5 Guys on My Fantasy Radar

One of the detriments to writing about fantasy baseball for the masses is that, if you’re competition reads your work, then your late round gems are no longer hidden and your super sleepers are all wide awake.  But it wouldn’t be right for me to hold back and save it all for myself because if I’m planning on winning it all with some of these guys, I want you, the readers, to do so as well.  So with that, every so often this spring, I’m going to discuss a few guys that will probably end up on my various teams.  Here’s five of my early season favorites.  They’re not the biggest names out there, but like we’ve always said, it’s the late rounds steals that guide you to the championship.    

It's the hot corner for him this year, but he's still got catcher eligibility

Pablo Sandoval, C/1B/3B  SF –  Depending on your league’s eligibility requirements, Sandoval could be one of the nicest little gems buried in the late rounds of your drafts.  He cleared the 10 game minimum for most leagues behind the dish and at both corner infield spots.  This season, the Giants have him slated to start at third and there doesn’t seem to be any competition for him over there.  His minor league numbers dictate that he’s a work in progress as his fluctuating batting average goes from phenomenal to average and his K/BB ratio could stand some improvement, but it’s hard to ignore last year’s big league debut of a .345 average in 145 at bats.  He projects more like a .280 hitter overall, but he’s got 15-20 HR potential and should be hitting in the meat of the Giants’ lineup.  Look for him late in the draft and use that catcher eligibility if you can.

Nelson Cruz, OF TEX — Last year’s September really stuck it to his sleeper status as he mashed to the tune of .356 with 6 HR and 23 RBI in just 90 at bats.  He also had a .448 OBP and drew 14 walks which was no easy feat for the strikeout prone underachiever.  Perhaps his late bloomer status will keep people off of him on draft day, but if things really have finally clicked for him, then that Texas ballpark coupled with hitting cleanup behind slugger Josh Hamilton are going to cast a pretty big light on him.  The Rangers seem to have committed to using him this year, so 500 at bats are well within reach.  He’s got 20-25 HR potential, he should have plenty of RBI chances, and he might even throw you some ok stolen base numbers.  The downside is his batting average.  While September was a nice treat, it’s not the norm for Cruz.  Expect the average to drop into the .260’s somewhere.  Still, for a late round grab, he’s going to be solid.

Primed for a Motor City breakout!

Edwin Jackson, SP DET — If you’re just looking at straight WHIP and ERA numbers without examining a little deeper, then Jackson is going to fall off a lot of people’s draft boards.  The kid has a career 5.15 ERA with a 1.63 WHIP and while last season’s 4.41/1.51 were an improvement, the numbers are going to scare off a lot of people.  But I remember when he was a highly touted prospect in the Dodgers organization and watched as injuries early in his career hampered his development.  I think he’s ready to take his game to a much higher level this year.  In looking at last year’s totals, you have to look at his month to month splits.  His biggest problem was breaking down at the end of each half of the season; not an uncommon problem for a guy who hasn’t thrown many innings in his career.  If you take away just the months of June and September, Jackson had an ERA of 3.39 and a WHIP of 1.44.  Obviously the WHIP could stand some major improvement, but that should come with more time on the hill.  In the past 2 seasons Jackson has thrown 161 and 183 innings respectively and has improved on his ratios each year.  Look for him to take the next step in his third full year in Detroit as he shoots for over 200 innings.

Luis Castillo, 2B NYM — While I’ve already tabbed Felipe Lopez as my Comeback Player of the Year, Castillo may not be too far behind.  Sort of.  Yes, he’ll be 34 years old.  Yes, he’s on the downward slide of his career.  Yes, last year was terrible as he missed most of the year with a strained hip flexor.  But is he done?  No.  I think not.  Prior to the injury, Castillo’s only problem was picking up that batting average of his.  But he had 13 stolen bases in 243 at bats which put him way ahead of the previous year’s pace which shows me that he could, with a rebound this year, be a very nice source of some cheap steals.  He looked great this winter in the Dominican League, came into camp in great shape, has played well so far,  and seems to really want to put 2008 behind him.  Unless you’re in a leagues swamped with Mets fans, Castillo should fall pretty far.  Nothing better than getting 20+ steals from one of your last picks in the draft.

Burn baby burn!

Michael Bourn, OF HOU — Don’t you just love it when someone in your league hears some old baseball cliche for the first time and suddenly thinks its all the rage if it means giving you crap about one of your players?  Well, that’s what I got all last year with Bourn on my roster.  “You can’t steal first base!”  Mmmmmm duuuuuuuuuh!  Thanks skippy.  Why don’t you now start talking about how you drafted Matt Stairs because he was a “professional hitter.”  But I digress.  Let’s get back to Bourn.  Yes, his batting average was atrocious and yes, his OBP wasn’t much better.  He started off hitting leadoff and then found himself in the 7 or 8 hole for the rest of the year, save for one quick, short-lived return to the top.  But the kid still stole 41 bases and that, my friends, is a burner.  He’s got the job in centerfield, but will probably start the season near the bottom of the order again until he proves himself.  He’s working on his plate discipline this spring and will concentrate on improving his walk totals.  I figure he should drop to the middle to late rounds of your draft so if he’s there, grab him.  Those stolen bases are going to be huge.

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