Preseason Baseball Coverage: Draft Kit Central | New Faces in New Places | Top 250 Rankings

By: Steve Kwan
Fantasy Sports 101 Baseball

Spring training is almost upon us, but more importantly, fantasy baseball season is officially in progress. Many fantasy leagues will start live drafts sometime this month, so by no means is it too early for you to start making up cool-sounding team names and picking out players that could have breakout seasons. 

Now, it’s a mystery how some of these preseason rankings came about, but the fact of the matter is that your top picks will usually be money no matter who you choose. On the flip side, pitchers like Roy Oswalt and Carlos Zambrano are ranked low enough that they could be the later-round picks that take your team from fantasy also-rans to champions.

This brings us to the new faces in new places, players who have either been traded or signed as free agents with new teams. Big-name new boys are always a risk; will new surroundings help them rebound from bad seasons (Andruw Jones)? Or was their contract year the last time they’ll ever put up big numbers (here’s looking at you, Adrian Beltre)?

The most notable changes from this offseason came from the Detroit-Florida megadeal and the large number of staff aces being traded. But, in some cases, the prospects that were received for the star players might be more noteworthy. The hot stove certainly isn’t off yet; impact players like Brian Roberts and Joe Blanton could still be on the move within the next few weeks.

Below is a list of 15 fantasy impact players who will be wearing new colors in 2008. For the sake of being an optimist, these predictions will be made with the assumption that no serious injuries befall the players.

Infielders:

3B Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers
Cabrera’s arrival in Detroit should mark his official coronation as a legit top-5 fantasy producer. He’ll be seeing healthy doses of C.C. Sabathia and Fausto Carmona, but in a lineup like Detroit’s, his already-impressive RBI numbers could take off toward A-Rod levels. Call me crazy, but I see Cabrera out-producing long-time fantasy kings like Albert Pujols this year. In any case, at least 40 home runs is a realistic projection for 2008.

SS Miguel Tejada, Houston Astros
Tejada, a borderline 1st-round pick a couple of years ago, will now try to breathe new life into his career with the Astros. You may be turned off from picking Tejada due to his link to the Mitchell Report, but the fact is that his current value has slid low enough that he’s a valuable mid-round shortstop pick. Also, he’ll be in a good lineup with guys like Hunter Pence, Lance Berkman and Carlos Lee around him. Tejada certainly looks to be in a better situation than similarly-ranked shortstops like Michael Young, so if he’s out there later in the draft, don’t hesitate to take those 20 homers and 100 RBI.

2B Kazuo Matsui, Houston Astros
Kaz was a bust in America until he hooked up with the Rockies, and now he’ll be batting near the top of Houston’s order. His stats really aren’t likely to improve much with this move, but because second base is traditionally one of the hardest positions to adequately fill on a fantasy roster, keep an eye on Kaz if you still need a second baseman late in drafts or need to pad your steals category. With that being said, Toronto’s Aaron Hill and Atlanta’s Yunel Escobar have more upside at second base than Kaz.

Outfielders:

Aaron Rowand, San Francisco Giants
Rowand followed the money straight into the black hole that is AT&T Park. Even without considering the home park, Rowand will find himself in arguably the worst batting order in Major League baseball. He may be worth a look on the waiver wire, but don’t expect his Philly numbers to travel west with him.  Don’t even bother wasting a draft pick on Rowand. 

Nick Swisher, Chicago White Sox
As part of Oakland’s ongoing cleanout, Swisher lands in hitter-friendly U.S. Cellular Field. Swisher actually took a step back last season, but he’s landed in a good situation with the White Sox. He can be had in the middle rounds of most early drafts, so take him a little earlier, as he can probably hit for 30 homers and 100 RBI this season. As a bonus, he’s also eligible for first base.

Torii Hunter, Los Angeles Angels
Hunter’s prime years might have gone to waste in the Metrodome, but sticking him in the potent Angels lineup will probably offset that. With that being said, his draft stock, which has traditionally always been overvalued, is sky high to start this fantasy season. Don’t be the sucker who takes him in the 3rd or 4th round; lower ranked prospects like Jacoby Ellsbury or Justin Upton could put up similar stats at a much lower price.

Andruw Jones, Los Angeles Dodgers
Signed only to a two-year contract, Jones is in essence playing for a longer and better deal each time he suits out for the Dodgers. Where he’s drafted seems to vary so far, but its highly unlikely that his horror show from last year will carry over to this year. He’ll be batting cleanup for the Dodgers, so expect the Andruw Jones of 1998-2006 to find his way back into the center of your fantasy lineup. Target him after you make your first three or four picks. 

Delmon Young, Minnesota Twins
While his numbers weren’t horrible, Young didn’t have the explosive rookie season that some people expected of him last year. Now in Minnesota, he’ll have a chance to put up good numbers with guys like Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau behind him. While that’s an improvement over Tampa’s lineup, the Metrodome is an even worse hitter’s park than Tropicana Field. Unless Young starts crushing baseballs into orbit over spring training, you might want to take a pass on him until the later rounds.

Kosuke Fukudome, Chicago Cubs
This former Central League MVP with the Chunichi Dragons landed in a pretty good situation in Chicago. The 30-year old finds himself in a lineup with Alfonso Soriano, Aramis Ramirez, and Derrek Lee. Fukudome will probably have no trouble putting up good numbers at Wrigley Field as part of one of the more dangerous batting orders in the NL. Add that to the fact the NL Central is not filled with lights-out pitching and you’re looking at around 20 homers and close to 95 RBI.

Pitchers:

Johan Santana, New York Mets
You know the drill when it comes to Johan. Santana, with a new $137.5 million contract and a left arm blessed by the baseball gods themselves, escapes from the brutal AL Central and lands in Shea Stadium. Seeing the way the stars have aligned, there’s no reason not to believe that Santana will blow away most of the NL’s batting lineups. If you’re looking for a pitcher to build your team around, make it Santana, who seems to be a lock to win 20 games.

Erik Bedard, Seattle Mariners
Staying with the theme of timely escapes, the Mariners recently made the deal which ensured that Bedard’s peak years won’t be wasted on awful Baltimore teams. Safeco Field is known to be friendly to pitchers not named Jeff Weaver, and Bedard should have no problem getting used to pitching more often to poor batting teams like Texas and Oakland. He is ranked very highly in many pre-draft lists, but he also has the potential to deliver somewhere in between 15-20 wins and over 200 K’s.

Dan Haren, Arizona Diamondbacks
Haren’s arrival in the desert gives the Diamondbacks one of the most dangerous rotations in the NL. As far as his fantasy value goes, he should benefit from the switch of leagues and pitching in Chase Field. His pre-season draft position is much lower than Bedard’s, but even at that level Haren might be a little overvalued; don’t forget that he was brutally bad in the last month of the 2007 season, which was playoff time in fantasyland. Draft with caution.

Dontrelle Willis, Detroit Tigers
Willis really is a toss-up. He is ranked extremely low in most pre-draft boards, but his less-than-impressive season last year might not improve in the AL Central. On the flip side, Tigers scouts insist that there is nothing wrong with his mechanics and that his horrible 2007 was more the result of playing on a poor defensive Marlins team. His ERA and WHIP will probably improve, but don’t take Willis over a pitcher who’s been battle-tested in their league, such as Joe Blanton.

Hiroki Kuroda, Los Angeles Dodgers
He’s not Daisuke Matsuzaka, but thankfully for the Dodgers, he probably won’t be Kei Igawa, either. Like Fukudome, Kuroda is in a good situation; Dodger Stadium is a pitcher’s park, and the NL West doesn't have many lineups that could cause grief to Kuroda owners. That said, there are too many other, more tested options to make Kuroda worth anything more than the last-round flyer that was thrown Igawa’s way last year.

Jose Valverde, Houston Astros
Closers are notoriously hard to gauge, as one bad stretch could turn a reliever from fantasy impact player to fantasy afterthought. Valverde led the majors in saves last year and is now in a contract year with Houston, so chances are he will be highly motivated to pitch well. He might not reach 47 saves again, but he should still be one of the first few closers off the board when the closer panic-rush inevitably happens. At this point, he’s a pretty safe pick.

Other Notables:

3B Troy Glaus, St. Louis Cardinals – Health risk, but he’ll always be good for about 30 homers.

3B Scott Rolen, Toronto Blue Jays – Will Rolen blossom in Canada’s metropolis? Find out with a waiver wire pick.

OF Adam Jones, Baltimore Orioles - Jones crushed minor league pitching in Seattle’s farm system, and now he’ll have the chance to play everyday in Baltimore. Excellent waiver wire option.

RP Eric Gagne, Milwaukee Brewers – Moving back to the NL might help, but let him slip instead of reaching for him.

RP Francisco Cordero, Cincinnati Reds – Coming off great contract year, I get the feeling Cordero might get beat up in Cincy. Again, let him slip.

SS Orlando Cabrera, Chicago White Sox – Well-traveled shortstop still a reliable source of steals and hits.

SP Matt Garza, Tampa Bay Devil Rays – New Rays starter could have James Shields-like impact off the waiver wire.

SP Carlos Silva, Seattle Mariners – Former Twin slots into Seattle’s No. 3 or No. 4 starting spot. Not worth a roster spot yet, though.

OF Carlos Gomez, Minnesota Twins – Centerpiece of Mets package to the Twins has been described as “an outfield version of Jose Reyes." Great waiver pickup that can provide quality batting average and steals.

SP Andrew Miller, Florida Marlins – Former Tiger will get every chance to be a starter right away with the Marlins. 

RP Greg Sherrill, Baltimore Orioles – With Chris Ray out for the year, Sherrill has good chance to be Orioles’ closer.

SP Mark Prior, San Diego Padres – This is a fantasy Hail-Mary, but hey, it doesn’t hurt to keep tabs on a former ace moving to a great pitcher’s park.