First Series Reflections

Not all of these are terribly useful for fantasy baseball purposes, but in constantly watching Yahoo!'s StatTracker update and seeing where my teams are (1st and 3rd currently), I had some thoughts regarding the first series of the year that I have deemed appropriate for this site. You know what this means...more bullets!

• The season this year goes from April 4 to October 3. It's 162 games per team, it takes a loooooooong time. In fact, the reason many fewer people play fantasy baseball is because it's such a grind and it's hard to maintain interest long enough to win a league (which requires season-long vigilance). I know this (I've been playing the game for seven years now), but this doesn't mean I don't get incredibly excited when my team's in first place after three days. Granderson's hit two homers, Rickie Weeks is setting himself up to once again break my heart, and Matt Garza spun a gem in his first game. Add in the Jason Heyward love-a-palooza and Michael Cuddyer's .500+ OBP, things are looking up for "The Loney Bones"
• Speaking of The Loney Bones, it has been a longstanding tradition to name my teams puns involving the name of a player on my team. This year it's James Loney. My first and most successful was in 2006, winning my league under the strength of "Hock a Lugo" to go with a ridiculous lineup of Albert Pujols, Alex Rodriguez, Johan Santana, Mariano Rivera, Jorge Cantu and Jhonny Peralta in their breakout years, and a whole bunch of other things that went right and cemented puns as a viable strategic naming method. Some are obviously too easy (Jason Bay comes to mind) but a great pun usually means a great team. Quote that.
• I had no idea Colby Rasmus was this strong. The guy destroyed that pitch. I definitely undervalued him this year...he's a 30-homer candidate.
• Great pitching performances so far: Lincecum on Opening Day, Matt Garza last night (8 IP, 1 run, 9 Ks), Dallas Braden (7 innings, one run, 10 Ks), Mark Buehrle (7 shutout innings), and Roy Halladay (7 innings, one run, 9 Ks).

And finally a new segment for the blog, five guys to watch in the upcoming week make their case for fantasy relevance:

1. Chris Young, SP Padres - This guy has long been a guy I've never been able to get my hands on , but have always resented those who've had him. He's very injury prone, but when he's healthy there are few better values for a fantasy roster. And he's healthy now. Pitching in the pitcher's park to end all pitcher's park (seriously the place is like the freaking Grand Canyon), he's one of the active career leaders in opponents' batting average (career: .221) and he's enormous (6-10) and a Princeton man. If he's healthy, he's an absolute steal for whoever owns him.
2. Garrett Jones, 1B/OF Pirates - Proud member of my bench right now, and I'm kicking myself because I didn't start him. Jones is apparently a late bloomer, because the dude has been around the minors forever (great piece by Yahoo's Steve Henson on him here), and started the season by hitting three homers in two games (on my bench), piling on to his 21-homer, 10-steal 2009 in only 314 at-bats (a full season is anywhere from 550 up). If he were five years younger, he would have been a second or third rounder. Everyone thinks he's a total fluke though, which means he's a steal. If anyone of you out there actually plays fantasy baseball, go pick him up. NOW. Trade for him, do what you can, because I'm guessing he hits 30 homers with 15 steals and a .280-ish average, which can be had for sooooo cheap.
3. Vernon Wells, OF Blue Jays - People who have been following baseball for a while know this guy. He's the guy who signed this contract and has disappeared since. Until this Spring, where he's come out of the gate hotter than anyone. In three games thus far, his line is absurd: .600-4 HR-7 RBI-6 R. Leading the majors in homers, and not far off in the other categories, it would appear that he's experiencing a renaissance. Already he has almost a third of his homer total from last year. He's still in his prime at 31, and has a chance for a major bounce-back year if he can keep slugging.
4. Ian Kennedy, SP Diamondbacks - God it pains me to write this. The Yankees essentially gave up on this guy because he's been injured so much and ineffective in the miniscule sample size he's had in the majors. While it's true they have no room in their rotation for him (or for Joba Chamberlain), it still sucks to see him potentially flourish elsewhere, which is exactly what I think will happen this year. His first performance was promising, striking out eight batters in five innings, but he did give up three runs (all on a three-run homer). Probably the most encouraging sign to me is his utter lack of walks. Zip, zilch, nada. He's a former first round pick who was ridiculously good at USC (pitching against top college competition) and great at every level in the minors. He's not a can't-miss, but that doesn't mean he'll miss. I think he's a good bet for 10-13 wins, 150 Ks and a low-4 ERA. Nothing stellar, but promising for the one who got away.
5. Rickie Weeks, 2B Brewers - Every year. Every bleeping year I torture myself with Weeks. Why? If it's literally torture (waterboarding would be preferable)? Maybe it's that he was the #2 overall pick. Maybe it's that he is still just 27. Maybe it's that he's hitting leadoff in front of Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun. Yes, those all contribute, but the fact is he's really freaking talented. He's so injury prone that it's comical, but when he's on the field, he produces. He has a great eye (already has three walks in three games) has an elite combination of power and speed and is at a crazy shallow position. Invariably I avoid him in drafts and auctions alike. Then the position scarcity at 2B rears its ugly head and I wind up with Asdrubal Cabrera as my starter and need a serviceable backup. There's Rickie, sitting on free agency, beckoning me like a siren before he ensnares me in his trap of upside and unfulfilled potential. Every year I tell myself the same thing I'm telling you: this is the year. He's 27 (the traditional year for a huge leap in stats), he's finally healthy (for now), but most of all, the pressure's off. No one expects anything from him. Not after so many disappointments. This is why I expect something from him. Something like a .270 AVG but a .370 OBP (I own him in my OBP league), 18 homer, 16 steals, 100 runs, 60 RBI, and the freakin' steal of the year. I hope.