Fantasy Baseball Tools

by Todd Lammi

This is the second part of the 2010 fantasy baseball rankings looking at the  group of closers ranked 16-30.

16) Trevor Hoffman – had his lowest ERA since 1998 so you know there is some regression coming. ERA and WHIP ratio aided by his improvement against left-handed hitters, holding them to a .222 average compared to .291 in 2008.

17) Frank Francisco – first season as full-time closer was a success outside of two trips to the disabled list which seemed to impact his second half numbers. Had a 2.28 ERA and .94 WHIP ratio the first half of [...] Continue Reading…

by Todd Lammi

This is the ninth report in the series of our 2010 fantasy baseball rankings looking at the closers. This is the most volatile position on your fantasy baseball team despite having the smallest category impact compared to other spots on your roster.

Each year there are usually 10 or more people that did not start the season at closer that end up getting a good amount of saves. That means that roughly 1/3 of the major league baseball teams are going to have closer issues. This makes the top tier of closers that much more valuable for their [...] Continue Reading…

by Todd Lammi

This is the third part of the 2010 fantasy baseball rankings looking at the  group of starting pitchers ranked 41-60.

41) Carlos Zambrano – four straight seasons of declining value in terms of dollars earned. High number of innings pitched at an early age seem to be taking a toll on him now despite being only 28. Has spent time on the disabled list the last two seasons. Only positive sign in ‘09 was the strikeout rate bounced back last year to his 2005 level.

42) Tim Hudson – made the comeback from Tommy John surgery and fared pretty [...] Continue Reading…

by Todd Lammi

This is the second part of the 2010 fantasy baseball rankings looking at the  group of starting pitchers ranked 21-40.

21) Clayton Kershaw – much like Yovani Gallardo, had struggles with control and made it through six innings in only 16 of 31 starts. Much better in second half of season when he posted  2.27 ERA and 1.16 WHIP with a 10.9 K/9 ratio. Allowed only seven home runs in 171 innings. Won’t take the next step until he improves his command.

22) Javier Vazquez – current fantasy baseball ADP has him much higher as the 11th starting pitcher. [...] Continue Reading…

by Todd Lammi

This is the eighth report in the series of our 2010 fantasy baseball rankings looking at the starting pitchers.

1) Tim Lincecum – totaled 260+ strikeouts for the second straight season. People worry about his size and that he might break down, but the pitching motion taught to him by his dad seems to be working out so far. Has replaced John Santana as the one pitcher that will go in the first round in fantasy baseball drafts.

2) Roy Halladay – has turned up the strikeouts the last two seasons boosting his K/9 ratio by two per game. [...] Continue Reading…

by Todd Lammi

This is the seventh report in the series of our 2010 fantasy baseball rankings looking at the designated hitters / utility players.

1) Vladimir Guerrero – strikeouts inching up, the few walks he takes inching down, though not a surprising trend as he turns 35 in a few days. In a good hitting environment in Texas and still owns a high batting average. Stats were much better after the All-Star break when he hit 11 home runs in 207 at bats.

2) David Ortiz – maybe it was simply a case of his eyesight being affected that caused the [...] Continue Reading…

by Todd Lammi

This is the third installment of the 2010 fantasy baseball rankings looking at the position of outfield. Notable players that I have ranked higher than their fantasy baseball ADP include Juan Pierre, Cody Ross and Ryan Ludwick. Players that are ranked lower than their current ADP include Michael Bourn, Michael Cuddyer and Rajai Davis.

Just to give you some context to my rankings, I rank all players according to the players in their own position. You really have several ways you can rank players, either as a whole group and then break them out by position, which is [...] Continue Reading…

by Todd Lammi

Continuing the sixth report looking at the 2010 fantasy baseball rankings for  outfielders, here is a look at spots 21 – 40. I have a few people ranked lower than their current ADP in Josh Hamilton (obvious possible downside there) and Ichiro Suzuki as mentioned in the previous article. I also have several players ranked a few spots higher than their current ADP in Denard Span, Jay Bruce and Nolan Reimold.

Let’s take a look at the 2010 fantasy baseball rankings for slots 21-40 to see how they shake out.

21) Alfonso Soriano – knee bothered him all season [...] Continue Reading…

by Todd Lammi

This is the sixth report in the series of our 2010 fantasy baseball rankings looking at the top 20 outfielders. Before I get a flood of emails from readers, I will tell you that Ichiro Suzuki is not in the list, so no, I did not miss him.  I see a lot of people are drafting him high as he has a current fantasy baseball ADP of 42 and is the 10th outfielder being selected.

To me, he is one of those people that are drafted based on his name and not necessarily his value. I will shows [...] Continue Reading…

by Todd Lammi

This is the fifth report in the series of our 2010 fantasy baseball rankings looking at the position of third base. Third base looks to be the shallowest position this season with a strong top tier of players and not many players with real upside potential later in the draft.

Keep in mind the additional flexibility offered by players like Pablo Sandoval, Jorge Cantu, Mark DeRosa, Chase Headley, Jhonny Peralta, Mark Teahen, Garrett Atkins and Jake Fox as they all qualify at two or more positions. If I have two players that are rated close together, I will [...] Continue Reading…