Fantasy Red Herrings

Since I know some readers of this blog are my comrades who will draft players in our fantasy baseball league this Saturday, I thought I'd write a post about players that GMs might want to target for the upcoming season.

But my fellow GMs might think this document is simply a list of red herrings.

Maybe players on it are.

Maybe players on it aren't.

Regardless, here are players to target or low risk/high reward players for 2011.

First Base: Billy Butler
Sure, he plays for the Royals. But he's a double-hitting machine with a strong OBP and will knock at least 20some homers. He'll hit in the middle of lineup in KC, and some of those doubles could turn into home runs. Fantasy baseball gurus have been touting him for the past few years as a breakout candidate, but that PR has died down because of his mediocre home run totals for a deep position.

Second Base: Eric Young Jr.
The only issue I have with drafting EY the Deuce is that I still haven't read anything definitive as to whether he has the starting job for the Rockies. But c'mon, are the Rockies really going to go with Jose Lopez? With the potential for 20 plus stolen bases or more, he's a guy to target in late rounds.

Shortstop: Jose Reyes
He's had injury problems for the past few years, but at one time not that long ago he was getting drafted as a top twenty if not top ten player in fantasy leagues. It sounds like he's healthy, and he's only in his mid-twenties. And he's in a walk year: $$$.

Third Base: Edwin Encarnacion
This dude has a starting gig in Toronto, a hitter's park. He'll DH but qualifies for 3B in Yahoo leagues. Last year he hit 21 homers in 96 games. If you project that production to, say, 150 games played, that's 32 home runs. Thirty-two, people.

Outfield: Austin Jackson
He had an outstanding rookie season, but the fantasy cognoscenti project him to have a down year. Why I ask. He'll bat leadoff for a good lineup, he'll steal at least thirty bases, and he'll score maybe 100 runs. Sure, there's the cliche of the sophomore slump, but I don't see what has made people think he'll do worse in his second year.

Starting Pitcher: Mike Pelfrey
I reaped the benefits of having this guy on my roster last year until he had an atrocious month (I think it was July), and then I promptly dumped him to waivers because he was ballooning my squad's ERA and WHIP. Then some other GM in our league picked him up after Pelfrey got it together, and he pitched well the rest of the season.

Relief Pitcher: Takashi Saito
John Axford took over for Trevor Hoffman after he imploded last season. Axford was major surprise for the Brewers, but he walks too many batters, and Saito has closing experience. If you draft Saito, you can thank me for this reassuring causal chain. And you can also thank logos. Conversely, this all could turn out to be a slippery slope.