A Baseball Diamond in the Rough
For the past month or so, there has been a lot of hard work and planning among those that play fantasy baseball. The baseball season is a long six months and so the folks that play hardball have to put just as much effort preparing for the season as any professional analyst, manager, or player. Serious fantasy baseball can break a person down; it involves toiling with everything from statistics to player personalities, to the professional (or unprofessional) situations that these major leaguers find themselves in. On top of all of this, there is the roster sizes of each team which extends the number of players to keep an eye on and the longevity of the season of which the players and the fantasy leaguers both endure. Stepping into the war-zone that “professional” fantasy baseball becomes can be a shocking experience.
Every person that plays in a keeper league has suffered through their first year, drinking in, and sometimes drowning in the time and effort it takes to keep up with all that is entailed. It can be overwhelming. In one hand, it was entertaining, but nonetheless easy, to play in leagues year in and year out, having your draft at the beginning of the season and filling your roster with a good amount of players you had your eye on from the onset. There’s nothing wrong with that aspect either; there is still a lot of research and predictive personality in those types of leagues. Some of them even have limited numbers of roster moves a manager can make to his or her team throughout the season which provides an introduction course to the procedures that are so much more eminent in keeper leagues. The object is to avoid limiting yourself to the possibilities of improving your team towards the end of the long season.
What these types of leagues don’t involve is the aspect of looking toward the long term future. Keeper leagues incorporate a true General Manager “feel” to them, forcing the managers to research and take notice of prospects that may become something bigger in a year or two. The minor league stats and even to some degree, the college stats, become essential. The number of players to keep track of grows considerably in size; a manager is now responsible for a huge circumference of major and minor leaguers who, in other leagues, may not even be thought about.
A key that many people learn quickly is finding shortcuts to learning about young, unproven players. Finding websites that can quickly give them a rundown of all the top prospects and how they are faring. And it’s not just a yearly overview, but a good resource is one that will be able to tell a fantasy baseball manager about the ups and downs of a player as the season continues. A good fantasy baseball manager will find his or her diamond in the rough and use it to gain any advantage.
Don’t get me wrong however, you can’t merely rely on someone else’s opinions. Many of the resources a person will come across is going to have some sort of editorial aspect to it; 100% factual predictions are impossible to come by because, frankly, they don’t exist. No one is perfect. But they are a good cornerstone to build from.
Players To Watch
There is a lot of fun in trying to figure out who is going to be the next Alex Rodriguez, Vlad Guerrero, or Ryan Howard. If you end up being right, you can brag all you want to your friends about how you knew he was going to make it big.
The American League East is not empty of those types of players. Each of these guys could make a huge impact on their team this year as a young player ready to step up his game. While they may not be ripe enough to take in a shallow league, they are at least worth keeping an eye on.
Jacoby Ellsbury, Boston Red Sox: Yes, I know his name is already close to a household one for those that are avid baseball fans or if you live in the city of Boston and have ears. But, until the post season last year, Ellsbury hadn’t experienced being a starting player for the defending world champions. Even at the start of this year, amongst the trade rumors of delicious and nutritious Coco Crisp, Ellsbury hasn’t earned that starting center field spot. The catch is, however, that if he performs as well as he did to end the season last year, CF will be his soon enough to make a big impact on the Red Sox offense this year. His numbers don’t lie; this kid could become a very good bottom of the order batter who, by season’s end, may find himself batting in the 2nd slot.
Luke Scott, RF, Baltimore Orioles: Speaking of numbers not lying, Luke Scott
four-baggers in 583 at bats; an average of about 1 per 20 at bats is not too shabby of a ratio for, essentially, a utility player. But his career .273 average isn’t something to look down on either. Given he has never been a full time starter, his chance with the rebuilding O’s may be the opportunity he needs to get people to start noticing his play.
Shelley Duncan, RF/1B, New York Yankees: As with Ellsbury, Duncan is not exactly unknown, but on a team that always has it’s fair share of superstars, it’s easy to look past the younger guys that have actually spent their entire minor league career with Yankees affiliate teams. Duncan could develop into a very solid middle lineup hitter. He has shown power (7 homeruns in 74 at bats at a major league level in ’07) and the ability to drive in runs. His average is not that impressive but he hasn’t had much chance to prove himself either. He set the home run record for Scranton-Wilkes Barre in 2007 and led the team in RBIs. He has a solid arm that could also make him valuable defensively.
Aaron Hill, 2B, Toronto Blue Jays: Like Scott in Baltimore, Aaron Hill has spent the majority of a season in the big leagues. In 2007, Hill appeared in 160 games with the Jays. He hit a couple points shy of .300 and produced decent power numbers for a second baseman. In a deep league, or if you’ve gotten the injury bug, Hill might be a guy to take a look at that otherwise might be overlooked.
Willy Aybar, 3B, Tampa Bay Rays: Aybar split time between the Dodgers and Braves last season but still managed to put up respectable numbers for a utility player that had limited major league experience. As a young player, he seems to walk or strike out for the majority of his bats. It’s hard to put a good spin on something like that, but he does show signs of plate patience. However, with the pool of talent that the Rays have put together, Aybar disappears into the commotion, and with good reason. He is a deep sleeper.
Tags: Aaron Hill, AL East, Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, FANTASY, fantasy advice, fantasy baseball, future, Jacoby Ellsbury, Luke Scott, MLB, New York Yankees, players to watch, Shelley Duncan, talent, Tampa Bay Rays, Toronto Blue Jays, Willy Aybar
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