http://www.yardbarker.com/content/player/303 Recent articles about Aaron Hill en-us AJ Burnett matched his career high Monday night as the Blue Jays downed the division leading Devil Rays 3-1, giving Burnett his 12th win of the season. The big righthander who struck out ten Rays while scattering six hits over seven innings also received word from General Manager JP Ricciardi that he was almost certainly going [...] Tue, 29 Jul 2008 07:54:02 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/297359 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/297359 TORONTO, CANADA — The struggling Toronto Blue Jays fired manager John Gibbons and replaced him with former Jays manager Cito Gaston on Thursday, but that wasn't the only change the team made… Read more Mon, 23 Jun 2008 17:12:00 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/281332 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/281332 Meet Jorge Campillo. He is a little known 29-year old rookie for the Braves and throws an invisible pitch. He has gone from obscurity in the Mexican league to baffling major league batters. Troy Percival hits the DL, and Jason Bartlett and Ian Stewart arrive to help your fantasy teams in the middle infield. Fri, 30 May 2008 13:56:56 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/272525 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/272525 A look at what's happening around the majors this week, including a commentary on the state of official scoring in baseball. Thu, 29 May 2008 21:42:42 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/272296 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/272296 In this daily column, we take a look back at the night that was in fantasy baseball highlighting the best/worst performances, emerging fantasy options and developing trends. Wed, 09 Apr 2008 12:38:57 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/233399 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/233399 The Toronto Blue Jays have resigned All-Star rightfielder Alex Rios and second-baseman Aaron Hill to multiyear contract extensions. This is a great step in the right direction for the Jays, who could be the sleeper coming out of the AL East this season. Sat, 05 Apr 2008 17:10:21 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/229730 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/229730 These are Blue Jay 2008 preseason promo commercials. Aaron Hill, Roy Halladay and Alex Rios are all depicted as " Born To Play " athletes. Thu, 27 Mar 2008 23:55:03 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/221549 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/221549 Over the next week, FSE will release rankings for each position in fantasy baseball. Top 10s will be provided for all infield positions while outfielders, starting pitchers and relievers will have an expanded set of rankings. In addition, we will highlight a few sleepers at each position provide some honorable mentions if applicable. Having already covered catchers and first basemen, we now take a look at the second basemen. Wed, 19 Mar 2008 13:17:58 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/210255 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/210255 Second Basemen and Shortstops are two of the most difficult positions to find great value in. They're better than catchers in that they play almost every game and their knees actually function well enough to move them, often times with great speed. That being said, a middle infielder's greatest assets are stolen bases and run generating ability. Keep this in mind when drafting, it may just blow your mind: The average number of home runs hit by the Top 300 position players in the major leagues is 14. The average number of stolen bases by the same is 7. 132 of those 300 players hit 14 or more home runs, almost half of them. But, only 90 stole 7 or more bases. That's less than a third. Only 27 players averaged 20 or more stolen bases over the last 3 seasons, 12 of those were middle infielders. What does that mean? It means that stolen bases are the most undervalued category in fantasy baseball. When the Top 300 position players in fantasy baseball stole a total of 2256 bases, and the Top 10 base stealers stole 21% of those bases, sounds to me like grabbing a couple of speedsters real quick should be a pretty big priority. Anyways, I didn't mean to get on my stolen base soapbox again. Here's some sleepers and busters: Wed, 05 Mar 2008 17:53:40 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/182098 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/182098 We continue our fantasy baseball team previews, taking a look at what 2008 holds for the Toronto Blue Jays, highlighting key offseason moves, projected starters, players to draft/avoid and sleepers. Wed, 05 Mar 2008 17:28:15 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/182028 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/182028 Staying in the infield with our preparation for 2008 fantasy baseball drafts, the FIO staff runs down its preseason rankings at each position. This time around, writer Shane Huff gives you the FIO's Preseason Top 20 Fantasy Second Basemen. Wed, 27 Feb 2008 21:47:22 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/170500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/170500 With Spring Training fast approaching, FIO staff writer Rich Lerner takes a look at each MLB team in terms of fantasy purposes. In this discussion, we will take a look at the potential offensive/pitching impact players, some questionable guys, and some youngsters on the come up. This time around - the teams of the American League. Sun, 17 Feb 2008 15:13:09 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/148782 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/148782 Sorry about the little break I had I've just been really busy with school but I'm finally back so here we go. 11. Jeff Kent: What can Kent do in what could be his final year at the age of 39? Well even though he's not as good as he once was he's still a force to be reckoned with. One of the good things about Kent is that he can provide consistent numbers which after 11 no one can really say.So Kent isn't gonna put up the 30 home runs and a .320 BA like the best of the best of the position but he'll still hit a .290 BA and 20 home runs. Look to draft Kent around the 11th round. 12: Dustin Pedroia: This career .300 hitter in his small minor league career is looking to show everyone that he can do it now in the big show.One of the good things about Pedroia is that he hits in frount of Manny and David Ortiz.This kid might be small some say too small,but you know what haters he proved he can last in the majors but you know what this kid can be great. So expect this kid to get 15 home runs with a great .320 BA.So in around the 12th round look to draft this kid that I'm gonna can "The Little Warrior.:" 13: Felipe Lopez: You know what the bad thing about this is that Manny Acta that didn't really let Lopez steal bases in 07' which could be the case in 08' but if Acta let's Lopez steal 30-40 bases than we have something here with Lopez. Why do you have to worry about him stealing bases, the reason is if he doesn't really run his value will be minimal because he really doesn't hit that many home runs and he has a pretty decent average. The reason why I have him so high is because that 1. I believe that he can get to 30-40 stolen bases if Acta lets him 2. Do you believe in magic if so, he's turning 27 and you all know what happens when a player turns 27. 14: Aaron Hill: One of my sleepers for the 08' season,Hill is a great player but is looked over because he plays in such a small market in Toronto. After what might have been a breakout season with .291 and 17 home runs he could bump up his stats as he still has some upside because he's only 25 home runs. As I like to call him "Little Hill" is looking to improve his stats in 08' and you know what he can and he will get it up to 20 home runs and a .300 average. 15: Orlando Hudson: So if your looking for consistency in one of the later rounds well you found your man. Well one of the high points in drafting him is that he seems like a old man compared to the younger players in the later rounds. Hudson would of had his better seasons if he didn't get injured late last year.Still pretty young,good at defense, he has good upside and has the consistency you want from a 2nd baseman in the later rounds . 16:Freddy Sanchez: So let's say you didn't get the that big batting average player and your looking for one in a later round, here's a guy that hits the spot. Don't expect too much of Sanchez in terms of power maybe in the lines of 10 maybe even 11 home runs if your lucky.So don't expect to much from him in the power category but if you want a type notch hitter look to draft this former batting champ. 17:Asdrubal Cabrera: He really hit the scene at the post season last year but can he start to prove himself in the regular season? Well I really think so,he has the potential to get a .300 average but look for him to hit .285 average in 08'. The good thing about drafting him is how cheap he'll go and you get such a good young player and he's a top notch player for any keeper leagues. The bad thing about drafting him is he really isn't a power player or a really big player on the base path, but he has good average on all of the offensive positions and he's playing in a great Indians lineup. 18:Luis Castillo: Age is slowing down this once lighting quick player but expect to him to have a good average for 08'. Even though he's slowing down look for 20+ stolen bases from him in 08' but he's really lacking in the power category..300/100+R/20+SB is what you could expect from him in 08' but don't look for him to miss maybe 10-15 or more games because of his legs. Also if your in a keeper league be very cautious about drafting Castillo because of his age, and his leg problems. 19: Kelly Johnson:What can we expect from Johnson in 08' after his outstanding 07' season? Well we can about expect a little more maybe in the lines of 20 home runs and about 10 stolen bases. One of the bad things about Johnson is how much he can get in slumps. So make sure you know about this whille your drafting or by keeping him as a #2 2nd baseman so when he is in that hot streak he'll be right there in your lineup. So exepct a .275 average by Johnson in 08'. 20:Ty Wigginton:I'm a little iffy on Wigginton, but 20 homeruns from the second base position is not something that can be easily discounted. Right off the bat when I look at Wiggy I think about how many postions he can play, he can play 1st,2nd,and 3rd base which means he could fill in for any of your players that are slumping. For stats I see 25 home runs at max and a .280 average. Make sure to draft one of this fantasy best kept secrets and one of the most versatile not counting Ryan Freel. Thu, 24 Jan 2008 04:59:01 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/81808 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/81808 Take a look at the American League second basemen and how they rank fantasy wise. Mon, 24 Dec 2007 21:51:20 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/52402 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/52402 On The Waiver Wire covers your needs for players who can help your team. Moises Alou, Shelly Duncan, Brian Giles, and more. With the passing of the trade deadline, you now have to be the first to scoop up the best of the best. Mon, 20 Aug 2007 01:36:32 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/24279 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/24279