Michael Pineda to the Yankees: Fantasy Analysis

In getting traded to the New York Yankees, Miguel Pineda immediately gets thrown into a spotlight/pressure cooker situation. He’s projecting right now as no. 2 in the Yankees rotation behind CC Sabathia — so you know he will be in line for some wins if he can keep it consistent. After his All-Star start to the 2011 season – he struggled with getting wins down the stretch.

Obviously, wins aren’t as important in fantasy baseball as they are in real life. This is one of the great inaccuracies of fantasy baseball, but one of the biggest reasons great pitchers on bad teams still have a lot of value (see Hernandez, Felix circa 2010). As we start projecting player rankings for the 2012 draft season, look for Pineda to be a top 25 starting pitcher. It would seem that Pineda could be one of the biggest draft day values in fantasy baseball 2012 – and he should be a solid no. 2 in fantasy baseball, too.

For 2012 fantasy baseball analysis of Jesus Montero,

Jesus Montero to the Mariners: Fantasy Analysis

After what seemed to be years and years of waiting, Jesus Montero can FINALLY become a starting catcher. Ironically, incumbent Yankees catcher Jorge Posada finally retired this week.

The Mariners youth movement was hurt by the loss of Pineda, but they now have a great core of players who are all under 25. King Felix obviously is now the crown jewel of their pitching staff. Montero, first baseman Justin Smoak, second baseman Dustin Ackley, third baseman Kyle Seager, and left fielder Mike Carp are all 25 or under.

While he projects on the Mariners depth chart as a DH, Montero will retain eligibility at catcher. Because of his availability as a catcher, he becomes an instant top 10 catcher in fantasy baseball simply based on how his 2011 production projects over 162 games. After about 9 catchers in fantasy baseball, the value drops significantly – especially in terms of power numbers. Check out our top 25 catcher rankings for 2012 to see who’s ahead – and behind – of Montero in our rankings.

Lawrie: Fantasy baseball call-up in all leagues

The Toronto Blue Jays are beginning to experiment with what they may have for the future.  Yesterday, the Jays called up third baseman Brett Lawrie and the 21-year-old will be given the rest of the season to show Toronto just what he can do.

Travis Snider, another youngster at just 23, earned the demotion.  The Jays prospect was hitting just .225 on the year and he’s been a whiff king.  In fact, on Wednesday night, Snider was a perfect 4 for 4; he fanned in all 4 plate appearances.

With Lawrie now in the Bigs, Jose Bautista moves back to the outfield where he probably belongs.

But, it is Lawrie that is making the big news.  Brett Lawrie has hit 18 homers and is batting .353 in 69 minor league games this year.  That makes Brett Lawrie a must pick-up player in all fantasy baseball leagues right now.

Dustin Ackley debuts tonight for Seattle.

Ackley, the overall #2 pick in the 2009 draft, taken right after a guy named Stephen Strasburg, is just 23-years-old.  He hit .303 with nine home runs and 35 RBI in 66 games at Triple-A Tacoma this season, receiving the call-up to the big leagues on Wednesday after going 2-for-4 in a game against Fresno.

His 2010 stats, however, were not stellar.  At Double-A and Triple-A, Ackley hit a combined .267 with 7 HR’s and 10 SB’s.

Ackley’s defense has been the most worrisome part of his game – he was an outfielder in college at North Carolina, and part of the reason he began the season in Tacoma was to get more reps as an infielder – but the rookie told reporters on Friday that he feels as good at second base as he ever has.

That’s good for him, and for the Mariners, too, because Wedge told Ackley prior to Friday’s game that he plans to play him every day.  Ackley is more of a gap hitter and he has a great eye at the plate.  We eventually see him as an ideal #2 hitter behind Ichiro.

Ackley’s debut is not good news for veteran infielder Adam Kennedy who was hitting .275 with 5 homers, 20 RBI, and 6 HR’s.  Kennedy will be the DH tonight against Philadelphia and he’s been one of Seattle’s most consistent hitters this year.  Manager Eric Wedge said he told Kennedy: “You’ll spell Smoak at first, you’ll spell Ackley at second and you’ll get some starts at third base as well.”  Sounds like a qualifier at multiple positions, but one who won’t get as many AB’s as he has.  Jack Wilson is the real odd man out, as he’s completely a backup at the middle infield positions now.

Fantasy Baseball Projection — Dustin Ackley

Fantasy owners should keep an eye on his early progress, with expectations a bit tempered considering it’s his first glance at big league pitching. Still, Ackley has the chance to be a solid pickup at a traditionally shallow position like second base.  For the remainder of the 2011 season, we see Ackley getting 300 AB’s and hitting .260 with 10 homers, 45 RBI, and 10 stolen bases.

On the heels of a 17-14 start, a great spring training campaign put together by Spring MVP Kila Kai’ahue, and the hot starts from Jeff Francoeur and Alex Gordon, the Royals are calling up top prospect Eric Hosmer from AAA Omaha.

Hosmer will actually replace Kai’ahue on the Royals roster after hitting .439 with 3 home runs and 15 RBI in triple-A. At the beginning of the season, most people in fantasy circles (and MLB circles, honestly) expected the Royals to call up Mike Moustakas before any other prospect in their system. As you can tell from Hosner’s crazy numbers, however, his call up is certainly warranted.

Learn what we expect from Hosner in the world of fantasy baseball AFTER the jump…

Eric Hosmer Fantasy Baseball Advice

Hosner certainly comes with high expectations after producing that killer AAA statline in less than 30 games, and he needs to produce. If the Royals are going to compete in the AL Central – which they actually believe they can – they need numbers from first base. While Kai’ahue crushed it in spring training, he slumped once the season started. Before being sent down, his average plummeted to .195.

So what can YOU expect from Hosmer as he enters the Bigs tonight against Oakland? Good average, potentially good run production… and not a lot of power. Most fantasy baseballers need power production out of their first base position. Hosmer is only 21-years old and lacks the power that makes for a sexy fantasy baseball prospect. Smaller leagues or mixed leagues might not have a need for Hosmer unless they are incredibly injury plagued. Even then, he probably still only warrants a bench spot.

However, for lineups that already have a Ryan Howard or Adam Dunn – players known for punishing the ball over the fence with a low batting average – Hosmer could be a quality source of batting average and run production at the 1B, CI, or utility positions.

At this time, Hosmer is only a must-add in fantasy baseball leagues that are AL-only or deep – like 16-team deep. Might want to add him to your watch list in other formats, though… especially if the Royals continue raking the ball the way they have to start the season.

Ivan Nova is one of many MLB prospects who may go from relative unknown to league wide name in 2011.

Before the Yanks failed to land a big name free agent pitcher in the offseason, Nova was nothing more than a second-tier 24-year old prospect in their farm system. He had a strong 2010 campaign in the minors, going 12-3 with a 2.86 ERA and 115 strikeouts in 145 innings. That productivity only led to 7 unimpressive Major League starts last season.

Now that the Yankees are forced to complete their 2011 rotation from within, Nova has taken full advantage of the opportunity he’s been given during Spring Training. Following six innings of no hit ball on Wednesday against Baltimore’s lineup of mostly Major League talent, Nova looks like a lock to take the no. 4 slot in the Yankees 2011 rotation.

On the Spring through 3/19, Nova is 1-0 with a 1.29 ERA and 7 strikeouts in 14 innings of work. Nova throws four pitches: a 4-seamer and a sinking 2-seamer in the 90′s, a circle change in the mid 80′s, and a curve ball in the upper 70′s. He also has a great ground ball percentage, which should bode well for him in the bandbox that is New Yankee Stadium. According to several scouting reports, the guy has been destined to find himself as a back of the rotation MLB starter… Nova just happens to be lucky enough to fulfill that potential while also pitching for the Yankees.

Assuming Nova makes the Yanks rotation as a no. 4 starter, there’s no question he has the potential to make for one hell of fantasy baseball sleeper in 2011. There’s no question that the Yankees are going to score a lot of runs this season. One of our favorite fantasy baseball tips for mixed league owners is to select pitchers you know will win games if all other stats are equal. This strategy places extra fantasy value on a pitcher who throws no. 4 in the rotation for a team like the Yankees, Phillies, Twins or Giants than for a pitcher higher in the rotation for a less successful team like the Pirates or Nationals.

Because of his expected run support and favorable pitching matchups, fantasy owners in AL-only leagues can safely draft Nova in the late rounds to round out their rotation. In mixed formats, Nova could make a great late or last round draft pick for a bench slot or as a spot starter in leagues with daily lineup changes.

Brandon Belt has some big shoes to fill in 2011. As a highly-touted prospect first baseman of the world champion San Francisco Giants, Belt’s rookie campaign is likely going to follow in the footsteps of reigning NL Rookie of the Year Buster Posey.

In a similar scenario to 2010, most of the rookie hype in 2011 is once again focused on NatsTown as we all await the arrival of Bryce Harper to the Bigs. While Harper has already been sent to minor league camp, the 22 year old Belt – rated the no. 23 prospect by Baseball America – is giving the champs pause as they go through Spring Training. Considering the fact that Posey finished the season as the year’s best rookie, it would seem that all eyes instead should be on Belt… not Harper (for now).

While rumors and speculation are rampant about whether or not Belt will even make the Giants Opening Day roster, one thing is certain: the kid is raking right now. On the spring, he’s batting .277 with 2 homers, 10 RBI, 8 runs scored and 2 steals in 47 at bats through today.

Last year he torched the minors, going from Single A to Triple A by year’s end and hitting .352 with 23 home runs, 112 RBI, 99 runs and 22 steals.

The Giants first base depth chart has some depth there, so it’s not like Belt is a lock to be the everyday starter from April on. Remember, the Giants committed two years and $22 million to expected starter Aubrey Huff in November. Plus, 27-year old lefty Travis Ishikawa is a capable fill-in for Huff, even though he lacks the power of Belt.

According to our friends at RotoChamp, Belt projects to finish 2011 with a .270 average, 12 home runs, 41 RBI and 49 runs in 311 ABs. That’s not too bad for a fill-in player or corner infielder in a deep league or an NL-only league for a 10-week run to the playoffs.

To be honest, most projections show Belt won’t even be in the Majors until June at the earliest. That said, if you’re about to draft in a keeper league with minor league roster spots or in an NL-only league, you’d have a tough time finding an argument AGAINST drafting Belt at this point in the draft season. Take a flier if you’re feeling lucky.

Ben Francisco, Philadelphia Phillies

Jayson Werth may wish that he was Ruben Amaro Jr., but he isn’t.  And, the Phillies decided to not sign Werth for 2011 despite his contributions the past several seasons.  Rather, the Phillies used that money to sign Cliff Lee whom they should not have let go to begin with.

Why did the Phillies take this option?  Domonic Brown and a lesser known Ben Francisco who has been the Phillies # 4 outfielder.

There’s no denying Domonic Brown’s pedegree.  Domonic Brown is # 4 ranked of all MLB prospects just behind a guy named Bryce Harper.  In a September call-up last year, however, Brown did not impress.  Brown hit .210 with 2 homers in 62 at bats last year, but rode the bench in post-season.  Watch Brown in Spring Training this year and you’ll notice a slight change in his batting stance.

The Phillies hope Brown wins the job outright in Spring Training and they will certainly give him enough chances to do so.  Look for Brown to be the guy that the Phillies throw into the lineup every day in March in Florida.  Brown will also start on opening day as the Astros throw ex-Phillie Brett Myers against Roy Halladay.

As for left field, 39-year-old Raul Ibanez enters the final year of his contract with Philadelphia.  Ibanez had a bad injury last year and did not perform up to the level that he had hoped.  Ibanez, however, has always kept himself in good shape and appears to have reported to Clearwater in top condition once again.

That leads us to Ben Francisco.  Francisco hit .268/6/28/8 in just 179 at bats last season for the Phillies.  Francisco hit 15 homers for a combined Philadelphia and Cleveland in 2009 and hit 15 for the Tribe in 2008, but that’s with 459 and 499 at bats respectively.  In fact, an article in Bleacher Report makes the case that Francisco’s stats when projected to a full season are similar to Werth’s.

Francisco is not going to get that many at bats this season, but if he were to play the entire year, he is capable of being a 20 HR guy.  He’ll get more at bats than last year as he’ll be used to spell Ibanez in left field as well as get playing in right field against left-handers like another ex-Phillie J.A. Happ who will likely be the opposing starting pitcher in the second game of the season this year.

One thing is for sure.  Ben Francisco is the safest outfield pick.   Some experts think Brown will start the season in the minors and Ibanez, at 39 and coming off of an injury last year, is not a sure thing.  Francisco is the most likely to get at bats in 2011.

Ben Francisco 2011 Fantasy Baseball Projection:  Projecting Ben Francisco’s 2011 fantasy baseball stats is completely dependent on how many at bats that Domonic Brown and Raul Ibanez will not receive.  That being said, the Phillies will likely rest Brown against lefties, thus giving Francisco starts in those games.  Moreover, Francisco will likely spell Ibanez in left and is capable of taking over for the 39-year-old if necessary.  Look for Ben Francisco to pick up 350 at bats this season, hit .270, with 15 homers, 60 RBI, and 15 stolen bases.  Ben Francisco is a solid pickup in deep NL-only leagues and a solid sleeper pick that can be picked up in late rounds or for $7.

Ben Francisco married Cindy Lopez in the off season.

Kyle Drabek: 2011 Top Prospect

Kyle Drabek certainly has the pedigree.  His father Doug is a former Cy Young Award Winner.  In speaking of his father, Kyle said:

“It was like having a pitching coach who lives with you … He taught me so much, not only about the physical part of the game but the mental part too.”

Some teacher.  Drabek was the 18th pick by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 2006 draft.  He signed for $1.55 million, apparently more money than the young Drabek knew how to handle.  He blew out his elbow in 2007 while pitching for the Lakewood Blue Claws of the Sally League and spent most of the 2008 season on the shelf.  But, that wasn’t the end of Drabek’s problems.  He also was arrested twice for public intoxication and banged his car into a tree.  Some scouts have described him as tempermental and having a “blue chip on his shoulder.”

He used his time off to put together his pitching repertoire and learn to make better personal decisions.  In 2009, he moved from High-A Clearwater to Double-A Reading where he posted a 8-2 mark with a 3.64 ERA and also earning a spot in the Futures Game.  Drabek had become a coveted property.

“I knew I was going to have to change things if I wanted to get there,” said Drabek.

The Phillies balked at giving him up at the 2009 trade deadline, but pulled the trigger in December 2009 in the trade that acquired Roy Halladay from the Blue Jays.  Drabek pitched at Double-A New Hampshire in 2010 where he was 14-9, 2.94 and a 1.20 WHIP and was named Eastern League Pitcher of the Year.  In a September call-up, he started 3 games for Toronto, lost all 3, and put up a 4.76 ERA.

Kyle Drabek’s best pitch is overwhelmingly a curve said to be one of the best in the business.  He mixes in a 2-seamer and a 4-seamer and the 2-seamer is able to generate a lot of infield grounders.  His fastball tops out at 96, but he’s usually more accurrate in the low 90′s.  One of Drabek’s weaknesses has been an inability to get lefties out.  He worked on that extensively last year and with the aid of an improved cutter, Drabek held left-handed hitters to a .227 batting average.  Scouting grades on the typical 20-80 major league scale put his curveball at 70 and his fastball at 65.  Drabek still needs work on his control which is at the 50 mark.

The rap against Drabek is going to be that he has never pitched at the Triple-A level.  Nevertheless, the Blue Jays obviously think a lot of him to make him the prime acquisition in the Roy Halladay trade.  He looks to start the season as Toronto’s # 4 starter, but will have to win out over Jesse Litsch and Marc Rzepczynski.  Litsch, 25, has only started 11 games over the past two years as result of Tommy John surgery, but he posted a 13-9, 3.58 year in 2008.  Rzepczynski, a southpaw, spent last year in Toronto and at Triple-A; he’s a viable candidate, but has some control issues (4.3 BB/9).  The team may look to start Drabek at Triple-A to keep  his innings and service time down.  Keep a close eye on this during spring training.

2011 Fantasy Baseball Projection: Kyle Drabek — Assuming Drabek starts the year in Toronto, anticipate a 10 win season for the young Drabek and an ERA around the 4.00 mark.  If your league uses strikeouts, Drabek is never going to be a big K guy; his strikeout/innings ratio was just .81 at Double-A last year.  That being said, when you get traded for the best pitcher in baseball, you have to think the guy is something special.  If you play in a keeper league, Drabek, 23,  is a great guy to stash on your roster for many years to come.

BRAVE MOVE: Freeman to man first base in '11.

Freeman, from Fountain Valley, California, certainly has the size at 6’5″ and 225 pounds.  Freeman throws right, but hits left; this is something that his father insisted on even way back in Freddie’s t-ball days.  At his first t-ball practice, his father instructed his wife to take Freddie off of the field if his t-ball coach had him on the right side of the plate.  Wife Rosemary had to pull him off the field.  Unfortunately, Freddie’s Mom passed just a few years later when he was just 10-years-old.

Freeman was a second round pick of the Braves in 2007 when he graduated from high school.  His good friend Jason Heyward was the first round pick.  Last year, Freeman was named the International League Rookie of the Year when he hit .319/18/87/6.  Freeman has good gap power as evidenced by his 35 doubles at Gwinett last year.

As a September call-up, Freeman was thrust into the lineup on September 1 against the Mets when Derek Lee needed a night off with an ailing back.  Freeman finished up with just 4 hits in 24 at bats and whiffed 8 times.  The highlight of his cup of coffee was a homerun over the right-center field wall at Citizen’s Bank Park.

After the Braves regular season ended, Freeman was sent to the Arizona Instructional League, but after a slide into third caused a sprained thumb, Freeman was given the rest of the Arizona Fall League off.  He has spent the off-season working on his strength and attempting to improve his speed that has been tabbed as slightly below average.

“Everybody knows I’m not the fastest cat in the world,” said Freeman with a chuckle while on the Braves caravan in January. “I’m just working on my foot speed and trying to get down the line a little bit quicker.”

Free Advice on Freeman

As far as his hitting style, Freeman is more of a line drive hitter with gap power than a pure homerun hitter.  He can hit to all fields.  For a homerun hitter, his strikeout ratio is good; he’s fanned a respectable 16% of the time in his 1560 minor league at bats.  He is a fairly aggressive hitter and has a walk rate of about 8% in his short career.

In looking at Freeman’s career and analyzing his swing, he appears to be a Mark Grace or James Loney type of hitter.  He’s very agile around first base and has a good arm (many teams projected him as a pitcher when he signed) so he should be able to keep his job there and be a productive fantasy baseball first baseman for many years to come.  He will likely develop more power as he gets older, reads pitchers better, and puts on more muscle.

Bill James projects Freddie Freeman at .282/16/83/6 for the 2011 season. We see that his long swing may be a problem against Major League pitching and have some concern in his short tenure with the Braves last September when he looked outmatched in some at bats.  He also is very green having had only 610 at bats above the Single-A level.

Fantasy Baseball Dugout Projection for Freddie Freeman:  .268 batting average with 15 homers, 75 RBI, and 5 stolen bases. If you play in a keeper league, Freeman is a guy you’ll want to draft given his value and the fact that his best years are yet to come.  In a NL-only league, he’s a good sleeper pick and he’s a solid 15th – 17th round pick in mixed leagues.

Freddie Tweets

Here’s what we know about Freeman from Freddie Freeman’s Twitter account.  He likes to eat at Chipotle and he cooks a mean rack of lamb.  He plays golf and loves video games like Call of Duty.  He likes to listen to Eminem and he goes to church regularly.  As for his uniform, he’ll wear # 5 for the Braves this year.

Freeman looks forward to being reunited with his ex-roommate Heyward.  If he can match Heyward’s season from last year, it would be considered a great debut.  At least he’ll enjoy sharing a cab with his good buddy on the way to the stadium.

Troy Glaus Retiring?

As for Troy Glaus, he has decided to sit out the start of the 2011 season.  There just wasn’t much of a market for the 34-year-old Glaus despite his ability to hit for power.  ”Troy had opportunities to sign with more than one club this offseason and each time he was presented with a particular opportunity, he weighed it against spending more time with his wife and family,” agent Mike Nicotera said. “After a good deal of thought and discussion in each instance, he decided to pass on playing.”  It seems like Glaus should still have some years left.  He had a good first half of the year last year and was named to our mid-season all value team.  You would think that somebody has a need for a good power batter off of the bench.

When it comes to top prospects, these are the top 2011 fantasy baseball prospects who will likely start the season in the Big Leagues.

J.P. Arencibia will battle for the Blue Jays starting catcher job in 2011.

J.P. Arencibia, C, Blue Jays — Arencibia has a smashing debut when he clubbed a homerun off James Shields on August 7, 2010 on the first pitch that he saw in the MLB.  Arencibia added another homer and two more hits that day, thus becoming the first player since 1900 to hit two homers and four hits in his debut.  He picked up just one more hit in his 35 at bats and ended his short Big League stint with a .143 average.  Arencibia was .301/32/85/0 with Las Vegas last year.  Scouts like his power and in fantasy baseball, power is about all you can expect with a second catcher.  His defense is below average so he’s going to have to hit some dingers to win the starting job.  With John Buck gone, Arencibia will battle Jose Molina for the starting job in Toronto.

Chris Sale, RP-SP, White Sox — Sale, 21, was with the White Sox last year and did a great job going 2-1, 1.93 ERA, 1.07 WHIP in 21 games with the Sox.  Even more impressive was Sale’s 32 K’s in 21.1 innings with 4 saves.  Sale tops out at 95-98 and has a good changeup.  At 6′ 6″ and 185 pounds, he has to hit the weights and the buffet line a little more, but there’s no peanut butter and jelly in a Major League spread so he should be able to add some pounds.  White Sox GM Kenny Williams has indicated that Chicago may go with a 6 man rotation to start the season to give more time to Jake Peavy to be ready.  That means that Sale is likely headed for the starting rotation as the White Sox # 5 starter rather than be sent back to the pen.  When Peavy returns to the rotation full time, however, Sale is likely headed for a relief role depending on how he performs to start the season.  That could make for an interesting fantasy baseball pick.

Mike Minor, SP, Braves — Minor was promoted to the Braves last year when Kris Medlen went down.  On August 12, Minor had a dozen strikeouts, but fatigue caught up with him down the stretch and he ended his MLB stint at 3-2/5.97/1.58.  Opponents hit .314 off of him.  Minor did have a nice AAA season, however, where he went 4-1, 1.89 at Gwinnett.  Minor is currently slated as the Braves # 5 starter.

Freddie Freeman, 1B, Braves — Freeman goes into the 2011 fantasy baseball season as the Braves starting first baseman.  He is Jason Heyward’s good friend and ex-roommate through the minors.  .319/18/87/6 were his numbers at Gwinnett last year where he was named the International League Player of the Year before getting a late season call-up to the bigs.  Freeman had 4 hits in 24 AB’s, but one hit was a round tripper off of none other than Cy Young winner Roy Halladay.  Freeman, 21, uses the entire field, knows the strike zone, and is a good 2 strike hitter.  The 6′ 5″ Freeman was the Braves 2nd round pick in 2007.

Michael Pineda, SP, Mariners — Pineda is an imposing presence on the mound at 6’5″ and 245 pounds.  Pineda went from AA to AAA last year.  he was 8-1, 2.22 at AA and fell to 3-3, 4.76 at AAA.  ”You’re talking about a 6-foot-5, 245-pound guy with a 100-mph fastball as a starting pitcher, which is very rare,” GM Jake Zduriencik said. “He’s young, but he has all the earmarks of a top-of-the-order starter for years to come.”  The 22-year-old Dominican has good command and is penned as the # 5 start for Seattle.

Kyle Drabek, SP, Blue Jays — The son of former Cy Young winner Doug Drabek certainly has the pedigree.  He was 14-9, 2.94 at AA New Hampshire last year before getting a September call-up to Toronto where he was 0-3, 4.76.  Drabek is known as a hard worker and was the jewel in the trade that sent Halladay to the Phillies.  Drabek will be the Blue Jays # 4 starter this season.

Aroldis Chapman, RP, Reds — The Cuban defector Aroldis Chapman needs no introduction to most fantasy players.  In just 13.1 innings last year for Cincy, he received incredible publicity when he set the all-time speed record by hitting 105 MPH.  Chapman was 2-2, 2.03 and fanned 19 in those 13.1 innings.  There is no doubt that Chapman has a wild streak in him, but he is virtually impossible to hit by both righties and lefties should just forfeit their at bats.  The Reds may be tempted to put him in the rotation, but we think he’s best off as a lights out closer.  He’ll open the 2011 season as the set up man for Francisco Cordero, but may be moved into the closer role should Cordero faulter.

Domonic Brown, OF, Phillies — The Phillies certainly had enough confidence in Brown to allow the much more expensive Jason Werth to flee south to Washington.  Brown appears to have all the tools, but he had a few growing pains during the stretch run and in the postseason.  Brown hit .210 in 62 AB’s with 2 HR’s.  At AA and AAA, he hit over .300 and hit a combined 20 homers with 68 RBI.  Brown will be the Phillies starting right fielder with some occasional help from Ben Francisco.

Desmond Jennings, OF, Rays — Desmond Jennings was thought to be the starting left fielder for Tampa Bay this year, filling the considerable void left by the departure of free agent Carl Crawford.  That was until last week when the Rays acquired veterans Manny Ramirez and Johnny Damon.  Jennings opened the season on the DL after suffering a wrist injury in Spring Training.  He went on to hit .278/3/36/37 until a September call up to the Rays where he hit .190 with 2 SB’s and 2 RBI down the stretch.  Jennings game is speed and he seems like the best choice to play LF for Tampa Bay.  But, if the Rays felt that way, why did they bother to pick up Damon at $5.25 million?  This is a situation that you are going to have to watch closely during Spring Training to see where Jennings opens the season.  He surely won’t make the Rays just to sit on the bench.

BRIGHT FUTURE: Desmond Jennings will have to beat out Johnny Damon to start the season in Tampa Bay.