Fantasy Baseball

As we approach the second week of the fantasy baseball playoffs and the second round of the playoff games, it’s critical to take note of those players who are white-hot and how they can help your fantasy baseball lineup from here on out.

The Tampa Bay Rays' catching situation was a questionable one when the season started.  Once they acquired Kelly Shoppach, fantasy owners in two-catcher formats were scurrying for any information they could get on who was going to get the bulk of the playing time.  Was it going to be Shoppach?  Was it going to be the incumbent, Dioner Navarro?

No one could argue with the Indians' decision to trade Chris Archer as part of the deal sending Mark DeRosa to the Indians prior to the 2009 season.  Look at the ERAs he has posted through his first three years:

Trevor Cahill enjoyed a breakout season in 2010, his second full season in the Major Leagues.  At the surface the numbers are certainly impressive, but there certainly are reasons to be concerned.

Before we get to the reservations, let’s take a look at his statistics:

18 Wins
196.2 Innings
2.97 ERA
1.11 WHIP
118 Strikeouts (5.4 K/9)
63 Walks (2.9 BB/9)
.238 BABIP

Adam Lind’s 2010 campaign was disappointing, as he fell well shy of what many hoped was his 2009 breakout (.305, 35 HR, 114 RBI).

The fact of the matter is, he had little opportunity to approach those numbers once again.

His HR/FB in ‘09 was 19.8 percent, significantly higher then what he had posted in portions of the prior two years (13.3 percent and 11.0 percent).

Heading into the 2010 season, this is a team that many had pegged to compete with the Philadelphia Phillies for the division title.

It's safe to say that a few things went wrong.

After finishing 79-83, the Mets are now coming off their second straight disappointing season and are a team in crisis. Sure, the dismissals of General Manager Omar Minaya and Manager Jerry Manuel will appease some fans, but it certainly won't solve any of the team's woes.

While some players fail to live up to their draft day hype, others completely outperform where they were selected. In some cases, the best options are never selected at all.

Each year we seem to have a player come out of nowhere to produce better than average numbers. How fantasy owners treat them next year is always the ultimate question in cases such as these.

Oftentimes, these players become overdrafted very quickly. Others will have owners waiting to see if they can do it again.

For those who were concerned with Clayton Kershaw prior to the season, they certainly had their questions answered early and often in 2010.  While the Dodgers opted to shut him down early due to a heavy workload (he went from 171.0 innings in 2009 to 204.1 innings in 2010), that couldn’t put a damper on his amazing campaign.

Let’s take a look at the numbers before putting his success in perspective:

Was there a more surprising 2010 performance than R.A. Dickey’s?  Signed as a minor league free agent, he didn’t open the year in the Mets rotation.  By year’s end, however, he had entrenched himself as their most dependable starter.

Drafted in the first round of the 2008 draft (16th overall), Brett Lawrie appears primed to be a future fixture in the Milwaukee Brewers’ batting order.  He certainly posted an eye-opening Double-A campaign:

554 At-Bats
.285 Batting Average (158 Hits)
Eight Home Runs
63 RBI
90 Runs
30 Stolen Bases
.346 On Base Percentage
.451 Slugging Percentage
.350 Batting Average on Balls in Play