Fantasy Baseball Dugout

Today’s guest author is Jeremy Wolf of The Wolf’s Den. Jeremy is a left-handed hitter on the Chaparrel High School baseball team in baseball rich Scottsdale, Arizona.  Jeremy hopes to play baseball in college and eventually be a general manager of an MLB team (he sounds perfect for fantasy baseball, doesn’t he?).  He claims that MLB Network is the “best thing that ever happened to me.”  I agree Jeremy.  Not sure my wife would though.

If you’d like to be a guest author for Fantasy Baseball Dugout, and see your article on the first page of Google, go to our About Us section and submit your article there.  We are always looking for great content to get out to our readers.

The Leagues Best 2nd Baseman

The second base position is evolving. You have to be able to hit for power, average, you need a strong arm and you must have range. Who in the league has all those attributes??*(all based on the 2011 season and projection for 2012 season.)

1. Robinson Cano, New York Yankees

BRONX CHEER: Robinson Cano is baseball's best second baseman.

2011 Season: .302AVG/ 28HR/ 118RBI/ 104RUNS/ 8SB?Summary:

He has the sweetest swing in the major leagues right now, definitely, top 5 of all time. He knows how to hit and he has the smoothest fielding ability in the league. Why is he #1 over Kinsler? Not because he is a Yankee, everyone knows he would be just as good on any other team, but because he gets big hits and big RBIs in big games. He has a knack for getting on base an a knack for scoring runs. Definitely top 5 hitters in the league right now.?2012

Projection: .310AVG/ 25HR/ 110RBI/ 95RUNS/ 20SB

2. Ian Kinsler, Texas Rangers

2011 Season: .255AVG/ 32HR/ 77RBI/ 121RUNS/ 30SB?Summary:

Definitely the safest bet for second place. He is a very good fielder with a very strong arm. He’s got a good eye at the plate but seems to be in a pitchers count every at bat because of his aggressiveness. He’s got great power, more power than Cano, but still lacks the average. Great speed and seems like he scores every time he gets on base. Look for a strong season in 2012 because he might need to carry the team.?2012

Projection: .260AVG/ 28HR/ 90RBI/ 115RUNS/ 25SB

3. Dustin Pedroia, Boston Red Sox

2011 Season: .307AVG/ 21HR/ 91RBI/ 103RUNS/ 26SB

Summary: Five feet, nine inches. I bet you have heard that so many times, but it’s true. His small stature packs a pretty huge punch. A great fielder, a great player, a great hitter and a great teammate.?2012

Projection: .300AVG/ 18HR/ 87RBI/ 95RUNS/ 20SB

4. Brandon Phillips, Cincinnati Reds

2011 Season: .300AVG/ 18HR/ 82RBI/ 94RUNS/ 14SB

Summary: Multiple Gold Gloves, and many more to come. He’s got power to all fields and he flies around the bases. He’s got one of the funkiest stances I have ever seen, but it works. He’s got a passion for the game and a passion for playing hard. He is the leader of that team and he will let everyone knows what he thinks. He plays like Orlando Hudson, and being a big fan of Orlando makes me a big fan of this guy. Look for a big big year from Brandon.

2012 Projection: .310AVG/ 25HR/ 90RBI/ 100RUNS/ 27SB

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Baseball’s Hottest Wives champions from 2008 to 2011 are featured in this video from Fantasy Baseball Dugout.

Past Champions — Baseball’s Hottest Wives

• 2008 — Heidi DeRosa
• 2009 — Heidi DeRosa
• 2010 — Saeko Darvish
• 2011 — Diana Roberts

Fantasy Baseball Dugout talks fantasy baseball and lingerie football on the Spadora on Sports radio show today.

BallparkBob reviews the fantasy baseball projections for Yu Darvish and posts him as the 15th best starting pitcher in your fantasy baseball draft in 2012. Bob also reviews his projections for 2012 fantasy baseball sleepers at the first base position.

Fantasy Baseball Projections for Yu Darvish 

UNCLE CHARLIE: Yu Darvish threw the Rangers their first curve ball when he arrived at the Dallas airport wearing a t-shirt with a marijuana leaf on it. Turns out it was confirmed to be a Japanese maple leaf.

 

Darvish, Texas Ranger

Just how good is Yu Darvish?

The Texas Rangers are betting that he is very, very good.  That’s why they invested $112 million in Darvish over the next six years.  That’s 6 years at $60 million plus a $51.7 million posting fee paid to Darvish’s Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters club in Japan.  The actual number of the posting fee was $51,703,411. The 34 was Ryan’s jersey number. The 11 was Darvish’s number. The Rangers were hoping for a little luck with their bid.

The combined $111.7 million trumps the $103 million that the Red Sox forked over in 2006 to acquire Daisuke Matsuzaka.  Matsuzaka received $52 million over six years plus the Sox paid $51.1 million for Dice-K’s rights.

Darvish was making $6.4 million in Japan and was the highest paid player in the league.  Not surprising for a two time MVP.  His Japanese manager thinks Texas got a bargain.  ”He is a pitcher who deserves more. As a person who has been following the majors closely, I want to say he is better than that,” said Hideki Kuriyama, the Sapporo-based Nippon Ham Fighters manager

Rolling the Dice

Boston would probably prefer to have its money back on Dice-K.  The Red Sox won the 2007 World Series as Matsuzaka went 15-12 with a 4.40 earned run average — followed by an 18-3, 2.90 ERA season. But the right-hander is just 16-15, 5.03 since his best season and he will miss much of the upcoming final season of his contract recovering from elbow surgery.  Matsuzaka was 3-3, 5.30 last year.

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Warning.  The following picture after the jump shows Yu Darvish nude and you should only click on this if you are over 18 and wish to see the picture.  This is not a joke.  Yu Darvish is definitely nude in the picture.

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First base delivers a lot of pop in fantasy baseball.  Look for these guys to add great value and return on your investment when you draft first basemen in your 2012 fantasy baseball draft.  There are some solid sleepers at the first base position in 2012 so you may want to wait until wait in your draft to pick up these guys if you can’t land one of the top tier guys.

SAFE: Paul Goldschmidt barely exceeded the at bats to be considered a Rookie of the Year candidate in 2012, but he's a safe sleeper bet to have a big year for the Diamondbacks.

1.  Ike Davis, New York Mets – Mets first baseman Ike Davis finished an injury plagued 2011 season with seven homers, 25 RBIs, 20 runs scored and .302 batting average in just 149 at bats.  That’s coming off of a rookie season in 2010 where he smacked 19 homers and 71 RBI.  Davis didn’t play after May 10 last year due to an ankle injury and then a series of unfortunate medical mistakes by his doctors.  The Mets are moving in the fences at Citi Field.  That can only help a 6′ 4″, 230 pound power hitter like Davis.

2.  Paul Goldschmidt, Arizona Diamondbacks — Paul Goldschmidt was mashing in the minors with 30 homers in 108 games so the Diamondbacks brought him up earlier than anticipated.  Goldschmidt hit .250 in his inaugural season, with eight homers, four steals, 26 RBIs and 28 runs scored in 156 at-bats.  He’s a big strikeout guy, but can add some pop to your lineup.  He’ll be pushed by newly acquired Lyle Overbay.  Goldschmidt is projected by Bill James at .266/32/99/9.

3.  Mat Gamel, Milwaukee Brewers — Mat Gamel has been stuck behind Prince Fielder for 4 seasons and is tired of being labeled as a prospect.  His 2011 season in the minors should turn heads: .310/28/96/2.  The only rap against Gamel is himself.  He reported to camp last year 30 pounds overweight and his Triple-A manager Don Money said: ”He’s hard-headed. He doesn’t carry himself well. You have to carry yourself like a professional, and he doesn’t do it and I’ve said it to him.”

4.  Anthony Rizzo, Chicago Cubs — Anthony Rizzo got in 93 games last year at Triple-A before getting the call to the Padres.  His minor league numbers were .331/26/101/7.  Rizzo really struggled in the Bigs, however, as he barely hit half his weight at .141 in 153 plate appearances.  It’s hard to imagine that the Padres would give up on him so quickly given his minor league numbers.  He’ll battle Brian LaHair for the first base job unless the Cubs decided to pick up a veteran like Pena or Trumbo.

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The MLB Fan Cave, located at the corner of 4th and Broadway in Manhattan, features interactive fan activities; hosts regular visits from MLB players, baseball personalities and celebrities.

Are you a baseball fanatic? Do you talk about your favorite players, stats, and anything MLB whenever and wherever you can? If so, MLB Fan Cave 2012 is looking for you!

Enthusiasm is not enough—we are seeking intelligent, unique, and diverse voices.  Selected individuals will represent baseball fans on a national stage.

This year’s competition is going to be intense as contestants from all over North America battle other MLB fans at the MLB Fan Cave in the heart of New York City’s Greenwich Village. Finalists will watch every single game of the MLB season while sitting in the MLB Fan Cave, meet their favorite celebrities and professional athletes, and write, report, blog and videotape their experiences in one of New York’s trendiest neighborhoods. This is a baseball fan’s dream, and we want to make it a reality for you.

The competition will be played from the Fan Cave while online fans help to decide who stays and who leaves. Entries (which include several written questions and a video submission) are now being accepted at MLBFanCave.com.

The deadline for all entries is Tuesday, January 31, 2012.

Must be 21 years or older.