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Early fantasy baseball rankings: DH

Here’s an early peek at the RotoAce 2012 fantasy baseball rankings for designated hitter.

1. David Ortiz (left): Depending on how old you think Big Papi really is, he technically enters his age-36 season coming off a throwback year when he put up a .309-84-29-96-1 line. Ortiz managed to avoid the slow starts that plagued him in the recent past, but expect a little more to go wrong and numbers that come up a bit short of last year.

2. Billy Butler: Eric Hosmer’s arrival sent Butler back to DH, where he put up another solid but not spectacular season. Butler turns 26 in mid-April, so if a power spike is coming then this will likely be the season.

3. Jesus Montero: It took Montero almost two full seasons in Triple-A before finally getting the call to New York, where he was even better than advertised with a .996 OPS and four homers in just 69 plate appearances. Being traded from the Yankees’ offense-friendly lineup and ballpark to the Mariners’ league-worst offense and ballpark will limit Montero’s fantasy impact this season. (more…)

Early fantasy baseball rankings: Outfield

Here’s an early peek at the RotoAce 2012 fantasy baseball rankings for outfield. (more…)

Early fantasy baseball rankings: Shortstop

Here’s an early peek at the RotoAce 2012 fantasy baseball rankings for shortstop.

1. Troy Tulowitzki: Injuries again caught up to Tulo last season, but not until September in the form of a sore hip or before he had put up his customary huge numbers. He enters his age-27 season primed for a career year if he can avoid the injury bug.

2. Jose Reyes (left): The old hamstring issues cropped up again last season, taking a little of the luster off an otherwise spectacular season that saw him win the NL batting crown with a .337 mark. Now he’s taking his electrifying game to Miami, where he’ll try to live up to his $106 million contract with the Marlins while in his prime at age 28. (more…)

Early Fantasy Baseball Rankings: Second Base

Here’s an early peek at the RotoAce 2012 fantasy baseball rankings for second base.

1. Robinson Cano (left): The Yankees’ most consistent hitter is a safe bet to turn in elite numbers everywhere except steals, and even there he turned in a career-high eight last season. The 29-year-old is a slam dunk to be a top-10 overall pick.

2. Dustin Pedroia: Bouncing back from a 2010 season half-ruined by a fractured ankle, Boston’s sparkplug put up career highs in homers, RBIs and steals. Entering his age-28 season, Pedroia is at the height of his powers. (more…)

Early Fantasy Baseball Rankings: First Base

Here’s an early peek at the RotoAce 2012 fantasy baseball rankings for first base.

1. Miguel Cabrera (left): It’s finally time for a changing of the guard, as the Tigers’ slugger moves into the top spot that Albert Pujols has inhabited for pretty much the past decade. Cabrera is smack-dab in the middle of his prime entering his age-28 season while Pujols is embarking on the backside of his career going into his age-32 season. Cabrera won the AL batting crown with a .344 mark and is a safe bet to keep up his trek to Cooperstown.

2. Adrian Gonzalez: Gonzalez didn’t enjoy the power surge many experts were forecasting when leaving San Diego’s Petco Park for Boston’s Fenway Park, but he still put up a fantastic .338-108-27-117-1 line. If the homers pick up, Gonzo could be the No. 1 first baseman in 2012. (more…)

Early fantasy baseball rankings: Catcher

Here’s an early peek at the RotoAce 2012 fantasy baseball rankings for catcher.

1. Brian McCann (left): With our No. 1 going down for the season (Victor Martinez), McCann assumes the top spot. He’s as consistent as they come (between 18-24 homers and 71-94 RBIs in each of his six full seasons) and is in his prime entering his age-28 season.

2. Carlos Santana: The .239 average may have disappointed in his first full season, but the counting numbers (27 homers, 84 runs, 79 RBIs, 5 steals) were elite and could get better as he turns just 25 in the first week of the ’12 season. His high walk rate and .291 career minor league average are good signs that his average will be on the rise and give the Indians slugger a chance at the top spot. It helps that the Indians keep his bat in the lineup by playing him at first base when he’s not catching. (more…)

StockWatch: Wednesday, July 6

Yahoo for our ownership percentages are in parentheses. From the games of July 6.

Stock Up

Michael Young (97%) went 3-for-4 for a third straight day, raising his average to .328. Young is hitting .284 in 197 ABs as a DH and .385 in 148 ABs when he starts in the field. He’s hitting in the middle of the Rangers lineup, so the 58 RBIs put him on pace for only his second 100-RBI campaign. But his seven homers are off pace from the 21 and 22 he hit the past two seasons, respectively. Third base has become so thin that Young is an elite option there and as a bonus he’s added eligibility at first and second base too.

Justin Masterson (69%) is finally doing his impression of a healthy Brandon Webb that so many were predicting for the sinkerball expert back when he came up with the Red Sox in 2008, lowering his season ERA to 2.66 with eight shutout innings against the Yankees on Wednesday. Masterson held the mighty Yankees lineup to three hits while walking two and striking out six. Masterson has allowed just one earned run in his past 22.2 IP with a 16-5 K-BB ratio. His xFIP of 3.55 is almost a full run higher than his ERA, but a lot of that is due to a low 4.3% HR/FB that is possible for him to come close to sustaining with his nasty sinker. Masterson’s FIP of 3.08 may be a closer prediction to what his ERA can be from here on out, which combined with his solid 6.4 K/9 makes him an excellent No. 3 SP in deep mixed leagues. (more…)

Spotlight: Lonnie Chisenhall

Lonnie Chisenhall made a splash in his major-league debut, going 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI against the D-backs on Monday. (more…)

StockWatch: Friday, June 24

Yahoo for our ownership percentages are in parentheses. From games of Friday, June 24.

Stock Up

Guillermo Moscoso (1%) is likely the luckiest pitcher in the majors, posting a 2.68 ERA through 37 innings with the A’s despite a 5.72 xFIP. The peripherals are ugly – 3.4 K/9, 4.1 BB/9, .205 BABIP, 25.2% GB and 4.5% HR/FB. So we’ve got a low-strikeout, high-walk, fly-ball pitcher who has been extremely lucky on balls in play … run away!!! Do not pick this guy up despite his gaudy ERA, as ZiPS projects him for a 5.71 ERA the rest of the way.

Derrek Lee (26%) finally hit his first homer since May 8 and is heating up. The 35-year-old went 3-for-5 on Friday and is 14-for-32 with five extra-base hits in his past seven games, raising his average from .214 to .247. This is most likely just a correction up to the mediocre player he has become in his mid-30s, but he’s at least worth getting in deep mixed-league lineups while he’s hot. (more…)

StockWatch: Monday, June 20

Stock Up

Clayton Kershaw (99%) has officially entering the elite class of pitchers that everyone knew he had the potential to do. After two bombings at hitter havens in Colorado and Cincinnati, Kershaw has allowed just six hits and a run in his past two starts, including a complete-game, two-hitter over the Tigers. He is now 7-3 with a 3.01 and his strikeout rate leads all of baseball (9.78 K/9). His 2.83 xFIP is also the fourth-best in the majors behind the Phillies trio of Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels and Cliff Lee. In short, good luck prying him away from an owner, but if you can get someone to sell, don’t be afraid to pay the price for him because he’s the real deal.

Ivan Nova (7%) had his best start of his young career, allowing just one run on four hits in eight innings, striking out a season-high seven and walking none. You may need to chalk this up to facing a Reds team who had never seen him before, but the seven strikeouts were somewhat of a surprise with just a 4.9 K/9 on the season. The rookie won his third straight start and induced fifteen ground ball outs. Needless to say, if he can get the strikeout rate up a bit and keep inducing that many ground balls, he can win a lot of games with that Yankees offense behind him. (more…)

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