Baseball

Previously, The Fantasy Fix reviewed and gave projections for the 2011 Texas Rangers rotation. Now, it's time to dive in and analyze the Rangers positional players.

9 Innings Blog will be bringing you previews of every Major League Baseball team for the next 30 days. This is in accordance with our 30 teams in 30 days series. Today, we will be bringing you the 2011 preview of the Milwaukee Brewers. The Brewers are looking to catch a wave that will ride them back into the playoffs.

There was good news all over the place on Sunday afternoon, as the New York Yankees hammered the Philadelphia Phillies, 8-1, in Grapefruit League action.

Start with the starter, Yankee ace CC Sabathia, who looked in midseason form. During his time on the bump, Sabathia allowed only one run (on a solo homer to Jimmy Rollins) on six hits and one walk, while striking out five.

Oliver Perez is 29 years old. In 2004, with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Perez struck out 239 hitters in 196 innings. He had an ERA-plus of 145 and a WHIP of 1.153.

Much-maligned Omar Minaya, the former general manager of sports' most beloved team, the New York Mets, sent Xavier Nady to the Pirates at the trading deadline in 2006 in exchange for Perez and ancient relief pitcher Roberto Hernandez.

Perez pitched poorly in August and September, but the second round of the playoffs were a different story.

Everybody wants King Felix and Tim Lincecum, but there are some value picks that will help you dominate the strikeout category. All average draft positions are from Mock Draft Central.

Jonathan Sanchez, San Francisco Giants

Our 2011 fantasy baseball projections will be released one-by-one until the top 100 players have been revealed. These rankings consider past achievements, current performance and expected future results based on standard 5×5 H2H settings.

Our 2011 fantasy baseball projections will be released one-by-one until the top 100 players have been revealed. These rankings consider past achievements, current performance and expected future results based on standard 5×5 H2H settings.

Billy Butler was supposed to be on the verge of breaking out for an awe-inspiring amount of home runs last year. Finishing the year at 15 was obviously extremely low compared to the hopes and expectations the Kansas City Royal fans had.

After the 2009 season, Denard Span appeared primed to entrench himself as a top 30 outfielder.  That’s what happens when you hit .311 with 23 SB, 97 R and hitting atop a lineup featuring Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau.

Maybe the injury to Morneau played a bigger role than we realize…

Maybe the regression of Mauer helped to sabotage him…

Maybe he just played over his head in 2009…

Washington Nationals (2010 record: 69-93)

The addition of free agent Jayson Werth speaks volumes about the Nationals’ growth in terms of the perception of the team as it continues its journey towards baseball relevance. The trade-off from Adam Dunn to Werth may or may not make an impact on the field in terms of wins and losses, but it makes a clear statement about the possibilities for the future.