These are the players who I believe to be the top 20 fantasy baseball outfielders in the American League going into the 2011 season.
Here are my other 2011 fantasy baseball rankings:
Tag: Fantasy Sports
2011 Fantasy Baseball Rankings: MLB’s Top 20 Third Basemen
1. Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay Rays
2. David Wright, New York Mets
3. Alex Rodriguez, New York Yankees
4. Ryan Zimmerman, Washington Nationals
5. Kevin Youkilis, Boston Red Sox
6. Adrian Beltre, Texas Rangers
7. Jose Bautista*, Toronto Blue Jays
8. Pedro Alvarez, Pittsburgh Pirates
9. Pablo Sandoval, San Francisco Giants
10. Casey McGehee, Milwaukee Brewers
11. Martin Prado*, Atlanta Braves
12. Michael Young, Texas Rangers
13.Aramis Ramirez, Chicago Cubs
14. Chase Headley, San Diego Padres
15. Mark Reynolds, Baltimore Orioles
16. Ian Stewart, Colorado Rockies
17. Miguel Tejada*, San Francisco Giants
18. Michael Cuddyer*, Minnesota Twins
19. Johnny Peralta*, Detroit Tigers
20. Chris Johnson, Houston Astros
*Not their normal position but still eligible for 3B.
Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com
MLB Fantasy Baseball 2011: Catchers
I think catcher is the most overrated position in fantasy baseball, and every year a majority of players in each league will make the same mistakes. Yes, having Joe Mauer on your team will be great if you can get him, but I don’t know anyone who sits there and says they won their league because they had Ramon Hernandez or Kurt Suzuki as their catcher.
Buster Posey showed signs that he could develop into a good fantasy hitter last year, but it probably makes more sense to wait a couple years and let him develop before you jump to the conclusion he’s the next Mauer.
However, my advice to all players would be to avoid a catcher during your draft unless you have a chance to take Mauer in the sixth or seventh round. Any earlier and the move is counterproductive because you would be passing on a different player who could have more benefit to your team in the long run.
When it comes down to it, most catchers will go on some sort of hot streak during the season, where they crack the top 100 rankings and have a solid two weeks of production. But in the end, almost all of the catchers are going to end up the same. They will have an average between .260 and .280, about 15 to 20 home runs, and 60 to 75 RBI.
Rather than taking a catcher who in most weeks will bring down your team average and use up a valuable roster spot, use that spot to take another starting pitcher, someone who you think could have a big year, or use it to cycle through free agent pitchers during the season.
Cycling pitchers in most cases will bring up your ERA and WHIP by nature, just because the more starts your team has, the more chances there are for someone to have a bad game. The benefit that you will get by cycling pitchers is your team will pick up wins and strikeouts, which could end up determining if you win the week or not if you are playing in a head-to-head league.
Unless you can get a catcher like Mauer without having to burn one of your early round picks on him, look to avoid a catcher altogether and cycle pitchers or pick up a player who has gotten hot at a position where you aren’t as strong. In the end, either option will do your team more good than taking the eighth or ninth ranked catcher.
By Trey Nelson
Sign up today!
SleeperBot: Fantasy Sports Real-Time Conversations.
Join the fastest fantasy sports site online. All our pages load in under half a second, and our updates come in real-time.
Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com
MLB Fantasy Baseball 2011: Second Base Projections
Second base is one of the most hit-and-miss positions in the fantasy game. Everyone knows about the big names: Chase Utley, Robinson Cano and even Dan Uggla most years.
Last year saw an increase in production from second base that most people didn’t see coming. If you saw Rickie Weeks, Kelley Johnson and Martin Prado being in the top five of second baseman, more power to you and you probably don’t need my advice. If you were one of the many who didn’t, here are some late round sleepers to watch and consider and some players to avoid at second base:
Sleepers
Marco Scutaro – Boston Red Sox
After a solid 2009 season, there was a lot of hype around Scutaro going into 2010. Unfortunately, he did not live up to most owners’ expectations, hitting only .275 with five stolen bases and less than 100 runs scored.
But with new additions to the Red Sox including Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez, there is the potential for Scutaro to have a big year for fantasy owners in runs scored and RBIs. Also, look for Scutaro to have a higher average as more people on base will open more holes for him.
Chone Figgins – Seattle Mariners
While Figgins is eligible at second base in most fantasy leagues, he will end up being the Mariners’ third baseman this season, making room for prospect Dustin Ackley to take over at second base.
Figgins has been a better hitter in his career when he starts at third than when he starts at second, which should increase his average from the disappointing .259 last season. Figgins will still get the steals you want, but look for an offensive increase and a late-round steal.
Brian Roberts – Baltimore Orioles
Roberts is probably one of the most underrated and overlooked players in the game. When you are drafting, most managers will avoid Roberts because of his low numbers last season.
But remember, Roberts missed more than half of the season with an injury and with new additions like Derek Lee, Mark Reynolds and Vladamir Guerrero, the potential is there for Roberts to score a ton of runs if he can stay healthy. Also, the American League East does not have any solid defensive catchers, so Roberts could easily end up with 35 or 40 stolen bases.
Avoid
Kelly Johnson – Arizona Diamondbacks
Kelly Johnson came out of nowhere last season, but look for a major drop-off this year. Part of Johnson’s success came from the surprise factor, but look for National League West pitchers to give him more attention this season.
Also, Justin Upton is really the only other offensive threat in a weak Arizona lineup, and Upton could be traded around the deadline. If Johnson gets moved midseason to a hitter-friendly park, or a team with more offensive weapons, look at picking him up then, but avoid him in your draft. Someone will take him about four rounds too early and you don’t want to waste a pick.
Ian Kinsler – Texas Rangers
Ian Kinsler in past years was one of the top second baseman in the game before getting injured last season and only playing in 103 games. When you look at the Rangers’ lineup, a couple things jump out that could limit Kinsler’s production.
Hamilton and Beltre could have good seasons and provide opportunities, but Beltre is just as likely to tank this year just like his time in Seattle and Hamilton has had some injury problems that could still bother him.
Aside from those two, there really is not a lot of RBI or run scoring chances for Kinsler. Young is most likely going to get moved soon, Andrus has had his share of offensive problems, and Mooreland has potential, but is still a rookie who’s developing. If Kinsler can stay healthy, he has the talent and a hitter-friendly park, but there are too many factors working against him.
Juan Uribe – Los Angeles Dodgers
Similar to the hype around Aubrey Huff, there was a lot of buzz about Uribe during the offseason coming off his playoff success last season. However, most people around baseball had seriously questions about Uribe’s durability and if he could play a full season and be an everyday player.
Also, Dodger manager Don Mattingly has not yet figured out where Uribe would hit in the lineup or if he will win the starting spot outright, as the Dodgers signed veteran infielder Aaron Miles last week and their top prospect, Dee Brown, is a middle infielder who they could try and get some at-bats during the season.
Pair those factors with a Dodger lineup that had problems scoring runs last season, and Uribe could have a real letdown season for fantasy owners.
Sign up today!
SleeperBot: Fantasy Sports Real-Time Conversations.
Join the fastest fantasy sports site online. All our pages load in under half a second, and our updates come in real-time.
Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com
2011 Fantasy Baseball Rankings: MLB’s Top 35 Starting Pitchers
1. Roy Halladay, Philadelphia Phillies
2. Felix Hernandez, Seattle Mariners
3. Adam Wainwright, St. Louis Cardinals
4. Cliff Lee, Philadelphia Phillies
5. Ubaldo Jimenez, Colorado Rockies
6. Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers
7. Josh Johnson, Florida Marlins
8. David Price, Tampa Bay Rays
9. Jon Lester, Boston Red Sox
10. Tim Lincecum, San Francisco Giants
11. C.C. Sabathia, New York Yankees
12. Jered Weaver, Los Angeles Angels
13. Roy Oswalt, Philadelphia Phillies
14. Matt Cain, San Francisco Giants
15. Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers
16. Johan Santana, New York Mets
17. Mat Latos, San Diego Padres
18. Stephen Strasburg*, Washington Nationals
19. C.J. Wilson, Texas Rangers
20. Chris Carpenter, St. Louis Cardinals
21. Dan Haren, Los Angeles Angels
22. Trevor Cahill, Oakland Athletics
23. Cole Hamels, Philadelphia Phillies
24. Zach Greinke, Milwaukee Brewers
25. Tim Hudson, Atlanta Braves
26. Jonathan Sanchez, San Francisco Giants
27. Tommy Hanson, Atlanta Braves
28. Ervin Santana, Los Angeles Angels
29. Clay Buchholz, Boston Red Sox
30. Yovani Gallardo, Milwaukee Brewers
31. Francisco Liriano, Minnesota Twins
32. Brett Myers, Houston Astros
33. James Shields, Tampa Bay Rays
34. Fausto Carmona, Cleveland Indians
35. Matt Garza, Tampa Bay Rays
Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com
Five Reasons You Shouldn’t Be Afraid of Fantasy Basketball
Are you new to fantasy basketball? Maybe you have played fantasy sports before but have been hesitant to try out fantasy basketball for one reason or another.
Well, here are five good reasons why you should take the leap and give fantasy basketball a chance if you’ve never played before:
1) Like any other sport, it takes time to learn.
Remember your first baseball draft? When you took players from your favorite team instead of the best available? When you took Peyton Manning No. 1 overall because “he’s the best player in the league”?
It happens.
Your team more than likely sucked, but since then you’ve crushed the opposition for a couple of titles. If you’re already a fan of fantasy sports, you should be a little more prepared to embark on a new journey than you were before. Even if you’re not, there’s no reason to take the Ricky Bobby philosophy on winning and losing.
So go ahead, take your team’s starting five, get your college team’s up-and-comers. Maybe it’ll work out, maybe not. Either way, you’ll have the enjoyment of another fantasy sport added to your repertoire, and hey, there’s always next year.
2) The scoring is the same as fantasy baseball.
I would even go so far as to say that players are more easily compared in fantasy basketball than in any other league.
In fantasy baseball, pitchers convolute things. Looking at the pros and cons of a specific hitter versus a specific pitcher becomes completely relative to the makeup of one’s team. This leads to a lot of difficulties when ranking players and reviewing trade offers.
Football’s problems are much more obvious. Because it’s based on a point system, taking the best player doesn’t always translate to creating the best team. Of course, one can compare players by their average points per game, but these can be very ephemeral. Two one-yard rushing touchdowns will outdo a player who has 115 rushing yards with no touchdowns.
This is not to say that fantasy baseball and football are unfair. I just think the use of the same stats for every player in the game and the use of rotisserie scoring give basketball the best translation from on-the-court to fantasy scoring.
3) The schedule should not turn you away.
The spotty nature of the NBA schedule per team, therefore per player, can turn a lot of people off to fantasy basketball. It shouldn’t.
Sure, you don’t have a daily schedule like the MLB or a weekly appointment like the NFL. There’s no debating that. And it does stink to check your roster every day only to see that you only have one or two guys playing on a number of nights.
The solution: Set your roster in intervals. Every three days. Once a week. Something defined. The stability of playing time in the NBA means that you will rarely have a guy starting that doesn’t actually play, even if you don’t take the time to study your team every single day.
4) Of the Big Three, the NBA offers the smallest player universe, and therefore, the smallest number of relevant fantasy players.
This makes the amount of information that you need to be process much smaller. Not that you should stop visiting your favorite fantasy basketball site. You should never do that. Many people actually do the opposite with the NBA.
The smaller player universe means less information to wade through on a daily basis, so one can more easily extract the data that applies to them from their favorite site. A site like rotoprofessor.com/basketball, maybe?
5) It’s fun.
If you’ve played and enjoyed fantasy sports, you know this point already. I think it’s worth further emphasis, though.
Remember the feeling you got from buying Josh Hamilton cheaply this year? Or how about all the sympathy you’ve received since taking Matt Forte ahead of Chris Johnson last year?
There are conversations and debates that you can only have if you’re playing fantasy. It’s as simple as that. If you like basketball, why wouldn’t you participate in something that simultaneously makes you more informed about the league and lets you compete against others?
It’s a win-win.
So with all that said, if you’ve never played fantasy basketball before, there’s no reason to be afraid. Give it a shot and see for yourself how much fun it can be. And of course make sure you’re checking out the Rotoprofessor for all your fantasy analysis.
To view the first part of Will Overton’s Top 200 Rankings on Rotoprofessor, click here
Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com
Fantasy Baseball: Finding Diamonds on Waivers
So, you are struggling and cannot seem to get out of your own way. The fantasy offense you put together is slumping and your pitching staff continues to be lackluster at best.
What can you do?
The best players are gone off of waivers and the only players left are scraps. Nothing that can fix your team, right? Wrong. Take a look at these comparisons of players over the last 30 days. Even when there is nothing seemingly available, something can help you out if you know where and how to look.
All stats are over the last 30 days.
Player A: .294 AVG, 6HR, 18 RBI, 13 runs, 15 percent owned
Player B: .284 AVG, 6HR, 17 RBI, 16 runs, 100 percent owned
While you certainly would not be out to cut Player B, having Player A on your roster would certainly have helped soften the blow!
In this scenario, Player B is Albert Pujols while Player A is Russell Branyan. Since being traded to Seattle, Branyan has found himself steady playing time and has found the swing that made fantasy owners drool early in 2009.
What is the point? There is some help available for those that need power out of the corners if only to ride the wave of the hot hand.
Player A: .242 AVG, 6HR, 20 RBI, 11 runs, 84 percent owned
Player B: .250 AVG, 4HR, 21 RBI ,15 runs. 23 percent owned
In deeper leagues, there are those that are required to play a corner infield position. These leagues often go to places that most owners never dare to venture. There would be no other way to explain the ownership of some players at all.
In this case, though, we are talking about a very limited difference to gain some decent numbers in these deeper arenas.
Do either have spectacular numbers?
No. If you were looking to make a trade for Player A, though, you would be just as well off picking up Player B.
In this case, Player A is Adam LaRoche while Player B is Ike Davis. Not a big swing in the numbers, but one will cost you much less and hurt you very little if you need to make a change at the position.
Player A: .382 AVG, 1HR, 10 RBI, 15 runs scored, 54 percent owned
Player B: .350 AVG, 2HR, 12 RBI, 14 runs scored, 100 percent owned
Let us start by saying that Player B has not performed up to any sort of expectations this year beyond hitting for a solid average. In every other capacity, the draft pick that was spent on him does not necessarily correlate to the production being received.
That player is Orioles outfielder Nick Markakis. Markakis is drafted early enough each year that many continue to hope for the .325/30/100 type season that he is thought to be able to produce.
It just has not been there of late.
Player A may not have the same cache, but he is worth owning over the long-term.
That outfielder is David DeJesus.
The Kansas City stalwart has hit for average and is producing as effectively in as equally poor a lineup. Best part, he did not cost owners a top-five round choice.
Player A: .320 AVG, 3HR, 15 RBI, 15 runs scored, 1SB, 100 percent owned
Player B: .314 AVG, 4HR, 14 RBI, 15 runs scored, 7SB, 50 percent owned
Right now, this is my favorite comparison. Player A is on one of his patented hot streaks where he hits well over .300 for a stretch before going down in flames and hitting .200 for another stretch. Just how he rolls.
Owners that have had Dan Uggla, our Player A, on their roster know this for a fact. He is fantastic in stretches. Then there are times when he will not hit a home run for what feels like weeks.
Another second basemen though is on the prowl. Injuries forced the Rays to use Sean Rodriguez, Player B, more than they probably anticipated.
Now, the struggles of Jason Bartlett and B.J. Upton have opened up spots for him to continue to get regular playing time.
Rodriguez had quite the month and it is still largely going unnoticed. Given the injuries to players like Dustin Pedroia and Chase Utley, it is a surprise that he is not more widely owned already.
Grab him now and hold him hostage for the owners that were slow on the uptake.
Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com