Pre Spring Training Top Fantasy Players 100 to 91

Leading up to spring training we will be releasing our top 100 players fantasy wise for the upcoming season.  This will be a preliminary list with changes being made before everyone's fantasy drafts.  We just couldn't wait until March to break into the fantasy aspect of baseball.  Hope you enjoy.


100.  Pedro Alvarez-  When I made this list I had the Pirates third base masher at number 100, then came the reports that Alvarez is already 15 pounds overweight.  This could turn into good news or bad news for people targeting Alvarez on draft day.  I've seen Alvarez coming in on draft boards anywhere from 75 to 130,  if owners in your league buy into Alvarez as having a Pablo Sandoval type falloff you can get him lower than 100.  Spring Training will show us a lot on how in shape Alvarez will be for the season. 


99.  Jimmy Rollins-  Jimmy Rollins got old, and got old very quickly on all of us.  But the scarcity of the shortstop position in fantasy keeps him in our top 100.  Last year Rollins struggled with injuries and only played 88 games.  He batted .243 with only 8 home runs and 17 stolen bases.  If he can stay healthy he will be fantasy relevant, but there are less riskier players.

98. Trevor Cahill-  Another young pitcher who is very underrated by many experts.  In ESPN's mock draft he went 163th overall in the 17th round, which is crazy for someone who finished 9th overall in the AL Cy Young race.  As a 22 year old last year Cahill won 18 games while having a 2.97 Era in 30 starts.  The Athletics quietly improved their team, especially their bullpen and we expect Cahill to put up numbers similar to last year playing in that big ballpark.

97.  Matt Garza-  A lot of people think the move to Wrigley Field will hurt Garza's statistics, I feel like it could be the opposite.  I always viewed Garza as an explosive type like Carlos Zambrano, but with better talent.  For the past 3 seasons he has sported an ERA under 4 and started 30 games every season.  Expect his ERA to lower now that he moves out of the AL East and starts to face pitchers in the 9 hole.  Don't expect a ton of wins out of Garza, but expect good numbers.

96.  Ricky Romero-  Romero is a youngster that is very underrated in most drafts.  In ESPN's most reason expert mock draft they didn't have Romero going until the 19th round, which is ridiculous.  I have him ranked at 96 because around the 8th to the 12th round you can get some very good and reliable pitchers for relatively cheap, Romero is in this group.  Last year he went 14 and 9 and had a 3.73 ERA while striking out 173 batters.  If he continues to progress and work on his walk ratio like last year, he will easily be a top 100 player.

95.  Josh Beckett-  Could this guy get any worse than last season?  The answer is no.  95 could be too high for Beckett and he will go much lower in drafts, but he is worth the risk if he returns to form.  The Red Sox will be very good this year and will give Beckett the opportunity to win a lot of games, especially since Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz have assumed the 1-2 role for the Red Sox.  Beckett is a low risk high reward which is uncommon for his career.

94.  Tommy Hanson-  In his first full season in the majors Hanson impressed with a 3.33 ERA in 34 starts.  The only thing that worries me is it was the first time Hanson has eclipsed the 200 inning mark, and that he only won 10 games last year.  Now Billy Wagner is gone for the Braves, and I'd like to see how Craig Kimbrel handles spring training before I bump him up my rankings.  In our post spring training rankings he could be considerably higher.

93.  Aubrey Huff-  It's tough to rank Huff this high but it's very tough to discount his season for the World Series champions.  Huff hit .290 with 35 doubles, 26 home runs, and 86 rbi's while coming in 7th in the MVP race.  I would not expect him to duplicate these numbers but if you can draft him expecting .275/ 20 home runs/ and 80 rbis you will get a bargain for this overlooked veteran.

92.  Alexei Ramirez-  We've been waiting for Alexei to breakout after coming in second 2nd in the rookie of the year voting in 2008.  Unfortunately, he hasn't gotten any better so far.  That still keeps him in the second tier shortstops and in our top 100.  Ramirez will be 29 next year, and with the addition of Adam Dunn to the lineup he could be looking at a little statistically boost.  He will be around the same price as Derek Jeter and Jimmy Rollins but should have more upside if things go well.

91.  Corey Hart-  After struggling in 2009 having a .260 average and 12 home runs, he rebounded with an all star season.  He batted .283 with 31 home runs and 102 rbis.  Hart won't be a .300 hitter but if you can endure the rough average expect the power and rbis.  He will be drafted from the 7th to 10th round and it all depends which type of outfielder you are in the market for.