Category: BASEBALL

By Robby Wellington – Staff Writer Here’s a list of hitters you should try and get. . . and ones you should try and get rid of. Get ‘Em Mark Teixeira – It looks like Teixeira is going to give Derrek Lee a run for his money in the “biggest first round bust” competition. That…

Through 2 1/2 months of baseball, there are plenty of surprising starts. Some are off to poor starts, while others are off to great ones. It’s time to take a look and see which are for real and which are only a mirage. Andy Pettitte’s slow start Pettitte currently sports a 5.46 ERA and a…

By Robby Wellington – Staff Writer Last month, I listed a number of speedsters and attempted to project their final steal totals. Now that the landscape has changed somewhat, I will rank my top-15 thieves, with their projected totals from here on out. 1. Jose Reyes (36) – My pick to lead the league in…

Adrian Beltre is hard to figure out. Sure, I obviously overrated him going into this year, and it’s so easy to blame his rise and fall on simply signing a huge contract, but he cannot be this bad. By all accounts and purposes, he is no loafer, and appears to at least be someone who…

By Robby Wellington – Staff Writer Rich Harden and Gary Sheffield were probably taken in the top three rounds of most leagues this year. Now their value is next to nothing. Or so most people would think. Depending on a number of factors, these two are still reasonably valuable fantasy commodities that should not be…

Jason Schmidt was one of baseball’s best pitchers from 2002-2004. In 2003, he might have been the very best. But all those high pitch counts finally caught up to him last year. He had to spend some time on the DL in May, and when he returned, it was not the same pitcher as before.…

By Robby Wellington – Staff Writer Below are some general thoughts and tips regarding trading. Some may seem pretty obvious, but hopefully there are a few new things to think about. . . Less is More As a general rule of trading, the team that acquires the fewer number of players in a trade usually…

By Dalton Del Don – Senior Writer Forget what you think you know about how to judge a pitcher’s merits. Essentially, strikeouts, walks, and home runs are even more important than you think. Sure, every true baseball fan knows that the “wins” category is overrated when it comes to how well a pitcher has thrown.…

SELL HIGH Brett Tomko – Tomko has shown flashes of brilliance before in his career, but don’t fall for it. He’s as inconsistent as they come. With two consecutive poor starts, this recommendation may be too late. If you can’t deal him, look into starting him exclusively at Dodger Stadium, as his home/road splits are…

By Robby Wellington – Staff Writer In fantasy football, I have long been a proponent of analyzing a player’s “playoff schedule,” who they play in weeks 14-16, and factoring it in when determining their overall value. After all, I reason, I have to assume that my team will be good enough to make my league’s…

It’s tough to recommend pick ups, as every league is different. In some leagues, these players are long gone, in others they might not even be worth adding. Whether deep or shallow, some of these guys should be available on the waiver wire and deserve consideration of a pick up. Anthony Reyes – This one…

By Dalton Del Don – Senior Writer Everyone knows a big part of being a successful fantasy player is the ability to buy low and sell high. I’m all for this and even write articles suggesting players that fit the bill. There is, however, a common misconception about baseball players who are exceeding expectations and…

By Robby Wellington – Staff Writer Take a look at which teams in your league have made the most transactions and which have made the least. Now compare that to your current standings. Notice a correlation? If you don’t yet, wait until the end of the season when the teams with the most transactions rise…

By Robby Wellington – Staff Writer Don’t worry, I’m not going to beat a dead horse here, although I will quickly say two things. First, all things being equal, if he had never taken steroids, Bonds would still have a ton of home runs, maybe 50-70 fewer than he does now (as opposed to the…

Francisco Liriano is baseball’s best pitching prospect. He got all the attention in spring training and was drafted in virtually every league out there. With the Twins starting rotation imploding, he is getting his chance to join the rotation and live up to my expectations, as I picked him for ROY in the AL. Hamels…

By Robby Wellington – Staff Writer Here are three closers and three starting pitchers who may very well be undervalued in your league. We’ll start with the closers. . . 1. Brad Lidge – He’ll be fine and back in the closer’s role in no time once he harnesses his control (his stuff is as…

1. Miguel Tejada (1) – Still the best among a suddenly deeper position. 2. Michael Young (2) – It’s argued that he’s the most underrated player in all of baseball. 3. Jose Reyes (3) – He’s greatly increased his walk rate, something that really figures to benefit him in the long run. He’s still the…

1. Chase Utley (1) – I had him as my No. 1 ranked middle infielder going into the year, and he’s done nothing to suggest anything different so far. 2. Alfonso Soriano (3) – Well, it has gone much smoother than anticipated. Soriano is on his way to putting up fat numbers in an effort…

1. Albert Pujols (1) – Wow. Not much to say at this point. 2. Mark Teixeira (2) – Off to a slow start but he’ll get it going. 3. Lance Berkman (5) – Plays the outfield, but many fantasy owners use his first base eligibility. He’s off to a MVP caliber season. 4. Jim Thome…

By: Robby Wellington – Staff Writer Stolen bases are the rarest of commodities in the fantasy world. Home runs are hit more than twice as much as bases are stolen and, accordingly, stolen bases are more than twice as valuable (discounting a home run’s collateral categorical benefit). However, stolen bases are also one of the…