<![CDATA[2012 Fantasy Baseball Rankings, Advice & Analysis - 2012 Fantasy Baseball]]>Sun, 05 Feb 2012 07:42:12 -0800Weebly<![CDATA[2012 Fantasy Baseball: David Price & The Tampa Bay Rays Starting Rotation Preview]]>Sat, 04 Feb 2012 10:55:47 -0800http://www.thefantasyfix.com/1/post/2012/02/12rayssppreview204.htmlPicture
David Price (Credits Below)
The Rays have quite a dilemma this spring as they try and decide just who exactly will be in their 2012 rotation. We know David Price and James Shields will be 1-2 but after that we have a collection of promising young arms and a ton of question marks. With 2011 American League Rookie of the Year Jeremy Hellickson and 2012 rookie phenom Matt Moore you can see why this staff has the potential to be one of the best in baseball.

DAVID PRICE- Price finished just 12-13 last year as he faced the tough American League East competition. He did compile a 3.49 ERA with 218 strike outs in 220 innings pitched. In his last 10 games he had a 3-3 record and a very low 2.51 ERA. With some luck David will notch the win column up at least five this year and have another solid campaign making him a top 15 mixed league starter and a top six A.L. pitcher.

JAMES SHIELDS- Shields had the best season of his career last year going 16-12 with a 2.82 ERA. He also add a 1.04 WHIP and just a .217 BAA while pitching 11 complete games and four shutouts. My feeling is that Shields will be way over valued this year and be cautious to pay too much for last year's numbers. He should revert to his career norm of 4.00 ERA which puts him in the early middle rounds of most fantasy drafts.

JEREMY HELLICKSON- The reigning American League ROY had quite impressive numbers last year going 13-10 with a low 2.95 ERA. He also had the lowest BABIP in the major leagues with a .224. He only struck
out 117 batters in 189 innings which will not help much in the K's category. It is tough to gauge Hellickson based on a one year performance so I would advise taking him somewhere in the middle
rounds and cross your fingers for another year like 2011.

MATT MOORE- Moore has two major league starts to his name and both of them were quite impressive against the Yankees and Rangers last year. He will be one of the leading candidates this year for the A.L. ROY honors providing the Rays have him in their 2012 opening day rotation. The potential is there for a break out year for the young lefty. The word will be out on Moore come draft day so the choice is yours on how early you want to take your chances.

JEFF NIEMANN- Niemann finished 9-3 with a 3.41 ERA in his last 15 starts in 2011. He has some history of back problems which could be troublesome especially with an already overcrowded pitching situation
in Tampa. He is worth a late round flier if he makes the starting rotation.

WADE DAVIS- Davis finished 11-10 last year with a 4+ ERA. He has been rumored in trade talks all winter as the Rays attempt to make room for their crop of young hurlers. Even if he makes the rotation in spring training, Davis posts mediocre stat lines at best and isn't worth drafting in mixed league formats.

ALEX COBB- Cobb another promising young arm for the Rays is coming off post season surgery but does expect to be ready for spring training. In his brief major league stint last year he went 3-2 with a 3.42 ERA. If he makes the spring rotation he is definitely a late round sleeper candidate.

 Written by John Marino exclusively for www.thefantasyfix.com. 

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Photo by Nick Laham/Getty Images North America)
]]><![CDATA[2012 Fantasy Baseball: Zach Britton & The Baltimore Orioles Starting Rotation Preview]]>Thu, 02 Feb 2012 13:30:30 -0800http://www.thefantasyfix.com/1/post/2012/02/oriolesrotation2212.htmlPicture
Zach Britton (credits below)
Nothing seems to change in O-Town each year we discuss the starting pitching rotation. Good young talent filled with question marks and mediocrity is the norm in Baltimore. This year Jeremy Guthrie will lead the pack as the team's ace but how things shape up behind him still remains to be seen. I honestly can not find a pitcher in this rotation worth drafting.

JEREMY GUTHRIE - Guthrie posted another 17 loss season last year making that two in the last three years. The American League East doesn't help much as he started 20 out of 32 games against .500 or better teams. He did manage 130 strikeouts which may help a bit in that category. Otherwise I do not feel Guthrie is worth drafting anywhere but a late round flier.

ZACH BRITTON - Britton was a early season favorite as he got a chance to start for injured starter Brian Matusz. He started out hot but faded fast as opposing hitters learned how the young lefty worked. Zach possesses an excellent sinker but does not strike out many batters. He also walks 3.6 batters per nine innings which he will need to improve on before he becomes fantasy relevant. 

JAKE ARRIETA - Jake had 10 wins last year before bowing out to a season ending elbow problem. The 6' 4" righty has some promise if he is healthy and the elbow holds up. Keep a close watch on spring training to see how he is holding up before taking a late round flier on the youngster.

BRIAN MATUSZ - Matusz had a promising 2010 which sparked some interest in early drafts last spring as a sleeper, unfortunately Brian came into 2011 camp out of shape and got hurt. Matusz was never the same after his early season oblique injury especially with his velocity numbers way down. This year Buck Showalter will make his pitchers earn their keep which may motivate Brian to get his act together. He is a possible late round pick if healthy and deemed go to go for 2012. 

TOMMY HUNTER - Hunter bounced in between starter and reliever last year appearing in 20 games but only starting 11 of them. The 25 year old has pretty much a make or break year in which he clearly has the chance to be a starter for the O's but will he take the opportunity to task? Last years numbers were not great posting a 4-4 record and a 4.68 ERA. I would advise staying away from him come draft day.

ALFREDO SIMON - Simon started 16 of the 23 games he appeared in last year. He ended the year with a 4.90 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP which are mediocre numbers at best. Simon will get a chance to start again this year so keep an eye on spring training games. 

ARMANDO GALARRAGA -  For what it is worth Armando has a good chance as any of the others here mentioned for a fourth or fifth spot in the rotation. He went 3-4 for Arizona last year in eight starts. 

Written by John Marino exclusively for www.thefantasyfix.com. 

Follow The Fantasy Fix on Twitter @thefantasyfix

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(September 21, 2011 - Photo by Leon Halip/Getty Images North America) 
]]><![CDATA[2012 Fantasy Baseball: Clayton Kershaw & The Los Angeles Dodgers Starting Rotation Preview]]>Thu, 02 Feb 2012 06:53:43 -0800http://www.thefantasyfix.com/1/post/2012/02/dodgersrotation1212.htmlPicture
Clayton Kershaw (credits below)
There is no question that Clayton Kershaw is very good.  The only question is where among the top ten starting pitchers he should be drafted.  The answer to that question comes in the form of another question:  Do you buy the drop from 4.79 walks per nine in 2009 to 3.57 per nine in 2010 all the way down to 2.08 per nine last year?

After Kershaw, the Dodgers have several guys who are options to be drafted in ten-team mixed leagues but none who will be drafted in almost all leagues (assuming 60 starters are drafted in those leagues).

The most draft-worthy of the LA pitchers not named Kershaw is Ted Lilly.  Once you get past the top 25 or so starters, the WHIPs start to get ugly.  Once you get past that 60th pitcher threshold, it’s hard to find a pitcher who isn’t a complete WHIP killer.  Only 13 pitchers with at least 120 innings who finished outside the top 60 in xFIP last year had a WHIP of 1.25 or less.  One of whom was Lilly (1.16).

He’s currently going 84th among starters on MockDraftCentral.com which is just insane.  It’s almost impossible to find a sub-1.20 WHIP past the midway point in a draft.  Lilly will get you that along with an ERA with only marginal risk of being above 4.00 and a K/9 likely above 7.00.  Lilly should be going closer to 48th than 84th.

On the complete opposite end of the WHIP spectrum is Chad Billingsley.  He posted an ugly 1.45 WHIP last year thanks to a BB/9 just over 4.00.  But there’s upside with Billingsley.  He’s young (26) and posted a 3.57 ERA, 1.28 WHIP and 8.03 K/9 in 2010.  He’s currently going 88th among pitchers on MDC, so he’d be a fine sleeper/spot starter selection in the last three rounds of your draft.

And then come a couple of deeper sleeper options currently going outside the top 100 starters on MDC.  Aaron Harang is the option with more name value and a higher level of prior success.  And he benefitted from a year in pitcher-friendly PETCO last year (3.64 ERA).  But his velocity has declined the last couple of years, and he isn’t pitching in PETCO this year.  So Harang is a sleeper option but probably not a sleeper.

On the other hand, Chris Capuano has some legitimate potential to be a surprising spot-start option.  His 4.55 ERA and 1.35 WHIP from last year aren’t appealing, but his peripheral numbers were excellent.  He posted a 3.60 SIERA and a strikeout-to-walk ratio over 3.00.  Only 29 other pitchers who threw at least 120 innings managed a SIERA of 3.60 or less combined with a strikeout-to-walk over 3.00 last year.  Not that Capuano is going to be a top 30 pitcher this year, but he is certainly worth a late round pick.

The Dodgers don’t exactly have any prospects knocking on the door of the rotation.  With Rubby de la Rosa undergoing Tommy John surgery last August, Nate Eovaldi is probably first in line to get a crack at the rotation if one of the current five hits the DL.  But Eovaldi hasn’t pitched an inning at AAA, and I’m always wary of young pitchers who haven’t spent any time at that level.  Their #6 prospect according to Baseball Prospectus is Chris Withrow.  Withrow is from my hometown of Odessa, Texas, so I’d love to see him make it to the big leagues.  But he too hasn’t seen AAA yet, and he has to work out some serious control issues before he’s ready for the show.

Written by Brett Talley exclusively for thefantasyfix.com.  Brett is a law student in Dallas who can tell you firsthand that Chris Withrow’s wife is sneaky hot and was Withrow’s high school sweetheart.  You can tell him he’s sneaky ugly and/or ask him for fantasy advice on Twitter @therealTAL.

(September 3, 2011 - Photo by Joe Murphy/Getty Images North America) 
]]><![CDATA[2012 Fantasy Baseball Toronto Blue Jays Starting Rotation Preview]]>Mon, 30 Jan 2012 11:53:00 -0800http://www.thefantasyfix.com/1/post/2012/01/bluejays30112.htmlPicture
Ricky Romero (credits below)
Looks like the Blue Jays are happy with the young starting pitching staff they have assembled as they did virtually nothing this winter in the free agent market to help the staff with the exception of adding a steady closer in Sergio Santos. Ricky Romero is poised to take the next step as the team's ace and he will be followed most likely by Brandon Morrow and a slew of young talented arms. 

RICKY ROMERO - Romero finished last season with 15 wins and a 2.92 ERA. He finished 6th in the American League in ERA and 10th in wins. Ricky has gotten better each year in all Roto categories and had a very low BABIP. I like Romero to perform in the same range as last year although he still remains a mid-round draft selection.  

BRANDON MORROW- Morrow was one of my top sleeper picks last year and unfortunately he was asleep for most of the season. He did mange 11 wins and 203 strikeouts but a 1.29 WHIP and a 4.72 ERA made him a major disappointment. Tough call once again this year, I like the upside with him and if you can get him late he is worth a chance. 

HENDERSON ALVAREZ - The rookie showed some promise in his 10 starts last year for the Jays. He had a 3.53 ERA, an excellent ground ball rate and showed great control with only 8 BB's in 63.2 innings. His critics do not like the fact that he doesn't strikeout many batters and pitching in the AL East  is not a great spot to be in. He is worth a late round flier. 

BRETT CECIL - Cecil had a huge regression from his stellar 15 win 2010 year with a terrible 4-11 record and a severe drop in his velocity numbers. Brett also lost his last seven decisions last year after returning from a stint at the AAA level. Early discussions say he is motivated to bounce back this year but I will need to see a hot start to have any faith in him. Not worthy of drafting but keep an eye on the waiver wire.

KYLE DRABEK- Drabek was a popular sleeper last year than just never made the grade. He showed terrible control in walking more batters than he struck out while posting a 1.81 WHIP. Opposing hitters nearly hit .300 against him as well. If he can re-establish the strike zone and become more aggressive this time around he has a chance to post some decent numbers. Take a wait and see approach with Kyle this year. 

DUSTIN MCGOWAN- McGowan signed a one year contract with the Jays in the off season and will most likely compete for a 5th starter role on the team. Dustin sat out nearly three years with multiple arm injuries and has no value as a fantasy player at this time. 

Written by John Marino exclusively for www.thefantasyfix.com. 

Follow The Fantasy Fix on Twitter @thefantasyfix

or for Free Fantasy Sports Advice use our Quick Fix to get help with your team!

(September 18, 2011 - Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images North America) 

]]><![CDATA[2012 Fantasy Baseball Boston Red Sox Starting Rotation Preview]]>Sun, 29 Jan 2012 16:44:40 -0800http://www.thefantasyfix.com/1/post/2012/01/bostonredsox29112.htmlPicture
Jon Lester (credits below)
The 2012 Red Sox starting rotation is full of question marks and will most likely be undecided until late into spring training in March. If Clay Buchholz can remain healthy and the back end shapes up with Aaron Cook, Andrew Miller and a healthy Dice K, this staff could have plenty of sleeper potential. Keep an eye on the Red Sox situation this spring as they have been rumored to be interested in Edwin Jackson and Roy Oswalt.
 
JON LESTER - Lester's numbers declined across the board last year compared to his 19 win 3.25 ERA in 2010. He was plagued by a mid season lat muscle injury but the decline nontheless is troublesome for the left hander. Expect 16-18 wins, a 3.40 ERA and about 200 K's making him one of the top 15 pitchers off the board.
 
JOSH BECKETT- Beckett posted a career best 2.89 ERA last year as he made his third All-Star team for the Bosox. Beckett was aided by a .249 BABIP which is unlikely to remain. My thoughts are that he will most likely regress back into his normal ranges with a 3.80-4.00 ERA and right about 10-13 wins. Draft him in the middle rounds and hope for another solid year.
 
CLAY BUCHHOLZ - Clay is a solid option when healthy, possessing the stuff to be a number one pitcher. The problem therein is the fact that he rarely remains healthy. Last year he suffered back problems which cut into his velocity and caused control problems. Buckhholz has reportedly thrown some off the mound this year and has looked good spiking interest in him again as a top 25 talent. Buyer beware is my advice here, as you are taking a gamble on a pitcher with tremendous upside. He is worth a mid-round flyer.
 
DANIEL BARD - The Red Sox plan is to turn the flame throwing RP into a starter after acquiring A's closer Andrew Bailey to take over the closing role for departed Jonathan Papelbon. Bard who led the American League in holds has an excellent 1.06 career WHIP while striking out more batters than innings pitched. Bard could be an excellent late round sleeper if he proves he can handle the extra innings work load.
 
AARON COOK- After 10 years in Colorado Aaron signed a minor league deal with the Red Sox. Last year was terrible for Cook as he went 3-10 with a 6.03 ERA in an injured plagued season. If Cook does make the team he has no fantasy value and is not worth drafting.
 
ANDREW MILLER - The once highly touted college pitcher has never been able to make the transition successfully as a big league pitcher. In 2011 Miller finished 6-3 with a 5.54 ERA and a 1.82 WHIP. With the cloudy situation at the back of the Red Sox rotation still at hand, Miller has a chance to remain a starter and attempt once again to find the form he once possessed as a younger player. Miller is not worth drafting and should be available on waiver wires if he starts out hot.
 
DAISUKE MATSUZAKA - Dice K had Tommy John surgery last June and it is not known when he will be ready to have a chance to contribute to the Red Sox pitching situation. As of now he remains not worthy of a roster spot until we see positive results off the mound.

Written by John Marino exclusively for www.thefantasyfix.com. 

Follow The Fantasy Fix on Twitter @thefantasyfix

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(September 27, 2011 - Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images North America) 
]]><![CDATA[2012 Fantasy Baseball Peckin' Order: The Top Five Shortstops To Draft In 2012]]>Sun, 29 Jan 2012 15:25:18 -0800http://www.thefantasyfix.com/1/post/2012/01/top5ss29112.htmlPicture
Troy Tulowitzski (credits below)
Trying to sift through the shortstop position is like trying to find a needle in a haystack.  

If you thought the second base position was slim pickings then you haven’t seen anything yet. At shortstop there may be about seven players that you should sincerely go out and target... you can get away with guys like Derek Jeter (SS, NYY) and Jimmy Rollins (SS, PHI) but it wouldn’t be ideal.

Getting a solid shortstop can be key for any team. It is imperative that you grab yourself a strong middle infield, but if you have to live with a lesser talented second basemen it won’t destroy you. However, getting a bad shortstop could cripple your season, as the production out of the position is extremely short.

Top 5 Shortstops to draft in 2012: 

Troy Tulowitzki (SS, COL) is not just the best shortstop in the league but arguably can be one of the best players in all of baseball. I wouldn’t necessarily draft him first overall, but I can see where a case can be made that he deserves the spot. In the last two seasons Tulo has been an All Star, Gold Glove and Silver Slugger winner at shortstop and has been in the top 10 of MVP voting in each of the last three seasons. Tulo has averaged nearly 30 home runs, and 100 RBI over the last 3 seasons and has compiled a .293 career batting average. To go along with his amazing offensive prowess is his respectable – not great, but decent – speed numbers. Troy, has had double-digit stolen bases in 2 of the last three seasons and missed that mark by 1 last year.

When Jose Reyes (SS, MIA) is healthy he might possibly be one of the most deadly players in Major League Baseball. Jose has at least 30 stolen bases in the six seasons where he played at least 125 games, and in the other three seasons with a combined 158 games played, he has more than 40 stolen bases. But that’s not the most impressive part of the Dominican born All-Star, as he also has great ability to put a charge in the ball, and hit for average which is not something often seen from a speedster of Jose’ caliber. Jose has 4 seasons of double-digit home runs, and a career average of .292, including a .337 season in 2011. And for those of you in more of a sabrmetrics league that takes into account slugging percentage his 99 career triples will certainly help in that department.

Unlike Reyes, this next speedster shortstop doesn’t hit for much power, but his speed allows him to steal bases at a premium and score runs with the best. Elvis Andrus (SS, TEX) is only 23, and in three seasons in the majors has 102 career stolen bases. A concern for now is his high caught stealing rate, however he seems to be getting better as he gets older. Along with his rising stolen base numbers is his rising batting average. Andrus, increased his average by .014 points in 2011 to .279, and with that came more doubles and a rising slugging percentage. Andrus is still very young, and getting better with every game played.

For years, Hanley Ramirez (SS, MIA) was known as the premier player at the shortstop position then came 2011. Hanley’s season was cut short due to injury and for most fantasy owners it couldn’t have come later. Before going down with the injury Hanley hit .243 with 10 homers, and only 45 runs batted in, numbers that were significantly lower than his career averages. What keeps Hanley in the eyes of almost every fantasy owner was his bounce back July before going down for the season. Ramirez hit .293 with a .391 OBP 5 of his 10 homers and 21 of his 45 RBIs all came in this month. What will eventually give him some added value will be his position eligibility, with Reyes now in Miami as Hanley’s teammate a new position is in the horizon. Ramirez is only 28, he will be around for a while and if he can get back to his All-Star status he will definitely be one of the top players to grab in 2012.

Much like Andrus, this next young shortstop has pretty decent speed. Starlin Castro (SS, CHI) completed his second season in the majors with 22 stolen bases, 10 home runs, 66 runs batted in, and an average of .307 all of which were greater than in 2010. Castro is only 22 this year and with those kinds of numbers he is only going to get better. The old regime is out in the north side of Chicago so this is now Castro’s team for years to come.

Notable SS you can get away with:

Derek Jeter, and Jimmy Rollins are both getting older, and much slower, but they have the veteran status that the others on this list don’t yet have. Rollins was able to blast 16 big flies, score 87 runs and steal 30 bases, which are great numbers if he can keep it up. Jeter got better as the season went along, probably because he reached 3,000 hits for his career and so the pressure was off for the most part. Jeter compiled 16 stolen bases in 2011 the 16th straight season with double-digit swipes, and in the second half of the year he hit .327 to finish with a .297 average.

JJ Hardy (SS, BAL) showed that the power we saw earlier in his career is back with 30 dingers in 2011; so if you need a power bat at the position and the others are off the board jump at Hardy. He isn’t going to get you any stolen bases, and his average and on base percentages are sub-par to say the least, but he will hit for power drive in a decent amount of runs, and score some as well.

Before Alex Rodriguez (3B, NYY) hit the scene in the mid 90s, it was very rare to see power hitters at the shortstop position. But the fly ball era (aka steroid era) came and with it so did the big bats as shortstop. But with as many shortstops that can hit for great power come at least 3 others who don’t have any. Speed is at an exceptional rate from this position and can really grow your fantasy teams numbers if drafted properly. 

Written by Justin Mandaro, exclusively for TheFantasyFix.com

Follow him on twitter @PeckinTheFix

As always you can ask me any draft, line up, or trade questions on twitter any time of the day. 

(September 2, 2011 - Photo by Denis Poroy/Getty Images North America)

]]><![CDATA[2012 Fantasy Baseball Peckin' Order: The Top Five Second Basemen NOT To Draft In 2012]]>Thu, 26 Jan 2012 13:54:22 -0800http://www.thefantasyfix.com/1/post/2012/01/peckinorder26112.htmlPicture
Chase Utley (credits below)
These 5 second baseman should be forgotten about in 2012...

As stated last week, the position of second base is one of the scarcest in the entire game. It isn’t easy to come by once you get past the big named players, and when trying to put together your team it often times becomes a very difficult position to fill.

It is very important to grab one of the better players at the position, in order to have some substance to your line up. The following five players however are those who you do not want in your line up regardless of how thin the position gets further in the draft.

Top 5 Second Baseman to stay away from:

For years Chase Utley (2B, PHI) was the must have second baseman. Utley put up power numbers never seen from a player at the position, but the last two years haven’t been so kind. If you look back though you can see a trend over the last four seasons on the down turn. In 2008, Utley hit 33 home runs, drove in 104, scored 113 and hit for .292. Since 2008, Utley has dropped in each of these categories in every year. The more startling of Utley’s numbers is his inability to play games. In 2010, Utley played in only 115 games, and then in 2011 only 103, those numbers are less than enticing.

Rickie Weeks (2B, MIL) was a first half monster on his way to one of his best seasons as a pro. Weeks started the 2011 season off with a bang hitting 17 of his 20 homers prior to the all-star break, but only drove in 39 runs, which may have been more of a result of Ryan Braun (OF, MIL) and Prince Fielder (1B, DET) knocking everyone in, but it’s still less than stellar. Weeks no longer has Fielder as he is now in Detroit, and with the vagueness of Braun’s steroid test it’s not going to be easy for Weeks to see the same pitches he may have seen with those two in the line up. Weeks isn’t a player who gets on base much, and won’t steal many bases, and you should be hesitant on this 8 year veteran.

Out of the minor leagues, I absolutely would’ve told you to grab Gordon Beckham (2B, CWS). Beckham was drafted 8th overall by the White Sox in the 2008 amateur draft, and immediately made a decent impact in the minors. Beckham was never a power hitter, but man could he hit for average. In 233 minor league at bats Beckham collected 75 hits good for an average over .320, but before he could finish his 2009 stint in the minors he was called up for a major chunk of the season. That season Gordon hit .270 a respectable number for a rookie while blasting 14 home runs. Since then Beckham hasn’t hit better than .252 and only .230 in 2011. Beckham won’t be known for his power with only 9 and 10 homers in his last two seasons respectively, but his runs batted in and runs scored are also sub par giving me the stop sign when looking to acquire the Chicago south sider.

Brian Roberts (2B, BAL) should have been dropped from fantasy rosters two seasons ago, but it seems as if some people are continuing to have hope for the 34-year-old second baseman. For years Roberts was known as the speed second baseman, and while Utley was putting up mashing power numbers, Roberts was swiping bags at ease and thus had an extremely high value in fantasy leagues. However, his last two seasons have not only been injury plagued, but production plagued as well. There are still a ton of injury concerns for Roberts, as well as some lingering steroid allegations that may pull him down further and with only 98 games played in his last two seasons combined Roberts is no longer the base stealing threat that he once was. That alone should cause you to pump the brakes on this aging ball player.

I think we are too far along into this next player’s career to really be waiting for potential production. In Aaron Hill’s (2B, ARI) first four seasons he hit more homers in one year (17) than he did in the three other years combined. Then came 2009, and a 36 homer, 108 RBI, 103 runs scored season which caught every fantasy player off guard. Hill was able to complete 2010 in similar style with 26 home runs, but only hit .205 drove in a measly 68 runs and only scored 70, not something you want to see from a second baseman. 2011 was a shock to everyone when after two straight seasons of at least 25 home runs he could only knock 8 balls over the wall. The runs scored and runs batted in totals were very similar to 2010, and while his average was better .246 on the year it was a tale of two tapes. Hill started the year in Toronto and hit .225, at the deadline he was traded to the Diamondbacks and first year head coach Kirk Gibson seemed to be able to change him around to the tune of a .315 average. He also had an OBP of .386 while in Arizona nearly 40 points higher than any other season he has had in the big leagues which may have been a result of not knowing the pitchers so he waited for his pitch to come. Hill’s only bright spot was his 21 stolen bases in 2011, a number only two fewer than his career total up to that point. 

Position scarcity is extremely important in fantasy sports, and drafting the right player can make or break your season. Because of how thin the league is at the position reaching and grabbing you one of the top flight second baseman is almost imperative. If you can’t, pray that you are able to get great value from the other positions on your roster.

Written by Justin Mandaro, exclusively for TheFantasyFix.com

Follow him on twitter @PeckinTheFix

As always you can ask me any draft, line up, or trade questions on twitter any time of the day. 

(October 4, 2011 - Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images North America) 

]]><![CDATA[2012 Fantasy Baseball New York Yankees Starting Rotation Preview]]>Thu, 26 Jan 2012 11:24:25 -0800http://www.thefantasyfix.com/1/post/2012/01/nyyankees26112.htmlPicture
CC Sabathia (credits below)
The Yankees starting pitching staff scored a nice coup in the off season as they resigned ace CC Sabathia and added 2011 rookie phenom Michael Pineda. Freddie Garcia will be brought back also as the only real loss the staff will suffer is with Bartolo Colon now in Oakland. With a rock solid bullpen in place the starters need only to pitch six solid innings to reap the benefits of being a pinstripe pitcher. Beyond CC though we are left with several question marks going into 2012.
 
CC SABATHIA- CC had a stellar year last year going 19-8 with a 3.07 ERA while finishing with the second most strikeouts and second best ERA in his career. He also has now pitched 230-plus innings for five consecutive years. Although he ran out of gas at the end of the season, I expect another top 10 pitcher perfromance once again in 2012. He will win 20 games this year.
 
IVAN NOVA- Nova finished 16-4 last year with a 3.70 ERA earning him a fourth place finish in the American League's Rookie of the Year voting. His strikeout and walk rate are not real good adding to his 1.33 WHIP. I am not terribly high on Nova this year but if you can get him cheap or late he is definitely worth a gamble especially in the wins category.
 
MICHAEL PINEDA- Pineda who came over in a trade for Yankee phenom catcher Jesus Montero,  now brings his electricfying stuff to the Bronx where he may find things a bit tougher in the small confines of Yankee stadium. Pitching in the American League East doesnt help either although I feel with another year of experience under his belt can only help the 23 year old. I loved Pineda last year especially in the first half of the year but will temper my expectations for the 2012 year until I see how the youngster can handle the New York spotlight.
 
PHIL HUGHES- Keep a close watch on Hughes' spring training, especially radar gun numbers before drafting him. He could be a late round steal if you are willing to take a chance that he can get back to what he once was before his dead arm issues in 2011. He did have better numbers after returning from his disabled list stint although they still were not as good as we saw in 2010.
 
A.J. BURNETT- A.J. ended up with an 11-11 record last year with a terrible 5.15 ERA. If the Yankees can find a suitor for his contract he will not be in pinstripes for the 2012 year. His velocity is down and for a high ball pitcher in Yankee stadium and the A.L. East that spells disaster.
 
FREDDIE GARCIA- Freddie managed a 12-8 record and a 3.62 ERA in 146 innings last year. What a splendid surprise he turned out to be although do not expect anything close to that again in his career. I see him getting some spot starts and may win 10 games in this offense but his velocity continues to decline and he can only get away with so-so stuff in this division for so long.

Written by John Marino exclusively for www.thefantasyfix.com. 

Follow The Fantasy Fix on Twitter @thefantasyfix

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(September 3, 2011 - Photo by Christopher Pasatieri/Getty Images North America)
]]><![CDATA[2012 Fantasy Baseball Colorado Rockies Starting Rotation Preview]]>Tue, 24 Jan 2012 10:16:50 -0800http://www.thefantasyfix.com/1/post/2012/01/fantasybaseballrockies24112.htmlPicture
Jorge de la Rosa (credits below)
This is part 2 of our 30 part series previewing every starting rotation in the league.  

Now up: the Colorado Rockies. 

Jorge de la Rosa has pitched more than 130 innings in a major league season exactly once (185 IP in 2009).  The only season in which he recorded an ERA under 4.00 was his 3.51 mark in just 59 innings before injury last year.  The small sample size season that was 2011 for de la Rosa was also the only time he has ever finished a season with a WHIP lower than 1.30 (1.19).

Coming off a mediocre 2010 performance in which he only tossed 120 or so innings, de la Rosa was going at the tail end of drafts heading into last year (ADP: 225).  And so, coming off a second consecutive injury shortened season, it’s likely the lack-of-control-lefty will go undrafted in many leagues.

But because Day-lah has a K/9 of 8.82 in almost 500 innings as a Rockie, he is absolutely worthy of a draft pick, even in ten-team standard leagues.  As a late or even last round flier, you get a lot of upside with Jorge.  If (big IF) he can stay healthy, you could be getting 180+ strikeouts from one of your last picks. 

And while the K’s won’t come along with an ERA in the low threes, it will likely come with an ERA no higher than four because his SIERA’s the last four seasons have all fallen between 3.80 and 4.00.  The big worry is that he’ll kill your WHIP, and his career 4.46 BB/9 justifies that concern.  But he did manage a 3.36 BB/9 last season.  If he can keep it at or around 3.50, he won’t go all Chad Billingsley on your WHIP.

Speaking of lots of walks, let’s talk about Jhoulys Chacin.  While it’s true that it’s easier to avoid walking people in the minors than in the big leagues, Chacin didn’t issue many free passes in the minors (2.48 BB/9 in 373 IP) and has completely lost that ability in the majors (4.18 BB/9 in 342 IP). 

The lack of control becomes even more disconcerting when you consider the fact that Chacin was lucky with balls in play last year (.261 BABIP) and still couldn’t post a sub-1.30 WHIP.  If that luck doesn’t hold, Chacin may be the WHIP killer you feared de la Rosa would be. 

As always, a player’s value all depends on where they’re being drafted.  Chacin has been going 194th on MockDraftCentral.com which isn’t wildly unreasonable, but there are better options going behind him (for example, Ricky Nolasco who was wildly unlucky last year).

The rest of the Colorado rotation will be filled out by some combination of the worthless trio of Jason Hammel, Josh Outman, and Guillermo Moscoso or the prospect duo of Drew Pomeranz and Alex White.

White and Pomeranz are both quality prospects, but they are not viable fantasy options right out of the gate.  The biggest red flag is that Pomeranz hasn’t thrown a pitch in AAA, and White has only racked up 23 innings at that level.  They don’t need extensive time at AAA, but making the jump to the majors straight from AA can be tough.  Just ask Kyle Drabek.

Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images North America

Written by Brett Talley exclusively for thefantasyfix.com.  Brett is a law student in Dallas who is glad to be back, baby!  You can ask him for fantasy advice on Twitter @therealTAL.
]]><![CDATA[2012 Fantasy Baseball Peckin' Order: The Top Five Second Basemen To Draft In 2012]]>Sat, 21 Jan 2012 09:34:39 -0800http://www.thefantasyfix.com/1/post/2012/01/peckinorder121secondbase.htmlPicture
Ian Kinsler (Credits Below)
Should there be a high emphasis on position scarcity?

There is absolutely nothing more important then paying attention to depth in fantasy sports. Getting the right players for the right positions at the right time is key to success in fantasy sports, specifically in baseball. One of the most depthless positions over time has been the second basemen. For years, the number of elite second baseman has been hard to come by, causing problems for many players.

This year is slightly different, new players entering the league, and some older vets continuing on their prowess, the second base position is getting to be a bit deeper. Although not nearly as deep as 1B or OF it is passing both the Catcher and Shortstop position in depth, which will allow you to grab other positions first, but tread carefully.

Top 5 Second Baseman to Draft in 2012

It was hard to choose the order of these top 5. Each of these players has the ability to do amazing things at the position. In the end, it comes down speed. A lot of players can put up power from different positions, but not a lot of players have the ability to steal bases and that’s why Ian Kinsler (2B, TEX) is atop my 2B rankings. For Kinsler his .255 average wasn’t new territory but it wasn’t his norm either as his career average is .020 points higher, what boosts Kinsler’s value here was the rest of his numbers. For the second time in his career Kinsler surpassed 30 stolen bases and 30 Home runs (both times he did it in the same year). For the first time in his career Kinsler scored more than 102 runs, and he had his second highest runs batted in total of his career. What was really nice to see was his increase in walks with 89 nearly 30 more than his previous career high. A power, and speed combination can often times be hard to come by but Kinsler has it and if he can continue to get on base with walks his value can only grow.

Dustin Pedroia (2B, BOS) had a bit of a career year in 2011 and a lot of that had to do with Jacoby Ellsbury’s (OF, BOS) and Adrian Gonzalez’ (1B, BOS) amazing seasons. The former AL MVP hit .307 only the third time in his career over .300, and had career numbers in runs batted in (91), stolen bases (26) and home runs (21). Pedroia also scored 102 times in 2011, the third time he was able to hit the century mark in his career. Most Yankee fans may hate me for placing him above Robinson Cano (2B, NYY) (as a Yankee fan myself, I kind of hate myself just for writing this) but his ability to steal, while also going deep catapults Dustin slightly ahead of Robinson. Ellsbury and Gonzalez are still there and as will Pedroia’s production.

Robinson Cano has just about every offensive category that any fantasy baseball owner would want except for stolen bases which is what distinguishes him from the two above. Cano has always had a knack for putting the ball in play, just not necessarily getting on base, which hurts his value a bit more than his speed does. Just imagine if Cano got on base more, his 100+ runs could easily break 150 with the offense that hits behind him in that line up. Despite not being known for his speed, Cano had a career year in stolen bases with 8, which helps but not enough to put him at the top of this list.

Dan Uggla (2B, ATL) had one of the most unimpressive first halves of baseball you could imagine. The one constant however was his ability to put the ball over the wall. Uggla hit a shocking .185 in the first half of the 2011 season but was able to hit 15 big flies, drive in 34 runs and score another 43 in 340 at bats. The second half was a completely different story. Uggla put up higher numbers in runs, home runs, rbi’s, and was able to decrease his strike out totals, all in fewer at bats (260). The most shocking of his second half numbers was the near .300 average Uggla mashed for showing that his first half was more of an aberration than an every year thing. 2011 marked the 5th straight year of at least 31 home runs, 80 RBI’s, and 80 Runs scored. Uggla seems to be in prime position to do it again in 2012.

Brandon Phillips (2B, CIN) had one of his best seasons in 2011. Posting a .300 avg for the first time in his career, Phillips also mashed 18 HRs, the 5th time he has had at least that many in a season. Phillips was also able to drive in 82 runs and score another 94 on his own while posting an .810 OPS second highest of his career. A bit more troubling has been the reduction of stolen bases over the last two seasons, over that span Phillips swiped 30 bags, his career high in a season is 32. Brandon has the wheels and the pop to be known as one of the top second basemen in fantasy baseball and should make strong considerations for your team on draft day.

Notable Second Baseman to consider:

Other second basemen I would consider drafting would include, Jason Kipnis (2B, CLE), Howie Kendrick (2B, ANA) and even Eduardo Nunez (2B, NYY).

Kipnis got the call to the show mid way through the year, and showed that with an entire season he could be problem. With 5 stolen bases, and 7 homers in 36 games played in 2011, he could seriously be considered for a 20/20 candidate in 2012.

Nunez stole 22 bags last season in just 112 games played, most of which were spent pinch running. The Yankees infielders are getting older and with that come injuries, with injuries comes more opportunity for Nunez to play. Nunez can see 30+ thefts in 2012 with an increased role on the team.

Kendrick had career highs in runs scored, home runs, and stolen bases. He hit a respectable .285, the 5th time in his career to do that. But, he struck out 119 times nearly 30 times more than his previous high, which is a concern. Albert Pujols (1B, ANA) will absolutely help Kendrick see better pitches which will help him put up better numbers resulting in a pretty decent second base draft pick.

Written by Justin Mandaro, exclusively for TheFantasyFix.com

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(October 26, 20112011-10-26 16:00:00 - Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images North America)
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