Kevin Jackman

First rule of fantasy is that there is no fantasy…. Just kidding. But with it being opening weekend in the Majors, I figured it would be a good time to put out a baseball post for those of you who are baseball lovers and fantasy fanatics. So here we go with the Jackman Sports latest feature, FantasyRush.

*All stats are based on a 5×5, 10-team league on Yahoo! Sports.

5 free agents to watch:

• Lance Berkman (St. Louis)-  32% owned
• John Jaso (Tampa Bay)-        29% owned
• Hideki Matsui (Oakland)-      20% owned
• Nate McLouth (Atlanta)-       14% owned
• Cameron Maybin (Florida)-  11% owned

Lance Berkman will assume the title of ‘Pujols Protector’ in the absence of Matt Holliday (appendectomy), which means a cleanup spot in the Cardinals order… John Jaso is going to split time with Ben Zobrist for the leadoff spot in the still potent Rays lineup. Plus he is a catcher and there always seems to be a top catcher who goes down at some point… Hideki Matsui is not the Godzilla of old, but he is still a great source of cheap HR’s and RBI’s to plug into a util spot. He assumes the position of big bopper for the Athletics, which I must admit is pretty sad… Nate McClouth used to be good, now he is fighting to remain relevant. The thing keeping McLouth fantasy relevant is the fact that if he hits .250, he is a very strong 20/20 candidate… Cameron Maybin is running out of time on his prospect clock, but now that he is hitting in Petco he may actually return on some of his promise. Most hitters lose value in San Diego, but the large stadium suits Maybin very well, giving him good chances of 5+ xbh.

5 owned, overrated players:

• Buster Posey (San Francisco)- 35.5 ADP
• Jimmy Rollins (Philadelphia)- 45.0 ADP
• Mariano Rivera (New York)-    61.6 ADP
• Dan Uggla (Atlanta)-                    34.6 ADP
• Adrian Beltre (Texas)-                48.6 ADP

I am sorry, but when does half a season make a player worthy of a top 35 pick, much less a catcher. Posey has only proved he is capable of being a top 5 catcher, he hasn’t proved he is one… Jimmy Rollins hasn’t had a top 50 season since 2007. And since than, he go on the DL like its his job… Don’t get me wrong, Mariano Rivera is still a very very good closer. But he is less likely to pitch in back to back games like he used to, which means to less saves, and less strikeouts… Dan Uggla was never this high before and it’s not like he is going to a better hitting environment. He won’t maintain his 2010 average, so if that’s why you drafted him, you have made a big mistake… Beltre is ONLY good in contract years. Any other year he is a lazy bum who just collects a paycheck like the rest of us.

Jackman