Fantasy Baseball

It happens every year. We set our sights on a player who we think will carry us to a championship, and we overpay. Last year, I choose to ride the Ricky Nolasco express based on all the pre-season hype. I missed him in the draft but decided to pay for him via trade. I paid for the mistake by going on that bumpy ride all season long. 

Is it baseball season yet? I know I can't wait for my favorite fantasy sport to start up again.

Catcher is a top-heavy position. Either you get a guy like Joe Mauer or Buster Posey or you play a patchwork of lower-level options.

But that is what is so great about fantasy baseball. In fantasy football, you set a lineup once a week, and if a star player gets hurt, your team is pretty much done (Aaron Rodgers' concussion ruined three of my FF teams.).

As always, the Yankees have a chance to be really good this year.

Except for the minor problem that their No. 2 starter has only one year of starting experience in the majors, their No. 3 starter is probably the single most maddening starter in baseball, their No. 4 starter has seven major league starts to his credit and their No. 5 starter is either a guy who has never pitched in the majors or a guy who couldn’t hold the starting spot when it was handed to him last summer. 

To get Roy Halladay in 2011, you will probably have to spend a first round pick on him. Sure, he's great and all, but I don't think I would want to spend my first pick on a guy that I can only use once every five days.

I like results, and hitters are going to show me results everyday. That's why I hardly ever draft a pitcher in the first six rounds. 

After years of having Dan Uggla hit home runs against its pitching staff, the Atlanta Braves decided to add the muscle-bound second baseman to their roster. In exchange for Uggla, the Braves sent utility infielder Omar Infante and relief pitcher Mike Dunn to the Marlins.

The San Diego Padres were the biggest surprise of the 2010 season, as they led the NL West for most of the year only to fall just short of the playoffs. Solid pitching, consistent defense, and timely hitting were the recipe for success for a team with only one true superstar in Adrian Gonzalez.   

The 2011 Hot Stove Season has included numerous high profile free agent signings, including blockbuster deals signed by Cliff Lee and Carl Crawford, and the multi-player trade that brought Adrian Gonzales to the Red Sox. Of the many deals this off-season, the free agent signing of Adam Dunn by the White Sox may bring the most value to fantasy owners. 

After going 11-4 as a rookie, there were high hopes for Tommy Hanson going into last season. Despite 75 more innings pitched, he finished with one fewer win en route to a 10-11 season.

It would be easy to be disappointed by the sub-.500 record, but there was more to the story. Despite a difference of 0.257 in winning percentage, his ERA went up just 0.44 to a rock solid 3.33. His WHIP actually dipped a bit from 1.18 to 1.17.

Fantasy owners have long waited for Ian Stewart to develop into one of the elite third basemen in the league.  We have heard all about his power potential ever since the 2003 first round pick hit 30 HR at Single-A  back in 2004.  However, in parts of four seasons with the Rockies, Stewart has yet to fully live up to the expectations.  His 2010 campaign was no different:

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.