The Fantasy Blog

Last week, two of my three “Buy Low” picks, Carlos Gomez (10-for-18, HR, 3B in last week) and Homer Bailey (8 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 BB, 10 K in last start), came through while the third, Ike Davis, finally broke out on Friday with a two-homer game.

In fantasy football, it’s usually a good idea to own both a team’s starting running back and his backup. If the starter gets hurt, you won’t have to scour the waiver wire for someone else you know will get regular carries. You already have him. 

Depending on your league, you may have the ability to stash guys on your bench that don’t necessarily have a lot of value, but could potentially be the best option available if the inevitable happens and one of your key players gets injured.

In this day and age where most pitchers can’t go a few years, much less one, without having some sort of elbow or shoulder trouble pop up, it’s very difficult to decide which ones are more at risk than others. 

Shortly after creating MLBDepthCharts.com, I quickly realized just how important it was for fantasy baseball players to find the guy who was “next in line” for saves. Even if it’s just to give the regular closer a break after a few consecutive days of work, saves are valuable for fantasy geeks. 

Here's my early top-60 listing of outfielders heading into exhibition play, with an emphasis on 5x5 roto leagues.

This position will likely produce baseball's largest number of four- and five-category studs by season's end.

But that star power still cannot obscure the uncertainty of taking inexperienced young players or injury-riddled veterans later in the draft, or household names that will invariably fall short of last year's amped-up stats.

Hopefully, this listing will eliminate some of the draft-day doubt and consternation that come with the territory.

The following countdown details my early top 35 first basemen heading into exhibition play, with an emphasis on 5x5 roto leagues.

Generally speaking, I favor power-average-speed guys over one-dimensional sluggers who rely on their immense but sporadic power to get through a given season.

I'm also a sucker for positional versatility, which may explain why Joe Mauer, Buster Posey and Victor Martinez warrant special mention here.

Enjoy the show!

With the fantasy-trade deadlines coming up this week or next (I have four red-letter dates this Friday), it's time for owners to make one last pitch for baseball's elite categorical contributors.

AccuScore, a company that specializes in thorough game simulations, has made a few on-the-fly revisions to its seasonal projections.

With the fantasy trade deadlines coming up this week and next (I have four red-letter dates this Friday), it's time for owners to make one last pitch for baseball's elite categorical contributors.

AccuScore, a company that specializes in thorough game simulations, has made a few on-the-fly revisions to its seasonal projections.

I could not have envisioned the context of this entry just five days ago...but here it is.

On the strength of his 15-strikeout gem against the Pittsburgh Pirates on May 20, Tigers pitcher Max Scherzer (3-3, 63 strikeouts in 2012) has emerged as a coveted asset in trade talks, primarily with squads chasing strikeouts.

The following slideshow touts the 15 best fantasy players who currently reside on the disabled list (15 days/30 days/60 days).

This countdown doesn't necessarily run in concert with a player's preseason ranking or overall standing at the time of his injury. It's merely an educated guess as to which DL-based stars will yield the most productivity from this point forward.

It goes without saying, but Mariano Rivera, Joakim Soria, Danny Duffy and Mat Gamel—all victims of season-ending injuries—were not considered for this listing.