs, Tigers, Angels, Padres and Nationals. Derek Jeter- NYA- The biggest news of yesterday was that the last of the Core Four will...

Houston Astros How Will Dexter Fowler Fare Away From Coors Field? In one of the more surprising moves of the offseason, the Astros were able to acquire the center fielder from the Rockies for Jordan Lyles and Brandon Barnes. The...

Welcome to spring....after a fashion. Below are a select smattering of the player projections and comments that will soon be available with the draft software, followed by a bit more detail regarding the specific players in question. Hope you all...

Notes on the last day before real games start... Jason Frasor- TEX- RP- Frasor looks to be the prime setup man for the Rangers, He has been very tough against righties in his career, so could have some value in...

Philadelphia Phillies Roy Halladay, RHP PHI For fantasy owners who drafted Halladay expecting a bounce-back season, the right-hander's spring results have been disheartening to say the least. In 12 Grapefruit League innings, Halladay has allowed 13 hits, seven walks and...