Yardbarker: Willy Taveras

Top 7 Fantasy to Real Life Baseball Discrepancies

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 10:12:42 -0500

With the best players in baseball like Albert Pujols and Alex Rodriguez and other established stars, it usually translates into them ranked nearly as high as far as fantasy baseball is concerned in almost every single case. But due to fantasy baseball being?fantasy, some discrepancies arise as you start looking at who the most valuable players are in your 4x4 or 5x5 league.

Sometimes, the guy that ends up winning your league for you is the same guy whose fans curse the team every time that he is in the lineup, or a guy whose numbers look decent at the end of the year, but whose streakiness makes him beyond frustrating to root for in real life.

This week's Top 7 pays tribute to the players whose fantasy value and real value are the furthest from each other.

7. Dan Uggla

OK, fine, this is based upon his performance in the All-Star Game, but three errors and 27 men left on base in ten innings wouldn't mean much of anything fantasy-wise, but sure didn't help the NL. Here's the most depressing thing about the All-Star Game?with JD Drew getting his second huge home run in less than a year and being healthy all season so far, is it even fair to rip on him being the biggest pansy in baseball anymore? How depressing.

6. Alfonso Soriano

Streakier than Jim Edmonds, injured nearly as much as Drew, and as frustrating in the outfield as Adam Dunn, Soriano may put up huge numbers year after year, but you can't find too many Cub fans without several negative things to say about him.

5. Michael Bourn

He is the new Juan Pierre. He is on someone's roster in any fantasy league because of his steals, but on the Astros he is a leadoff guy with a .218 average and a .273 OB%, good for 84th out of 86 qualified players.

4. Willy Taveras

Another ungodly light-hitting outfielder who inexplicably keeps playing despite horrifically low power numbers and OB%, but fantasy owners hope the Rockies continue playing he and his 39 steals.

3. Carlos Marmol

Unless you are in one of those progressive leagues that have the holds-plus-saves category, middle relievers are the most under appreciated players in fantasy baseball. Marmol was the posterboy for that in the first half with 22 of them despite slowing down the last few weeks. He is still owned in some leagues because of his massive amount of strikeouts, but he sure won't be on major league waivers any time soon.

2. Jason Isringhausen

Ah yes, fantasy saves. There are people who, especially in NL-only leagues, have Izzy sitting on their roster hoping that he gets another chance to close so he picks up some more saves. In real life, Cardinal fans across the country scream and throw things at the TV if he even begins warming up.

1. Juan Pierre

He helps neither real nor fantasy in power, with no homers since 2006. The only thing keeping him on fantasy rosters are his stolen bases, and the only thing keeping him on the Dodgers is one of the worst contracts in baseball.

Extreme Rockies Makeover: Yorvit Torrealba & Willy Taveras

Sat, 12 Jul 2008 14:52:00 -0500

I lump them together because it sounds like they could be a package deal to the other Florida team nobody cares about. Potential Suitor: Florida Marlins The Marlins lost their starting catcher, Mr. Misty May, to a strained hip, creating a gaping hole in their lineup and behind the dish. Replacements, Paul Hoover and John Baker, [...]

Trade Rumors July 11th

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 07:43:55 -0500

The San Diego Padres will be in sale mode, there ofers are SP Randy Wolf,SP Greg Maddux and OF Brian Giles.OF Raul Ibanez is the the New York Mets biggest trade target, they can not go after a Holliday or a Bay because they do no have the prospects to trade.There are other rumors that the Florida Marlins are interested in aquiring OF Willy Taveras from the Colorado Rockies and the Minnesota Twins have talked to the Mariners about 3B Adrian Beltre

AccuScore: The Need for Speed

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 14:23:54 -0500

Fantasy expert Tim Williams reviews AccuScore's top 20 stolen base options for the remainder of the season, and gives you five teams who can't stop people on the base paths.

MLB Stock Market - June 19th Edition

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 07:00:15 -0500

Screaming Sports' Phil Yoon runs down several baseball Bulls and several baseball Bears in the latest edition of Stock Market. Marcus Thames? Oh yea, he's definitely a bull. Roy Oswalt? Ehhhh ... not so much.

AccuScore: The Need for Speed

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 12:08:26 -0500

Fantasy expert Tim Williams reviews AccuScore's top 20 stolen base options for the remainder of the season, and finds several excellent sources for stolen bases in the outfield and at second base who you can get for a cheaper price than Carl Crawford or Brian Roberts.

AccuScore: The Need for Speed

Mon, 12 May 2008 13:34:12 -0500

Jose Reyes ranks at the top of the list in the AccuScore stolen base rankings for the remainder of the season. AccuScore fantasy expert Tim Williams reviews AccuScore's top 25 speed options for the remainder of the season, and gives you the over/under predictions on each player's projections.

AccuScore: The Need for Speed

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 14:01:09 -0500

Guys like Carl Crawford are taken in the high rounds because of their ability to steal bases and hit for a high average. Guys like Joey Gathright are sitting on the waiver wire because, despite their stolen bases, their average is much lower. AccuScore fantasy expert Tim Williams takes a look at the difference between Gathright and Crawford to your fantasy team, and discovers that Crawford's average doesn't justify his high price tag.

Exploiting Single-Tool Fantasy Studs

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 09:59:32 -0500

One of the keys to a fantasy team is finding five-tool players â€" guys who impact every scoring category. Balanced players like these have the most value towards a successful season. Often, though, it is the single-tool phenom who can make a fantasy team's season. FIO staff writer Rich Lerner explain how to effectively use these base stealers and homerun hitters in your fantasy league this season.

AccuScore: The Need for Speed

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 14:29:34 -0500

Jose Reyes owners were looking to lock up the stolen base category in the first round. After one stolen base, Reyes is suffering from a hamstring injury that could cut back on his steals. Fortunately, AccuScore fantasy expert Tim Williams is here to provide some speedsters on the waiver wire, and a few guys who could come cheap via trade.

Braves lose by one run,,,,again!

Wed, 09 Apr 2008 09:13:29 -0500

The Braves failed to take advantage of several opportunities given to them by erratic starter Ubaldo Jimenez and lose their 5th game of the year by one run. In the 8th inning Bobby Cox double switched Gregor Blanco to centerfield replacing Mark Kotsay and put Manny Acosta on the mound to reliever Jair Jurrjens. Down one run in the 9th is an ideal situation for a homerun, or to try and atleast get a man on base. Giving a rookie who has never been on the base paths besides as a pinch runner the 2nd AB of the 9th with nobody else on the bench being used....idiotic. Bobby Cox we salute you, you are a f'n moron.

NL Wild West Preview: 4 Way Battle for 1st

Fri, 28 Mar 2008 11:24:16 -0500

Last season the NL West division race came down to the last day of the season, and we expect this year to be no different. Here a preview of all five teams, their projected starting lineups, rotations, fantasy impact players, and overall outlook.

MLB Team Fantasy Outlooks: National League

Wed, 20 Feb 2008 08:57:07 -0500

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. In Part 2 - the teams of the National League.

Holliday's 4 Hits Not Enough as Schilling, Red Sox Nip Rockies

Fri, 26 Oct 2007 13:14:43 -0500

Rockies leftfielder Matt Holliday was a perfect 4 for 4 at the plate, but the Rockies only managed 5 hits off of Red Sox pitching as Curt Schilling and the awesome Boston bullpen shut down the Rockies' hitters for a tight 2-1 win in game 2 of the world series in Boston.

Red Sox Roll in Opener, Rockies Flat After 8 Day Layoff

Thu, 25 Oct 2007 10:31:43 -0500

Red Sox leadoff man 2nd baseman Dustin Pedroia, who hit 8 homeruns the entire season, became only the 2nd leadoff hitter ever to lead off a World Series with a homerun. Josh Beckett was beyond awesome on the mound and the Rockies, off of an 8 day layoff awaiting the AL pennant winner, went totally flat as Boston routed Colordo by a 13-1 score.