Who’s Hot and Who’s Not in Fantasy Baseball
Well, we are almost at the mid-season point in Major League Baseball. My Yahoo! Sports Fantasy Baseball team is currently in 4th (out of 12) and my Sporting News Ultimate Salary Cap Baseball team is sitting in 7th (out of 16). Therefore, you may not want to take advice from me, but I would like to share some suggestions I have that may help in the second half of the season:
Who’s Hot
- 1B Derrek Lee (CHC) – Can anyone say triple crown? Derrek is ESPN’s favorite if someone from the NL were to win the triple crown this year (however, that is very unlikely). I expect Derrek’s numbers to fall slightly as the season progresses.
- 2B Jeff Kent (LAD) – Kent is every fantasy owners dream at second base. He is having a better than average year, so his numbers may tail off in the latter half of the season.
- 3B Aramis Ramirez (CHC) – After a very dismal start to the season, Ramirez put up some very good numbers in May, and his success is continuing to grow in June.
- RP Eddie Guardado (SEA) – A good, consistent closer has been a nightmare for fantasy owners this season. Everyday Eddie has 17 saves so far. (EDIT: Eddie is now pitching with elbow discomfort and torn rotator cuff, so take this recommendation lightly. I would now recommend Nationals closer Chad Cordero over Eddie.)
- SP Dontrelle Willis (FLA) – The Florida rotation has been pretty impressive, and Dontrelle is leading the pack along with Josh Beckett. He is 10-2 and boasts an ERA just over 2.00.
Who’s Not
- RP Ugueth Urbina (PHI) – Urbina had an OK start to the season, but he fell out of the closer role in Detroit and was traded to the Phillies. He is a setup man for the Phillies, which doesn’t give him much value for fantasy owners.
- 2B Bret Boone (SEA) – Bret would be an automatic all-star if he put up reasonable numbers. Unfortunately, he has failed to put up numbers anywhere near close to all-star caliber. I would look for him to rebound in the second half of the season.
- 3B Aaron Boone (CLE) – Apparently slumps run in the family, because Aaron isn’t having much luck in his return to the major leagues with the Indians. I would also expect him to rebound though, as he adjusts his timing at bat and gets back into the groove at third base.
- SS Orlando Cabrera (LAA) – Cabrera’s glove may be in the Hall of Fame in the Red Sox display, but he is certainly not going there with the numbers he is putting up this year. Picking him up now and expecting him to rebound is a risky move–he hasn’t had a great season since 2003.
- C Víctor Martínez (CLE) – Martínez was expected to be the best catcher in the AL and he has been not even close to that. I have Martínez on my team, and expect him to break out of the slump soon.
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