So I just did a fantasy baseball mock draft on ESPN.com during my lunch break and I have to say, this may be one of the best team I have ever put together. I picked out of the 9th spot and the balance between power, average, and speed is just uncanny. Sure, the pitching staff might be a little weak, but it is loaded with upside and potential. Anyways, thought I would share.

C – Matt Wieters

1B – Justin Morneau

2B – Dan Uggla

3B – David Wright

SS – Stephen Drew

MI – Alexi Ramirez

CI – Gordon Beckham

OF – Matt Kemp

OF – Jacoby Ellsbury

OF – Grady Sizemore

OF – B.J. Upton

OF – Andrew McCutchen

UTL – Corey Hart

P – Tommy Hanson

P – Brett Anderson

P – Clay Buchholz

P – David Price

P – Brian Matsuz

P – Bobby Jenks

P – Ryan Franklin

P – Mike Gonzalez

P – Brad Lidge

Bench – Derek Holland

Bench – Alex Gordon

Bench – Scott Feldman

If you haven’t heard, Joe Nathan was pulled from his outing Monday with tightness in his right elbow. After an MRI, the Twins discovered a torn ligament that will likely require surgery. Nathan is going to try and wait a few weeks and try to pitch with it, but regardless, the outlook is not good for the Twins closer.

There are two ways that this injury will affect me come draft time. First, instead of someone selecting Nathan in the fifth round they will now be forced to pick someone else. This means there is one less player available when my turn comes along. If I miss out on a guy I want in the fifth or sixth round, I am blaming Joe.

Second, there will be one more closer available late in the draft when I am looking to pick one up. Whoever ends up taking Nathan’s place in the bullpen will obviously not be drafted anywhere near the fifth round. Right now there is no official closer in Minnesota, but we can speculate.

Joe Rauch – Rauch saved 17 games in 2008 for the Nationals. Injuries have taken away what was once dominant raw talent, but the 6′ 11″ right-hander has a 3.59 era over 345 innings of relief. He was acquired from the Diamondbacks last summer and posted a 1.72 era down the stretch.

Matt Guerrier -In his six seasons with Minnesota, he has posted a 3.41 era over 401 innings while being one of the most consistent pieces in the Twins bullpen setting up Nathan. However, he has only four career saves. While he is likely the most trusted in the Twins bullpen it remains to be seen whether or not Ron Gardenhire will take the gamble of taking him out of his comfort spot.

Jose Mijares – Mijares has the best stuff out of all the options and has long been thought of as the closer of the future. However, being only in his second season, Mijares is still unproven despite his electric stuff. He also struggled against right-handers allowing them to hit .283 with a .791 OPS. Mijares likely has plenty of saves in his arm, but 2010 probably isn’t going to be when he starts racking them up.

- Chris

You may not know this, but I am somewhat of a Fantasy Baseball legend. Kind of like The Oracle from The League but less dorky. Unlike Fantasy Football, where the main factor involved in winning is luck, baseball is a science that needs studying and constant attention in order to master. Luckily you all have me. Some people are smart, some are good at sports, some good looking, and others really good at drinking games; and while I excel in all of those areas, my main level of expertise lies in fantasy baseball. Follow me and I will help you bring home your leagues title. If you pay to play you should propose an increase in league dues because there is no doubt in my mind that I’m bringing home a title this year.

Throw away the default cheat sheets -- You can’t simply take a generic cheat sheet and expect to win. You need to have your own formula for ranking players. I start out with the default ESPN list and immediately cross off probably two dozen names. These are players that I will never draft no matter what round it is. Some say this is a dumb thing to do because every player has value at some point but trust me, there are certain players you do not want, no matter the cost. For me this list includes Ichiro, CC Sabathia, Derek Jeter, Jayson Werth, Brandon Phillips, Adam Wainwright, Kendry Morales, and Carlos Lee just to name a few. All of these players will be drafted way before I would even think about taking them so I just get rid of them from the start to make sure I don’t go for them.

Bump up the young guys -- Next, I adjust the default rankings for guys who have super star potential. I rank guys like Tommy Hanson, Gordon Beckham, and Clayton Kershaw much higher than most. This doesn’t necessarily mean that I want to draft a team full of young guys, but having a solid mix of veterans you can count on and young studs is key. This is where future first round picks are born. Currently Hanson and Beckham are ranked in the 80’s with Kershaw around 120. They could all very easily find themselves in the top 40 next season. Many of these big name rankings focus far too much on past performance than projected numbers. For example, ESPN.com projects Justin Upton to hit 37 home runs and steal 25 bases, yet, they have him ranked 21st overall. If he actually goes out this year and puts up numbers like that, then he will be a top five player.

Pay attention to position scarcity -- If you are going to overdraft at any position, make it shortstop or third base. First base, outfield, and pitching is all extremely deep this year. Even second base has more solid starters than usual. But shortstop and third are pretty weak. In mock drafts that I have done I try to make sure I have both positions locked up by the end of the fourth round. If I have a late first round pick I am targeting David Wright or Evan Longoria on the swing. If my pick is earlier and both are gone than Troy Tulowitzki in the second round is my main focus. If I make it to the fourth round needing someone then Ryan Zimmerman and Jose Reyes are usually there to help me out. After them, the field gets real weak real fast. After Reyes you likely won’t see a shortstop come off the board before Stephen Drew or Jason Bartlett around pick 100. If you miss out on them then you might as well punt the position. I pick 9th in my league and a lot of my mock drafts have looked like this;

1 -- Prince Fielder, 2 -- Evan Longoria, 3 -- Dustin Pedroia, 4 -- Jose Reyes

At first I thought it was too good a combo to be true but it keeps happening over and over again. It’s the perfect blend of power/speed while drafting my entire infield.

Wait on drafting  pitchers -- In a typical 5x5 league, a hitter is by default 25% more valuable than a pitcher. Batters contribute to all five hitting categories while a starting pitcher only contributes to four (a starter won’t ever get you a save). There are times early in the draft when taking a stud can prove to be beneficial, but the Halladay’s, Lincecum’s, Felix’s and the like are usually over drafted by someone anyways. The only thing that really separates the ace fantasy pitchers from everyone else is the amount of strikeouts they rack up. You can find ERA and WHIP on the waiver wire all summer long. Even wins can be had with smart free agent acquisitions. So here is my plan this year. The first pitcher I am taking is Tommy Hanson, every time. He is enough of a question mark that he is ranked between 80-90 but still is likely going to get you close to 200 strike outs with a solid ERA and WHIP. In all of the mock drafts I have done, no matter what position I am drafting in, I take Hanson in the seventh round.

Next, you draft Clayton Kershaw in round eleven. He is one of the best strikeout pitchers in the game but because he struggles to get out of the fifth inning he is only ranked around 120-130. If you can combine Hanson and Kershaw then you have a solid foundation of strikeouts to build upon while cherry picking ERA, WHIP, and wins off the waiver wire if necessary.

Other pitchers I find myself with later in the draft are Brett Anderson, Rich Harden, Clay Buchholz, and David Price.

If you draft enough of these high risk high reward type players, you are bound to get five who will stick. That’s why you want to take care of you batters early on so you can risk a couple picks on guys like Buchholz later on.

Never pay for saves -- You will never see my team draft one of the top 10 closers, never. I don’t care what their ERA, WHIP, or strikeouts are, the only category where a closer is going to matter is saves. David Aardsma’s 36 saves were exactly the same as Mariano Rivera’s and Rivera probably went around 75 while Aardsma was closer to 200. I don’t like to take a closer until I have most of my hitters taken care of along with five or six starters. You can get solid save numbers from someone like Rafael Soriano or Bobby Jenks between picks 150-200. It just doesn’t make sense to take a Papelbon, Broxton, or Nathan so early.

These are just a few tips to keep in mind going into your baseball draft. Stay tuned for frequent fantasy updates as well as a pick by pick analysis of my very own draft on Sunday March 21st.

- Chris

Alas, the time has come. It may be dark when I wake up in the morning and dark when I leave work but spring is in the air. With only a few short weeks until pitchers and catchers report it is never to early to begin thinking about the 2010 Fantasy Baseball draft. While many of you won’t be drafting for at least another month, it’s the guys who start early that separate themselves from the pact come draft day and sail smoothly to victory going wire to wire in first place. To help you prepare we have been working on our ultimate draft kit with rankings, sleepers, busts, articles, and more. Until that is ready, here is a sneak peak at my top 15 players going into the season.

All stats are from the 2009 season

1 – Albert Pujols – 1B – 124/47/135/16/.328 (Runs/HR/RBI/SB/AVG)

Last year I made a strong argument that Hanley Ramirez should be in this spot and ended up putting him atop my rankings citing positional scarcity and the potential for 30 HR’s and 50 SB’s as the main reasons. However, Hanley has taken a step back statistically, at least in home runs and stolen bases while Pujols increased in HR total by ten from 2008 to 2009 and his runs and RBI by 20. While shortstop is still weak and first base is deeper than ever, feel comfortable taking Pujols number one. If there is one thing you want in Fantasy sports it is consistency and Pujols is as close of a guarantee as you can get.

2 – Hanley Ramirez – SS – 101/24/106/27/.342

That being said, Hanley is no slouch. Once again he posted above average statistics in all five categories and won the batting title with a whopping .342 average. It was disappointing to see his HR and SB totals not eclipse the 30/30 mark, but don’t take it as a sign of leveling off. After a slow start to the season Hanley finished as strong as ever and still has the tools to give you 30-40 home runs and anywhere from 30-50 stolen bases. Plus, he is still only 26 so the best is yet to come. Don’t feel too bad about missing out on Pujols, because Hanley is a close 1a in all drafts.

3 – Alex Rodriguez – 3B – 78/30/100/14/.286

Not quite what you would expect from a typical A-Rod season, but you must remember that he missed five weeks in the beginning of the season due to hip surgery. The same surgery that Mike Lowell had four months earlier that hobbled him for the entire season. Being a full year removed from surgery combined with the band box of a stadium he plays half of his games in and I would not be surprised if A-Rod hits 50 home runs this year, if not, it’s safe to say that the floor is around forty. It was a toss up here between Braun and A Rod, but outfield is pretty deep and Rodriguez plays in a much deeper lineup conducive to scoring more runs and driving more in.

4 – Ryan Braun – OF – 113/32/114/20/.320

Braun has been a fantasy star since the day he walked onto the field his rookie season. Outfield is a fairly deep position, but Braun has a step up on everyone. This kid is a five tool player bringing consistency and at only age 26 there is still room for growth. The power has always been there and in 2009 Braun showed everyone that he can hit for average as well when he hit .320 and lead the National League in hits. At this point in the draft you can’t go wrong with any one of the next few players, but if I’m picking fourth, Braun is the guy I have targeted.

5 – Chase Utley – 2B – 112/31/93/23/.282

In 2009 Utley was supposed to miss at least a month of the season after having surgery to repair a torn hip labrum. This had many experts pegging him for the early second round in fantasy drafts, but not this guy. Last year I picked fifth overall and took Utley without hesitation. The dude is a rock at a very weak position and went on to post his fifth straight season with a .900+ ops. This season, I have Utley in the exact same spot. His average dipped to .282 due to a very poor September. One might think he wore down towards the end of the season but he hit five home runs in the World Series so I think he was fine. You can usually count on Utley to post a line of at least 100/30/100/20/.300 making him a fantasy stud at second base.

6 – Matt Kemp – OF  – 97/26/101/34/.297

Kemp broke out last year thrusting himself into elite fantasy status. He missed the 30/30 club by only four home runs and at only 25 years old his power should only continue to increase. Considering he spent a large part of the season in the eighth spot in the lineup, his run and RBI totals are even more impressive. Hopefully Joe Torre is finally realizing the talent this kid has because in the middle of the order he could easily hit 35 home runs and steal 35 bases this year. If nothing else you will see his run totals increase by not having to hit in front of the pitcher ever again.

7 – Miguel Cabrera – 1B – 96/34/103/6/.324

Usually in the first round I like to snag guys who will contribute in all five statistical categories, but these next few are good enough that they don’t need to steal bases to make my top ten. Cabrera is another guy who is still entering his prime at only age 26. What he lacks in speed he makes up for with the rest of his game. Not only is he a lock for 100 runs, 30 home runs, and 100 RBI, but he has batted over .320 in four out of the last five years, not a small feat. He has had some problems off the field, but luckily all we care about in fantasy is the numbers, and this kid puts them up.

8 – Prince Fielder – 1B – 103/46/141/2/.300

I was able to get Fielder with the 19th pick in a 12 team roto league last year and boy am I glad I did. After a disappointing 2008 Fielder really came roaring back last year. After only hitting three home runs in April Fielder went on to hit 43 for the next five months. His 141 RBI tied him with Ryan Howard for the league lead. If Fielder was playing any other position he would likely be a top three pick but unfortunately first base is the deepest of them all this year. After a year of speculation, it seems like all that talk about being a vegetarian can finally cease.

9 – Ryan Howard – 1B – 105/45/141/8/.279

No one has ever doubted Howard’s power and run producing numbers, but with only a .266 average over the last three season there is always the question of whether or not the increased HR’s and RBI are worth the hit you take. He is always going to strike out a ton, but last year he proved a lot to me by hitting 23 home runs and batting .305 after the all star break. Many forget that he hit .313 in 2006 while hitting 58 home runs so it’s not like he has always been a dick punch on your average. It would not surprise me in the least to see Howard come in this year and bat .300, if he does, you can consider him a top four fantasy player. If he doesn’t, then I’ll still take the 40 HR’s and 130+ RBI late in the first round.

10 – Mark Teixeira – 1B – 103/39/122/2/.292

As much as I hate to take a Yankee player so early, especially one who left the Red Sox standing at the alter, you can’t ignore the numbers. In that ball park, with that lineup, Teixeira’s numbers could be expected to increase, especially considering his slow start to 2009. Now fully acclimated to New York and the pressure cooker that comes in Yankee Stadium Teixeira stands to be a perennial MVP candidate for the Yanks.  He may not hit 50 home runs or steal 30 bases but he is as consistent as they come, especially now that he plays 81 games in the new band box Yankee stadium.

The top ten are pretty much all agreed upon throughout the fantasy world, it is just a matter of being up or down one spot here and there. After this though it starts to get interesting, I shake things up from here on out and if you want to win your league, I suggest you follow suit. Just continue reading to get the rest of my top 15 and those who barely missed the cut.

Continue Reading…

I felt real good about my picks last weekend and ended up going 3-0 to bring my season record to 16-8 on the season. This week the lines don’t look so easy, but winners don’t complain, winners win. So here are my winners:

Broncos +3 @ Ravens

The Ravens played a hard game last week handing the Vikings their first loss of the season. However, they looked like crap in the first half and the Bronco’s are coming off of a bye week. Despite being on the road, I’ll take the points and honestly think they will win the game.

Texans -3.5 @ Buffalo

The bills are just a pathetic team. They have three wins, but their offense is 24th in points and 27th in total yards. Their defense is a little better ranked 13th in points allowed, but they are 24th in yards allowed, so something is going to give soon. Their wins came against Tampa Bay, NYJ, and Carolina, not exactly the best opponents. Matt Schaub is currently one of the best QB’s in the game and he is definitely going to come into town and tear up the Bills.

Jaguars +3 @ Titans

This is an easy one. Go to NFL.com and look at the different statistical categories. The Jaguars are simply better than the Titans in every aspect of the game. The Titans are still win less and really can’t be feeling to good about themselves. Vince Young is starting his first game of the season and he has done nothing to show me that he can be a quality QB in the NFL. Despite the Jaguars being on the road, I’ll take the points and kind of want to go money line.

- Chris

The Fantasy Football Dilemma

I sit at my computer, 10 Firefox windows open in front of me, a pad of paper and pencil in my hand, a calculator at my side filled with calculations and numbers that to the untrained eye appear to be some form of advanced calculus.  It is the middle of October, a friend walks up to me, “Hard at work studying for midterms?”… “No,” I reply, this is much more important than some dumb college class, “fantasy football.”

Week 5 has just ended, I escaped with a last second miracle win when my opponent, needing just 6 points from the Jets defense on Monday night failed to get a single one as Miami lit them up.  I am ecstatic; riding a 4 game win streak (best in the land) I now sit at 4-1, first in my division, tied with two others for first in the league.  But there is work to be done.

You see, I have a dilemma.  Four viable running backs, Steve Slaton, Ronnie Brown, Pierre Thomas, and Knowshon Moreno are sitting on my roster, but I play in a 2 RB 3 WR league, so 2 of them are wasting away every week.  My WR group is solid and pretty deep, even if they have underperformed to date, and my QB is Matt Ryan, a good qb who has put up solid numbers thus far, but in my opinion is my weakest position.  A few days ago I put Ronnie Brown on the block.  He has been a stud thus far, but ever since I drafted him I’ve been looking to move him, something in my gut says I should.  Last year he scored 8 of his 10 TD’s in two games, Miami had an easy schedule, and it was the first year in forever that he’s been healthy.  This year his teams schedule is far more difficult but he has been much more consistent, scoring two TD’s in 3 of his teams 5 games.   But after 5 games something is still nagging me, he leads the league in touches inside the redzone, but my gut just says it won’t last.  Last year teams started figuring out the wildcat by the second half of the season, and I can’t bring myself to believe this “gimmick” offense will stay so effective all year.  So I put him on the block.  Without him I still have a formidable rushing attack and I can’t shake the feeling that his value is as high as it can possibly be and I should move him before the ride ends.

Here the real dilemma begins.  Now I’m sitting at my computer and I have been offered a trade, Tom Brady and Clinton Portis for Matt Ryan and Ronnie Brown.  Looking at the numbers thus far, this is an awful deal for me.  Brown has far outplayed Portis and Ryan has far outplayed Brady.  But even that isn’t the issue, the issue is that despite all logic saying I shouldn’t do this deal, I want to, I have to.  I must get rid of Brown, I don’t know why, I can’t explain it, but 6 weeks from now I feel like it will all have come crashing down.  I don’t care about Portis, he’s simply insurance in case all of my RB’s get injured, its Brady I want…

I disgust myself.  I want Tom Brady, if I saw him in public I don’t know if I’d be able to resist my urge to punch him in the face, yet here I sit at my computer trying to get him, wanting to get him.  The dude has sucked this year, outside of the Yankees winning the World Series nothing can make me happier than watching him struggle, but the dude is a stud.  He is coming off a major injury and is still getting comfortable; it’s only a matter of time until he blows up.  I don’t care what he’s done, I still believe he’s a top 3 fantasy QB and it’s only a matter of time.  This is the real fantasy football dilemma…

I am Jack’s self loathing.  As a football fan I don’t want to do this, in fact it is probably the last thing I would ever want to do.  But I am not a football fan today, I am a Fantasy Football Owner, and I am going to win the championship damn it!  It’s time to make a move, and all I can think about is what if, what if Tom Brady returns to form, oh the damage he could do.  So I pull the trigger.  Only in fantasy football…

It is now Sunday afternoon, week 6, I sit at my computer, the TV to my right, and I am in football hell.  The Giants just got embarrassed (although I’m not surprised, I expected them to lose, but not this badly) and my fantasy team is a disgrace.  52 points, that’s all I have after 6 players have played (3 still to play), while my opponent sits at 65 with all 3 receivers, Forte, and his defense still to go.  Looks like I’m going to be 4-2.  But wait…

The Ravens/Vikings game cuts out just as the final drive is about to begin because CBS is contractually obligated to put on the Pats/Titans game.  Great, I miss the exciting ending to the best game of the day to watch the stupid kickoff to a game I couldn’t care less about.  That is until I remember that not only do I have Tom Brady, but I also picked up the Pats defense this week (I’ve been playing merry-go-round with my defenses this year, playing the matchups).  Suddenly I’m on the edge of my seat, I mutter to myself, “Let’s go Pats!”  But I know it will take a miracle…

Less than 2 quarters later I’m laughing hysterically.  The Titans are putting on one of the most pathetic performances I’ve ever seen and Tom Brady, no wait me, I’m reaping all the benefits.  One week ago I would have felt sick to my stomach at the prospect of Brady throwing 5 TD’s in one quarter, now I find myself standing up yelling at the TV, “come on Brady, get number 5!”  My team now has well over 100 points (125 with Moreno still to go tonight), my chances of winning have gone from needing a miracle to all but guaranteed (Brady would end the day with 51 points in a little more than 2 quarters work).  Put it in the books, I’m 5-1.  But something has happened, something strange is going on; it doesn’t matter that I know I’m going to win this week, I want more.  More TD passes, more turnovers by the Pats defense, how about a defensive TD, I haven’t gotten that yet.  This is the best thing I have ever seen, I am addicted, I don’t just want to win, I want to embarrass my opponent, I want to set records…

That is when it dawns on me, I am Bill Belichick.  Hell just froze over.

~NYPulse

I had the 1st overall pick in a 12 team league, I wasn’t thrilled with the results, but here they are:

TEAM PENFIELD
1  Adrian Peterson, Min
24  Greg Jennings, GB
25  Ryan Grant, GB
48  Tony Gonzalez, Atl
49  Matt Ryan, Atl
72  Anthony Gonzalez, Ind
73  Lance Moore, NO
96  Fred Jackson, Buf
97  Patrick Crayton, Dal
120 Vikings D/ST, Min
121  Earnest Graham, TB
144  Laurence Maroney, NE
145  Ricky Williams, Mia
168  Muhsin Muhammad, Car
169  Jake Delhomme, Car
192  John Kasay, Car

Gonzalez and Ryan might be stretches, but there was no one that I liked with the picks who were left. I wanted Braylon Edwards, but he went one spot before me. Anthony Gonzalez and Lance Moore should have good years with Brees and Manning throwing to them, and Fred Jackson should put up some points with Lynch being out for three games. I would have rather been drafting between 8-10, but it is what it is. Time to dominate.

- Chris

Beckham is a rookie third baseman for the Chicago White Sox, however, he has shortstop eligibility in most leagues boosting his value considerably. He had a very slow start with a sub two era for close to a month after his call up, but over the last 30 days he has been on fire. In the last month he has batted .363 with 14 runs, 4 home runs, 18 rbi, and 4 stolen bases. He is only owned in 20.2% of ESPN leagues and qualifies as a SS and 3B. There is no guarantee that he stays hot, but over the past 30 days, he has been very consistent. If you need a decent short stop or third baseman I would definitely consider Beckham, just because he is a rookie, doesn’t mean people should be scared of him.

- Chris

For the third time this season Frank Francisco is heading to the DL, this time because of a case of pneumonia. Wilson is owned in 9.4% of all ESPN leagues and has 8 saves on the season. Francisco has proven to be unreliable health wise and you are bound to pick up at least 5-10 extra saves on the season with Wilson. He also gives you about one strike out per inning and a sub 3 era. Just a handful of extra saves could be what you need to climb up a couple spots in the rankings and Wilson can get them for you while Francisco is out. If you can find room for him on your roster, don’t hesitate to pick him up. Even when Francisco comes back it is only a matter of time before he gets hurt again.

- Chris

Along with our daily coverage of Boston sports we will attempt to dabble into the world of fantasy sports as well. Mainly because everyone here loves playing and it is still a rapidly expanding industry despite all of the fantasy sports outlets currently available. Junkies will read everything and anything they can find to get a step up on the competition. With that, here are five hitters to watch for in the second half of the season.

1 – Nick Markakis – despite being a notorious slow starter one should have expected far more power out of the young slugger at this point in the season. He is still getting hits and is showing doubles power but a lot of people, myself included thought he would be breaking out 30 home runs this season. While a 30 HR season is doubtful at this point, he still has that big power potential. You may be able to find someone who has become frustrated with him because of his low HR totals, if so, you should try and use that to your advantage and pull off a big deal.

2 – Dustin Pedroia – if you were here last weekend you saw my piece about Pedroia heating up. If you weren’t, you should check out the archives, it was an amazing piece of artistic expression. But I digress. Untill recently Pedroia has been a big dissapointmet. You can attribute it to whatever you want but the average and power numbers were both down from what everyone was expecting. Now he is hitting EVERYTHING hard again and he his found his power stroke of late. I think Pedroia will have a second half much like last season where he batted about a million and went on to win the AL MVP.

3 – Josh Hamilton – There were huge expectations coming into the season after the monster year he just had. After being drafted mostly in the top 15 of every league, he hasn’t put up numbers to even deserve a roster spot. It would be very easy to find an owner that would take whatever he can get for him at this point. If your team is on the brink it my not be a bad idea to see what it would take to get him. The potential is huge and the kid is a freak athlete. He is too good to stay down for long.
 
4 – Chris Davis – Right now he is sitting in triple A and is actually battling for playing time. Odds are he will soon be dropped in your league, and probably for good reason. While it remains to be seen whether or not Davis is even next in line for a callup to the Rangers, let alone whether or not he will produce anything if he does come up, the fact of the matter is that the guy can straight out mash the ball. Ignore the fact that he struck out in 40% of his AB’s, he still managed to hit 15 HR. If you have an empty bench spot he might be worth taking a look at because the HR’s are there for sure and you won’t find power potential like his on the waiver wire too often.
 
5 – Garret Atkins – For the life of me I can’t figure out why this guy is struggling. I was high on both him and Tulowitzki coming into the season and they both came out of the gates terrible. Tulo has since proven me right, but Atkins is still a stinker. The man has been pretty consistent throughout his career, and he is still in Colorado, a hitters paradise. While he is fighting for time with Ian Stewart, I find it hard to believe he is going to continue to stink all year long. He could be another guy you can buy low on in deeper leagues and reap the rewards of an owner giving up on a guy.

- Chris