Another Fantasy Pros Feature

I am grateful to have been able to contribute to another feature over at Fantasy Pros.  Check it out here:  http://www.fantasypros.com/2013/04/fantasy-baseball-waiver-wire-rankings/

Thanks, guys!  Good luck in your games this weekend!

NFL Draft: DeAndre Hopkins

They played Sweet Caroline at the draft to honor the strength of the people of Boston last night.  The good people of New York gave it all they had in singing the traditional 7th inning stretch song of the Red Sox.  Stand up guys, those New Yorkers.  But, they totally messed up the cadence on "So good, so good, so good"... but I can't hold it against them.  Besides, I'd like to see the people of Boston try to do the YMCA.  They'd probably have the "C" going the wrong way.

Anyway, back to the draft.  My example yesterday with Cordarrelle Patterson didn't exactly come to pass, but exactly the concept I was illustrating did.  When the Texans selected DeAndre Hopkins at #27 they seem to have finally populated the other side of the field to give their quality quarterback another top-flight option and a buddy to take the pressure off of their super-stud #1 WR.

I don't feel quite as good about Hopkins in Houston as I would have with Patterson in Cincinnati, but it'll do.  Hopkins is the instant starter, he won't see any doubles, and he's got a great QB.  Add to that a really stellar running game and we should see Hopkins breaking open all year.  I really like his sleeper potential in 2013.

There were a few more skill position players taken in the first round last night, but not too many more.  Tavon Austin went early and Tyler Eifert was the only tight end taken, as we predicted.  And, also as predicted there weren't any running backs drafted.  We had Hopkins added to the mix as well as Patterson, so three wide receivers.  And, only one quarterback selected with EJ Manuel going to Buffalo.

Truly, that's not too much to digest as far as draftable players taken in the first round of the draft.  We saw some conspicuous offensive lineman picks and some potential difference makers on defense, though.  There are some puzzle pieces to sort through there for sure.

But, regarding the draftable guys, I'm of the unsurprising belief that Manuel is not a legit fantasy QB for 2013.  I would also stay away from Patterson.  Eifert and Hopkins are purely late round guys, but they both have solid sleeper upside.

Austin is a great case study, though.  We could literally see anything from him this year... there are tons of pros and also lots of cons with him.  A lot of what we can project with Austin rests on the shoulders of Sam Bradford, so my opinion is that the value you place on Austin should be directly proportional to the trust you have in Bradford.  Do you think that Bradford is a legit QB1 who deserved to be taken #1 overall but just has lacked the health and weapons and coaching to shine?  Or, do you believe that Bradford has shown his true colors and is just too inconsistent and injury prone to really perform at a high level?  In my opinion, your projection for Austin should follow your level of belief in Bradford.

Have fun with day two of the NFL selection meeting, Brainiacs.  I can't wait!

NFL Draft: Looking for Fantasy Impact

Tonight is the first day of the NFL Draft, which means two things:

1. I will be reduced to a giggling child for the next three days.
2. We have a big opportunity for fantasy football analysis.

The mind explodes with possibilities and in just a few short days they will begin to solidify.  If you are observant and astute you can begin to make connections and determinations about what these roster changes will do to the fantasy landscape this Fall.

The draft is the third piece to the off-season trifecta:  Free Agency, Coaching Changes, and the Draft.  If you pay close attention to these three elements and

Full Circle on Relief Pitchers

When I first started playing fantasy baseball I drafted pitchers like just about everyone else - a starter every so often and a couple of relievers later on in the draft.  As I started to play more often I realized that you could basically take your pick of the top setup men in all of baseball for pretty much nothing.  I theorized that you'd be able to get great ERA and WHIP numbers out of these guys for close to zero investment.

And, as I continued to develop the strategy I went from two or three relievers to four closers... then to five total relievers, then six.  I realized that your could dominate the saves category if you locked up four middle-of-the-road closers and if you added one or even two elite setup guys to the mix your other stats would benefit as well.  Plus, one of those setup guys could possibly get promoted to the closer gig which would provide even more value and a good trade chip later on.

I started to think about it even further and what I was seeing was that if you have an imbalanced number of closers on your squad you can start to run away with the saves category.  That cushion gives you breathing room in the category but also increases the value of the closers you own since you are making them more scarce.  All great things.

But, then I started to dig deeper into the numbers...