A Post That Will Only Interest My League: 2011 Fantasy Team Rankings - Part 1

Just to prove that the fame (minimal) and fortune (non-existant) has not gone to my head since my breaking the news of what really happened in Jose Canseco's Boxing Controversy (linked on both Yahoo and Deadspin), I have bent to my league's demands (and since I have nothing better to write about) to provide my league's preseason fantasy baseball rankings.

12. John
Summary: This team is so boring, you may fall asleep while reading through the roster.

11	Joey Votto, Cin 1B
14	Kevin Youkilis, Bos 1B
35	Jayson Werth, Was OF
38	Zack Greinke*, Mil SP
59	Hunter Pence, Hou OF
62	Corey Hart, Mil OF
83	Stephen Drew, Ari SS
86	Max Scherzer, Det SP
107	Mark Reynolds, Bal 3B
110	Neil Walker, Pit 2B
131	Ricky Nolasco, Fla SP
134	Miguel Montero, Ari C
155	Drew Storen, Was RP
158	Andres Torres, SF OF
179	Jonny Venters, Atl RP
182	Logan Morrison, Fla OF
203	Dexter Fowler, Col OF
206	Ricky Romero, Tor SP
227	Brandon Lyon, Hou RP
230	David Murphy, Tex OF
251	J.J. Hardy, Bal SS

The Good: For some reason, I really like his Baltimore Orioles picks.  Even though he is going over to the tougher league in a less ideal ballpark, Mark Reynolds crushes the ball.  If he can get his batting average up to .250, he's a huge asset at third base which is not a position with a lot of depth.  I also like Hardy to have a good year as he had to deal with a wrist injury last year, so I think he can show some of the power that he displayed during his Milwaukee days. Also, Ricky Nolasco's fantasy stats have to match his advanced stats eventually, right?

The Bad: There seemed to be a ton of draft picks that lacked upside.  Werth, Pence, Hart, and Walker all seem like pretty boring picks. I'm also not real high on Logan Morrison being a great fantasy option in his first full year.  Same goes for David Murphy, because, well, he's David Murphy.  If everything goes right, it's a middle of the pack team, but unless this team gets immaculate luck, this is not a championship caliber team.

11. Chad
Summary: At least he won't be short on steals. Unfortunately, every other category could be a problem.

1	Albert Pujols, StL 1B
24	Cliff Lee, Phi SP
25	Ryan Zimmerman, Was 3B
48	Jason Heyward, Atl OF
49	Tommy Hanson, Atl SP
72	Heath Bell, SD RP
73	Roy Oswalt, Phi SP
96	Aaron Hill, Tor 2B
97	Michael Bourn, Hou OF
120	Brett Gardner, NYY OF
121	Rafael Furcal, LAD SS
144	Francisco Cordero, Cin RP
145	Brandon Morrow, Tor SP
168	Adam LaRoche, Was 1B
169	Anibal Sanchez, Fla SP
192	Carlos Lee, Hou OF
193	Ian Kennedy, Ari SP
216	Edwin Jackson, CWS SP
217	Raul Ibanez, Phi OF
240	Kurt Suzuki, Oak C
241	Frank Francisco, Tor RP

The Good: He got Albert Pujols, I hear he's good. He also got Zimmerman when a pick finally came back around to him.  I could also see Aaron Hill having a bounceback year this season.  Getting Francisco in the last round is a really nice pick since Toronto has said that he has the closer's job when he comes off the disabled list.  And for some reason, even though it makes no sense as I'm typing it, I kind of like Carlos Lee to be good again this year. Somebody on the Astros has to be good, right?

The Bad: He drafted Michael Bourn and Brett Gardner back to back, so he must really like steals. When you take Adam LaRoche, you've clearly stopped caring. He's also depending on Rafael Furcal staying healthy at shortstop and can't be expecting much at catcher with Kurt Suzuki behind the plate.  This is another team that just fails to excite me.

10. DW
Summary: Things didn't start well, and they didn't end well either, but there was a solid middle.

3	Roy Halladay, Phi SP
22	Nelson Cruz, Tex OF
27	Ryan Howard, Phi 1B
46	Jose Reyes, NYM SS
51	Brian McCann, Atl C
70	Yovani Gallardo, Mil SP
75	Brian Wilson, SF RP
94	Howard Kendrick, LAA 2B
99	Casey McGehee, Mil 3B
118	Clay Buchholz, Bos SP
123	Adam Jones, Bal OF
142	Madison Bumgarner, SF SP
147	Jose Valverde, Det RP
166	Vernon Wells, LAA OF
171	C.J. Wilson, Tex SP
190	Brian Roberts, Bal 2B
195	Jake Westbrook, StL SP
214	Kyle Drabek, Tor SP
219	Justin Smoak, Sea 1B
238	Denard Span, Min OF
243	Jair Jurrjens, Atl SP

Good: Jose Reyes and Brian McCann back to back are really good picks for the fourth and fifth rounds.  Yes, Reyes is an extreme risk, but he is in a contract year and he might just explode this year.  If he's healthy, it's great, but it could still bite him in the ass.  Shortstop is a very shallow position, so having somebody with this much upside is great to have. McCann is nearly the opposite.  He is low risk.  Worst case is that he's an above average catcher, but he has the potential to be the top catcher in the league. I also like B-Rob as a good late value who can really pay off if he's healthy or you can drop him when he has yet another horrible injury. 

Bad: Roy Halladay at number three is bad.  He could be the best pitcher in the league and still be a regrettable pick at number three.  Casey McGehee doesn't excite me in any way. Brian Wilson seems like a guy who is due to regress this year, and he's already hurt which isn't a good sign to start the year. Also, the Justin Smoak pick is simply a waste of a pick.

9. Cory
Summary: Cory's an old soul, so he drafted a bunch of grizzled vets for his fantasy team.

2	Hanley Ramirez, Fla SS
23	Prince Fielder, Mil 1B
26	Jose Bautista, Tor 3B
47	Victor Martinez, Det C
50	Chris Carpenter, StL SP
71	Jered Weaver, LAA SP
74	Paul Konerko, CWS 1B
95	Curtis Granderson, NYY OF
98	Torii Hunter, LAA OF
119	Kelly Johnson, Ari 2B
122	Ted Lilly, LAD SP
143	Aubrey Huff, SF 1B
146	Daniel Hudson, Ari SP
167	Adam Lind, Tor DH
170	Bobby Abreu, LAA OF
191	Brad Lidge, Phi RP
194	Trevor Cahill, Oak SP
215	Fernando Rodney, LAA RP
218	James McDonald, Pit SP
239	Brandon McCarthy, Oak SP
242	Jorge De La Rosa, Col SP

The Good: I really like his first two picks. Hanley's one of the few five category studs, and Prince Fielder has a lot of hitting talent around him, so there's no reason he can't produce big numbers this season. Another pick I really liked was Curtis Granderson as he actually started hitting lefties last year, so if he can mash righties like he has in the past, he could put up a monster season. On the pitching side, I think James McDonald is the kind of guy you want to take a chance on late in the draft as he put up really good numbers at the end of last year, but it is still a small sample size. Maybe it works great, or maybe he's an early drop, but it's good to have the chance to find out.

The Bad: Joey Bats at 26 is not the type of chance I would want to take off of one season's work. I don't see him falling off the face of the Earth, but I also see him more at 30 home runs than the 50 he hit last year. I also don't really like the Aubrey Huff pick, because Aubrey Huff has killed me in fantasy in the past, and when I finally gave up on him, he started hitting again. This might just be me being bitter, but I have some serious issues with Huff, and I really don't think he'll put up the numbers he had last year. I'm also not high on Brad Lidge as I'm pretty sure he's thrown his arm off and it may never come back.

8. JVD
Summary: We all hate JVD. I'm glad his team will suck.

7	Troy Tulowitzki, Col SS
18	Josh Hamilton, Tex OF
31	Mike Stanton, Fla OF
42	Ichiro Suzuki, Sea OF
55	Josh Johnson, Fla SP
66	Mat Latos, SD SP
79	Kendry Morales, LAA 1B
90	Ben Zobrist, TB 2B
103	Geovany Soto, ChC C
114	Pablo Sandoval, SF 3B
127	Brett Anderson, Oak SP
138	Chris Perez, Cle RP
151	Jordan Zimmermann, Was SP
162	Tyler Colvin, ChC OF
175	Andrew Bailey, Oak RP
186	Aroldis Chapman, Cin RP
199	Ryan Raburn, Det OF
210	Michael Pineda, Sea SP
223	Derek Holland, Tex SP
234	Brandon League, Sea RP
247	Derek Lowe, Atl SP

The Good: I'm not gonna lie, I love Troy Tulowitzki.  I wish I could somehow disparage everything in this draft, because this JVD character is the punching bag of the entire league. But while we're on the good, I also really like Josh Johnson as I thought he was underrated going into this season.  Later in the draft, he made some nice picks with Geovany Soto, Pablo Sandoval, and Brett Anderson.

The Bad: Outside of their team owner being a douche, this draft completely fell apart down the stretch. Tyler Colvin?  Regression year. Aroldis Chapman? Setup man, whoopty doo. Ryan Raburn? Who? Michael Pineda? Growing pains. A lot of people will also have problems with Mike Stanton in the third round, but if you really want a guy and you don't think he'll be around later, then you go for it, and it's not like Stanton isn't loaded with potential. Also, the Latos, Morales, Zobrist streak were all questionable decisions. I'm betting against all three.  And finally, did I mention their owner is a douche?

7. Mike D
Summary: Taking a glance at this team, you'd be surprised they're ranked this low. If you knew Mike D, you wouldn't be.

6	Carlos Gonzalez, Col OF
19	Tim Lincecum, SF SP
30	Jon Lester, Bos SP
43	Buster Posey, SF C
54	Dan Haren, LAA SP
67	Jacoby Ellsbury, Bos OF
78	Francisco Liriano, Min SP
91	Carlos Marmol, ChC RP
102	Gordon Beckham, CWS 2B
115	Carlos Pena, ChC 1B
126	Carlos Quentin, CWS OF
139	Ian Desmond, Was SS
150	Ian Stewart, Col 3B
163	Edwin Encarnacion, Tor 3B
174	Manny Ramirez, TB OF
187	Ryan Dempster, ChC SP
198	Chone Figgins, Sea 2B
211	Angel Pagan, NYM OF
222	Derrek Lee, Bal 1B
235	Grady Sizemore, Cle OF
246	David Aardsma, Sea RP

The Good: I really like some of the mid-round values that he found.  Two that stand out are Gordon Beckham and Carlos Pena.  Beckham was a huge disappointment last year, but he actually started hitting well towards the end of the season.  Pena is moving to the weaker league and a hitter's ballpark, so 40 home runs is definitely a possibility.  I also like Chone Figgins and Manny Ramirez late as they are two guys who could also have bounceback years in 2011.

The Bad: Although his pitching is strong, I think Lincecum went too high. He had ups and downs last year and pitched a ton of innings last year. I can see him showing the wear of last year during this season. I'm not a big Jacoby Ellsbury fan, because he's going to have to battle for playing time. It doesn't seem like the Red Sox are exactly in love with the guy, so I could see them pulling the plug on him very early.  And on top of that, he's injury prone. Ian Desmond seemed like a desperation pick to just get some sort of a shortstop out there, and at that point I probably would have waited towards the end to just see what was left out there.  

Tomorrow, we go over the contenders now that we're done with these pretenders.

-Joe

P.S. Sad about the Bulls losing to the Sixers? This may be a few days old, but it will cheer you up.