By: Justin Sperdakes
Each baseball season begins with a new
series of storylines to follow throughout the season. This “buzz” is usually
generated by a combination of spring training performance, offseason
transactions and injuries. Below are the top five “fantasy relevant” storylines
heading into a season full of them.
The Replacements
The New York Yankees, long known for their perennial courtship of World Series Championships begin their season in a peculiar situation. They have the high-paid star sluggers as per usual, but the spring has not been kind to the likes of Curtis Granderson and Mark Texiera, uniting the star sluggers on the disabled list (DL) with legends Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez. The Yankees brought in Kevin Youkilis, Lyle Overbay, Vernon Wells and Travis Hafner to provide some offensive power until their stars return from the DL. All of these “replacements” are shadows of their former selves but if either Wells or Youkilis have a strong April/May, they should continue to receive considerable playing time throughout the season and produce valuable fantasy stats.
The New York Yankees, long known for their perennial courtship of World Series Championships begin their season in a peculiar situation. They have the high-paid star sluggers as per usual, but the spring has not been kind to the likes of Curtis Granderson and Mark Texiera, uniting the star sluggers on the disabled list (DL) with legends Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez. The Yankees brought in Kevin Youkilis, Lyle Overbay, Vernon Wells and Travis Hafner to provide some offensive power until their stars return from the DL. All of these “replacements” are shadows of their former selves but if either Wells or Youkilis have a strong April/May, they should continue to receive considerable playing time throughout the season and produce valuable fantasy stats.
Power Surge in the West
Considered a division with great pitching and pitcher-friendly parks
with the exception of the Texas Rangers Ball Park in Arlington, the former
four- team AL West has undergone a facelift that should produce more offense than in past seasons.
For starters, a fifth team was added by moving the Houston Astros and their
hitter-friendly park from the NL Central. Playing in Houston nine games a year
while also hosting their weak pitching staff nine times should provide extra offense
to Texas, Seattle, Los Angeles and Oakland. The second factor that should
result in an overall increase in offense are the changes made to Seattle’s ball
park(SAFECO) over the offseason in which they reduced their Left field distance
by twelve feet and reduced overall fence height by nine feet. Seattle also
added some power to the lineup in the offseason with Kendrys Morales,
Raul Ibanez, Jason Bay and Michael Morse. Hitters from Seattle and Oakland
could have increased fantasy relevance this year, while Texas and Los Angeles
should continue to pad their stats.
Fading Aces
Once dominant front-line starts, Roy
Halladay and Tim Lincecum experienced down years in 2012 with each posting
ERA’s above 4.40. Through spring, indications are that these two former flame
throwers have lost some zip on their fastballs and thus reducing the effects of
their secondary pitches. A common occurrence with starting pitchers and
particularly power pitchers, once they lose “it”, they do not get “it” back.
Some of them will re-invent themselves as finesse pitchers but the dominant
“stuff” that once made them unhittable and fantasy studs are gone and therefore
should be avoided for fantasy purposes unless they begin to dominate early in
the season or come at a decent value.
Sophomore Slumps
Two first-year hitters posted spectacular
seasons, living up to their hype and top prospect status. Bryce Harper and Mike
Trout exceeded expectations, posting valuable offensive numbers despite their
ripe ages below twenty-two. This early success
is not typical of a major leaguer and usually a player so young requires more
minor league experience. There is always
talk about sophomore slumps in every sport, some experience it(A-ROD) and some
don’t(Griffey) but it wouldn’t be entirely unexpected if either of these two
players experienced extended struggles this season as pitchers and teams learn
more about their tendencies. Mike Trout is a safer pick for continued success
as the Angels added more protection in the lineup in the form of Josh Hamilton
(and Pujols last year) which should reduce Trout’s pressure and allow him to
see more quality pitches without being walked. Harper is another story, playing
for a team (Washington) that lead the majors in wins last with 98, faces
increased expectations with less protection than trout. Washington’s most
notable addition is Denard Span, which is good but will not keep Harper from
Pressing at times and putting too much of the teams weight on his shoulders.
Bottom line with these two players is that right now Trout is the better and
safer player, but Harper is still a top 10 value at Outfield and within a
couple years could be the top slugger in all of baseball.
Reloaded
Every offseason includes teams making
headlining trades or free agent signings in hopes of contenting for a championship. Offensively, the teams that made
the biggest noise were Atlanta, Los Angeles Angels and Toronto. Atlanta added
both BJ and Justin Upton to a lineup that already included stud sluggers, Jason
Heyward and Freddie Freeman. Toronto added Jose Reyes, Emilio Bonifacio and
Melky Cabrera and the Los Angeles Angels added Josh Hamilton. Josh should
produce right away and continue to post top 5 fantasy stats for an outfielder.
Toronto and Atlanta may struggle early with chemistry but should have many more
run-producing opportunities from their new teammates. For a more in-depth analysis of players that
have switched teams this season, check out this post by one of our fantasy experts, Anthony.
