A FANTASY BASEBALL DRAFT LOBBY – Finally, baseball is almost here.
We’ve reached the single digits. In fact, we’re just five days from Opening Day.
So, you know what that means, right?
Fantasy baseball is about to start! With the start of the season just a few days away, we’ve now entered draft season. In fact, as I write this column I’m fresh off my third and final draft. What a time to be alive.
So instead of hawt taeks this week, we have some hawt fantasy baseball tips.
Enjoy.
Get your hands on Gary Sanchez. No, it isn’t Aaron Judge that’s going to benefit most from Giancarlo Stanton. Nope. That would be Gary Sanchez.
The slugging Yankees catcher has had an impressive spring and his new manager, Aaron Boone, can’t say enough good things about him.
With Stanton added to the lineup, it’s quite possible that both Judge and the former Marlin will be protecting Sanchez this season.
Sanchez is in for the best season of his young career. Just watch, he’ll be in the MVP conversation.
Don’t overpay for Shohei Otani. Look, I’m not saying to stay away from Shohei Otani in your drafts this week, but don’t feel the need to grab him at first chance before the rest of your fellow owners.
Otani’s spring has been tumultuous to say the least.
A 27.00 ERA in 2.2 innings and a .107 batting average with nine strikeouts in 28 at-bats was certainly not what the Angels signed up for when they signed the dual-threat. But here we are.
Despite his struggles, Otani is going to start the season in the majors. Is that the best idea? Probably not because he’s not a major-league ready hitter but Otani will likely find his way on the mound.
If you play in an ESPN league, Otani is definitely worth it because he can be rostered as both a pitcher and hitter in one player. However, Otani is both a pitcher and hitter in Yahoo! leagues. He’s not even worth taking as a batter in Yahoo, but he’s worth the investment as a pitcher.
He’s a high-ceiling pitcher and as long as you’re not relying on him as one of your top pitchers, he’s worth the roster spot.
Ronald Acuna is worth the risk. While Ronald Acuna will start in Triple-A for the first month or two of the season, he’s the anti-Otani. Beat your fellow owners to the punch.
This guy is going to be a star and is worth a top-125 pick even if he sits on your bench for a little bit.
Acuna has the potential to hit both 15 home runs and steal 30 bases. And if you’re in a keeper league, there’s an even bigger incentive to draft him.
Mike Zunino is a dark-horse catcher candidate. Catcher is often one of the last positions to get filled.
But if you wait to long, you may be left with a catcher that will be detrimental to your team. If you do want to wait on a catcher this year, a good choice is Mike Zunino, the Mariners catcher.
Zunino has yet to fill his potential, however, this could be the year.
After playing a career-high 124 games this past season, hitting 25 home runs and registering 64 RBI the former No. 3 could take that next step forward this year.
Zunino is already a top-10 catcher, but when is all said and done, he could slide into the top 5.
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