While snow keeps the Major League Baseball season buried for another month, fantasy baseball leagues are already sprouting up. For those of you who have yet to draft your teams, here are four players to target who can be grabbed after pick-40.
Chone Figgins
This speedster for the Los Angeles Angels is coming off a disappointing 2006 season, in which for the first time in three years, he failed to hit over .290. He still managed to steal 50 bags, and if Figgins can creep his on-base percentage back over .350, there’s a good chance he will steal over 60, along with amassing a healthy dose of triple-digit runs. While you can spot him in the outfield and at third base, those stock-heavy positions are not where you want Figgins. Still eligible at second base, he will be the second-best player at the position behind Philadelphia’s Chase Utley, who will be drafted among the first 12 picks of your draft. Figgins, on the other hand, can be snatched up in the 45-55 range.
Gary Sheffield
The man with the menacing batting stance had a shoulder injury that limited him to 39 games last year. This will cause some to shy away; don’t be one of them. Few remember the nine games he played in Yankee pinstripes at the tail end of the season, when he notched a quarter of his extra-base hits in a four-day span. With a new home in Detroit, Sheffield will be eager to prove he still has it. In six of his last eight seasons he has hit 34 dingers or more, all while never having accumulated more than 83 strikeouts. As the offensive focus of the defending American League champions, look for Sheffield to hit over 30 home runs and amass 110 runs batted in, while keeping the K total under 80. All this and more for the low, low price of a late seventh-round pick (65-75).
Matt Cain
When former San Francisco star Jason Schmidt left for the Dodgers, the Giants went across the bay for a new number-one pitcher in Barry Zito. But their real ace was by the Golden Gate all along. At first glance, Matt Cain’s numbers are less than appealing: 13 wins, 12 losses and a 4.12 earned run average. However, the former first-round pick is only 22 and has the potential to erupt this year. He has limited hitters to a sub-.210 batting average against, and boasts a 1.21 WHIP (walks plus hits per inning pitched). While he won’t get much help from a depressing, aging offence in San Francisco, he’s still a good bet for 15 wins, while sporting an ERA around 3.50 and over 180 strikeouts. Those are numbers you can expect from second-tier stars Felix Hernandez or C.C. Sabathia. Cain can be had 20 picks later, around 95-105.
Anibal Sanchez
While he might be the iffiest prospect on this list, Anibal Sanchez could garner the most upside of any pick in your draft. The 22-year-old pitcher from Venezuela made headlines with a no-hitter in the last month of the 2006 regular season, but he’s more than just a flash in the pan. Finishing with a 10-3 record and a 2.83 ERA in only 114 innings, one should expect closer to mortal numbers as hitters get accustomed to his funky delivery. Where his value really inflates is in leagues that reward complete games. With no established closer, Florida tends to let their young guns learn on the mound. Expect Sanchez to grab at least three complete games and try to snag him post-pick-160.
