Fantasy Baseball Thoughts: Miguel Cabrera, Wilin Rosario and Others

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Getting back to the Fantasy Baseball Thoughts. The end of the season is near, and I have to say, I have already started thinking about 2013, as you can clearly see with my emphasis on early 2013 position rankings of late. I am actually having my best fantasy season ever in my money leagues, as I am winning two leagues ( by wide margins) and am in second in the much talked about UBA NL-only league. I have to say I was a BIG no-show in the FakeTeams Dynastly league this season and I want to apologize to all of the league members for doing so. I admit that I tend to focus on my money leagues more than my online leagues, but will make a conscious effort to stay involved in 2013.

it doesn't happen too often, but we could see a Triple Crown season from Tigers third baseman Miguel Cabrera. He is currently leading the AL in batting average with a .329 BA, is leading in RBI with 133, and is second in home runs with 42. The real question though is whether he will win the American League MVP award. I think Angels outfielder Mike Trout will win the award, but Miggy certainly has had an unbelievable season. I have been predicting a 40 HR season from him over the years and he finally did it.

I drafted Rockies catcher Wilin Rosario in my big money NL-only league this year with the thought that he could provide double digit home runs and 50+ RBI. I never imagined that he would hit 27 HRs and drive in 70. His recent hot streak has moved his triple slash line to .276-.316-.545 for the season. In his last 11 games, he has 7 multi-hit games including four straight games where he had three base hits. Paul Rice wrote about Rosario in his Ricecapades piece last night where he discussed five catchers to watch in 2013.

Back in spring training, I recall one fantasy writer saying that he was down on Brewers third baseman Aramis Ramirez since he had left the friendly confiines of Wrigley Field. Well, Ramirez has actually put up a better season than he did in 2011, as he is hitting .298-.360-.536 with 25 HRs, 89 runs and 98 RBI this season, putting up an fWAR of 6.1 as well. And, at the ripe old age of 34, he has stolen a career high 8 bases this season. ARam is a guy who I would rather grab a few rounds after guys like David Wright and Evan Longoria.

I think the American League MVP will be a close race between Mike Trout and Miguel Cabrera, but the American League Cy Young award race might be one of the closest in recent years between Tigers ace Justin Verlander and Rays ace David Price. Price was absolutely dominant last night, giving up two runs on seven hits, walking none and striking out a whopping 13 Red Sox batters. Price is now 19-6 on the season with a 2.56 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, and a 201-57 strikeout to walk rate.

One guy I can see myself drafting in at least one league in 2013 is Pirates third baseman Pedro Alvarez. Alvarez has put together his best season as a big leaguer, even though it has come with a mediocre triple slash line of .243-.321-.475, but he now has 30 home runs and 85 RBI this season. When he was drafted, it was said he had 30+ home run power and he has met that in his third major league season. He has done all this a year after hitting just .191-.272-.289 with four home runs and 19 RBI.