• HAKANIN.com

    for everything video games, technology, and offbeat news.

Fantasy Baseball Notes - One Year Wonders!

If you are a registered voter from South Carolina, you need to check out Colbert Nation tomorrow to sign the petition for his democratic presidential candidacy. Whether he plans on going as far (with this gig) as possible, it will be something fun to watch.

Other than that, check out my end of the year fantasy wrap up, today we will take a look at the possible One Year Wonders and whether you should pay attention to these guys next season.

  1. NL Fantasy All-Star Team
  2. AL Fantasy All-Star Team
  3. Most Underachieving List
  4. One Year Wonders
  5. Injury Bug Attack! Who To Bounce Back in 2008?
  6. Sleepers Watch

Here is my list:

  • Jorge Posada (NYY-C): A career .277AVG hitter who turned 36 this past August. Not going to happen again. At a thin position like C, people are going to look at Jorge and be tempted to draft him. First of all, he may not even be a Yankee next year as he heads for FA. Without the line up, he will just be an old catcher without a chin. He will give you about .260 next season, maybe .270 if he stays with the Yankees, and perhaps 12-15HR. Look else where.
  • Carlos Pena (TB-1B): The AL Comeback player of the year had an FANTASTIC year. Can he keep up as he approaches 30? Well I say yes, but not with another 40+HR. If he stays with the young Devil Ray, he is not going to get all the pitches he got this year. He caught everyone by surprise in 2007, and the other teams will be ready for him in 2008. Let someone else burn a high high pick on him, he is going to give you something closer to his career AVG of .252, and possibly 30HR at most.
  • Brandon Phillips (CIN-2B): A change of scenery was all Phillips needed. He was that one top prospect who can never live up to his reputation. Over hyped and given up by the Indians, Phillips found his place in Cincinnati. I think he is legit, and will continue to put up impressive numbers as a 2B. His OBP is alarmingly low, with a BB-K rate of 1-to-3, but he is also only 26 with 2 full seasons under his belt. I will give him the benefit of the doubt, assuming that he will mature as a hitter to reach the base more often. The 30-30? Not a fluke.
  • Ryan Braun (MIL-3B): The young 3B showed power in the minors, but no one saw that 34HR coming. He is only 23 and the inexperience showed with his lack of walks. But who cares when he still batted .324 with OBP of .370? Well you should, for 2008. His bat is going to keep him in the lineup, around Prince Fielder, J.J. Hardy (who by the way, cooled off after April, but should heat up again in 2008), and the end-of-the-season version of Rickie Weeks, but pitchers will figure him out. While he crushed all pitches, he seemed to have most trouble with curve balls. If I can read his stats and noticing some form of a weakness, so will the scouts. Braun will be a good gamble for 2nd tier 3Bs, possibly matching his HR total but with a more realistic AVG around .270~.280
  • Troy Tulowitzki (COL-SS): Two words: World Series. If you are a fan of baseball, you gotta love the story of the Rockies. While my Mets lost all those games, they just kept on winning. He is a wizard with his gloves, and his bat gets better as the season goes on. I am not going to make a prediction here, because the WS is going to either do wonders to his career, or hold him back a couple years. Just watch the games!
  • Aaron Rowand (PHI-OF): Okay, so maybe I am somewhat bias here since I never liked this guy, and he has been a pain since joining the Phillies, but I just don’t buy it. I don’t believe he has a legit 20+ HR power, and his style of defense will get him hurt. If he stays with the Phillies, he may benefit from the Citizens Bank Park, and the team keeps him batting 5th, he will give you some numbers, but there are plenty OFs out there, don’t waste your time and draft picks. Perhaps a steal near the end of the draft.
  • B.J. Upton (TB-2B/3B/OF): He may not have all those positions next season depending on how your league works, but he will most likely keep the OF eligibility. I was a big fan of his throughout 2007, believing that it was the year he took off and lived up to his potential. Will he continue? I believe so. Just when you thought his injury would slow him down, he came back with a hot July. He is too good not to keep up so I kinda feel cheap even mentioning him, but I know there are people still doubting his plate discipline and poor defense, but I see a 30-30 machine for years to come, barring from injuries.
  • Kelvim Escobar (LAA-SP): What? Two years in a row that Escobar made 30 starts? He is due for a major injury, I can feel it. Don’t get too excited about his stats, we all know he is good, but injuries are major concerns here, he needs to prove us all wrong by putting up another impressive season like 07, not necessarily 18W, but at least show us that he is here to stay before we can safely commit.
  • Ted Lilly (CHC-SP): I didn’t think he can keep up, but he did just fine. Solid stats line and stayed relatively drama and injury free. Don’t get carry away though, he is your #3 SP at best.
  • Al Reyes (TB-CL): He has been a journeyman, and will continue to pitch like a journeyman - who happened to be a closer. He is a prime example of not wasting high draft picks on CLs. Stats showed that his magic faded along with D-Ray’s records, but as long as he can keep his job, he will get SVs here and there, but chances are some contending team will trade for him either during the off season, or by next July.

There you go, some of them deserve your attention next season, and some of them you should just stay away from. Fantasy Baseball isn’t all about drafts, it helps, but play your FA and pay attentions to CL situations because you never know who will be the next One Year Wonder for you to take advantage of in mid season.

- Paul

Popularity: 81% [?]

If you liked this post, subscribe to HAKANIN's RSS feed.

WidgetBucks - Trend Watch - WidgetBucks.com

Filed under: Fantasy Baseball, Fantasy Sports, MLB, Sports

Leave a Reply