Inspired by Iron Maiden's Powerslave, here is this week's Fantasy Chat Stew. Does "Rime of The Ancient Mariner" ever end? (FWIW, one of my Maiden favs.)
Port Chester, NY: The Twins have some potentially great fantasy players in their OF - Denard Span, Carlos Gomez and Delmon Young in particular - not to slight Michael Cuddyer and Jason Kubel too much. How do you see the Twins OF shaking out, and who do you think offers the most fantasy upside in 2009?
Steve Gardner:I don't think I'd go so far as to call them "potentially great" ... but depending on your league's categories I'd put Span and Young at the top of the list. Young still has the highest ceiling of the group, but I'm wondering how long it's going to take him to start making the jump to the next level. He seems like he's stagnating or even regressing, especially from a power standpoint. Cuddyer's health is the biggest variable because they'd love for him to return to being a middle of the order RBI man. If I had to guess, I'd say Span plays most everyday, taking some time from Cuddyer in RF and some from Gomez in CF while Young stays put in LF and Kubel DHs.
dbiester (Brooklyn): Any updates or prognosis on Chase Utley? When he's back, would you expect huim to be limited physically like with some wist/hand/thumb injuries, or all the way back?Will Carroll: tley's doing some drills and running, but isn't 100%. I think he should be close to his goal of playing on Opening Day, but until we get to see him play, it's very hard to guess how it will affect him. I think a bit less running, but I'm more concerned with whether it alters his swing any or gets in his head.
Matt (Baltimore): Hey Kevin, You have Travis Snider as your #5 prospect. What kind of projections do you have for him for 2009? Will he be an everyday fixture in the Jays lineup this season?Kevin Goldstein:If he was the best offensive player on the Blue Jays team this year, I would not be shocked at all.
Steve (Tampa, FL): Will you do another list of best players for the next 5 years, this year? Off the top of your head, who would you choose as your top pitcher and hitter for the next 5 years?Rob Neyer: don't think I'll run through every position again, as much fun as that was. Maybe next winter. My top pitcher would be Tim Lincecum or Johan Santana, and my top hitter would probably be Pedroia, if not Hanley Ramirez (with Sizemore in the mix).
Sam (swissland): What do you think of ellsbury vs crawford? To me they look pretty similar, and ellsbury has more room to get better and maybe less injury prone? Is crawford the dead cert pick over ellsbury??Brendan Roberts: ou raise a good point here, Sam. I like Ellsbury just as much, if not more, than Crawford, even though you'd probably get him a round later. Therefore I'd probably shoot for him in the early rounds instead of Crawford, and you can probably get him one (but not two) round(s) later
Chet (LA): Colby Rasmus or Cameron Maybin?Jim Callis: Rasmus. I think he's a better bet to hit.
Mike (Tampa, FL): Welcome to another baseball season, EK! I'm switching from a 5x5 to a 4x4 league this year (No r's or k's) How should I change my drafting strategy?Eric Karabell : ell, without runs I can't say I would alter much. I rarely draft for runs anyway. But losing K's, that's a big deal. I'd move Chien Ming Wang up about 10 rounds in that event! I mean, I often sort projections wise for K's, and take my starting pitchers that way. Maybe I overrate a bit guys like Cain and Myers, for example, and Javy Vazquez. So I'd say the control pitchers, like Hiroki Kuroda, have much more value than normal in that type of 4x4.
Matt (Baltimore): In what round would you draft Matt Wieters in a keeper league?Tristan H. Cockcroft : robably much earlier than in a yearly format. I just had a draft yesterday where I think he was maybe an 18th-round pick? I think he goes in about the 10th in a keeper league, because we're going to see him in Baltimore at some point this year, and I think he has the potential to rise to No. 1 in his position for fantasy very, very quickly. Perhaps as soon as 2010. His upside is that legit.
dan millburn, nj: Who is going to be the closer in Oakland, Devine or Ziegler ?Keith Law: o wait - it's the guy who doesn't get lefties out, or the guy who REALLY doesn't get lefties out? Awesome. I'd take Devine.