MLB.com's Fantasy 411

The Mock Draft Continues...

2008-12-01T19:26:27Z

On tomorrow's show, the results of Rounds 5 and 6 of the early '09 mock draft that Mike and Cory are participating in will be unveiled. I'll update this tomorrow but in the meantime here's a reminder of how Rounds 1-4 went.

Also, just a note that Sheehan will be on Thursday's show.

-Zach

R1 P1     Rhett Oldham         Ramirez, Hanley
R1 P2     Yogi FBM24         Rodriguez, Alex
R1 P3     Schwartzstops   Reyes, Jose
R1 P4     Paul Greco             Wright, David
R1 P5     Adam Ronis        Pujols, Albert
R1 P6     Lenny Melnick        Rollins, Jimmy
R1 P7     Jeff Erickson          Utley, Chase
R1 P8     Tony Cincotta    Cabrera, Miguel
R1 P9     Eric Stashin         Howard, Ryan
R1 P10 Mike Siano          Kinsler, Ian
R1 P11 Jason Collette       Sizemore, Grady
R1 P12 Sean in DC            Braun, Ryan

R2 P1     Sean in DC           Teixeira, Mark
R2 P2     Jason Collette      Pedroia, Dustin
R2 P3     Mike Siano           Beltran, Carlos
R2 P4     Eric Stashin          Hamilton, Josh
R2 P5     Tony Cincotta       Suzuki, Ichiro
R2 P6     Jeff Erickson         Upton, B.J.
R2 P7     Lenny Melnick       Fielder, Prince
R2 P8     Adam Ronis          Crawford, Carl
R2 P9     Paul Greco            Holliday, Matt
R2 P10 Schwartzstops     Soriano, Alfonso
R2 P11 Yogi FBM24           Berkman, Lance
R2 P12 Rhett Oldham       Phillips, Brandon

R3 P1     Rhett Oldham       Santana, Johan
R3 P2     Yogi FBM24           Lee, Carlos
R3 P3     Schwartzstops     Roberts, Brian
R3 P4     Paul Greco           Morneau, Justin
R3 P5     Adam Ronis        Longoria, Evan
R3 P6     Lenny Melnick      Guerrero, Vladimir
R3 P7     Jeff Erickson        Quentin, Carlos
R3 P8     Tony Cincotta      Ramirez, Manny
R3 P9     Eric Stashin         Sabathia, C.C.
R3 P10 Mike Siano          Martin, Russell
R3 P11 Jason Collette     Rios, Alex
R3 P12 Sean in DC          Lincecum, Tim

R4 P1     Sean in DC          Bay, Jason
R4 P2     Jason Collette     Hamels, Cole
R4 P3     Mike Siano          Dunn, Adam
R4 P4     Eric Stashin        Gonzalez, Adrian
R4 P5     Tony Cincotta     McCann, Brian
R4 P6     Jeff Erickson       Mauer, Joe
R4 P7     Lenny Melnick    Ramirez, Aramis
R4 P8     Adam Ronis        Kemp, Matt
R4 P9     Paul Greco         Hart, Corey
R4 P10 Schwartzstops Markakis, Nick
R4 P11 Yogi FBM24       Granderson, Curtis
R4 P12 Rhett Oldham   Peavy, Jake

Unreads + Mayo AFL Article

2008-11-25T19:51:30Z

12 team 5x5 mixed keeper entering 3rd year. Need to keep 5, no values attached. Without trading up, who's your top 5. If you could rank all 10 players that would be great then I can start upgrading my keepers.

C     Soto
2B   Pedroia
SS   J. Reyes
3B   A. Ramirez
OF Sizemore, Soriano, Quentin, Ordonez
P    Webb, Peavy

Danielle from NJ

Hey Danielle,

You've got a ton of great keeper options here. Reyes, Sizemore, and Soriano, in that order, are definites. While Soriano's injury risk status and declining stolen base totals are a concern, he's undoubtedly a top five round player. I actually see Alfonso dropping quite a bit in '09 drafts, making him a nice value pick, but under no circumstances will he last into the sixth round.

After this trio, the decision gets tougher. As much as I appreciate A-Ram's consistency, there's a lot of depth at third base this year, so I'll pass. Quentin will be overvalued heading into '09, and I need to see more before placing him in the elite class of outfielders. Magglio's still an appealing fantasy player, but his stats saw a significant hit across the board in '08. Ordonez turns 35 in January. I'd stay away! It's probably a good idea to take one of Webb/Peavy. This call is a real toss up but I'm giving the nod to Webb (good team and no uncertainty as to where he'll pitch). If you can, try packaging the other pitcher with, for example, A-Ram to get an A-Rod or a Wright. Losing either Peavy or Webb for nothing would be a real waste! If you can't pull off a deal, take Pedroia as the fifth keeper. His dominance in average and runs narrowly beats out Soto's value at the thin catcher position.

All in all, my ranking is Reyes, Sizemore, Soriano, Webb, Peavy, Pedroia, Soto, Quentin, Aramis, Magglio. Hope this helps.

Hi guys,

Should I be looking to trade Utley for Kinsler or J-Ro, or stay put and hope that he comes back refreshed and better than ever.

Cheers.
Kevin

Hey Kevin,

There's little doubt in my mind that Utley will come back strong from his injury. Despite the possibility he misses the season's first couple of weeks, I see a ton of upside if you can snatch him up at some point in the second round. Adding Kinsler or Rollins is tempting, but it's not like these guys come risk-free. Kinsler's missed significant portions of the past two years due to injury while Rollins' drastic loss of power is alarming. For now, I'd sit tight with Utley.

Zach Steinhorn

***See post below for more info on Utley

And here's Jonathan Mayo's AFL prospects article

And finally, Mayo's thoughts on three other players the guys didn't get to on today's show:

Eric Young Jr. - Opened a lot of eyes in the AFL. If he can stick in the OF - and it looks like he'll be ok there - he's got a chance to be a real good leadoff type. Speed off the charts, knows how to steal bases and a little better hitter than some may have thought.

Chris Nelson - A bit of a late bloomer (2004 draftee), looks like he's figuring some things out. Did well with switch over to 2B, which will help him get to bigs (flexibility always good). Runs pretty well, some extra-base pop.

Josh Donaldson - Will be more valuable if he can stick behind the plate. Legit power from right side. Hit a moon shot in the AFL championship game. Pretty athletic, handled 1B OK when I saw him. Really has impressed since going to Oakland in the Harden trade.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Utley and Feliz Injury Updates

2008-11-25T19:45:34Z

Phillies second baseman Chase Utley had surgery on his right hip yesterday. The surgery was performed by Dr. Bryan Kelly at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York. Utley had an arthroscopic debridement of his labrum and a bony lesion that was present. Dr. Kelly reported the surgery went well and the findings yesterday were consistent with the diagnostic studies performed prior to surgery. It is anticipated that he will have a four to six month recovery period as previously described.

Third baseman Pedro Feliz had a lumbar discectomy performed on November 20by Dr. Robert Watkins in Los Angeles and the procedure went well. The discectomy was performed on the L4-5 disc and Feliz will return home to complete his rehabilitation program, which is expected to require eight to 12 weeks.

Updated '09 Mock Draft (through Round 4)

2008-11-25T16:47:50Z

R1 P1     Rhett Oldham         Ramirez, Hanley
R1 P2     Yogi FBM24         Rodriguez, Alex
R1 P3     Schwartzstops   Reyes, Jose
R1 P4     Paul Greco             Wright, David
R1 P5     Adam Ronis        Pujols, Albert
R1 P6     Lenny Melnick        Rollins, Jimmy
R1 P7     Jeff Erickson          Utley, Chase
R1 P8     Tony Cincotta    Cabrera, Miguel
R1 P9     Eric Stashin         Howard, Ryan
R1 P10 Mike Siano          Kinsler, Ian
R1 P11 Jason Collette       Sizemore, Grady
R1 P12 Sean in DC            Braun, Ryan

R2 P1     Sean in DC           Teixeira, Mark
R2 P2     Jason Collette      Pedroia, Dustin
R2 P3     Mike Siano           Beltran, Carlos
R2 P4     Eric Stashin          Hamilton, Josh
R2 P5     Tony Cincotta       Suzuki, Ichiro
R2 P6     Jeff Erickson         Upton, B.J.
R2 P7     Lenny Melnick       Fielder, Prince
R2 P8     Adam Ronis          Crawford, Carl
R2 P9     Paul Greco            Holliday, Matt
R2 P10 Schwartzstops     Soriano, Alfonso
R2 P11 Yogi FBM24           Berkman, Lance
R2 P12 Rhett Oldham       Phillips, Brandon

R3 P1     Rhett Oldham       Santana, Johan
R3 P2     Yogi FBM24           Lee, Carlos
R3 P3     Schwartzstops     Roberts, Brian
R3 P4     Paul Greco           Morneau, Justin
R3 P5     Adam Ronis        Longoria, Evan
R3 P6     Lenny Melnick      Guerrero, Vladimir
R3 P7     Jeff Erickson        Quentin, Carlos
R3 P8     Tony Cincotta      Ramirez, Manny
R3 P9     Eric Stashin         Sabathia, C.C.
R3 P10 Mike Siano          Martin, Russell
R3 P11 Jason Collette     Rios, Alex
R3 P12 Sean in DC          Lincecum, Tim

R4 P1     Sean in DC          Bay, Jason
R4 P2     Jason Collette     Hamels, Cole
R4 P3     Mike Siano          Dunn, Adam
R4 P4     Eric Stashin        Gonzalez, Adrian
R4 P5     Tony Cincotta     McCann, Brian
R4 P6     Jeff Erickson       Mauer, Joe
R4 P7     Lenny Melnick    Ramirez, Aramis
R4 P8     Adam Ronis        Kemp, Matt
R4 P9     Paul Greco         Hart, Corey
R4 P10 Schwartzstops Markakis, Nick
R4 P11 Yogi FBM24       Granderson, Curtis
R4 P12 Rhett Oldham   Peavy, Jake

The curse of the K?????

2008-11-19T17:28:24Z

Burnett is big news here on the east coast not only because the Yankees will be players but because the Red Sox seem interested in making it a bidding war. click here for story

It got me thinking since I personally wouldn't want a guy on my team who has been on the DL 9 times since 2000 what is the big deal about Burnett? Is it the electric stuff? Ok I can see that, is it the fact he owned the Sox and Yanks last year? I say so what. Or is it the K? Then I realized I can't do anything about it so why not just talk fantasy value for Burnett since I can surely make sure I don't have him on my team regardless of what uniform he wears.

Since Burnett led the league in K's this year he is obviously on the fantasy radar. I then asked myself who has led their respective leagues in K's the past five years and what did they do the year after that?

This info below is all predicated on agreeing that it takes more effort to strike a guy out then to pitch to contact. It may not help your ERA (just ask Carlos Silva) but it may help your longevity (just ask Tom Glavine).

Thanks to Zach I am able to show you the league leader in K's from the past five years and what they did the following year with some comments.

2004

NL: Johnson 290

In 2005 the Unit heads to the Bronx pushes a cameraman on day one and finishes up with a decent record of 17-8 with a 3.79 ERA and 211 K's in 225.2 IP. Good year but definitely not the previous season numbers. "Pressure" of NY? AL Lineups?

AL: Santana 265

Johan is insane and the one person who made this study less fun. He went 16-7 with a 2.87 ERA and 238 in 231.2.

2005

NL: Peavy 216

Peavy had a terrible year after leading league in K's in 05' He went 11-14 with a disgusting 4.09 for an NL pitcher in Petco but did have 215 K's in 202.1 IP. We will see this with Peavy again shortly.

AL: Santana 238

See above. Gotta love it.

2006

NL: Harang 216

Harangatang did well in 07' by going 16-6 and striking out 218 in 231.2. However we all know what happened this year when he stunk up the joint in a bad bad way. 6 wins and a 4.78 ERA. Did Harang buck the tend well yeah but has it "caught up" to him? We'll find out in 09'. I sure hope not.

AL: Santana 245

Moving along.

2007

NL: Peavy 240

Peavy regains form in 2007 and then goes 10-11 on granted a bad Padres team and has a very solid 2.85 ERA with 166 K's in 173.2 IP. This is more about the IP then anything else. They were down due to time spent on the DL with elbow problems so again was all the effort needed to rack up those K's? click here for story

AL: Kazmir 239

Kaz is very interesting to this whole posting. We always knew about his strikeout potential and it arrived statistically but I think most people wondered what would happen next. What did happen next was Kaz started 08' on the DL and then came back to have a dominant May as he went 5-1 with a 1.22 ERA and with 38 K's in 37 IP. Still I felt he could not keep it up, I sold high and ended up being right as he only had seven more wins total after May and months where his ERA was over four and a September ERA over five. He continued to deliver on the K's but it was like he was a one category guy.

2008

NL: Lincecum 265

Everyone may be right this guy may just be a freak and this is the beginning of something very special. The Giants are obviously taking it seriously I mean they just gave Affleldt eight million. Looking forward to late night games when Lincecum is on the bump.

AL: Burnett 231

Buyer beware that's all I'm saying.

-Siano

Crisp to Royals

2008-11-19T17:18:53Z

This helps both Ellsbury and Coco's fantasy value. Could also mean DeJesus is on his way out...

-Zach

***ALSO NOTE: Jeff Erickson of Rotowire.com will be phoning in on tomorrow's show (Thursday)

KANSAS CITY, MO (November 19, 2008) - The Kansas City Royals today announced that the team has acquired center fielder Coco Crisp from the Boston Red Sox in exchange for right-handed pitcher Ramon Ramirez.

"We're delighted to have Coco join the Royals organization," Royals Senior Vice President-Baseball Operations/General Manager Dayton Moore said. "He is a championship-caliber player who will help this team in a number of ways as we move forward. We'd like to wish Ramon Ramirez nothing but the best. He performed extremely well for us last year as a key component of our bullpen and he will be missed."

Crisp, 29, has spent the past three seasons with Boston, helping the Red Sox to the 2007 World Series title and the 2008 American League Championship Series. The switch-hitter batted .283 (102-for-361) with 18 doubles, three triples, seven home runs, 41 RBI and 55 runs scored in 118 games for Boston last year. He stole 20 bases in 27 attempts, marking the fourth time in his career and the third season in a row he's reached the 20-steal mark. Crisp hit well down the stretch as the Red Sox fought off several teams for the A.L. Wild Card, as he compiled a .341 average in the season's final two months. He continued that success into the postseason, hitting .417 (10-for-24) while appearing in seven Red Sox playoff games. His game-tying two-out single in the eighth inning of Game 5 of the ALCS completed a historic seven-run comeback for the Sox.

The 6-foot, 180-pounder is a career .280 hitter in seven seasons with the Indians (2002-05) and Red Sox (2006-08). The speedster has been successful in 124 of 170 stolen base attempts (73%) in his career. Crisp posted back-to-back sensational seasons for the Indians in 2004 and 2005, hitting .297 and .300, respectively, and combining for 66 doubles, 31 home runs and 35 stolen bases.

The Red Sox acquired Crisp along with David Riske and Josh Bard in exchange for Guillermo Mota, Andy Marte, Kelly Shoppach, cash considerations and a player to be named on Jan. 27, 2006. Had a standout defensive season in center for the Sox in 2007, committing just one error in 416 total chances, a .998 fielding percentage. In the process, he established a Boston club record for most consecutive errorless chances as an outfielder with 429.

Born in Los Angeles, Coco's full name is Covelli Loyce Crisp. He now resides in Desert Hot Springs, Calif. Crisp, a graduate of Inglewood (Calif.) High, was one of eight alumni from the RBI program to play in the Majors at the start of the 2008 season. He was originally a seventh-round selection of the St. Louis Cardinals in 1999 before being acquired by the Indians in 2002 for left-handed pitcher Chuck Finley.

The 27-year old Ramirez went 3-2 with a 2.64 ERA in 71 relief appearances for the Royals in 2008, his first season in Kansas City.

Latest Roundtable

2008-11-18T17:40:47Z

Our experts discuss which players benefit most fantasy-wise from the recent trades around the league in the Fantasy Roundtable. And no, I wasn't aware that my pick was going to be the same as both Mike's and Cory's!

And here's an article published in SportsBusiness Journal that discusses the impact of fantasy sports players on consumption.

Mock Draft for '09

2008-11-18T16:59:59Z

Over the course of the next couple of weeks, Mike, Cory, and several other members of the fantasy expert community will be participating in an early mock draft for 2009. Here are the first two rounds. More to come as the draft progresses...

-Zach

R1 P1     Rhett Oldham      Ramirez, Hanley
R1 P2     Yogi FBM24         Rodriguez, Alex
R1 P3     Schwartzstops    Reyes, Jose
R1 P4     Paul Greco          Wright, David
R1 P5     Adam Ronis         Pujols, Albert
R1 P6     Lenny Melnick   Rollins, Jimmy
R1 P7     Jeff Erickson     Utley, Chase
R1 P8     Tony Cincotta     Cabrera, Miguel
R1 P9     Eric Stashin      Howard, Ryan
R1 P10     Mike Siano        Kinsler, Ian
R1 P11     Jason Collette Sizemore, Grady
R1 P12     Sean in DC       Braun, Ryan

R2 P1     Sean in DC         Teixeira, Mark
R2 P2     Jason Collette    Pedroia, Dustin
R2 P3     Mike Siano         Beltran, Carlos
R2 P4     Eric Stashin        Hamilton, Josh
R2 P5     Tony Cincotta     Suzuki, Ichiro
R2 P6     Jeff Erickson       Upton, B.J.
R2 P7     Lenny Melnick     Fielder, Prince
R2 P8     Adam Ronis        Crawford, Carl
R2 P9     Paul Greco          Holliday, Matt
R2 P10     Schwartzstops Soriano, Alfonso
R2 P11     Yogi FBM24       Berkman, Lance
R2 P12     Rhett Oldham   Phillips, Brandon

It's Official: Holliday to A's

2008-11-12T17:08:33Z

As discussed on yesterday's show, a bad lineup and a bigger ballpark = significant loss in fantasy value for Holliday. Street's now a mid-tier closer with some risk (injury prone and the Coors factor) while Gonzalez is an intriguing late round flier.

-Zach

OAKLAND, Calif. - The Oakland A's acquired outfielder Matt Holliday from the Colorado Rockies in exchange for pitchers Greg Smith and Huston Street and outfielder Carlos Gonzalez in a trade announced today.

Holliday, the National League MVP runner-up and leading Major League All-Star vote-getter (player vote) in 2007, finished third in the National League with a .321 batting average last year. A .319 career hitter in five seasons with the Rockies, he has the fifth best average in the majors over the last five years and has hit .300 or better in each of the last four seasons. The 28-year old outfielder added 25 home runs and 88 RBI in 139 games in 2008 and also stole 28 bases, which ranked ninth in the NL.

"Improving the offense was clearly our stated priority this offseason," said Billy Beane, the A's vice president and general manager. "Trading for a player of Matt's caliber begins the process of creating an environment in which our young hitters can continue to improve and our young pitchers can continue to develop into one of the best staffs in the league."

Holliday enjoyed his best season in 2007 when he led the NL in batting (.340), hits (216), RBI (137), extra-base hits (92) and doubles (50) while finishing third in runs (120) and fourth in home runs (36). Propelling the Rockies to their first-ever World Series appearance, he hit five home runs in the 2007 postseason, the most of any player during those playoffs. The 6-4, 235-pound slugger batted .333 (5-for-15) with two homers and four RBI against Arizona in the National League Championship Series to earn NLCS Most Valuable Player honors.

A native of Stillwater, Okla., Holliday received 336 votes in the 2007 MVP balloting, only 17 votes shy of the winning candidate, Philadelphia's Jimmy Rollins. The right-handed hitter is a three-time National League All-Star (2006-08) and has a two-year contract through the 2009 season. He will be eligible for free agency following next season.

Gonzalez made his major league debut with Oakland last year and hit .242 with four home runs and 26 RBI in 85 games over two stints with the A's. He was one of six players acquired from Arizona in the Dan Haren trade on December 14, 2007, and began the season at Triple-A Sacramento before making his debut with Oakland on May 30. The 23-year old outfielder was named the A's number one prospect by Baseball America prior to the 2008 season

Smith was also acquired in the Haren trade and also made his big league debut with Oakland last year. He posted a 7-16 record and a 4.16 ERA in a team leading 32 starts and led the majors with 16 pickoffs. The 24-year old left-hander also topped the A's in innings (190.1), walks (87), home runs (21) and runs (92). His losses tied for seventh most in Oakland history.

Street began the 2008 season as the A's closer and converted 18 of 25 (72.0%) save opportunities, which was the second lowest percentage among American League relievers. He was replaced by Brad Ziegler as closer on August 8 and compiled a 7-5 record and a 3.73 ERA in 63 appearances. The 25-year old right-hander saved 94 games in his four seasons with Oakland, which ranks fourth in A's history.

411 Returns Tuesday!!!

2008-11-07T17:06:51Z

Brad Lidge's value is at an all-time high after capping off a perfect season with a World Series title.

Who's improved their fantasy stock due to impressive postseason showings? The guys will discuss this among other topics during the first offseason edition of the Fantasy 411 Tuesday at 2 pm ET. The 411 will run throughout the winter on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2-2:30, so start posting all your questions and we'll answer them either on the blog or on the show. It's never too early to talk keepers and '09 draft!

-Zach

Latest Roundtable

2008-11-05T18:26:27Z

Our experts discuss which young players have improved their fantasy stock with strong postseason performances.

***The 411 will be returning on Tuesday, November 11th and will air each Tuesday and Thursday from 2-2:30 pm ET.

Cameron Remains a Brewer

2008-11-03T17:09:14Z

***The 411 will be returning on Tuesday, November 11th and will air each Tuesday and Thursday from 2-2:30 pm ET.

Well this takes away one of the Yankees' center field options! You know the deal with Cameron. Power, some speed, and a terrible average. Getting up there in age but still a solid late round pick.

BREWERS EXERCISE CLUB OPTION FOR MIKE CAMERON

Outfielder Signed Through Next Season

MILWAUKEE - The Milwaukee Brewers today exercised the 2009 club option for outfielder Mike Cameron. The announcement was made by Executive Vice President and General Manager Doug Melvin.

Cameron, 35, batted .243 with 25 HR, 70 RBI and 17 stolen bases in 120 games during his first season with the Brewers. He made 119 starts, all in center field, and committed only one error the entire year. He finished just three stolen bases short of his sixth career 20/20 season.

Jacobs to Royals!!!

2008-10-30T17:39:14Z

He is moving away from pitcher-friendly Dolphin Stadium, but the KC lineup is terrible. So I say this trade significantly hurts Jacobs' value. When was the last time a KC hitter was really worth owning in a standard fantasy league? Carlos Beltran? Mike Sweeney? What do you guys think?

-Zach

KANSAS CITY, MO (October 30, 2008) - The Kansas City Royals have acquired first baseman Mike Jacobs from the Florida Marlins in exchange for right-handed pitcher Leo Nunez.

"We're delighted to acquire a productive hitter to impact the middle of our lineup," said Dayton Moore, Royals' Senior Vice President of Baseball Operations and General Manager. "Mike's a winner and has a very aggressive approach to baseball and we look forward to his presence on our club."

Jacobs, who turned 28 today, hit .247 (118-for-477) with a career-high 32 home runs and 93 RBI for the Marlins in 2008. The left-handed hitter and right-handed thrower also recorded 27 doubles, two triples and scored 67 runs in 141 games. His 32 homers were the second-most among left-handed hitters in Marlins history, trailing Carlos Delgado's 33 in 2005. Jacobs' 18 home runs away from home in 2008 ranked tied for seventh in the Majors. He homered once every 14.9 at bats, which ranked 10th in the Majors and among first basemen trailed only Ryan Howard and Albert Pujols.

The 6-foot-3, 215-pound Jacobs was acquired by Florida from the New York Mets on November 24, 2005 with Yusmeiro Petit and Grant Psomas in exchange for Carlos Delgado and cash. He is a .262 career hitter with 80 home runs and 247 RBI. He homered in his first Major League at bat on August 21, 2005 with the Mets. Originally a ninth-round pick of the Mets in 1999, he was named the New York Minor League Player of the Year in both 2003 and 2005.

Drafted as a catcher, Jacobs was converted to first base during the 2005 season. He and his wife, Vanessa, had twin daughters, Gabriella and Havana, on July 29, 2007.

The 25-year old Nunez was 4-1 with a 2.98 ERA in 45 relief appearances for the Royals in 2008.

Angels News & Notes

2008-10-28T20:02:49Z

ANAHEIM, CA - The Angels Tuesday announced the club will exercise 2009 options on Vladimir Guerrero and John Lackey and decline the 2009 option on Garret Anderson. Additionally, Gary Matthews Jr. and Mike Napoli will undergo surgeries this week. Guerrero underwent successful surgery on the medial meniscus in his left knee earlier this month. These announcements were made today by Angels' General Manager Tony Reagins.

Guerrero, 32, had surgery on the medial meniscus in his left knee on October 10th at the Steadman-Hawkins Clinic in Vail, CO. The surgery was performed by Dr. Richard Steadman. Guerrero is expected to be ready for Spring Training. In 2008, the veteran batted .303 (164/541) with 31 doubles, three triples, 27 home runs and 91 RBI in 143 games in 2008. He logged a .300 average and at least 25 home runs for the 11th consecutive season, joining Lou Gehrig (1927-37) as the only two players in MLB history to do so. An eight-time All-Star, Guerrero owns a club-best .323 average in five seasons as an Angel. Originally signed by the Montreal Expos as a free agent (March 1, 1993), the Dominican Republic native is hitting .323 (2136/6617) overall with 404 doubles, 43 triples, 392 home runs and 1268 RBI in 1,750 major league games.

Lackey, 30, completed 2008 with a 12-5 record, three complete games and a 3.75 ERA (163.1 IP - 68 ER) in 23 starts, posting 40 walks and 130 strikeouts. He began the season on the 15-day disabled list due to a strained right triceps and was activated May 14 (his first-ever DL appearance). In his career, Lackey is 91-63 with 13 complete games, seven shutouts and a 3.81 ERA (1,324.2 IP - 562 ER). An MLB All-Star in 2007, he owns the third-lowest ERA (based on 600 IP) in the AL since 2005 (3.42; 814 IP - 309 ER). A native of Abilene, Texas, Lacked was originally selected by the Angels in the second round of the 1999 free agent draft.

Anderson, 36, batted .293 (163/557) with 15 home runs and 84 RBI in 145 games in 2008. The longest tenured Angel in 2008, he marked his 14th full season with the club and his 14th consecutive season batting .280 or better (only other MLB active player to do this is Manny Ramirez). A three-time All-Star, Anderson ranks as the Angels' all-time leader in several categories, including games (2,013), runs (1,024), hits (2,368), doubles (489), total bases (3,743) and RBI (1,292). Anderson ranks second in home runs (272) and third in career average (.296). A native of Los Angeles, CA, he was originally signed by the Angels after being a fourth round selection in the 1990 June free agent draft.

Matthews Jr., 34, will have surgery to repair the patella tendon in his left knee today (October 28th). He posted a .242 average (103/426) with 19 doubles, three triples, eight home runs and 46 RBI in 127 games in 2008. Signed by the Angels as a Major League free agent, Nov. 22, 2006, he has played for seven different major league teams (also San Diego, Chicago Cubs, Pittsburgh, New York Mets, Baltimore and Texas). Originally selected by the Padres in the 13th round of the 1993 June free agent draft, Matthews Jr. owns a .259 career average (966/3729) with 203 doubles, 27 triples, 104 home runs and 433 RBI in 1,142 major league games (spanning over eight seasons). A native of San Francisco, CA, he is the son of Gary Matthews Sr., who played 16 years in the majors for the Giants, Braves, Phillies, Cubs and Mariners.

Napoli will have arthroscopic surgery on his right shoulder October 31st (his 27th birthday). In 2008, he split catching duties with Jeff Mathis and made 71 starts behind the plate. Napoli batted .273 (62/227) with nine doubles, one triple, 20 home runs and 49 RBI, setting career highs in average, hits, home runs, RBI and stolen bases (7). He was placed on the disabled list, July 7, due to right shoulder irritation (and was activated, Aug.7). In his career, Napoli owns a .248 average (177/714) with 33 doubles, two triples, 46 home runs and 125 RBI in 252 major league games. A native of Hollywood, FL, he was originally selected by the Angels in the 17th round of the 2000 free agent draft.

The Real Fantasy League

2008-10-24T20:02:44Z

Ever wonder how the actual MLB clubs would fare if they played each other in a 30 team 5x5 fantasy league? I did, and decided to go through the long process of figuring it all out. Using the team stats from the 2008 regular season, I went ahead and assigned roto point values for each of the five hitting and five pitching categories. How different are these fantasy standings from the real ones? Are the standard 10 categories accurate measures in explaining a team's performance on the field? Below you'll find the end of season fantasy standings broken down by division along with the roto point totals. I've also attached the Excel spreadsheet so you can see all the raw data.

Team by team Rotisserie Stats.xls

AL East

Red Sox      249.5
Rays           230.5
Yankees      208
Blue Jays    179.5
Orioles        112

AL Central

White Sox    198
Twins           187.5
Tigers          138.5
Indians        134
Royals         119

AL West

Angels       214.5
Rangers     160
Athletics     99.5
Mariners     85

NL East

Phillies     218
Mets          209.5
Marlins      150
Braves      103.5
Nationals   54.5

NL Central

Cubs         258
Brewers   200
Astros       166
Cardinals   164.5
Reds         115
Pirates     65

NL West

Dodgers   174
D-Backs     152
Rockies      126
Giants        111.5
Padres        67

I expected it to be close, but not quite to this extent! The only differences that have postseason implications is the Red Sox winning the AL East over the Rays with Tampa being the wildcard and the Mets edging out the Brewers for the NL wildcard. Also, the 100-win Angels are far from the best team in baseball, trailing the Red Sox, Rays, and Phillies while barely squeaking by the Yankees and Mets. Instead, the Cubbies take home the title.

While there are certainly other fantasy relevant stats that could serve as more effective predictors, these 10 seem to do just fine. However, there's one pretty obvious problem. The playoffs aren't included here, so the "Curse of the Billy Goat" doesn't apply! Only in fantasy can the Cubs actually win a championship.

Feel free to post your feedback. Looking forward to hearing from all of 411 Nation.

Zach Steinhorn