Fantasy

Some of the more savvy fantasy baseball owners out there know that your fantasy baseball team is not necessarily won in the early goings of your draft.

The real success comes in the later rounds.

It's in this dark, dank region where most daring owners simply hit the “Autopick” button and go on to some other endeavor.

How many of you remember how the Houston Astros did in the second half of the 2010 MLB season? I’ll give ya a minute.

Okay, time’s up! They did pretty well, finishing 40-33, and a lot of that had to do with the emergence of third baseman Chris Johnson.

Who, you ask?

Well, don’t feel bad, because you can’t even find this guy on most fantasy baseball owners' maps right now, and that’s a really good thing.

I want everyone to take a deep breath. What I am about to say is nothing short of shocking, mind-bending and literally unbelievable.

Royals first baseman Billy Butler stole a base Sunday in the Royals' spring opener against the Texas Rangers.

I know—incredibly strange news considering Butler only has one career stolen base in 533 games in the majors, but manager Ned Yost told MLB.com that he wants to see his players running more this season.

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. 

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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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.

Carlos Marmol brings an exceptional strikeout rate to the closers role.  There is no arguing that fact, but that shouldn’t cause us to overlook the warts that do come with selecting him. 

Can he be one of the elite closers in the game in 2011?  Absolutely, but there is also the chance that he completely falls flat.  Which will it be?  Let’s start by taking a look at his 2010 performance:

Because they’re the Twins, people generally expect their rotation to come through as expected. 
But let's quickly run though their five projected starters: