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Composite Fantasy Baseball Shortstop Rankings

March 11th, 2010

When putting together a composite rankings list such as the one below, it is easy at times to see certain statistical trends.

For example, looking at overall composite scores, the top overall shortstop is a no-brainer. There is a similar drop between the No. 5 shortstop and the rest of the list.

Check it out yourself. The following composite shortstop rankings incorporates rankings from Sports Illustrated, Fanball, Sporting News, ESPN, and Yahoo (which is a composite of their four fantasy writers).

With each player is his current team, his overall composite score, and my advice, for what it’s worth.

1. Hanley Ramirez, Florida (5 pts): Is there any doubt in this position? Forget considering him the best overall shortstop…I’ll gladly take him first overall in any fantasy baseball draft. He is uber-consistent both at home and on the road and against both righties and southpaws. There are few sure things in life at this point: Death, taxes, and Hanley Ramirez.

2. Troy Tulowitski, Colorado (14): After a backslide in 2008, Troy came out swinging last season and compiled career-highs in home runs, stolen bases, batting average, and on-base percentage. His stats reached new levels after the All-Star break, signaling even better things to come in 2010 and beyond.

3. Jose Reyes, New York Mets (15): Second on many rankings, Reyes has first-round talent, but after injuries decimated his 2009 campaign, some are nervous to invest a high pick on the 27 year old. Overall, Reyes has looked good from an injury standpoint, but there is growing controversy over a possible thyroid issue. Watch the situation closely heading into your respective drafts.

4 (tie). Jimmy Rollins, Philadelphia (22): Perhaps one of the hardest players in baseball to predict, Rollins can produce incredibly solid numbers across the board, especially in a stacked Phillies lineup. While his stolen bases slipped last season along with his batting average, he did see an uptick in home runs. There are few players, especially at this position, that have matched or improved upon the overall numbers across the board that Rollins can provide.

4 (tie). Derek Jeter, New York Yankees (22): After his numbers dipped significantly in 2008, many considered Jeter as a player on the downside of his career. However, he silenced the critics in 2009 with large jumps in most every category, especially steals, which was his highest (30) since 2006. Jeter’s on-base percentage tied to the explosive lineup he hits on top of make him a statistical threat every time he walks to the plate. Watch, however, how high he goes in your respective fantasy drafts, however, because Jeter comes with significant name-recognition and could be fairly expensive on draft day.

6. Jason Bartlett, Tampa Bay (34): Few shortstops outside of Derek Jeter are as revered in their respective clubhouses as much as Bartlett is in Tampa Bay. He is coming off a breakout season in 2009 where he found a sudden power surge to go with significantly higher steals, batting average, runs scored, and RBI. He did slow down somewhat after the All-Star break, and may have trouble replicating the levels he showed in 2009, but in a young, potent lineup, Bartlett can still be a solid shortstop option in all fantasy formats.

7. Alexei Ramirez, Chicago White Sox (39): In 62 more at-bats in 2009 over 2008, Ramirez hit six fewer home runs, saw a small dropoff in RBI and batting average, and struggled at times against right handed pitchers. However, as the talent starts to decline at the position, Ramirez, even at 29 years of age, is still a threat to post a 20-20 season.

8. Yunel Escobar, Atlanta (50): Escobar isn’t a guy you will be taking much higher than at this spot, but he offers a decent upgrade over others on this list. He proved in 2009 that his 2008 breakout wasn’t a fluke. He has hovered right around .300 over the past three seasons, and while he doesn’t offer a ton of speed, he is a decent power option with upside potential. While he is currently projected to bat sixth in the lineup, he should be able to move up as the season progresses.

9. Elvis Andrus, Texas (53): While Escobar is a power hitter with little speed contributions, Andrus is a speedy option with little power…although that could come with more experience at the big league level. Want to know what Andrus is capable of? Check out his .280 batting average and 17 steals after the All-Star break.

10. Asdrubal Cabrera, Cleveland (56): Perhaps the best advocacy of what Asdrubal can do came from his own teammate, Grady Sizemore, who graciously has decided to bat from the No. 2 hole in the Indians lineup to allow Cabrera leadoff at-bats. The talented shortstop flashed plenty of potential last year, although his campaign was marred by a shoulder injury in the middle of the regular season. He still was able to fight his way back into the lineup and hit .370 in August. He will also rake in steals and runs scored categories atop the Cleveland lineup.

To see the rest of this list, go here .

To check out my value shortstops, click here .

To visit our new and improved fantasy baseball hub, click here .

For all your hard-hitting fantasy baseball and football advice, go to www.chinstrapninjas.com

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Posted in Fantasy, Rankings/List, fantasy baseball

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Dale Earnhardt Jr.: NASCAR Chase or No Chase

March 11th, 2010

At the beginning of the year, I said I’d give Dale Earnhardt Jr. til Atlanta to show me if he was going to be a contender this year.

 

After Atlanta, I am seeing signs toward a positive.

 

At the season-opening Daytona 500, he qualified well—second—and made a late charge through the field to finish second. That late charge and qualifying position equaled a lot to his fanbase, as it showed that the potential was still there—and he could make the right moves as a driver.

 

At Auto Club Speedway, he didn’t have a good showing, as he finished in the 20s after struggling all race long. This caused a step back in the process, as all that hope that had built up at Daytona was shot down.

 

At Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Earnhardt showed a lot more promise than the week before, as he qualified third and finished 17th.

 

I know a lot of people would call that disappointing; however, for a team that had an average of 22.2 last year on the intermediate tracks and finished 25th in points, it was a small improvement. The team may have fallen back in the race a little, but the qualifying performance left a huge implant on everybody.

 

At Atlanta Motor Speedway, the most promise shown through, as Earnhardt qualified on the pole and was running in the top 10 til the tire problem. The pole qualifying run proved that the No. 88 team had the speed and cars—it just needed to work toward race day moves next.

 

For the race, some may say it did equal disappointment by just viewing the finish and a general look at how the team ran, but there was some promise beneath it. Normally, the team would fall back to the late teens to early 20s—yet at the time of the first problem, the team was running seventh.

 

The problem plagued Earnhardt all day, as he was always pitting before the lead lap cars and staying out on cautions to try to get the wave around to work in his favor.

 

As Rick Hendrick said earlier this year with the No. 88 team, “When the car is running good, the pit crew doesn’t do good. When the pit crew does good, they get bit by bad luck.”

 

In this case, the pit crew and car were good, but the set-up just didn’t sit well with the tires.

 

Despite all that and with the wreck at the end, the team managed a 15th-place run—turning a bad day into a decent day, which is the sign of a championship team.

 

This may not be the dream start to a year per se, but it is a start—to say the least. However, with this start, can Earnhardt make the Chase?

 

Well, he currently sits 13th, less than 10 points out of the Chase—so I’d say he definitely has a shot.

 

The next five or six races will be the telling sign. By the end of April, can the team finish in the top 10? Top five? Or even get a win? That question will be answered in the only way possible—on the track.

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Posted in Dale Earnhardt Jr., Motorsports, NASCAR, Sprint Cup Series, hendrick motorsports

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The First Annual “It Is Never Too Early To Guess” 2010 NFC Rankings

March 11th, 2010

I try not to get involved in the guessing game of who will win and where will teams finish but I just could not help myself this year.

I have been looking over the schedules, without knowing the dates, and trying to figure out which team has the best shot at the Super Bowl.

This is my breakdown with the numbers beside each playoff team.

 

NFC East

Dallas Cowboys (3)

Washington Redskins (5)

Philadelphia Eagles

New York Giants

 

NFC South

New Orleans Saints (2)

Atlanta Falcons (6)

Carolina Panthers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

 

NFC North

Green Bay Packers (1)

Detroit Lions

Minnesota Vikings

Chicago Bears

 

NFC West

San Fransisco 49ers (4)

Arizona Cardinals

Seattle Seahawks

St. Louis Rams

 

What good is a season long prediction without a look into the playoffs? I have taken the teams I think will be in the playoffs and now I will try and break that down until we have a winner.

The Green Bay Packers and New Orleans Saints each receive a first round bye. The Packers receive homefield advantage throughout the playoffs.

 

Wild Card Round

(3)Dallas Cowboys vs. (6)Atlanta Falcons

(4)San Fransisco 49ers vs. (5) Washington Redskins

 

Divisional Round

(1)Green Bay Packers vs. (5) Washington Redskins

(2) New Orleans Saints vs. (3) Dallas Cowboys

 

Conference Championship Round

(1) Green Bay Packers vs. (2) New Orleans Saints

I will not pick the winner of the conference championship, I will leave that up to you guys in my poll.

Vote for the team you think will win in the conference championship based on my predictions.

 

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Posted in Football, NFL, Preview/Prediction

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Rot Your Brain: Fantasy Baseball’s Top 30 Second Basemen

March 11th, 2010

Second base is not a fantasy position solely for stolen bases, runs, and batting average.  Those days died long ago.

Do not be shocked at all of the second basemen with above-average fantasy values this year.  The revolution at the position has been going full force ever since Jeff Kent and Roberto Alomar proved that second basemen can hit home runs and drive in runs just like corner infielders.  There are arguably a dozen second basemen with the potential to put up All-Star numbers this season.
    
Here are the top 30 second basemen in fantasy baseball heading into the 2010 campaign.


1. Ian Kinsler, Texas Rangers

Kinsler was the only 30-HR, 30-SB player in the majors in 2009, plus he scored 101 runs and drove in an additional 86.  Just think how much better those numbers could have been if he hit higher than .253.  Well, remember that he batted .319 in 2008, so we might find out this season.   


2. Chase Utley, Philadelphia Phillies

Five straight All-Star fantasy seasons make him the No. 1 second baseman and a first-round pick on most fantasy boards.  It is tough to argue.  You cannot go wrong with either Utley or Kinsler.   


3. Robinson Cano, New York Yankees

Cano finally got out of his own way last year and should be primed for a 30-HR, 95-RBI, 100-run, .325 average fantasy blowout thanks to his abundant ability, the ballpark he plays in, and the Hall of Fame batting order surrounding him.  


4. Dustin Pedroia, Boston Red Sox     

Power, speed, runs, average, OPS.  The former MVP has it all and does it all for fantasy owners, and the best may be yet to come considering he is only 26.  
    

5. Aaron Hill, Toronto Blue Jays
See what Hill can do when he is not concussed?  Toronto’s middle man flexed his muscles to the tune of 36 homers and 108 RBI during his breakout 2009 season.  


6. Brandon Phillips, Cincinnati Reds

Critics will nitpick about his falling OPS and that he does not score enough runs.  I prefer to focus on his three straight seasons of at least 20 homers and 20 steals.  
 

7. Brian Roberts, Baltimore Orioles

Roberts does not have a weak category and should be among the best in runs and doubles, although his declining stolen base totals the past couple years are cause for concern.  


8. Ben Zobrist, Tampa Bay Rays

Players with 27 homers, 91 runs batted in, and 17 steals that qualify at multiple positions are harder to find than people who like Barry Bonds.  
 

9. Dan Uggla, Florida Marlins

Every offseason Florida threatens to trade him, and every year Uggla stays put and racks up more homers, RBI and runs than most second basemen.  


10. Jose Lopez, Seattle Mariners

Lopez’s power numbers have steadily increased during his career, so if the trend continues there is a chance he could be looking at 30 homers and 100 RBI.  Having Ichiro and Chone Figgins hitting in front of him will help, too.  


11. Gordon Beckham, Chicago White Sox

The former first-rounder’s fantasy value shoots up like a space shuttle now that he switches from third base to second base.   


12. Howie Kendrick, Los Angeles Angels

If Kendrick can ever keep himself on the field or he could be a 15-HR, 15-SB guy with the potential to win a batting title.  He still has yet to be healthy enough to get 400 at-bats in any of his first four seasons.  


13. Rickie Weeks, Milwaukee Brewers

Weeks has suffered more major wrist injuries than a secretary with chronic carpal-tunnel syndrome.  If he could just stay off the disabled list he could be a 20-HR, 20-SB stud.  


14. Clint Barmes, Colorado Rockies

How long can Barmes hold off fleet-footed Eric Young Jr. and remain a starter?


15. Martin Prado, Atlanta Braves

Zero speed and average power, though he is a .300 hitter with upside batting near the top of an above-average-looking lineup.


16. Orlando Hudson, Minnesota Twins

It has to worry fantasy owners that “O-Dog” lost his job to Ronnie Belliard at the end of last season while with the Dodgers.


17. Freddy Sanchez, San Francisco Giants

Always helps with batting average and hits loads of doubles, but his lack of power and speed makes him just a fantasy niche player.  


18. Kaz Matsui, Houston Astros

Still the second-best Matsui in fantasy baseball behind Hideki Matsui.


19. Alberto Callaspo, Kansas City Royals

Besides Zack Greinke and Billy Butler, Callaspo was arguably K.C.’s third-best fantasy performer last season, which says more about the team than it does about him.  


20. Scott Sizemore, Detroit Tigers
Detroit’s rookie phenom gets a chance to shine now that Placido Polanco is out of his way.  


21. Kelly Johnson, Arizona Diamondbacks

Johnson fell flatter than a lightweight drinker after two rum and cokes last season.  A change in scenery could help him return as the 15-HR, 60-RBI, 85-run guy he has shown he can be.


22. Felipe Lopez, St. Louis Cardinals

Lopez can hit homers and steal some bases if he plays, but currently he is the backup second baseman and shortstop on St. Louis’ depth chart.  


23. Luis Castillo, New York Mets

Castillo pleasantly surprised people with his .302 average and 20 stolen bases last season.  Extra-added bonus: you never have to worry about him being suspended for taking steroids because with 28 homers in 14 seasons it’s obvious he doesn’t take them.  


24. Mark Ellis, Oakland Athletics

If 10 homers, 10 steals, and average numbers in the other categories are good enough for you, then Ellis is your man—and you don’t ask enough from your fantasy second baseman.  


25. Adam Kennedy, Washington Nationals

After looking like his career was on life support, Kennedy bounced back in 2009 with one of the most under-appreciated seasons in fantasy baseball with 11 homers, 20 steals, and a .289 batting average.  But the odds of a repeat performance are probably astronomical.    


26. Jeff Baker, Chicago Cubs

Baker hit .305 in 69 games with Chicago last year, but he will likely lose too many at-bats to gritty Mike Fontenot to have much fantasy relevance.  


27. Ronnie Belliard, Los Angeles Dodgers

“Mini-Manny” needs to outplay perennial disappointment Blake DeWitt and keep his weight from ballooning to Kirstie Alley levels to be Joe Torre’s starting second baseman.  


28. Akinori Iwamura, Pittsburgh Pirates

Pittsburgh traded Freddy Sanchez at the deadline last season only to eventually replace him with Iwamura, who is a poor man’s Freddy Sanchez.  


29. Luis Valbuena, Cleveland Indians

His 10 homers and 52 runs in 103 games in 2009 opened some eyes, yet it did not open the door to a full-time job at second since Cleveland likes prospect Jason Donald.  


30. David Eckstein, San Diego Padres

This gutty overachiever does not steal bases, score runs, or hit for a high average anymore, hence why he brings up the bottom.  



Next column—Rating the shortstops.

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Posted in Fantasy, fantasy baseball

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NBA Makeovers: Rosters That Need a New Look

March 11th, 2010

Stuck in neutral.  Treading water.  Going nowhere.

Choose whatever phrase you want, but one of the worst feelings an NBA fan can have is seeing their favorite franchise listlessly drifting through another season.  What's worse is when the common consensus of fans' gut reactions all point to the belief that even if things might not get worse, they probably are not going to get better in the near future.

Being a Minnesota TimberWolves fan, I have endured this unfortunate realization during the Kevin Garnett era.  While he soldiered on amongst a roster annually restocked with retreads, failed draft picks, and bargain basement free agents, we fans certainly respected the effort on the floor and the decade of playoff contention and/or appearances.

Yet, we knew that another First Round exit was truly the usual ceiling for those teams.  We were disappointed each year when our gut reaction proved correct, but looked forward with little hope: what was going to be done to prevent the same old outcome from happening next year?

So without further ado, here is a list of teams that have reached a very similar glass ceiling with their current rosters.  Some of these might be bottom feeders, others might even be making the playoffs this year, but either way, these teams cannot expect better results than their current status quo, unless large-scale changes are made.

 

Boston Celtics

I'm sorry everybody.  I'll be a die-hard KG fan forever (and therefore I've been a defacto Celtics follower these past couple of years), but you and I all secretly know that the window has already closed. 

Bringing in Nate Robinson & Michael Finley's ghost won't change the fact that this team doesn't possess that extra gear necessary to move past a Cleveland, an Orlando, or an Atlanta in the East. 

They keep talking as if it's there, waiting to be unleashed at the right moment.  Then again, the Detroit Pistons talked that way after their one title too.  They talked about unleashing it for half a decade of Eastern Conference Finals appearances, but it was never there again.

Ray Allen is probably gone.  Rasheed Wallace has to be as well.  This team can build around solid pieces like Rondo, Perkins, Nate Robinson, & Glen Davis, but outside of Rondo, is there another budding star on this roster? 

Would KG and Paul Pierce accept rebuilding around those guys?  Pierce still has some mileage left as a number two player and a steadying veteran presence; he's worth keeping as a Celtics lifer.  KG however, has descended to being only a solid veteran starter.  There's a market for those guys with every contender.

If he wants to finish out with the Celtics, he has to be ready to rebuild.  If that's not the case, he needs to be moved in the offseason to another playoff team.

 

Philadelphia 76ers

Their record this year speaks for itself.  Off the top of my head, I don't have a sparkling answer for how they could turn things around quickly (If I try to solve it, I'll let you know, but I might die of an aneurysm first).  Either way, this is nothing more than an eight seed, even if they overachieved to a great extent.

The contracts are bad, the bench is non-functional, and the chemistry has been wrecked since their playoff appearance two seasons ago.

Still, there are some pieces to use.  Jrue Holliday, Marreese Speights, Lou Williams, Thaddeus Young, Jason Smith, and Rodney Carney all have varying amounts of usable upside.  Stripping the roster down to those pieces might seem like a horrifying step backwards for Sixers' fans, but let's be honest; would that group, plus a couple of other young players and a solid veteran or two, do much worse than the current concoction?

I think that it would be surprisingly similar, but at least the minutes would be spent building towards something.  Getting rid of Iguodala, Dalembert, Brand, and the other veteran parts has been a long-running implausibility for Philadelphia, but at this point I would be ready to sell them for 30 cents on the dollar and move on. 

 

Golden State Warriors

This high scoring, no defense disaster is probably just as much a result of Don Nelson's coaching indifference as it is related to roster deficiencies. 

Either way though, this is another outfit that has some young pieces to work with.  Again, they need to spend the minutes developing the young guys, while their expensive veterans should be moved on to other teams that are ready to contend right now (or are stupid enough to take on the overpaid contracts).

Monta Ellis, Steph Curry, Anthony Morrow, Andris Biedrins and Anthony Randolph are the building blocks of a team that absolutely could keep playing the "run and gun" style in a fan-friendly and athletically unparalleled manner.  The problem is that the team is still wasting minutes on used-up veterans and also-rans. 

This roster should be stripped down to its young core only, and rebuilt from there.  The potential is phenomenal, but a plan (and coach) must be put in place to utilize the young assets already there.

 

Indiana Pacers

They are in the process of rebuilding.  They do have some young guys who are being given adequate development minutes.  The problem is that this team is so deficient in overall talent, that middling veterans like Mike Dunleavy, Troy Murphy, Earl Watson, TJ Ford, & Dontay Jones all continue to see time, just so that they're not blown out every night.

This franchise will need a few more draft restocks to move forward.  Shouldn't those aforementioned vets be swapped for picks as soon as possible, so as to expedite the process?

 

San Antonio Spurs

This is their last season, and then the window will officially be closed, if it hasn't already.  In-stride roster restocking is no longer enough to move the Spurs past either the West's elite or its rising young teams. 

This might sound like heresy for Spurs fans, but here we go:  Parker and Duncan can continue to be starting lineup glue, but vets like Antonio McDyess, Richard Jefferson, Matt Bonner, Keith Bogans, and Manu Ginobili are going to become unnecessary drains on developmental minutes.

If I'm R.C. Buford, I blow up this team next year (unless they miraculously win a title this year) and begin building around George Hill, DeJuan Blair, and the other youngsters stocked overseas.  Duncan, Parker, and Popovich would hopefully remain on board with this process. 

 

Dishonorable mention:

New Orleans Hornets, Miami Heat, Toronto Raptors - These teams are already stuck in neutral, but for better or worse, large scale changes are already appearing on their horizons during the offseason.

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Posted in Basketball, NBA, Opinion

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