Giants and the Fantasy League

It's a sad and helpless feeling when you wake up the morning after the final game of the World Series, knowing that you have the next five months to sit around and wait for the next MLB season to begin. Some say that 162 games a season can be boring and that baseball isn't that entertaining, but to the real fans it really isn't enough. There are different ways to experience the maximum amount of baseball throughout the season such as watching the MLB Network(TV Channel or Online), ESPN.com, or Sports Center. However, the way a true fan goes the extra mile to experience the season at an entirely different level is to become part of a/multiple fantasy baseball league(s). I currently am part of a fantasy league with some friends at espn.com, and since the fantasy draft has already passed and the season has yet to start, I feel that it is only necessary to analyze  the Giants players by how the espn fantasy league sees them. I'm sensing that this might take awhile so I will only cover last years active World Series roster, dedicate this blog post to the hitters, and write my next blog post over Giants pitching. Finally, I must admit that I only had minimal Giants players on my fantasy team roster, but between the eleven other teams in the draft, and my thirst for the strongest team possible this year, I couldn't allow myself to pick more Giants players than necessary. I'm sure they would understand.

Catchers (2)

28            Buster Posey       C

Posey was a big surprise for the Giants last year when he won the catching position and went on to become the rookie of the year. He will see the vast majority of the action behind the plate this year and is projected to score more runs, hit more home runs and rbi's, and steal more bases. This makes sense due to him joining the club after the season had started last year. My brother still regrets trading me Posey for Kershaw last year. Ironically, he picked him up very early in this years draft.

22            Eli Whiteside        C

Whiteside will get his chance to catch this year on days when Posey rests and only if Posey becomes Injured. No one drafted him this year or last year and he would only serve as a band aid in the catching position for someones team this year. His numbers were sub par last year and are projected to stay the same this season. 

Infielders (7)

14            Mike Fontenot      IF

Fontenot is a valuable reserved infielder that swings left handed. He has good career stats against righties and can relieve Freddy Sanchez at 2nd base or Miguel Tejada at SS (short stop). He may be valuable to the Giants, but he's worthless to the fantasy league. Every team wants the studs of the league so reserve players rarely see a fantasy start unless they catch fire when filling in for an injury. 

17            Aubrey Huff          IF

Huff is one of the fantasy favorites for our league this year due to his success during last years playoff race, and his multiple positions he can be put under. He is eligible as a first baseman, outfielder, as well as a utility player. Even though he isn't a top fantasy prospect, he can prove to be a valuable player during the fantasy season if he keeps his numbers the way they ended up last year. 

10            Travis Ishikawa    IF

Travis is a late inning defensive switch for first base. This can prove to be very valuable to an MLB club, but worthless to the fantasy league. His numbers are expected to increase slightly yet I highly doubt that when you take Belt into consideration for the first base job. Completely worthless to our league.

16            Edgar Renteria      IF

Edgar should retire. Not only is he not on the Giants any more, but he's got one foot in the "MLB playing days" grave. He's washed out with only 1.3% of American fantasy baseball fans owning him. Moving on.

21            Freddy Sanchez   IF

Sanchez is expected to have slightly higher numbers this year for the Giants at 2nd base this year. No one in my league owns him right now, but could prove to a big name later in the season if injuries begin plaguing the 2nd base position. Sorry that things didn't work out between us this year Freddy, I just had to move on to bigger and better things(Dan Uggla).  Can't make a dynasty with any weak links.

48            Pablo Sandoval    IF

Pablo is predicted to blow up this year with hitting. One of the top taken third basemen in our draft(even though there were about three legit choices). He had bad luck with pitchers not throwing to him, balls that became outs when put in play, and his weight. Well, he's lost 38 pounds and surely can't repeat his unlucky streak from the 2010 season. He could be a dark horse in our fantasy league this year.

  5            Juan Uribe            IF

Juan's a trader; no one likes him. Went to the LA Dodgers during the off season and is a band aid player in the league this season at best. He should go kick rocks.

Outfielders (5)

  9            Pat Burrell            OF

Burrell is on the down hill slope of his career. He is expected to have better numbers than last year, however remains to be picked up in our fantasy league because off the possibility of splitting time throughout the season. He might be a late addition, but there are way too many stud outfielders to pick up before anyone would give Pat the time of day.

13            Cody Ross           OF

Ever since my girlfriend picked Cody up in the draft, I have respected her a little bit less. I'm glad she picked him up because she passed up a lot of top prospect talent to get him, which helped out the rest of the league. Cody is a flash in the pan who put it together at the right time last year. He will have mediocre fantasy numbers this season at best.

33            Aaron Rowand      OF

Aaron Rowand will be an average player for the Giants. He will split time with the other outfielders on the team and never be able to put up any power numbers. He is owned by .1% of the fantasy nation and those must be the over the top die hard Giants fans out there. 

12            Nate Schierholtz   OF

Nate struggled last year against right handed pitching(which would be the sole reason he would be put in the line up to begin with). He's tabbed the fifth outfielder for the Giants and will most likely see minimal playing time this year. Only .1% of the fantasy nation owns him and they are dumb. 

56            Andres Torres       OF

Torres is a decent fantasy prospect. He isn't a stud outfielder, but is a good 3rd to 4th outfielder on a fantasy roster. The fantasy nation picked him up late in the draft on average, but he is currently 100% owned. He is overall a solid fantasy draft pick.

Final Thoughts:

After analyzing the Giants as far as fantasy quality, let me make it clear that the Giants are in fact a very good team when they play together, however there aren't too many hitting studs on the team since they are considered a pitching heavy club. In my next blog I will get into the Giants pitching staff, which prove to be fairly dominant are far as fantasy numbers go.