This article focuses on 5x5 rotisserie leagues and refers to projections made on ESPN’s website because that is the most accessible and popular fantasy baseball format and site.
2009 AL-Only Fantasy Baseball Tip: Draft Hitters with Home Run Potential
The American League lacks the gluttony of big boppers that the National League boasts. Because of this, one would be clever to focus on drafting for power in an AL-Only league. High homerun totals have a direct and positive impact on runs and RBI totals so homerun hitters are typically more valuable than stolen base artists.
2009 AL-Only Fantasy Baseball Rankings: Second Base
Instead of using a high pick on 2008 AL MVP Dustin Pedroia, lay back and acquire Seattle 2B Jose Lopez later in the draft. Lopez will hit more homeruns than Pedroia and put up solid statistics across the board. He may not steal bases or hit for as high of an average as Pedroia, but his homerun numbers will help out your team in the long-run.
2009 AL-Only Fantasy Baseball Rankings: Shortstop
The shortstop position’s depth in the AL is the opposite of that in the NL. One must draft a top tier shortstop or risk getting stuck with an unproven player such as Boston’s Jed Lowrie or Texas’ Elvis Andrus.
The best fantasy shortstop in the AL this season will be Cleveland’s Jhonny Peralta, but one does not have to draft him too early. Popular Yankees captain Derek Jeter and Texas hit machine Michael Young will go before Peralta in most leagues. Focus on filling out a good starting rotation as others take the more popular, overrated shortstops.
2009 AL-Only Fantasy Baseball Rankings: Third Base
Unlike shortstop, third base is a deep fantasy position in the AL. ESPN projects young Texas first baseman Chris Davis (he is eligible at 3B in 2009) to belt 30 home runs while contributing very good numbers in all of the other categories. Furthermore, Alex Rodriguez could slip in drafts due to steroid allegations and a hip injury. Despite those problems, A-Rod will still be one of the two best third basemen in the AL along with Tampa Bay’s Evan Longoria.
For those people looking to take advantage of the depth at third base, one should be able to pick up Kansas City third baseman Alex Gordon rather late in the draft relative to other third basemen. ESPN rates him as the ninth best fantasy player at that position in the AL, but he should contribute 25-30 homers this season and steal 10 or more bases as an added plus.
2009 AL-Only Fantasy Baseball Rankings: First Base
This fantasy baseball position is also loaded in the AL, but one must be patient and draft smart. No one will regret using a high pick on Miguel Cabrera, Mark Teixeira or Justin Morneau, but be wary of players such as David Ortiz. ESPN projects him to produce 91 Runs, 31 Homers, 103 RBI, 2 stolen bases and hit .287. Compare those numbers to their projections for the aforementioned Texas first baseman Chris Davis: 92 runs, 33 homers, 102 RBI, 5 steals and a .280 batting average. Their stats are very similar. Avoid drafting Big Papi too high on name recognition.
2009 AL-Only Fantasy Baseball Rankings: Sleepers
Alex Gordon at third base, Mike Aviles at shortstop or second base and, in the outfield a couple of “Adams” (Lind and Jones) along with Nelson Cruz will put up good fantasy numbers in 2009.
Max Neibaur - I like baseball and Abbott & Costello movies. I'm a media scholar, a sports buff/historian and my favorite color is orange. Op/Ed is ...
