{"id":10983,"date":"2011-03-30T20:45:04","date_gmt":"2011-03-30T20:45:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.joeduffy.net\/blog\/?p=10983"},"modified":"2011-03-30T20:46:26","modified_gmt":"2011-03-30T20:46:26","slug":"fantasy-baseball-rotisserie-deals-an-steals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.joeduffy.net\/blog\/2011\/03\/fantasy-baseball-rotisserie-deals-an-steals\/","title":{"rendered":"Fantasy Baseball: Rotisserie Deals and Steals"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you haven\u2019t had your fantasy baseball draft yet, that means two things: (a) you\u2019re wrapped up in MLB betting<\/a> or (b) your draft must be in the next 24 hours, as the season starts Thursday. If you fall under (b), you clearly need a quick cheat sheet. Here\u2019s some crucial information to know.<\/p>\n

TOP THREE NO-BRAINER PICKS<\/strong><\/p>\n

1.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Albert Pujols, 1B: <\/strong>He\u2019s only the greatest right-handed hitter of all time AND in a contract year. Take him if you have the first pick.<\/p>\n

2.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Hanley Ramirez, SS: <\/strong>He needs to be a top-two guy given the scarcity of talent at shortstop this year.<\/p>\n

3.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Miguel Cabrera, 1B: <\/strong>Joey Votto has the one big season and Troy Tulowitzki gets hurt every year. Booze or no booze, Miggy Cabrera is money in the bank. Take that to your sportsbook<\/a>.<\/p>\n

TOP THREE OVERRATED PICKS<\/strong><\/p>\n

1.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Carlos Gonzalez, OF: <\/strong>CarGo is a great ball player and had an amazing 2010 but he\u2019s going as high as first in some drafts. That\u2019s way too crazy for a guy with one good season and sometimes-questionable plate discipline.<\/p>\n

2.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Ian Kinsler, 2B: <\/strong>Still very talented but Kinsler gets hurt every single year.<\/p>\n

3.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Joe Mauer, C: <\/strong>Why take Mauer when you can wait 10 picks and take Buster Posey, who could match Mauer in average but has more power and is less of an injury risk?<\/p>\n

TOP THREE UNDERRATED PICKS<\/strong><\/p>\n

1.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Jon Lester, SP: <\/strong>You\u2019ll probably see at least five pitchers fly off the board before Lester but he\u2019s a reliable 200-plus strikeout guy on a great team. He\u2019s a fine anchor for any fantasy rotation.<\/p>\n

2.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Nelson Cruz, OF: <\/strong>For all the love that a guy like Matt Kemp gets, Cruz\u2019s per-game fantasy production was as good as anyone\u2019s last season. Let\u2019s hope he can avoid injuries in 2011.<\/p>\n

3.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Dan Uggla, 2B: <\/strong>Some people get scared off by his strikeouts and often-poor average \u2013 but not this sports betting blog<\/a>. Uggla is just the second second baseman in MLB history to hit 30 homers in four consecutive seasons. That\u2019s major power from a light-hitting position.<\/p>\n

TOP THREE BREAKOUT STARS<\/strong><\/p>\n

1.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Jason Heyward, OF: <\/strong>To me, he\u2019s the National League\u2019s answer to Josh Hamilton. Unfortunately, that comparison looks like it will include injury concerns. Let\u2019s hope the big fella plays a full year with the Braves.<\/p>\n

2.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Francisco Liriano, SP: <\/strong>As we\u2019ve seen with Josh Johnson, many pitchers really start to dominate once they\u2019re more than a full season removed from Tommy John surgery. I think Liriano will put it all together and contend for a Cy Young this season.<\/p>\n

3.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Carlos Santana, C: <\/strong>Mauer, Posey, Victor Martinez and Brian McCann get all the love, but you can wait another round or two after those guys are gone and snag a catcher who could be just as valuable this season. I\u2019m betting<\/a> the Indians\u2019 Santana bounces back from his knee injury to hit .285 with 20-plus homers and 80-plus RBI.<\/p>\n

TOP THREE SLEEPER PICKS<\/strong><\/p>\n

1.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Starlin Castro, SS: <\/strong>Castro still isn\u2019t quite a household name yet, so you may be able to snag the Cubs\u2019 starting shortstop on the cheap for one more season. Castro hit .300 as a rookie and is tearing the cover off the ball this spring. Go get him.<\/p>\n

2.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Aroldis Chapman, RP: <\/strong>He isn\u2019t closing right now but the man who owns baseball\u2019s fastest-ever pitch won\u2019t be denied the job for long. His strikeouts make him valuable immediately, especially in leagues that count holds.<\/p>\n

3.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Mike Morse, OF: <\/strong>The Washington Nationals\u2019 new starting left fielder is a very deep sleeper and will only be drafted in the biggest of leagues. But he jacked 15 homers in half a season\u2019s worth of at-bats last year and will finally get a crack at full-time duty this year.<\/p>\n

TOP THREE BUST PICKS<\/strong><\/p>\n

1.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Trevor Cahill, SP: <\/strong>He doesn\u2019t strike anyone out and was very lucky last season with his defense and ballpark. Time for the 18-game winner to crash back to Earth.<\/p>\n

2.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Jose Bautista, 3B\/OF: <\/strong>Bautista may still have a decent season but there\u2019s just no way he hits 54 homers again. Something around 34 seems more appropriate.<\/p>\n

3.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Clay Buchholz, SP: <\/strong>Buchholz is a good pitcher for sure but the advanced numbers indicate that luck on his batting average on balls in play helped his ERA drop a run lower than it should\u2019ve been last season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you haven\u2019t had your fantasy baseball draft yet, that means two things: (a) you\u2019re wrapped up in MLB betting or (b) your draft must be in the next 24 hours, as the season starts Thursday. If you fall under (b), you clearly need a quick cheat sheet. Here\u2019s some crucial information to know. TOP … Continue reading Fantasy Baseball: Rotisserie Deals and Steals<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10983","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sports_betting_news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.joeduffy.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10983","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.joeduffy.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.joeduffy.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.joeduffy.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.joeduffy.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10983"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.joeduffy.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10983\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10985,"href":"https:\/\/www.joeduffy.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10983\/revisions\/10985"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.joeduffy.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10983"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.joeduffy.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10983"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.joeduffy.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10983"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}