Overbay Traded to Toronto!
LANCE'S FANTASY WORLD
Fantasy baseball News and Tidbits
Eric Sacharski
The first month of fantasy baseball has come and gone, sadly, of course. By now your rosters are almost completey set. You have finally pieced together a solid everyday lineup, with the occasional switch here and there. The waiver wire should be more quiet now than it was last week, but there still might be some steals out there that you could snag.The first month of the fantasy baseball season saw a ton of surprises, and for that matter, a ton of disappointments.
For the fantasy amateurs, many have to learn that just because one of your studs has a terrible first month, doesn't mean you bench him. As the saying goes, the baseball season is a marathon, not a sprint. For the experts, they know their big timers can come through on any given night. Using my team as an example, Todd Helton, who I picked 8th overall in my live draft, had his not-so spectacular April. What's that mean? His May should make up for it.
The surprises in April included Brian Roberts, Dmitri Young and Shea Hillebrand becoming formidable fantasy players, Kerry Wood getting shelled, and Jon Garland going undefeated.
Remember to check out the matchups, also. A lot of times you may forget about who your pitcher is up against. Last week I ran into Bartolo Colon going up against Carl Pavano and the Yankees. What happened? A-Rod hits three dingers and Colon doesn't even go four innings. Check your matchups and make them work. If you are hardcore about starting your pitchers all of the time, either take up a lot of innings early in the season so you get a big enough lead that you can bench them later in the year, or try and keep your innings below +15 at this point.
As for our beloved Brewers, there have been a few surprises from them as well. Brady Clark is the top fantasy Brewer player to speak of. He's getting his opportunity as an everday player and running with it. Carlos Lee, on the other hand, was hot the first week of the year, and a big dropoff has him hitting just over the Mendoza line. Two Brewers to keep your eye on are Geoff Jenkins, who is coming off a horrid start to the season with some big hits lately, and Lyle Overbay, the hitting machine.
Last week I presented to you my top 20 fantasy players to that date, and this week I'll do the same. Keep track of your player and if they are in the top 20, make sure to keep them in your lineup every day this week.
Top 20 Fantasy Baseball Players
Hitters
1. Brian Roberts (Last week, 1) - Continues his hot streak. Hit his eighth home run this week and stole three more bases. With the Orioles high-octane offense, this guy should give about 10 points a game on average.
2. Derek Lee (Last Week, 6) - Has had 3 home runs and 11 RBIs in the past seven days. Is the lone offensive bright spot on the Cubs right now. He's the kind of guy some fantasy owners passed up because of all the other talented first baseman in baseball.
3 Miguel Tejada (Last Week, 4) - A guy that puts up consistent numbers in that big Orioles offense. Likke Lee, Tejada upped his status with three more home runs and 11 RBIs during the week. A guy you love, too, because he doesn't strike out much - just 10 in 95 at bats this year.
4. Alex Rodriguez (Last Week, NR) - My biggest jumper of the week, not even in the top 20 last time. His obvious huge week jolted him to number 4. You knew A-Rod would bust out sooner or later. HIs 5 home runs and 13 RBIs were tops this week. Is tied for the ML lead with 9 bombs.
5. Ichiro Suzuki (Last Week, 7) - Ichiro was Ichiro this week. 11 hits, a double and a triple, also his second jack of the year. Ichiro didn't steal a base, but has eight on the season. You can't go wrong with this guy.
6. Jeff Kent (Last Week, 2) - Is still putting up pretty good numbers. His average is slipping a bit and had only five hits and five strikeouts this week. May be trade bait if you have a good backup second baseman, but Kent will still put up those power numbers for you.
7. Torii Hunter (Last Week, 4) - Dropped off a bit this week, but that's not a big surprise. Hunter should be starting in your outfield or as a utility man if you are weak there. Still can't eny his 11 stolen bases on the year. The Twins offense isn't a powerhouse, though, which makes him inconsistent at times.
8. Troy Glaus (Last Week, 5) - A couple of spots down this week, but nothing to be concrened about.
9. Miguel Cabrera (Last Week, NR) - Another guy who was on the mend last week and has jumped into the top 10. Cabrera had a good week for fantasy owners that included five doubles. I'm still concrened about his power numbers. But 4 home runs in the month of April isn't anything to worry about.
10. Manny Ramirez (Last Week, 8) - Decent week for Manny. Two jacks and 7 RBIs. That Boston lineup though can score runs in a hurry. I'm going to take a guess that he'll stay in the top 20 for much of the summer.
11. Vladimir Guerroro (Last Week, 10), 12. David Ortiz (Last Week, 11), 13. Clint Barmes (Last Week, 9), 14. Alfonso Soriano (Last Week, NR), 15. Albert Pujols (Last Week, NR), 16. Dmitri Young (Last Week, 15), 17. Jose Guillen (Last Week, 14), 18. Shea Hillebrand (Last Week, NR), 19. Milton Bradley (Last Week, 16), 20. Chipper Jones (Last Week, 13),
On the Mend: Brady Clark, Chone Figgins, Jeremy Burnitz, Eric Hinske, Carl Crawford, Johnny Damon.
Dropped out of Top 20: Paul Konerko, Jason Lane, Jose Vidro, Cliff Floyd, Derek Jeter.
Pitchers
1. Dontrelle Willis (Last Week, 1) - Are you kidding me? The guy is a perfect 5-0 with three complete games - two of them shutouts. The guy has been a stud, and the good thing about him is he doesn't get injured often. Has 25 K's to just six walks.
2. Johan Santana (Last Week, 3) - Lost his first game of the year yesterday but still went a strong eight innigns. His only two miscues were two solo shots in a 2-1 loss. Still have to move him up because he leads the majors in Ks. Soild innings every time out.
3. Roy Halladay (Last Week, NR) - Roy was on the mend last week until he pitched his second complete game. Managed 13 Ks in two outings this week and jumps on the board.
4. Jon Garland (Last Week, 10) - Without a doubt a guy who you picked up off of waivers. He may be the best waiver pickup of the year, expecially if he continues his hot start. Another complete game shutout yesterday where he allowed just four hits. What a big lift for your team.
5. Cris Carpenter (Last Week, NR) - Another pitcher not in the Top 10 last week, but another win against the Brewers helped out his stats a bit. He's now 4-1 on the year with a complete game shutout and has allowed only 6 earned runs. Another decent middle-round surprise.
6. Randy Johnson (Last Week, 7), 7. Greg Chacin (Last Week, NR), 8. Pedro Martinez (Last Week, 5), 9. Josh Beckett (Last Week, 2), 10. Mark Buehrle (Last Week 9),
On the Mend: Jake Peavy, Odalis Perez, A.J. Burnett, Jon Lieber, Mike Hampton.
Dropped out of Top 10: Jamie Moyer, Roy Oswalt, Mark Prior.
Waiver Wire Steals (Pitchers):
Erik Bedard, Orlando Hernandez, Russ Ortiz, Brad Penny, Jon Lackey
Waiver Wire Steals (Hitters):
Moises Alou, Jason Bay, Lyle Overbay, Jeremy Burnitz, Brady Clark,
Trade Bait (Pitchers):
Cris Carpenter, Jon Garland, Gustavo Chacin, C.C. Sabathia, Brandon Webb
Trade Bait (Hitters):
Derek Lee, Dmitri Young, Melvin Mora, Adam Dunn, Paul Konerko