1st Quarter Report: How The Preseason Top 10 Have Fared
By orleanscardinals at 23 May, 2008, 10:43 am
One of the key differences between fantasy baseball and fantasy football is that the length and depth of the baseball season means that even a major injury to an early round draft selection may not have such a significant impact.
In both of my Yahoo leagues, I lost both 1st round selections to injury, yet somehow am still in 1st in one league and in the middle of the pack in the other.
That being said, you really hope that your first round draft selection is putting up numbers that solidly contribute to the success of your team. Here’s a look at how the top 10 players in preseason fantasy baseball rankings (according to Yahoo Fantasy Baseball) have fared through the 1st quarter of the season (statistics through May 22nd).
- Alex Rodriguez (Current Yahoo Rank: 256)
Stat Line - 17 Runs/6 HR/15 RBI/1 SB/.294 BA & 30/102 Hits/AB
While no one would expect Rodriguez to duplicate last year’s April statistics (14 HR/34 RBI/.355 AVG), we were hoping for something comparable. Injury aside, fantasy managers can only hope that A-Rod continues to swing the hot bat now that he’s fully recovered from the strained quad which took about 70 AB’s out of the season. - Hanley Ramirez (Current Yahoo Rank: 9)
Stat Line - 37 Runs/9 HR/23 RBI/13 SB/.303 BA & 53/175 Hits/AB
Aside from a mini-slide in mid-May, there’s nothing not to like about Ramirez. He’s truly become the top choice for short stops, blending scoring, speed, power and average. - Albert Pujols (Current Yahoo Rank: 15)
Stat Line - 29 Runs/11 HR/31 RBI/2 SB/.351 BA & 60/171 Hits/AB
Pujols elbow may have scared some people off but for the time being he’s doing everything a fantasy manager would want (even 2 SB’s!). He’s also 2nd in the league in OBP (.479, second to Chipper Jones) and 4th in OPS (1.081). - David Wright (Current Yahoo Rank: 27)
Stat Line - 27 Runs/8 HR/35 RBI/6 SB/.286 BA & 50/175 Hits/AB
David Wright has pulled out of a recent slump, hitting .385 over the last 6 games and overall, is contributing well in all 5 major scoring categories. - Chase Utley (Current Yahoo Rank: 6)
Stat Line - 36 Runs/14 HR/33 RBI/4 SB/.312 BA & 59/189 Hits/AB
I’ve been a big fan of Utley and would probably have taken him as high as #3 if available. His numbers this far have been outstanding and the fact that he also leads the top 10 in overall AB’s speaks to his overall value as well (3rd in total AB’s for MLB players). - Matt Holiday (Current Yahoo Rank: 26)
Stat Line - 31 Runs/6 HR/23 RBI/8 SB/.324 BA & 57/176 Hits/AB
I was a bit surprised that Holiday was ranked this high to begin the season but couldn’t argue too much looking at the past couple years of production. It’s too bad the Rockies have been such a disappointment but aside from the lower RBI totals, you can’t really complain if you drafted Holiday first. - Jose Reyes (Current Yahoo Rank: 71)
Stat Line - 25 Runs/4 HR/19 RBI/14 SB/.276 BA & 50/181 Hits/AB
It seems reasonable to believe Reyes is more of a 20 HR guy than a 25 - 30 HR guy and a slow April definitely had fantasy owners worried. Hopefully fantasy owners will see more statistics like May instead (April: 13 R/2 HR/9 RBI/6 SB/.250 AVG/.300 OBP versus May: 11 R/2 HR/9 RBI/8 SB/.312 AVG/.379 OBP) - Miguel Cabrera (Current Yahoo Rank: 121)
Stat Line - 23 Runs/7 HR/26 RBI/1 SB/.282 BA & 48/170 Hits/AB
Aside from those injured, Cabrera is probably the only top 10 pick who has been a disappointment. Cabrera is actually ranked 11th for active 3B’s in Yahoo Leagues (behind guys like Mark Derosa and Yunel Escobar) and the move to 1B didn’t improve those numbers (currently ranked 15th for eligible 1B). - Jimmy Rollins (Current Yahoo Rank: 227)
Stat Line - 16 Runs/3 HR/14 RBI/6 SB/.320 BA & 31/97 Hits/AB
The fact that Rollins missed half of the season thus far and played injured through another 4 or 5 games was a definite disappointment. But if you extrapolate the current numbers out, Rollins has been very effective (and should continue to be effective) as the season goes on. - Johan Santana (Current Yahoo Rank: 109)
Stat Line - 5-3 Record/58 K/3.36 ERA/1.18 WHIP & 67 IP/10 GS
Season to date, Santana shows why it can be risky to invest in a starting pitcher with your first round selection. Owners who took someone like Brandon Webb or Cole Hamels in the 4th, 5th or 6th rounds are clearly happy, as well as those who picked up Cliff Lee and Edinson Volquez as free agents. But I’ll bet that there are even better months ahead and by seasons’ end, consistency and a talent will still bring Santana back to the top of the list for starting pitchers.
There you have it. My review of how the top 10 players, ranked at the beginning of the MLB season, have fared thus far. Up next, I’ll take a look at some of the 1st quarter gems, surprises, disappointments and duds of the first month and a half of fantasy baseball.
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