Milwaukee Brewers' left fielder Ryan Braun was awarded the National League's Most Valuable Player award on Tuesday, in what has to be considered a mini upset over Los Angeles Dodgers' center fielder Matt Kemp.
While Braun hit 33 HRs, stole 33 bases and finished second in the N.L. with a .332 batting average, Kemp batted .324 and came up one dinger shy of the 40/40 threshold, a feat that hasn't been accomplished since Alfonso Soriano went 46/41 in 2006.
While a worthy case for MVP could be made for both players — such as the ones made here and here — we're here to determine something even more important: Which player will have more fantasy value in 2012?
Unlike third base and shortstop this year, outfield is extremely deep. In 2010, the average top-40 fantasy outfielder hit 22 homers, stole 20 base, scored 88 runs, knocked in 82 RBIs and hit .285. This speaks volumes to the depth of the position.
While first- and second-round talents such as Braun, Crawford, CarGo, Holliday and Kemp are exciting to own, you’re probably better off filling your infield spots early in the draft.
The likes of Alex Rios, Jacoby Ellsbury, Drew Stubbs, Ichiro Suzuki, Andre Ethier, Jay Bruce, Hunter Pence and Nick Markakis can all be drafted much later in the draft, and offer valuable production. Here’s the top 30...
Over the past few weeks, we’ve announced the top 50 players on our 2011 big board. Click on each player’s name for a more in-depth analysis, including 2011 projections...
Over the past few weeks, we’ve announced the top-20 players on our 2011 big board. To help keep these rankings easy to find, we’re recapping the 11-20 group in one short post....
Matt Kemp’s 2009 breakout season had many (this Insider not included) claiming the Dodgers’ center fielder was a top-10 pick heading into 2010. Instead of improving on his near 30/100/100/30/.300 campaign, however, Kemp regressed in four of the five statistical categories, posting a (relatively) disappointing 28-HR, 82-run, 89-RBI, 19-steal, .249-average season.
While some point to his well-publicized relationship with Rihanna or the mis-management of Joe Torre, I prefer to explore the tangible evidence, such as his relatively low BABIP and high strikeout rate...
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
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