One of the things I learned from examining each team and trying to come-up with one hitting sleeper and one pitching sleeper is how little room for error there is for some teams. When a team has a couple players from which to choose (ed: Very nice way to prevent a phrase from ending with a preposition.), it signals to me that the team can withstand an injury or two.
With that in mind, I struggled to list any hitters from the Blue Jays' likely Opening Day roster. Typically, I look at a teams' weak positions and/or players who play in platoons. For the Blue Jays, this drew my attention to the middle infield and Reed Johnson.
The more pressing area is the middle infield. With Royce Clayton and Aaron Hill arguably ranked as the worst starting infield in fantasy baseball, I figured the back-up at either position is a great spot to find a sleeper. Wrong! John MacDonald is even worse than either. With less than 5 HR and 5 SB potential and an inability to hit or draw walks, I can't possibly consider him anything.
Then I moved to the outfield. Despite Reed Johnson's excellent season, he still sits against some right-handers. This makes the left-handed complement another possible spot for a sleeper, and that is who I chose - Matt Stairs.
Does that help anyone who drafts before the season begins? No because Stairs only qualifies at DH. With big-bopping, DH-only qualifiers like Jim Thome, Dave Ortiz, Travis Hafner, and Frank Thomas, there is close to no chance Stairs has any draft value when that brief list is combined with the fact most teams fill the DH spot with a corner- or outfield-eligible. Never mind expanding the DH-only list by Jonny Gomes.
Why then did I list Stairs? Well the aforementioned John MacDonald couldn't make the sut and the other players listed on the Jays depth chart are Jason Smith and Jason Phillips. Did I have any choice? Is it any wonder that fantasy players like AAA hitting stud Adam Lind to be with the big league club sooner rather than later?