Player Spotlights - Jacoby Ellsbury and Heath Bell

Jacoby Ellsbury and Heath Bell February 25, 2009

Live Fantasy Baseball Mock Drafts, Fantasy Baseball Player Rankings, Player Trade Calculator, Fantasy Forums and more ! at FantasyBaseballXtreme.Com

OF Jacoby Ellsbury,Red Sox, Of course, the big secret is out on Ellsbury, as he proved last year that he has the potential to become one of the more exciting base stealing threats in the league. Although he did struggle through a minor dry spell in June/July 2008, hitting only about .245 with 9 SBs during this stretch, he had an amazing May, with 18 stolen bags, and he finished the season strong, with 15 SBs in the last 2 months, and producing a .340 average in September 2008. As a left-handed batter, another interesting trend that emerged last year was Ellsbury's effectiveness against lefty pitchers, he actually hit .295 vs. lefties, compared to .275 versus righties. While this emerging Red Sox centerfielder won't help you much in the power and RBI categories, he compares favorably to Jose Reyes in terms of stolen base potential, and you should be able to get him in the 4th or 5th round.

RP Heath Bell, Padres, - Anyone who has played fantasy baseball for a while knows that trying to forecast the saves category is usually very tricky, and in some years you will be able to get them from fairly unexpected sources. Heath Bell could be one of those under-rated closers in 2009 who can pleasantly bolster your fantasy saves total. With the legendary Trevor Hoffman packing his bags for Milwaukee, Bell is considered the leading candidate to assume the closer role for the Padres, and he has a pretty good history of excelling in the late innings. Heath Bell normally comes at hitters with his 92-94 MPH rising fastball, and he complements this pitch with an effective slider. He works efficiently, consistently throws strikes, and has been durable over the past two years. If you need to reach for a potential closer late in your draft, it looks like Heath Bell is a nice value in the 15th round area.

Player Spotlights By Junkyard Jake JunkyardJake.Com

Player Spotlights - Troy Tulowitzki and Chien-Ming Wang

Troy Tulowitzki and Chien-Ming Wang February 21, 2009

Live Fantasy Baseball Mock Drafts, Fantasy Baseball Player Rankings, Player Trade Calculator, Fantasy Forums and more ! at FantasyBaseballXtreme.Com

SS Troy Tulowitzki,Rockies, After his breakout season in 2007, where we saw Colorado's young SS hit .291 with 24 HRs and 99 RBIs, Tulowitzki and his unlucky fantasy owners suffered through a dreadful 2008, where he missed over 60 games with quadriceps and hand injuries and finished with only 8 HRs, 46 RBIs and a disappointing .263 average. As a consequence, Tulowitzi has gone from an approximate 4th round fantasy pick in 2008, to around a 9th round pick so far in 2009. At that kind of ADP, Troy Tulowitzki makes an excellent player to target in the mid-rounds of your draft.Word is that he is almost fully recovered from his troublesome quadriceps injury and there is every reason to believe that the 24-year old can recapture the productivity we saw out of him two years ago. Our early projections have Tulowitzki hitting over .280, with 19 HRs and about 80 RBI in 2009.

SP Chien-Ming Wang, NY Yankees, - Chien-Ming Wang was cruising along as his usual productive self in 2008 until he was afflicted with a foot injury before the All-Star break, and forced to miss the remainder of the season. Understandably, he is presently being ignored in many fantasy drafts, typically going after the 16th round. At this kind of ADP Wang makes an ideal addition to your fantasy pitching corps, as a value pick who can easily deliver 15 plus wins. When Wang is on, he throws a pretty good combination of pitches consisting of a power sinker, and a late-breaking slider. His sinker is considered one of the leagues best, and it allows him to work deep into many games by virtue of the groundouts he produces. While he usually won't produce more than 4-5 strikeouts per game, Wang still looks like a great value player to grab in 2009 for Wins, a sub-4 ERA and good WHIP ratio.

Player Spotlights By Junkyard Jake JunkyardJake.Com

True(ly) Fabricated Sports Crime Stories - Case File #245

Case File #245 Incognito Hairy Steroid Fugitives-Busted February 10, 2009  JunkyardJake.Com

Say what you wish about government incompetence, clearly, they can't balance a budget, can't find Bin Laden and can't keep tainted produce out of the country. However, it is slightly encouraging to note, that there are some things that the government can still do well. For example, if you are on steroids and trying to evade a Congressional hearing, they will track you down like the furry outlaw troll that you are. That's what Roger Clemens and Mark McGwire found out when they tried to dodge the Congressional steroid hearings by assuming new identities and laying low in a small Appalachian mountain town circa early 2008. Nice try guys, and thank you Congress for making the world a safer place by bringing these synthetically hairy fugitives to justice. And let that be a lesson for the kids, and this means you too Alex Rodriguez- if you are going to try and dodge the 'House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform', evidently one of the first places they will look is in your secluded mountain hideaway. Maybe a better tactic for avoiding government prosecution is to make yourself less conspicuous in a big city somewhere.  You know, maybe get a $1,000 haircut, a new pinstripe suit at Dolce&Gabbana's and hit 20 less homeruns than your career average, just like you did last year.