The Underrated
Here goes... Every year someone comes out of nowhere to lead fantasy baseball squads to the top of their league. Those of us in competitive leagues know that the Josh Hamilton's of the world are probably hyped names come draft day, representing the Funstonian "sleeper" of the year. If you drafted Hamilton (or counterdrafted him, as Pete did in both leagues we share, only to realize how much he should listen to me), you are probably having a fine season. But there are other names that somehow slip in the draft boards only to provide a ton of value off the waiver wire. I would like to list all the guys I think are underrated, and later in the week we will try to explain why each of us has given such players the cold shoulder at some point. Some of these guys continue to be underappreciated, while a few have been touted, though few to the real talent that they've displayed thus far.- Carlos Quentin: 6 (unlisted)
- Ryan Ludwick: 8 (unlisted)
- Kevin Youkilis: 20 (177)
- Aubrey Huff: 22 (unlisted)
- Dustin Pedroia: 29 (168)
- Nate McClouth: 30 (192)
- Xavier Nady: 51 (185)
- Melvin Mora: 57 (unlisted)
- Mark Reynolds: 61 (unlisted)
- Milton Bradley: 69 (227)
- Jorge Cantu: 71 (unlisted)
- Randy Winn: 87 (220)
Labels: Economic Editorials
posted by Zachary Piso at
12:15 PM
3 Comments:
i'd say they're underrated. from mora on down, i wouldn't pick up unless i was desperate due to an injury. quentin has been huge for a 2 of my 4 teams. i picked him up fairly early. and i picked up youk on 1 team after he was dropped after his slow start. he's been a stud.
If memory serves me, most of these players are from teams who weren't expected to put up solid offensive numbers. I'll make some of what I feel are obvious observations, though some outside opinions would be greatly appreciated.
All From Poorly Projected Offenses: (exception-Youkilis, Pedroia, Reynolds, possibly Quentin)
All From Recently Unsuccessful Teams: (exception-Youkilis, Pedroia, Reynolds)
Relatively New Acquisitions (Quentin, Bradley, Cantu) or Relatively Recent Depth Chart Ascension (McClouth, Ludwick)
Why wouldn't you pick up any of the players from Mora on down? Especially in deeper leagues that stretch rosters and require an extra corner infielder, Mark Reynolds and Jorge Cantu would make fine additions.
For example, Reynolds' batting average and OPS may not be comparable to a premier 3B like Aramis Ramirez, but his other numbers sure are. Plus Reynolds will get you 10 stolen bases along the way.
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