Two Days, Two Drafts, Two Different Formats

As I sit here on a Wednesday, I am going out of my mind figuring out how to possibly prepare for two drafts in two days in two leagues with two different formats. Two. Did you get that?

Draft Advice: First Base

First base is no longer a deep well in which to find power hitters. Gone are the days of the ballooned headed, yoked up statues that used to man the position with mediocrity and bomb 40-50 homers with regularity. Five years ago, almost every fantasy team had one at first base and utility. Today, there are barely 10 guys that are guaranteed producers at the position. The top players at this position are still guys to build an offense around. This is where you get your power. Lose out here and try to get some sleeper, and you will be behind before the season has even started. The top three guys will be gone by the first round. Pick up any of the other 10 in the next two rounds. Just don’t be left out because the drop off from the top is abrupt and steep.

1. Albert Pujols (49)
   
2. Prince Fielder (44)
3. Ryan Howard (42)

Draft Advice: Top 10 Second Basemen

Second base is considered to be the second driest position in fantasy baseball. While this year’s crop will not yield an abundance of talent, it is no longer the barren wasteland the position was once considered. Gone are the days when an aging slugger such as Jeff Kent could crack the top 10 out of position scarcity and name recognition. There is a new crop of guys ready make their marks in the bigs. Of course there is Chase Utley who could arguably be the second overall pick in the draft with Albert Pujols’ injury concern. Also, take a look at the voting. There are three ties in the top 10, which screams that second base has something for everybody. To the power lovers, to the hit extremists, to the steal-and-run loving managers, second base is a far cry form the punch ‘n judy hitters of old. Yes, we are talking about you, Jody Reed.

Newspaperman’s Top 5 fantasy prospects

So you’re looking for this season’s version of Ryan Braun, huh? I know how it is. Braun, a relative unknown to the casual baseball fan, burst onto the scene last year and manhandled major league pitching. He likely led your arch rival to a league title, or a playoff berth anyway, and now he’s being chosen in the top three rounds of many fantasy drafts. Some publications have even projected Braun to hit 40 homeruns this year and chosen him to supplant David Wright as fantasy’s third best third sacker. (I aint buying that). That said, you’re probably looking for the “next best thing,” the prospect that will be overlooked on draft day because no one knows him. Here is a list of five prospects that should have immediate fantasy impact.

Carl Crawford in full effect … brothaaaah

All Public Enemy aside, The Jon bought the fantasy mag today to see how the lesser fantasy baseball experts went about their rankings. The one bought was done by The Sporting News and smack dab on the cover was their overall players rankings. It got The Jon to thinking of this particular song by one of the top three rap groups of all time and it was a way to get y’all to read this post. And here is the ranking infraction:

Carl Crawford was No. 8 overall.
No. 8.
Overall.

It really is 2008

About two weeks ago I dropped into a local bookstore in search of a fantasy magazine. At that time there were only three of four options, including a large stack of brand new 2007 editions. SEE BLOG.

Well, apparently it really is 2008. I stopped into a different store today (same chain, different location) and was pleased to see nearly a dozen options, including the new edition of said magazine …

Newspaperman’s 2008 Top 20 OF rankings

Because The Jon couldn’t let well enough be, here are my personal outfield rankings. Notice Manny inched up from the No. 15 slot I had him in last week. I re-tooled my rankings a few times since then. These are based on a number of factors, most notably my personal strategy. You’ll notice a lot of fresh faces, not exactly the Andruw Jones-type guys who once graced these lists.

TheBaseballStars will have positional rankings available in the upcoming weeks.

The Jon finds Newspaperman’s OF rankings

After the revelation last week that Newspaperman doesn’t even have Manny Ramirez in his top 10 rankings in outfielders, The Jon just had to learn the secret of Newspaperman’s backward thinking. I wish I hadn’t. So I was able to hack into Newspaperman’s computer the other night. His password wasn’t that hard, I got it on the first guess … “Mrs. Newspaperman-David Wright.” It seems Newspaperman has five criteria for outfielder rankings … let’s start with the first: Outfielder No. 1