Fantasy

Brett Anderson had a bit of a coming-out party in 2010, though injuries didn’t allow him to fully put his talents on display. You can see by his numbers what could be possible:

Seven Wins
112.1 Innings
2.80 ERA
1.19 WHIP
75 Strikeouts (6.01 K/9)
22 Walks (1.76 BB/9)
.294 BABIP

Finding strikeouts late in your draft is not something that is particularly easy to do.  Generally, one of the reasons pitchers fall on draft day is because they lack in one area (most notably, no upside in strikeouts).  However, there are a few pitchers out there who could significantly help you in the category.  Here are five pitchers who are being picked after No. 216, on average, and I have projected to strikeout at least 170 batters in 2011.

We hear the word "strain" an awful lot during the season, don't we?

Albert Pujols has strained his obliques or Derek Jeter his hamstring. But what does it mean? How do strains affect my lineup?

Shortstop is a perennial black hole in fantasy baseball.

If you are not lucky enough to have one of the Top Five picks, then you will miss out on Hanley Ramirez and Troy Tulowitzki in most leagues. These two are certifiable fantasy studs and they play shortstop on top of that. After these two players go, the position thins out and becomes an uncertain abyss.

If you play in a standard 5×5 format, you can view our rankings by clicking here. 

If you play in a league that uses OBP instead of average, things change fairly significantly. Who moves up? Who moves down? 

Let’s take a look:

Neil Walker is a player that many fantasy owners have seemingly fallen in love with. 

Obviously, they don’t view him as a top option, but as a fallback choice should they miss out on their chosen target. 

My question is, exactly what is it that has people so excited?

First of all, just look at his 2010 production:

There won't be many drafts where Roy Halladay is not be the first overall starting pitcher chosen. We know that he can blank any opponent and still has a shot for a win backed by an offensive Philadelphia roster on his off-days.

Carl Crawford was on your wishlist, but you couldn’t get you mitts on him? Don’t worry. He’s not the only player capable of stealing a ton of bases this year. Here are some players you can add to get a nice boost in that category. Average Draft Positions are from Mock Draft Central.
 

If you are looking for the likes of Mike Trout or Bryce Harper, you aren’t going to find them here. This list is geared towards 2011, and only 2011.

Which prospects are going to make the biggest impact for fantasy owners this year? 

Let’s take a look at the first half of my Top 20 (for the full Top 90, you can purchase the Rotoprofessor 2011 Draft Guide by clicking here), with Nos. 1-10 being released tomorrow.

It's that time of the year again. It is time to get out those cheat sheets, try out your strategies in mock drafts and berate Matthew Berry for his love/hate articles. It is fantasy baseball season.

This is the year for all of us die-hard fantasy junkies to try to rekindle the magic from 2010, or come out of the fantasy cellar. 

Draft preparation is in full force. With spring training games in full swing, some breakout stars are making their case for a late-round selection, while solid veterans are trying to win you over for a first-round nod.