Value Bets
 
It's time for fantasy baseball to start again and with it you will get
every expert’s opinion on who to take and who to avoid.  We get truck loads
of articles on sleepers to watch out for as well as players we need to
avoid like the plague.  What I have always wanted the experts to write
about are various players that you could draft relatively late that could be
potential top of the heap guys for the upcoming season.  I did some
analysis and have come up with guys to take at every position that could
give you a great value.  So here goes!!
 
C - Kenji Johjima (Mariners) - I really like Johjima and the value you
could get here.  He comes over from Japan with a lot of power which is rare
with catchers these days.  The most attractive part about him is he
apparently has a very good eye and doesn't strike out too much.  Good power
with low K's could pay huge dividends in a head to head league.  He has
been projected as the 12th best catcher by most experts.  Take him late and
reap the benefits.  Only downside is that he plays in Safeco field in
Seattle.
 
1B - Ryan Howard (Phillies) - The reigning NL rookie of the year is
absolutely destroying the ball this spring.  He easily has the potential to
hit 50 plus HR's with 120 RBI's and a BA of .290.  The big drawback with
Howard is his K totals.  Scouts around the league are saying that Howard
worked hard this off season to make his swing more inside out to increase
his contact percentage.  It looks like it is working as Howard has a
slugging percentage north of 1.000!!!
 
2B - Placido Polanco (Tigers) - The Phillies absolutely hated to trade
Polanco last year but they had to do it with the emergence of Chase Utley.
Polanco was constantly complaining to the Phillies that he wanted to play
everyday so they did him a favor and traded him to the Tigers where he
excelled.  Polanco has one of the lowest strikeout rations in the league
and actually has decent pop.  He hit .500 in the WBC for the Dominicans. He
is a clutch hitter who will score a ton of runs and could make a run as the
top 2B in fantasy baseball.
 
3B - Chipper Jones (Braves) - He is being projected as the 11-15th best
third baseman by most experts.  I couldn't disagree more.  He had a big
second half and was one of the only players to perform well for USA in the
WBC hitting .353 with 2 HR's.  Chipper has a very good eye and will draw a
lot of walks.  He doesn't strikeout too much either.  The big setback with
Chipper is his health.  Well worth the gamble in the latter rounds of the
draft.
 
SS - Clint Barmes (Rockies) - Another guy falling in the 11-15 range for
shortstops.  The guy was absolutely on fire before getting injured in early
June hitting .329 with 8 HR's.  He was in the top 3 of fantasy shortstops
before the injury and there is no reason to think he can't return to form
this year.  He hits in front of Todd Helton and getting to hit every other
day at Coors field is another bonus.
 
OF - Vernon Wells (Blue Jays) - Wells is hitting the fantasy breakout age
of 27.  He has already had several good seasons under his belt but this
could be the year he explodes.  Added protection in the lineup with the
additions of Troy Glaus, Benji Molina and Lyle Overbay should help with his
runs scored and RBI totals.  He has been projected right around 20 for
outfielders but could be poised for an Andruw Jones type season.
 
SP - John Patterson  (Nationals) - I hate the potential run support numbers
he could get but you can't ignore the numbers he put up last year.
Patterson had a very good era at 3.13 and his whip was solid at 1.19.  I
really like his 8.48 K's per 9 number which is necessary to be a good
fantasy pitcher. He had 2 complete games so you know he can finish games
when necessary. He has 15-20 game win potential that you can collect in the
latter rounds of your draft.
 
RP - Bobby Jenks (White Sox) - Trendy pick with his postseason performance
but still a good value.  He is falling in the 8-12 range for closers but
could play more like a number 1.  Good team should translate into a lot of
opportunities for Jenks.  Jenks throws gas and strikes out a lot of
batters.  Only downside on Jenks is his high walk totals.