Fantasy Baseball

Every year, there are those waiver wire wonders that carry your team through the fantasy baseball season. In 2010, fantasy stars like Jose Bautista, Buster Posey, Carlos Santana and Angel Pagan are just a few of the many players who made an impact despite their undrafted status on draft day. 

What baseball fan doesn't love Brian Wilson of the San Francisco Giants?

I know I do.

He has elite talent on the mound and seems to understand that baseball is first and foremost entertainment before anything else.

Oh and he has the BEST beard in the universe. It rivals Tom Selleck's mustache for the most famous facial hair known to man.

Senior Fantasy Baseball Analyst, Jesse Mendelson, switches leagues to preview the National League Central's Pittsburgh Pirates' starting rotation. Jesse promises nothing, but notes Paul Maholm and company could potentially aide your fantasy baseball team in 2011.

From a fantasy perspective, the single most amazing thing about the Pirates’ 18 consecutive losing seasons is their incredible lack of mixed league-ownable starting pitching over that time.  

As the calendar turns to March, it's time to start thinking about your fantasy baseball draft.

No matter if it's a one-year league or a keeper league, the draft will make or break your season.

Finding value picks will be the key to your team's success.  They are not only found at the end of the draft, but also throughout the draft.

Here are 10 players that are underrated heading into the draft.

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One of the more important aspects of drafting in fantasy sports is finding a solid “sleeper.” As most of you know, a sleeper is a player who is ranked low in the draft, but turns in gold numbers during the season.

With the fantasy baseball season rapidly approaching, and mock-draft lobbies filling up in anticipation, let’s take a look at potential pitching sleepers for this year.

Madison Bumgarner

Who will be the next Tim Lincecum, Francisco Liriano or Buster Posey?

Last year, the players that impressed the most were Mike Leake, Jaime Garcia, Jason Heyward, Buster Posey and Austin Jackson.

I have put together a short list of newcomers to watch this year. These are the guys to monitor and possibly add/draft to your fantasy team.

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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:

When you mention the name Ian Kinsler, there are a few thoughts that likely instantly come to mind:

1. Extremely disappointing 2010
   
   
2. Injury prone
   
   
3. 20/20 upside

We all know he is likely going to miss at least a little bit of time at some point in 2011.  He has never played more than 144 games in a season (2009) and played in just 103 last season.  When you draft him, you do so expecting to have to utilize a replacement option.

Mat Latos has the 18th highest average draft position according to Mock Draft Central.

He is coming off a 14-10 season, where he posted a 2.92 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP while striking out 189 batters in 184-2/3 innings. His ERA was the 13th best in the league. His WHIP was 8th best. He ranked 19th in strikeouts.

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.