Fantasy Baseball 2009- Best tasting Hater-ade

It’s almost time for another exciting, challenging, and downright excellent season of fantasy baseball. Today I'm posting my 5 most overrated players in baseball using, as amateur as it is, the standard Yahoo.com fantasy baseball rankings for a H2H league using the standard 10 stats, AVG., HR, RBI, R, SB, ERA, K, W, SV, and WHIP. I did what I could to keep this unbiased, as I tend to drink a lot of hater-ade and have a lot of man-crushes, but this should at least be decently neutral and relevant. Enjoy.

The Best Tasting Hater-ade in Baseball

Jimmy Rollins, SS, Philadelphia Phillies-Yahoo.com rank-12. Last season’s rank-88. My Projected Rank-108. Jimmy Rollins is quite simply the 3rd best hitter on his team, behind Ryan Howard and Chase Utley. Last season you could make an argument that he was the 4th best hitter, with Pat Burrell having a good year. Rollins will bat leadoff in the potent Phillies lineup, and he will score 90+ runs, but his power numbers are absolutely average. Granted, 2 years ago he had 30 HR, and the year before that he had 25, but he’s also on the wrong side of 30 now, and while he was hurt last year, he still had only 11 HR in 556 AB. His average also suffered significantly (dropping to a mediocre .277), and I just don’t see him coming back strong this year. It also doesn’t help that he’s probably the worst player to win MVP this millennium.

Chad Billingsley, SP, Los Angeles Dodgers- Yahoo.com rank-73. Last season’s rank-116. My Projected Rank-135. Don’t get me wrong, as an enthusiast of young pitchers, I’m very excited about this young man’s potential. He is a phenomenally talented young pitcher, and given another year or so of major league experience, he could be a lights out number 1 starter. This season, however, he will most likely be moving up to the #1 spot in the Dodgers rotation with the departure of Derek Lowe. While that transition is difficult enough, the rest of their rotation is extremely depleted, with the most likely #2 starter being Hiroki Kuroda, followed by Randy Wolf and Clayton Kershaw in some order for 3-4, and some guy for their 5th starter (maybe Manny???). It just isn’t realistic to expect that this 24 year old will be able to go from 2-3 starter in a pretty good rotation to #1 starter in a garbage rotation and make a smooth transition immediately. Expect a fine season, something similar to Joe Saunders numbers last year but with a few less wins and a few more strikeouts, but not one of the #10 ranked starter on yahoo.

Brandon Phillips, 2B, Cincinnati Reds- Yahoo.com rank-25. Last season’s rank-105. My projected rank- not good. Brandon Phillips was hurled into the national spotlight (for baseball junkies) in 2007 when he had a breakout year, belting 30 HR, 94 RBI, 32 SB, scoring 107 R, and batting a robust .288. Last season was not so good. His HR count dropped to 21, RBIs fell to 78, and average fell to .261. He also scored only 80 R and swiped 23 bags. There is no reason to believe that these numbers will improve, especially with the departure of Adam Dunn and the slightly less valuable but nonetheless important Ken Griffey Jr. Phillips is still young at 27, but I still think that rather than saying that last year was an off-year, it’s safer to say that 2007 was a fluke. This is even more possible given Phillips’ numbers prior to 2007, which were thoroughly unimpressive for the most part.

Carsten Charles Sabathia, SP, New York Yankees- Yahoo.com rank-27. Last season’s rank-6. My Projected Rank-52. There are few players I enjoy watching more than CC Sabathia. He plays the game right, with joy, sportsmanship, and obesity not seen since the era of David Wells. However, Sabathia’s numbers last season in the American League were not particularly mind-boggling. His ERA was 3.83, a 6-8 record, and 1.23 WHIP. Granted, a lot of that is because of a few horrible starts to begin the season that were a result of arm fatigue, but that was still 4-5 starts where he taxed the bullpen mightily and lost the game for the Indians before the 2nd inning. CC will be facing some pretty powerful offenses in the AL East, specifically the Red Sox and Rays, although the Orioles offense has potential with Matt Weiters and Nick Markakis. CC may also suffer from pitching in Yankees stadium, with its horrendously short corner outfield fences. Expect a season from CC that is still quite good, probably something similar to Brandon Webb last year but with less wins, a slightly higher ERA, and more K’s.

Josh Beckett, SP, Boston Red Sox-Yahoo.com rank-75. Last season’s rank-164. My Projected Rank-166. If there is one thing I hate about postseason baseball, it’s that players that do well in the postseason seem to automatically be regarded as great in the regular season as well. I call this the Rocky IV effect for some reason. Josh Beckett is the biggest offender of this, being absolutely lights out in the postseason, and showing flashes of brilliance in the regular season, but mainly hovering around mediocrity. He’s now 29 years old, which is not old, but for a pitcher it’s also not 25 either. Last season Beckett struggled a bit with injuries, but quite honestly, every season Beckett struggles a bit with injuries. There is little reason to expect him to be brilliant this year, with the exception of his 2007 season, which may be evidence of his true potential. This season, Beckett will have to go up against a Yankees lineup that is now almost certainly the most dangerous in baseball, as well as a Rays lineup that continues to look extremely good despite its youth. Expect something similar to Beckett’s season last year, with an ERA around 4 and about 12-15 wins, respectable, but nothing spectacular.

Tomorrow will be 5 most underrated, and if I'm feeling frisky, maybe some players to keep your eye on, as they may prove to be interesting