Fantasy baseball draft season is coming, so you best be prepared by delving through every major player on each team. Fantasy FanHouse is here to help with a quick once-over. Meet the ...
Best team in baseball. Yes, they are still better than the Yankees and Red Sox. Lost in all the joy of last season were the facts that two key players were injured down the stretch and another had an absolutely dreadful offensive season. Throw in the addition of Pat Burrell, and the continued growth of the young pitching staff, and you have a team who can take on the big-spending Yankees and venerable Red Sox.
The Breakout
Matt Garza showed his big game ability in the ALCS, as he handcuffed the Red Sox twice -- including a series-clinching Game 7. He had gone 11-9 with a 3.70 ERA and 1.24 WHIP in his first full regular season in the majors. His strikeouts could definitely be more helpful, as 128 in 184 2/3 innings pitched is not a solid rate by any means.
Here's the thing, though. He's improved at every chance in the bigs. He's only 25, and he's now made 54 career starts. Throughout the minors, he always struck out more than a batter per inning, and he now has one of the best defenses in baseball behind him. October should have given him more confidence heading into this season, and he's ready to bust through. A 3.50 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 175 strikeouts to go with 15 wins are definitely reachable plateaus for the youngster. He's even cheaper than he should be due being overshadowed by the presence of uber-prospect David Price.
The Bust
David Price has not sewn up the fifth spot in the rotation. Recent reports indicate he may even start the season in triple-A. He's destined to be great, but the Rays are trying to win now. If someone outperforms him while he's still learning professional baseball, he's just going to have to wait.
Here's a list of guys who are going later than Price on MDC: Javier Vazquez, Brett Myers, Zack Greinke, Aaron Harang, Derek Lowe, and Garza. A few rounds before Garza, in fact.
Look, we know he has the talent to justify this spot on an ADP chart -- next season. For this year, we just don't know what to expect. Those guys I listed are definitely going to be reliable for a full season. You can't say that about Price. The Rays will not rush him, thus, I recommend you take the same approach. Let someone else pay for the excessive hype.
The Lineup
1. Akinori Iwamura, 2B
2. Carl Crawford, LF
3. B.J. Upton, CF
4. Evan Longoria, 3B
5. Pat Burrell, DH
6. Carlos Pena, 1B
7. Dioner Navarro, C
8. Matt Joyce, RF
9. Jason Bartlett, SS
Gabe Gross also has a shot at the right field job.
The Rotation
1. James Shields
2. Scott Kazmir
3. Matt Garza
4. Andy Sonnanstine
5. David Price
The Bullpen
CL - Troy Percival
SU - Dan Wheeler
SU - Grant Balfour
SU - J.P. Howell
The Skinny
• Lots to love here. There are three studs (Upton, Longoria, Crawford) in the lineup, and all five starting pitchers will be drafted in many leagues. If you play in deep AL-only leagues, it's conceivable that every player listed above gets drafted, because the set-up men are stellar.
• If Price doesn't win the fifth-starter spot out of Spring Training, it's going to be a dude named Jeff Niemann -- who has been dealing thus far in camp. In case you haven't heard of this gargantuan fellow -- he stands 6'9" and weighs 280 -- he's a perfect example of how deep and good the Rays system is right now. The 25 year-old right-hander was the fourth overall pick in 2004. He's got a high strikeout rate, but has yet to baffle hitters consistently. That is, until this year in Spring Training. If he keeps this up, he's definitely worth a late pick in AL-only leagues.
• Navarro made significant strides offensively in his second full year as a major leaguer in 2008. He hit .295 and drove home 54 men. If you either miss out on or don't believe in drafting elite catchers, he's a good late round option in all leagues. He's only 25, so there's a possibility the power appears eventually anyway.
• If you play in a league where you only draft closers, you probably should look elsewhere. Percival is supposedly going to be ready to have the job on Opening Day, but if he stays healthy and/or productive enough to keep it is a whole different story altogether. Next in line should be Wheeler, but Balfour and Howell were studs last season. There are a lot of options here, but none are sure-fire bets for saves.
• You simply cannot give up on Crawford. He's only 27 years-old. Last year was an off-year, sure, but he only played in 109 games. We're talking about a guy who could hit .300 with 20 homers, 80 RBI, 100 runs, and 50 steals. That would be the best-case scenario, but do you really want to sleep on a guy with this kind of multi-category talent?
• Upton -- who you know we love this year -- will probably miss the first week or so of the regular season. In his absence, we'll get a look at 25 year-old Fernando Perez. Perez has very solid stolen base totals through his minor league stat-lines, in addition to good on-base percentages. If you want really cheap speed as a type of rental early in the season, Perez is your man.
