Over the past few weeks, I have been focusing on my BIG NL-only roto league, which is a snake draft league. I've been analyzing some of the draft trends of my fellow owners, with the plan to change my draft strategy which I wrote about a few days ago. Today ESPN posted their Fantasy Baseball Draft Kit with their rankings by position, by team, and overall (for mixed leagues). For those of you playing in NL-Only leagues, I present my Top 25 ranking.
1. Hanley Ramirez-he just keeps getting better and better. Could go 30-40 in 2009.
2. Albert Pujols-some think he is the best fantasy player in all of baseball, HanRam begs to differ.
3. David Wright-best 3bman in the game...that's right I said it.
4. Jose Reyes-his speed keeps him in the top 5.
5. Ryan Howard-I may have him ranked higher than others, but he had a slow start in 2008 and still went 48-146.
6. Ryan Braun-all the experts were wrong on this guy last year, huh?
7. Chase Utley-assuming he is healthy by mid-April, he's a 5 category stud at a thin position.
8. Jimmy Rollins-had a down year, for him, in 2008. I see a bounceback in 2009, and so does ESPN.
9. Carlos Beltran-he's the 3rd Met in the top 9 (along with 3 Phillies). I hope they can still score runs in the new ballpark, otherwise they may drop in 2010.
10. Tim Lincecum-yes, I rank him before Johan Santana. I wrote about this a few weeks ago.
11. Alfonso Soriano-he went 29-75-19 in 109 games in 2008. What does he do if he stays healthy?
13. Manny Ramirez-everyone says he won't hit like he did the last two months of 2008. Well....yeah, he was on a 50-150 pace. Then again, they said Braun wouldn't hit as well in 2008 either.
14. Lance Berkman-he was a 5 category star in 2008, but his power numbers dropped. Will he steal 15 bases again?
15. Johan Santana-everyone ranks him in the top 10, even though his K/9 dropped and his BB/9 increased. Could have won 20 with a mediocre bullpen in 2008.
16. Prince Fielder-I say he hits 40 bombs in 2009.
17. Carlos Lee-he went 28-100-.314 in 115 games in 2008.
18. Brandon Webb-he won 22 games in 2008, but faltered down the stretch. Was that a sign of things to come?
19. Matt Kemp-stole 35 bases in 2008. Will the power appear in 2009? If so, he will be top 10.
20. Nate McLouth-he gave us 26-94-113-23 in 2008. A fluke?? Does he get traded? The Braves are desperate for an OFer and leadoff hitter.
21. Brandon Phillips-he'll give you another 20-20 season in 2009 at a thin position.
22. Adam Dunn-40-100 with a 100 walks and 180+ strikeouts....guaranteed.
23. Brian McCann-you can count on 20+ HR, 85+ RBI and a .300 Avg. from the All-Star catcher.
24. Adrian Gonzalez-how did he go 36-119 in THAT ballpark last year?
25. Aramis Ramirez-he'll give you 30-100-.290 again in 2009.