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...
Our 2011 fantasy baseball projections will be released one-by-one until the top 100 players have been revealed. These rankings consider past achievements, current performance and expected future results based on standard 5×5 H2H settings.
Over the past few days, we’ve announced the top-10 players on our 2011 big board. To help keep these rankings easy to find, we’re recapping the top-10 in one short post. Click on each player’s name for a more in-depth analysis, including 2011 projections...
Despite failing to hit 30-plus home runs for the first time in his four-year career last season, Ryan Braun remained among the top fantasy producers at a very deep outfield position. His 2010 stat line (101 runs, 25 HRs, 103 RBI, 14 steals, .304 batting average) was perhaps the worst of his career, which speaks volumes to Braun’s potential entering his age 27 season.
Although Braun hit only 25 homers last year, he set a career-high in doubles with 45, the fifth most in baseball.
One theory which could explain Braun’s “off” season stems from being plunked by Tommy Hanson on May 10 last year. He missed the next two games, and was arguably never the same after, especially in the power department...
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
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