Fantasy

The hot stove is officially cookin', but with Major League Baseball's winter meetings set to start on Monday, Dec. 9, in Orlando, it's as good a time as any to take a break from all the heat—and take stock of the fantasy impact from all the activity.

Did you take the rest of your league to school this fantasy baseball season—or were you the one getting schooled?

Either way, this question is worth considering: What did you learn?

Sure, winning is still the name of the game in fantasy baseball—and congrats if you're on the verge of locking up your league over the season's final days—but every year also serves as a learning experience that shapes how we play the game going forward.

After several weeks of rest and rehab, Matt Harvey and the Mets announced on Tuesday that he will not have Tommy John surgery yet, according to Anthony DiComo of MLB.com.

What good is talent to a fantasy owner who lacks timing?

Fantasy baseball, just like the real thing, is a game of skill, luck and timing. That last trait in particular comes in handy in regard to trading.

Knowing which player to trade away and which to deal for—and knowing just the right time to do so—can make all the difference. It doesn't get much better than making a move to unload a hot flavor-of-the-month type who's about to cool off in exchange for a slumping stud about to take off.

For all of you forward-thinking fantasy players, you're probably way ahead of me in coming up with a list of players who've given you great value in the first half, but won't come close to maintaining production for the remainder of the season. You'll spend the next few weeks looking for the best trade before their value begins to dip too much.

There's more than enough injuries to fill 20 slides this week. Big injuries to big names are good for my job security but bad for the game. Missing Bryce Harper, Clay Buchholz or David Price costs teams wins and dollars, but beyond that, the lack of effort in prevention and research is problematic for the future of the game. 

Getting two starts out of a starting pitcher can make all the difference in a weekly fantasy league. While a one-start ace is still an ace, a two-start ace can single-handedly tip the scales. Additionally, two starts can make an otherwise mediocre spot starter into a difference-maker. This list is broken up by tiers, and rankings are based on skill as well as matchups.

The Aces

While it's way too late to buy low on a player that's already broken out in the first half of the season —Diamondbacks starting pitcher Pat Corbin and Brewers shortstop Jean Segura would be the best examples—plenty more could break out between now and the end of the season. 

Injuries have continued to plague some of the biggest names in baseball. With David Price the latest Cy Young contender to come up with a sore arm, Bryce Harper bouncing his head off an unprotected section of fencing and Ryan Howard limping again, we can only wonder about the hours that the medical staff is putting in.

In the fantasy baseball world, it’s difficult to discern if a player will be scorching hot for a week, a month, or a season.

For example, owners who picked up Edwin Encarnacion in 2012 reaped the benefits for the whole season. Managers who added speedster Jordan Schafer last year bemoaned his awful for the second half.