It's Fantasy Baseball Season so it's time to do some Prep Work. Bare in mind that these Preps are as much for me as they are for any other schmuck that happens to read them. If perchance you are in any of my leagues please avoid reading all of this until after our respective drafts. Thanks.
The 2nd base position really is a very very boring position in fantasy baseball. Hence I get this post out of the way first. I'm a fan of drafting Chase Utley in the 1st round if you have a late round pick based on the overall position scarcity of 2nd base. After that there are players there are a group of players who will go around a similar time. Brandon Philips is universally accepted as the 2nd best 2-bagger, and I will universally avoid him in all drafts. Just not a believer on the level others are.
Two players that I would target after avoiding the 2nd tier are Ian Kinsler and Rickie Weeks. Both have week averages but both give you incredible 2nd base production in both steals and home runs. Both players had under 500 at bats with Kinsler shading towards 500 and Weeks closer to 400. Both however put up over 40 in combined steals and home runs. In roto leagues this is phenomenal. For Rickie Weeks he could be the steal of the draft. He was once deemed one of the best prospects in baseball he'll fall in your drafts and in the month of September alone last year he hit 9 home runs and had 10 steals. After these two players, in my opinion, you might as well just wait for the bottom of the barrel guys.
If you wait until the absolute end of your drafts you can still get players that will contribute significantly to a single stat. For instance players like Ryan Theriot and Kazuo Matsui will be amongst the last 2nd baseman selected but will put up around 30 stolen bases along with mediocre numbers across the board. Basically if you miss out on the top you're going to get the scraps regardless. Just wait until the absolute end of your draft, stock up else where, and deal with what you end up with.
The 2nd base position really is a very very boring position in fantasy baseball. Hence I get this post out of the way first. I'm a fan of drafting Chase Utley in the 1st round if you have a late round pick based on the overall position scarcity of 2nd base. After that there are players there are a group of players who will go around a similar time. Brandon Philips is universally accepted as the 2nd best 2-bagger, and I will universally avoid him in all drafts. Just not a believer on the level others are.Two players that I would target after avoiding the 2nd tier are Ian Kinsler and Rickie Weeks. Both have week averages but both give you incredible 2nd base production in both steals and home runs. Both players had under 500 at bats with Kinsler shading towards 500 and Weeks closer to 400. Both however put up over 40 in combined steals and home runs. In roto leagues this is phenomenal. For Rickie Weeks he could be the steal of the draft. He was once deemed one of the best prospects in baseball he'll fall in your drafts and in the month of September alone last year he hit 9 home runs and had 10 steals. After these two players, in my opinion, you might as well just wait for the bottom of the barrel guys.
If you wait until the absolute end of your drafts you can still get players that will contribute significantly to a single stat. For instance players like Ryan Theriot and Kazuo Matsui will be amongst the last 2nd baseman selected but will put up around 30 stolen bases along with mediocre numbers across the board. Basically if you miss out on the top you're going to get the scraps regardless. Just wait until the absolute end of your draft, stock up else where, and deal with what you end up with.
Comments