By Ken In Toronto
League 14
League 15
Around the end of May, I heard some people talking about giving up the season and trying to upgrade their keepers for next year. I couldn’t believe this because as important as the draft is to fantasy baseball success, making heads up decisions throughout the year - and being a little lucky - are just as important.
Just because you’re 20 points back in the standings after two, three, or even fourth months, there’s still a lot of baseball left. Here are some guys who you didn’t count on to boost you to a league championship … and some guys who may have helped knock early season leaders out of contention.
5 Up
Carlos Delgado, 1B, New York Mets
At one time this year, there was talk in the New York media that Carlos Delgado was ‘washed up’ and should be platooned. Through the end of June, he had a .231 average and a pedestrian 14 home runs.
That’s about when Carlos got hot and started lifting his team - and fantasy teams around the world - in the standings. In July and August, he hit 16 home runs and scored 48 RBIs. He has five more HRs so far in September. Now, instead of calling for a platoon, the NY fans are chanting “MVP!”
Ty Wiggington, 3B, Houston Astros
Wiggington was a regular on waiver wires in most 12-team mixed leagues. He had some sleeper value coming into 2008, but he fell short of expectations with nine HRs and only 26 RBIs through the end of July.
Ty busted out in August with a .379 average, 12 home runs and 26 RBIs. Those are some pretty impressive numbers, but when you also factor in that he was 2B eligible, he turned around a lot of fantasy teams in one month. Too bad he got hurt, but those 30 days could have made all the difference.
Andre Ethier, OF, Los Angeles Dodgers
Ethier was effective, when he played, through the first few months of the season, but he wasn’t an everyday player because of all the overpaid veterans on the Dodgers roster. In fact, he hit only .195 in June and may have found his way onto your waiver wire.
Once he got some regular playing time, he put up impressive stats including 13 HRs and 39 RBIs since July 1st. He’s racked up a .595 batting average, so far, in September. With Manny Ramirez protecting him in the order, Ethier could maintain this hot streak for the rest of the year.
Brett Myers, SP, Philadelphia Phillies
There were some high expectations for Myers and his return to the rotation. He was even named Philadelphia’s Opening Day starter. He couldn’t deliver early, though, going 3-9 with a 5.88 ERA by the end of June … and earning himself a trip to the minors.
He “found” himself, though, and has come back 6-2 with a 1.80 ERA since returning to the ‘Big Show’. As a side note, honorable mention goes to Roy Oswalt and his 32-1/3 IP shutout streak, but he likely never hit a waiver wire like Myers did.
Salomon Torres, RP, Milwaukee Brewers
Not named the closer, and likely not on any fantasy team until late May, Torres has been on a roll ever since. He turned the season around for both the Brewers and your fantasy teams.
He now has 27 saves and a 2.43 ERA … and did not have an ERA over 2.38 in any month that he was the closer until September (4.05 so far). This was a huge boost to teams who drafted short on closers and may have rewarded you with 5-6 points all by himself.
5 Down
Chipper Jones, 3B, Atlanta Braves
Chipper got off to a red hot start, hitting over .400 in each of the first two months of the season, while clubbing 12 HRs. He had owners thinking of Ted Williams, MVP, and Yoo-Hoo showers. Then, he got a little banged up and tried to play through it, and his stats reflected that.
His average is still impressive in the second half (.339), but he only has three HRs and 21 RBIs. With the wealth of waiver wire pickups at CI (Melvin Mora, Aubrey Huff, Chris Davis, James Loney), Chipper’s power numbers are a liability.
Chase Utley, 2B, Philadelphia Phillies
Chase hit 10 home runs in April then eight more in May. He had 47 RBIs through the first two months of the season and had Philly fans thinking they had a third straight MVP award on the horizon.
Since then, Utley has failed to hit .300 in any month and has not hit more than four home runs in any month either. His RBI totals have fallen to an average of 13 per month since May, and he’s fallen in status from one of the best keepers out there to a strong second rounder.
Lance Berkman, OF, Houston Astros
At the end of May, many people thought that the only player who could challenge Chase Utley for the NL MVP award, besides Chipper Jones, was Lance Berkman. With good reason though, Lance had 16 HRs and 47 RBIs through the first two months of the season … and he even hit .471 in May.
He threw in 10 stolen bases before June 1st, but, since then, he’s struggled … with only 11 HRs. He didn’t even hit one in July! He’s slowed to a crawl with a .206 average so far in September.
Tim Hudson, SP, Atlanta Braves
Hudson paid off immediately for owners who risked a 15th round pick on him. He went 11-7 with a 3.17 ERA and 1.16 WHIP in July and had owners boasting how they like to wait for starting pitching. Then, the unthinkable happened - the normally reliable workhorse Hudson had to be shut down for the year with Tommy John surgery.
No more stats - no more effective #2 man in your rotation. Teams had to search the waiver wire and take what they got, and it was surely something more risky than what Tim Hudson was giving them.
Brandon Lyon, RP, Arizona Diamondbacks
At one point this season, Brandon Lyon had gone two months without blowing a save. He had 17 saves by the end of June, and owners who took a chance on Lyon, over fellow D-Back Tony Pena, looked like fantasy wizards.
Then, the wheels fell off in Arizona. The team stopped winning, and Lyon posted ERAs of 6.52 in July, 12.27 in August, and 8.31, so far, in September. A huge problem for fantasy owners was that Lyon was never removed from the closer role, so he had to be in your line-up … wrecking your team’s ERA and WHIP.
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Not all of these players are having good all around years or, for that matter, bad all around years. They are having a much different second half of the year than the first, which obviously affects the standings.
In May, you may have been looking up at a mountain of a team who had Lance Berkman and Chase Utley. But, you never know when you’ll find Ty Wiggington and Brett Myers on the waiver wire. Even if you don’t get to the top of your league, you can still improve your showing, and you might even effect the final standings for someone else.