It's that time of year again folks. Fantasy Baseball, Play Ball!!!!
I had the good fortune of winning my Yahoo League last year so I get to play in a winner's league. It was an autopick draft so i was a ltitle dissapointed that I had no control, but work comes before play. The waiver wire is where championships are won anyways.

I think there are a couple of guys who can carry a team this year with their multi-category talents. You mix these guys with some role players and you have a good team. Pretty much like building a real team, minus the salary cap concerns :) Here are my fantasy pojectionsfor the 2007 season:

All-Stars

Jose Reyes (SS-NY Mets):
I think Reyes is going to have a huge year in '07. Last year he went for 19 HR's, 81 RBI's, and 64 steals to go with a .300 average. I think this year should be more of the same as far as the categories go. Look for 25 HR's, 100 RBI's and about 50 steals with the same .300 batting average. Great stats for any fantasy team. If you put him and say, Travis Hafner or Adam Dunn (or any big bat) in the same lineup and your off to a pretty good start offensively.

Alfonso Soriano (OF-Chicago Cubs):
Soriano might start off slow this year as he adjust to playing center field. Why do teams feel the need to move this guys around so much? You migh be able to steal him away from an anxious owner if he flops early. Once he adjusts, he should take of in a monstrous way. He won't steal as many bases because he won't get the chance to, but he should finally break 50 HR's. His numbers should be in the range of 52HR's, 30 steals, 120 RBI's and about a .290 average. If you can get Soriano and Miguel Cabrera or even Robinson Cano to bring up your team average, thats a goos head start.

Albert Pujols (1B-St. Louis Cardinals):
Pujols won't steal you too many bases, but his dominance in batting average, HR's and RBI's cannot be ignored. Pujols is probably the only player I would take in the first round ahead of Jose Reyes. Pujols can carry any team throughout the year without swiping more than 10 bags, he's just that good. The only drawback mught be that he won't have enough guys on base this year to drive in a lot of runs. St. Louis is an old and tired team. After winning the World Series last year, they might not be as hungry as before. Pujols should give you 45 HR's, 120 RBI's, and a .340 average with 6 steals.

Alex Rodriguez (3B-new York Yankees):
I refuse to get caught up in the A-Rod wants out of New York mess thats going on. Alex is a guy full of pride and if theres one thing he won't stand for it's people questioning his baseball talents. I think the guy could care less about world championships, but he does care about his stats. I'm looking for Alex to give my team 45 HR's, 150 RBI's with a batting average around .330. Just to boost his case as the game's best all-around player, he'll steal about 25-30 bases this year too. Pair Alex with a Carl Crawford type and you'll be the envy of your league.

Letdowns

Derek Jeter (SS-New York Yankees):
Jeter had a pretty good season in '06 which raise his draft position this year, don't fall for it. He hit .343 with 97 RBI's and even stole 34 bases, way above his career averages. Jeter is to Fantasy Baseball what Tim Duncan is to Fantasy Basketball, the Big Fundamental. He dosen't do anything spectacular, but he won't bring the team down in any category either. I look for a dip in his production this year, mostly because I'm expecting a big year out of A-Rod. Jeter should give about 13 HR's, 70 RBI's, .290 average and about 15 steals. These number justify about a 3rd-4th round pick, if you can get him later it would be even better.

Jimmy Rollins (SS-Philadelphia Phillies):
I have never been a Jimmy Rollins fan, so I may be a little bias on him. I just don't think his batting average supports his high stature among fantasy players. Yea, the guy can steal 50 bases, but he is hardly ever on base. he also dosen't drive in too many runs. He hit 25 HR's last year which is pretty good for a shortstop, but it 13 more than he had ever hit in his career. I think he comes back to earth with 14 HR's, 60 RBI's and about 30 steals again. His batting will drop to .260 as he trys to get back on the HR track and begins to overswing halfway through the season.

Sleepers

Hanley Ramirez (SS-Florida Marlins):
Hard to call Ramirez a sleeper when had a pretty good year in '06. I only call him a sleeper because I think he will have a big jump in numbers. I think Ramirez can give you Reyes type numbers at a much lower draft position. 25 HR's, 95 RBI's, 50 steals and a hitting at a.290 clip would not be too shabby for a guy you might be able to pick up in the 3rd or 4th round.

Alex Rios (OF-Toronto Blue Jays):
Now that Vernon Welles got his money out of the Blue Jays, I look for Rios to pick up once Wells' number come down a bit. Rio should put up 20-25 HR's with about 110 RBI's and give your team close to 25 steals. His batting average should stay at about .300 give or take 5 points.

Also look out for: Eric Hinske (1B, 3B, OF-Boston Red Sox); Derrek Lee (1B-Chicago Cubs); Mike Piazza (C, DH-Oakland Athletics); Jose Vidro (1B, 2B, DH-Seattle Mariners)

That's it for my review, I'll let you know how my team shakes out and any other Fantasy news I think is worth posting about. Draft smart, trade late, work the wire. Good luck in your leagues.


To put a financial spin on this, all work and no play will some day drive you insane.
This is just a means to releive all of the financial presure that surrounds our every day lives. Can't spend all day on CNN Money :)

Thanks for reading

I love you Baby