Fantasy Baseball Geeks

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Each spring, most major league clubs have at least one unsettled position, where there’s numerous players, be it rookies or veterans battling for a spot in the starting lineup. Often times, these positions are not settled until the end of camp. This week, I want to focus on a few under the radar position battles to keep an eye on this spring and a certain player from each position that could be poised to make an impact for their respective clubs in 2010.

Sean Rodriguez - Icon SMI

Tampa Bay Rays  2^nd base/RF:

Last season, the Rays started the year with Akinori Iwamura at 2^nd base. After his knee injury in May, he was replaced primarily by Ben Zobrist, with Willy Aybar also grabbing some starts. Even after his break-out season, Zobrist is no sure thing to start 2010 at 2^nd base. Currently, Zobrist is the front runner to man this position; however, he could also end up being the starting right fielder, opening up a spot for Reid Brignac or Sean Rodriguez.  Rodriguez is the much more intriguing fantasy option. He came over to the Rays as part of the Scott Kazmir deal last summer and is in competition for the 2^nd base job/utility duty. He’s posted back to back outstanding minor league seasons, showing he’s deserving of a full-time shot in the bigs:

He had a brief stint with the Angels 2007 (167 AB, 3 HR, 10 RBI, 0.204) – enough to remove his rookie status, but not enough to really judge his overall potential. His minor league career suggests he has major power potential as a 2^nd baseman (127 HR in 2748 career minor league AB ; equivalent of 23 HR over a 500 AB season), but due to the Angels’ patience with prospects (think Brandon Wood, Howie Kendrick), he has been unable thus far to get a shot at a starting job. Even if Zobrist does end up at 2^nd base (leaving Matt Joyce in RF), Rodriguez could very well serve in a super-utility role, similar to that of Zobrist in 2008 and 2009. This could give Rodriguez sufficient AB to see whether he can in fact play at the next level. Given his strong minor league numbers, there’s no reason to suggest otherwise. Keep a close eye on this position, as Rodriguez’s power at a weak position could make him a hot commodity come April. Rodriguez has started out strong this spring with 5 hits in his first 6 AB, including 3 HR, 5 RBI and 17 total bases. If he continues his slugging ways the rest of the spring, the Rays will have no choice but to get his bat in the lineup in one form or fashion.

White Sox 5^th starter:

For fantasy purposes, it’s not very often that a competition for a 5^th starter’s role is note worthy. However, for the White Sox, all fantasy owners, especially those in keeper leagues, should be attentive of any developments for this spot as there is a potential big time sleeper. Entering camp, Garcia was the favorite for this spot. The former workhorse (200+ innings 6 straight years) has battled injuries the past three years, throwing a combined 129 innings over that time.  He signed a minor league deal with the Sox in mid-June and proceeded to start 9 games with a 4.34 ERA. Of his 9 starts, 7 were quality starts, so he showed he still has some gas left in the tank. As mentioned above, he’s thrown 129 innings over the last 3 seasons, so the expectations should be quite low at this point. If he either underperforms or gets injured again, there is a very intriguing option for the Sox: Daniel Hudson. Considered the Sox #3 ranked prospect entering 2010, Hudson was named the MLB.com Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Year for 2009. He pitched at 4 different levels last year, getting at least 4 starts at each level, and finished a combined 14-5, with a 2.32 ERA, 0.943 WHIP and 166 K’s in 147 1/3 innings. He was a late season call-up, throwing 18 2/3 innings over 2 starts and 4 relief appearances.  He was a 5^th round pick as recently as 2008, so even though he’s only pitched 217 professional innings, his improvement at each level has garnered strong interest from the organization. This spring, the big 5 for the Sox (Peavy, Buerhle, Danks, Floyd, Garcia) are expected to get the bulk of the work. However, keep any eye on Garcia and Hudson. Even if Garcia stays healthy and performs, Hudson is still a very intriguing keeper option who could get a chance either later this year or early next year. The more likely scenario is that Hudson sees considerable time with the big club – if so, being a 5^th starter for a contender, he has strong win potential (not to mention his K potential).

Washington SS:

For fantasy purposes, the shortstop for the Washington Nationals may be quite possibly one of the most uninteresting positions; however this position is slowly turning into quite a competition. Ian Desmond‘s late season action showed he is ready to take over as everyday shortstop for the rebuilding Nationals.  In 21 games (82 AB), Desmond hit 0.280 with 4 HR, 12 RBI and 9 runs – nothing spectacular, but pretty solid. As a 23 year old in his first duty with the big club, Desmond impressed the organization, so much so that he was slated to be the everyday SS before the club signed Adam Kennedy. After this signing, Christian Guzman was moved back to SS and Desmond is now in limbo. With Guzman coming back from shoulder surgery, but slated to start playing in spring games in the next few days, Desmond may have to play almost perfect this spring to take the job from Guzman.  He hasn’t disappointed thus far, going 4 for 6 with 1 HR and 6 RBI. Last season between AA and AAA, Desmond put together the following line: 0.330, 7 HR, 32 RBI, 21 steals, 54 runs in 97 runs. He’s had at least 15 steals in all but one minor league season, even showing nice pop with 12 and 13 HR in 2007 and 2008.  There’s a debate within the organization as to whether to use Desmond in a utility fashion or sent him to AAA to get everyday AB at SS. If Desmond can play himself into a spot in the lineup, being it at SS or all over the diamond, he could be a solid sleeper for deeper leagues, with double digit steals potential as well as possible double digit HR.

As always, feel free to send me any comments/questions via email: draftguru@fantasybaseballgeeks.com or hit up the message board below.

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