Chipper Jones

Chipper Jones, 3B Atlanta Braves—Here’s a salty veteran for you. Chipper has come flying out of the gates hitting .353 with two RBI and one run. I know it doesn’t look great, but if he can continue to open hot like he has in the past, the RBI and HR numbers will come. Jones is the type of player you ride a hot start with, then dump him as the season goes on and he starts battling injuries. Pick him up and ride out the production.

What an interesting opening series this has been!

The first game of the series was well played by both sides. The pitching was phenomenal and the defense was solid. 

However, some fans, including myself, were slightly uncomfortable with the offensive performance by the Braves. The lineup had only five hits and two runs, both of which are below expectations. Thankfully, Derek Lowe and the bullpen were there to bail the offense out and shut out the Nats. 

It was Aug. 10, 2010.

Atlanta Braves third baseman Chipper Jones had just made one of the best defensive plays of his career. The 38-year-old sprinted into foul territory to field a ground ball, gloved it, and made a rocket throw to first in time to get the runner—while in mid-air.

However, before viewers could finish processing what they just saw, Chipper landed awkwardly and the camera zoomed into a close-up shot of Jones' face, wincing in pain.

Two opening days, two first at-bat home runs for Jason Heyward.

Last season, in what may have been the single biggest home run call of the year, Braves rookie phenom Jason Heyward went yard on his very first at-bat against Carlos Zambrano and the Chicago Cubs.

One year later, history and Heyward repeated themselves.

Heyward took a 2-1 pitch from Washington Nationals pitcher Livan Hernandez chest high and belted it over the right field fence, extending the Braves' lead to 2-0.

What is a sleeper? 

Ask your league mates, and you'll probably get a different answer from each of them.

To me, a sleeper is a player, no matter the pedigree, that I think is set to far outproduce expectations due to a relatively low ADP. 

With rare exceptions, these players won't go for more than $5 in any auction.  

Fantasy baseball is a game of profits and losses, sound investments and colossal mistakes. 

Earlier in the offseason, I was very cautious about the Braves and their playoff chances. The Braves were losing Billy Wagner and Takashi Saito, as well as key bench players. 

I was pleased with the Dan Uggla move, but that was only one player and the two relievers the Braves signed struggled lasted season.

The future for the Braves was looking a little foggy, but in the past month the news has been getting better. The first of this news is about Chipper Jones and his recovery.

The Atlanta Braves finished the 2010 regular season with a 91-71 record, which was good enough to claim the National League Wild Card. They lost in the divisional round of the playoffs to the eventual World Series Champion San Francisco Giants in four games with every game being a one-run affair.

New manager Fredi Gonzalez replaces the legendary Bobby Cox and has a roster that should be in the playoff mix again.

Let's take a look at player-by-player projections for the 2011 Braves based on the probable Opening Day lineup.

We’ve taken a look at third baseman for standard formats (click here to view) and for keeper leagues (click here to view).  Now, we have to turn our attention to those leagues that utilize OBP.  There aren’t too many changes to our standard rankings, outside of maybe an old favorite making his presence felt at the bottom.  Let’s take a look:

Spring training games offer much for the baseball world.  They offer knowledge; they offer glimpses of the upcoming season; they offer looks at minor league up-and-comers; and they offer first looks at those recovering from injury.  

The St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Adam Wainwright will have Tommy John surgery on his right elbow and will miss the entire 2011 season. 

While this puts a major damper on the Cardinals playoff hopes, last year's Major League Baseball playoff participants are faced with questions of their own.

Whether it's the New York Yankees or the World Champion San Francisco Giants, each of these teams will have to address major concerns if they hope to play deep into October for consecutive seasons.