Mound Talk

Shortstops

You better go with a proven commodity here. There are no Hanley Ramirez’ this year, only Ronny Cedeno’s. Only one person stands to play enough to be considered on draft day.

Troy Tulowitzki ought to be the man in Colorado this season at short. Tulowitzki is a pretty average fantasy player. He’s not a .300 hitter, but can still be productive for your fantasy team. 10-15 home runs and 65-70 rbi can be expected with 80 runs to compliment that. He has little speed and doesn’t know how to use the speed he has to steal effectively. If you’re targeting Tulowitzki, you better have an above average plan B.

Outfield

The deepest position in fantasy baseball is outfield. You can find a place for players as different as Carl Crawford and Manny Ramirez or Ichiro and Adam Dunn. If you’re looking for some help on draft day from a ‘young’ guy, you can find it in the outfield. There are two ‘young’ guys ready for playing time in the big leagues but you’ll have to act early on draft day to get them.

Delmon Young ought to be known by everyone. Delmon Young will be ready to contribute at the major league level this year. Not only that, but his contribution will be worthwhile. He could hit .300 and be a 20/20 guy this year. 30 home runs is possible for him. Though his run and rbi production will be a little down, partially due to the offense around him, he’s definitely a guy to keep an eye on and snag as a fourth outfielder if possible, but be careful not to reach too high for him.

Chris Young is the other young guy to take root in the outfield this season. Arizona will sport a fairly inexperienced team in 2007. This Young also should be a 20/20 guy. It is much more likely that Chris Young reaches 30 home runs than Delmon Young. Chris has less speed than Delmon, but ought to get his shot to steal 20 bases. 80-90 runs and rbi can be expected, especially if Stephen Drew continues to play well at shortstop and some other guys step up, like fellow rookie, Miguel Montero.

Of course there will be other rookie outfielders this year but at this point, there is some question as to who exactly will be playing full time.