Fantasy Baseball

Quality starting pitching is important in Major League Baseball's biggest games, and it's important to figure out how to get good value outside of the aces on your fantasy squad.

This trio of right-handed starters will command the hill in 2013 as some of the premier sleepers that are worth a shot in the latter stages of fantasy drafts.

Every year it happens—one guy in your fantasy league is convinced he's had the most epic draft ever and brags about how stacked his lineup is or how deep his pitching rotation will prove to be.

And then it happens. A key player goes down to an injury. A guy here or a guy there turns out to be a bust. Before he knows it, your buddy has a team of chronic underachievers and a full disabled list.

A fantasy baseball draft is supposed to be fun. If you're not ready, though, participating in a draft can be a bit like taking a test without studying.

Whether you simply forgot to prep or just didn't have time to, you'd still prefer to avoid walking away from your draft feeling like a high-schooler who just failed a calc' final. Consider this five-minute guide your quick-and-dirty study session to help you cram for—and pass—that fast-approaching draft.

Here’s the 2013 LestersLegends Catcher Rankings for NL-only leagues.



1. Buster Posey, San Francisco Giants

Posey led the Majors with a .336 batting average. He led all catchers with 103 RBI. I’m not sure there is much he can’t do. Last year, he finished with a .336-78-24-103-1 line.



2. Miguel Montero, Arizona Diamondbacks

Fantasy baseball is one part luck, one part research and one part more luck. Luckily, research and smart drafting can negate some of the happenstance inherent to fantasy sports.

Having a sound drafting strategy is critical for fantasy baseball success, and creating a list of high-upside sleepers will go a long way toward winning your league.

There are several pitchers available to fantasy owners this year who have the potential to put together quality seasons, and we’ll provide a few of those names in this article.

There are certain players returning from injury that are so talented, fantasy players aren't hesitating to snag them off the board. I promise you, Troy Tulowitzki won't last past the second round in your draft.

Then there are those players returning from injury that fantasy owners seem to have forgotten about—or are certainly undervaluing—even though those players have either produced in the past or have the potential to put up excellent numbers this season.

Here’s the 2013 LestersLegends Third Base Rankings for NL-Only Leagues.



1. David Wright, New York Mets
Wright returned to form with a stellar .306-91-21-93-15. He has alternated good and bad years since 2008. Hopefully, he can buck that trend.



2. Hanley Ramirez, Los Angeles Dodgers

Hanley has not been the same force as earlier in his career, but his .257-79-24-92-21 line was solid. He’s only 29 and should be even better in an improved offense.

Here’s the 2013 LestersLegends Second Base Rankings for AL-Only Leagues.



1. Robinson Cano, New York Yankees

Cano was tops among second basemen in runs, home runs, RBI and batting average. He has as much of a stranglehold on the position as any player in the league.



2. Ian Kinsler, Texas Rangers

Coming off a historic season, the Detroit Tigers' Miguel Cabrera is clearly the top fantasy third baseman and arguably the top player in fantasy baseball in 2013.

When it comes to fantasy sports, it’s often the decisions made in the later rounds of the draft that make all the difference between playoff contention and a title shot.

Unless you play in a 16-team league, there’s a good chance a handful of quality young bats will be available in the mid-to-late rounds of the draft. When the superstars are off the board, selecting the right players becomes a practice of intuition and value.