If you're asking yourself why you need to know about or read up on the minor leagues, then there is a good chance you missed out on guys like Ryan Braun and Fausto Carmona last year, which probably cost you a title. The Minor League Review will focus on most of the top talent in the minor leagues and what they have done over the past week. This is great to let you see how the studs everyone else already knows about are doing...but we are going to take it even a step further and dig a little deeper in our "Diamond in the Rough" section. Here you will also see guys that may not be on everyone's Top Prospect List, but should be. We will look at players that are hot and cold, those that you should know about and those you need to know about and why. I know a lot of guys in ten or twelve team leagues with shallow benches that don't worry about minor league players. That is why guys like you and me will always kick their ass in Fantasy Baseball. So let's go take a look at the building blocks of future Fantasy Championship Teams.
Welcome to the RotoExpert Fantasy Baseball Draft Kit.
Spring Training hasn't even started, but we've been thinking baseball since Mariano Rivera sealed yet another Yankee World Series Victory.
We've got plenty here to get you started in your own Spring Training and we'll be adding more daily. When all is said and done here is what you can look forward to in our draft kit.
Over 600 Player Profiles
Top 200 Prospects List
Top 10 Prospects for each organization
Sleepers and Busts
ADPs from our friends at Yahoo
Team Previews for all 30 MLB teams
Over 50 Strategy Articles
Cheat Sheets for most formats
Dollar Values for Mixed, NL, and AL Leagues, 4 X 5, 5 X 5
Just because baseball's regular season is over doesn’t mean that fantasy owners are off until spring. Quite the contrary. Your work for the 2010 campaign is about to start. That is, if you're into winning. There are so many reasons to prep yourself with our AFL team previews, but here are nine of them:
1. The talent.
The AFL is where the cream of baseball's prospect crop plays. The AFL's website describes it perfectly: "every game in the AFL is like a future All-Star Game." If you have any interest at all in tracking impact rookies in preparation for your fantasy drafts, then you must keep a keen eye on what goes down in the AFL.
2. Tommy Hanson.
Hanson put up astounding numbers in AFL play last year (5-0, 0.63 earned run average, 0.59 Walks & Hits Per Innings Pitched, and 49 strikeouts, in 28.2 innings pitched). It's one thing to put up sick stats in the minors, but it's something completely different to do it in the AFL, where 180 top prospects are spread across just six teams. Anyone who knew about Hanson's performance in the AFL no doubt moved him up their fantasy cheat sheets. The owners who drafted Hanson? Well, they were treated to an ace performance over the second half.
3. Hitters will look hilarious.
Major League Baseball is requiring that all batters wear the Rawlings S100 helmet. You know, that gigantic, goofy looking contraption David Wright was (briefly) wearing after getting plunked in the noggin this season? Rockies players famously cackled upon seeing Wright take batting practice with the head gear, and he quickly stopped wearing it. Fortunately for us, the AFL players will not be allowed to refuse using the helmets, so that means more laughs for us.
4. If you quickly glance at the letters AFL, it can be mistaken for Alf, the lovable melmacian.
Anything that reminds us of the 80s icon (even by accident) is okay in my book. That guy can sell anything!
5. Stephen Strasburg.
After all the hype heading into this year's amateur draft, baseball fans will have their first opportunity to see the “National Treasure” make his professional debut.
6. Brian "I Think I Pulled Something" Giles was just named to the AFL Hall of Fame.
You know there is no way Giles' brittle body was getting into the real Hall of Fame. So it's nice for the AFL to toss this guy a bone. Hopefully, they taped the name of a good orthopedist on that bone, because Giles no doubt came up lame catching it.
7. Michael Jordan is an AFL alum.
It's pretty safe to say that Jordan's three NBA championships that followed his 1994 AFL stint are no doubt a direct result of the teachings he learned down in Arizona.
8. Now that the Arena Football League is finished, the Arizona Fall League has sole sports rights to the acronym.
Take that Jon Bon Jovi.
9. There are two (two!) Peoria teams: the Javelinas and Saguaros.
Yeah, I know. We're really grabbing at straws here.
Look, you get the point. The AFL is the most amazing thing ever, and if you don't agree, then you're more ignorant than John Rocker. Of course, if you are ignorant, you need to read our team previews to educate yourselves.
Each AFL team roster will be broken down into the following tiers:
Star Power: No, this isn't referring to my biceps, we're talking about the players with very high ceilings who should be top fantasy talent within a few years.
Instant Impact: The ceiling for these prospects may not be as high, but they will make a fantasy contribution in 2010.
Diamonds in the Rough: You probably haven't heard much about these prospects, and their impact may be a little further down the road, but if things fall into place, they could produce fantasy value sooner than expected.
In addition, we will fill you in on any overhyped fantasy prospects as we take our AFL tour.
It won't be long before pitchers and catchers report to camp but you'll be in full swing with the RotoExperts Fantasy Baseball Draft kit. Over 100 articles on everything from positional analysis and team previews to draft strategies, sleepers and busts and analysis of what effect player movement on the off-season will mean for your studs. Think Matt Holliday is a great pick this year? Check out what our team has to say about his home/road splits and think again. Is Pat "the bat" Burrell going to be a stud in the American league now that his defense won't be holding him back? You might rethink it after you read our expert analysis.
Diamonds in the Rough
