1. Carlos Beltran –
After failing to produce in his first season with the Mets, Beltran posted an
MVP caliber campaign in 2006. Beltran,
who had hit thirty homers just once previously in his career, busted loose with
41 homers in 510 at bats, and also established new career bests with 127 runs
scored and 116 RBI. He also tossed in
his usual fantastic skills on the basepaths, swiping eighteen bags.
FIC Spin: We’d
like to see the average come up a tick, but as long as Beltran continues to
show off his improved power, he’s the top outfielder in fantasy baseball. If there’s a downside, it’s that his stolen
base totals have dropped to 17 and 18 the past two years, considerably down
from the 37.25 he averaged from 2001-2004.
2007 Projection:
|
G
|
AB
|
Avg.
|
H
|
2B
|
HR
|
Runs
|
RBI
|
SB
|
OBP
|
Slg.
|
OPS
|
|
152
|
596
|
0.285
|
170
|
42
|
37
|
126
|
116
|
33
|
0.384
|
0.543
|
0.927
|
2. Lance Berkman –
Berkman continued to tear up Minute Maid
Park in 2006, establishing new
career highs in both home runs (45) and RBI (136). What’s more, his unbelievable performance
came on the twelfth best offensive team in the National League, and he drove in
an amazing 18.5% of Houston’s total
runs. Toss in a .315 average and you had
yourself an absolute stud who qualified at both first base and in the outfield.
FIC Spin: With
Jeff Bagwell now officially off the books, Berkman can settle in as the regular
first baseman for the Astros. The
addition of Carlos Lee in the offseason should provide him with a little more
protection in the lineup, so he should have little trouble challenging last
season’s numbers.
2007 Projection:
|
G
|
AB
|
Avg.
|
H
|
2B
|
HR
|
Runs
|
RBI
|
SB
|
OBP
|
Slg.
|
OPS
|
|
154
|
556
|
0.317
|
176
|
36
|
42
|
102
|
123
|
7
|
0.427
|
0.610
|
1.037
|
3. Carl Crawford – Crawford
continued to improve in all areas in 2006, improving upon both his batting
average (.305) and his home run total (18) for the fourth consecutive
season. He did all of this while swiping
fifty bags for the third time in four seasons, though he did fail to score 100
runs for the first time since 2003.
FIC Spin: Crawford
is just hitting his prime, and looks to be well on his way to becoming a 20/50
guy who can hit for average for the better part of the next decade. If the Rays can get a few of their other
prospects to come along as well as Crawford, his run production numbers should
continue to improve as well.
2007 Projection:
|
G
|
AB
|
Avg.
|
H
|
2B
|
HR
|
Runs
|
RBI
|
SB
|
OBP
|
Slg.
|
OPS
|
|
154
|
628
|
0.309
|
204
|
26
|
18
|
106
|
81
|
51
|
0.354
|
0.502
|
0.856
|
4. Alfonso Soriano – Everyone
was down on Soriano in the preseason, as he began it refusing to make a move to
the outfield and was set to play in one of the most spacious stadiums the
league has ever seen. When he returned
to Spring Training after the World Baseball Classic, however, Soriano
eventually accepted the move to left field in Washington
and went on to have his best season yet.
Though he didn’t hit exceptionally well for average (.277), Soriano did
go on to have just the fourth 40/40 season in the history of the league,
jacking 46 bombs to go with his 41 stolen bases. He even performed well defensively in the
outfield, leading the NL in outfield assists.
FIC Spin: Alas,
his run production numbers certainly didn’t fit too well with the rest of his
numbers because of shaky lineup support.
Soriano signed an outrageous deal with the Cubs in the offseason to play
centerfield. The move should help his
run production numbers, and should help his power to stabilize. However, he’s not expected to run as often in
Chicago as he did in Washington.
2007 Projection:
|
G
|
AB
|
Avg.
|
H
|
2B
|
HR
|
Runs
|
RBI
|
SB
|
OBP
|
Slg.
|
OPS
|
|
161
|
590
|
0.281
|
166
|
37
|
42
|
106
|
99
|
26
|
0.337
|
0.561
|
0.898
|
5. Vladimir Guerrero
– Though Guerrero battled knee problems throughout the 2006 season, he
still performed at his usual lofty levels.
After batting .329 with 33 homers, Guerrero has now hit .300 or better
in ten consecutive seasons, while he’s surpassed the thirty homer and 100 RBI
marks in eight of the past nine seasons.
Vladdy’s stolen base totals continue to stay markedly lower than they
were earlier in his career in Montreal,
but his fifteen steals last season were more than enough to help his fantasy
owners.
FIC Spin: Guerrero
always seems to be battling some kind of injury, but never fails to produce in
spite of it. He’s a 5X5 monster who is a
borderline first-rounder.
3007 Projection:
|
G
|
AB
|
Avg.
|
H
|
2B
|
HR
|
Runs
|
RBI
|
SB
|
OBP
|
Slg.
|
OPS
|
|
144
|
552
|
0.330
|
182
|
32
|
32
|
92
|
110
|
13
|
0.388
|
0.566
|
0.953
|
6. Grady Sizemore – Sizemore
led the majors in runs scored atop the Indians’ lineup in 2006, crossing the
plate 134 times. He wasn’t so bad with
the bat either, boosting his average to .290 and leading the majors with 92
extra-base hits (28 of which left the yard).
A potential demon on the basepaths, Sizemore stole 22 bases for the
second consecutive year as well.
FIC Spin: Batting
leadoff for the Tribe keeps Sizemore from being an elite RBI option, but he
produces well enough in the category so that he’d be a great starter
anyway. Toss in his fantastic
four-category production elsewhere and Sizemore is a terrific number one
outfielder who should produce numbers just short of the elite options. A 30/30 season wouldn’t be a stretch.
2007 Projection:
|
G
|
AB
|
Avg.
|
H
|
2B
|
HR
|
Runs
|
RBI
|
SB
|
OBP
|
Slg.
|
OPS
|
|
156
|
644
|
0.303
|
195
|
46
|
27
|
127
|
82
|
26
|
0.372
|
0.519
|
0.891
|
7. Carlos Lee –
You would have expected Lee’s power numbers to improve when he went to Texas,
but they actually regressed. Lee was
still effective after the Brewers shipped him to the Rangers, but he hit just 9
homers in 236 at bats for Texas
after hitting 28 in 388 at bats for Milwaukee. He did make up for it a bit by batting .322
for the Rangers, though, and finished the year with another phenomenal
.300-37-116 campaign in which he scored 102 runs and swiped a career-best 19
bags.
FIC Spin: Now in Houston,
Lee should have plenty of opportunities to make use of the Crawford Boxes. Expect another monster season batting behind
Lance Berkman in the Astro lineup, as Lee is right in the middle of his prime.
2007 Projection:
|
G
|
AB
|
Avg.
|
H
|
2B
|
HR
|
Runs
|
RBI
|
SB
|
OBP
|
Slg.
|
OPS
|
|
156
|
603
|
0.297
|
179
|
36
|
36
|
92
|
116
|
15
|
0.354
|
0.537
|
0.891
|
8. Matt Holliday –
After showing off his average-hitting skills and moderate power in his first
two seasons with the Rockies, Holliday amped his power-hitting to a new level
in 2006, bashing 34 homers in 602 at bats.
He also established career bests with a .326 average, 119 runs, and 114
RBI.
FIC Spin: He’s
considerably better in Coors Field than he is on the road, but who isn’t? Holliday is a legit top ten outfielder who is
just entering his prime years in a hitter’s paradise.
2007 Projection:
|
G
|
AB
|
Avg.
|
H
|
2B
|
HR
|
Runs
|
RBI
|
SB
|
Fantasy Baseball 
