Fantasy Baseball Today

Guess Who?

The 2011 season has the New York Yankees leading the AL East. Most fans are not surprised. The Yankees are suppose to win. Most fans think it will continue all season. But I am not so sure.

Sure, it looks good with Robinson Cano and Alex Rodriguez hitting over ..300, and Curtis Granderson with 7 home runs. It’s also nice to have a new hitting catcher in Russell Martin.

It’s so nice to have 3 wins from A.J. Burnett and 2 from C.C. Sabathia, and 10 saves already from the ageless Mariano Rivera. And who would have thought getting great success from Bartolo Colon with 2 wins, and Freddy Garcia at 1-0, 0.69 ERA.

And the Yankees lead the Major Leagues by far with 41 home runs. Who can possibly catch up to this team, right? But wait, there is something wrong. Let me tell you.

First of all, the Yankees play in the AL East. Therefore, there are no guarantees. And there are other factors.

The Boston Red Sox, everyones’ pre-season favorite, have yet to get hot. And defending AL East champs Tampa Bay is extremely hot and breathing down the Yankees’ backs. And there is more.

The Yankees thus far have had the easiest schedule. But in May the Yankees play 3 with Boston and then 2 with the Rays. Five big games in five days. And that is only the beginning.

In the month of June, the Yankees play a tough schedule, facing almost all top teams the entire month, including 3 more with Boston. By then we’ll see the All-Star break. And then the real trouble begins.

The Yankees play 9 more times against Boston in the 2nd half but they face the Rays 16 times! That will be the telling story. By then the Red Sox should be red hot and the Rays will not go away!

How well will Garcia and Colon perform in the heat of August? How many times can Rivera go for a save before he starts to fail? The AL East competition will cause problems. Burnett will get hit and Sabathia can’t do it all himself.

The Yankees lineup is aging and it’s not fair to expect them to put up the big numbers of the past. The Red Sox have the guns to go the distance and the Rays are out to prove everyone wrong.

What will happen in the end is anyone’s guess. But my guess is that the Yankees will finish in 3rd place and out of the playoffs.

Johnny Cuerto

Early season injuries to star players can be devastating to the Fantasy manager. I know. Finding good free agents to replace your stars are practically impossible. Just hang in there. It’s a long season and they will be back.

Let’s take a look at some of the top stars that are injured and see if we can find the bright side of it all.

Cory Hart – the slugging outfielder may be back on the field as early as tomorrow. Seeing Cory rack up the home runs and scoring big points is very close. But having a rib injury, don’t expect too much power right away.

Evan Longoria – Evan may be back Friday. That would be nice. Many had hoped that he would take his hitting to the next level this season, but with the injury, it is difficult to perceive that. But the old Longoria is good enough.

Zack Greinke – looking for pitching help? Zack is on the way. One more rehab start and he will be back. Zack looks strong and hopefully will pitch very well.

Ryan Zimmerman – from what I hear, Ryan has had setbacks and may not be available to return next week as expected.

Joe Mauer – Mauer is hurting Fantasy managers. Being a high draft pick and not much in catching available to replace him, points are hard to come by. Mauer is making progress but I think mid to late May should be expected.

Josh Hamilton – Josh was on his way to another fine season when he went down. He is rehabbing and hopefully a late May return.

Other key players and projected returns:

Victor Martinez – mid May

Johnny Cuerto – mid May

Neftali Feliz – 2 weeks

Logan Morrison – late May

Rafael Furcal – late May

Aaron Hill – sometime in May

Kendrys Morales – rehabbing but no time frame

Rajai Davis – HBP in rehab game, not known