Hope springs eternal for all 30 Major League Baseball teams, as camp begins. We’ll take a look at three sleepers at the pitcher position, and three sleepers among the hitters, to get you ready for the 2013 Fantasy Baseball season.
The good folks at FanDuel have already opened up their season opening $1000 Freeroll to kick off the 2013 fantasy baseball season in style.
***Click on the Link below to reserve yourself a Seat***
Heath Hembree, RP: Hembree is one to keep an eye on, especially if Sergio Romo struggles in his first full season as the team’s closer. Hembree is a power arm that touches the upper 90s with his fastball, and if he can manage to harness that power and keep his walks down, he could be someone the Giants turn to sooner rather than later. Last season in stops between Class A San Jose and Triple-A Fresno, Hembree held the opposition to a .186 batting average while striking out 43 batters. That’s the good news. The bad news is that he walked 21 batters in 43 innings. File away the name if Romo starts to blow saves on a routine basis. Even then, Jeremy Affeldt could get first crack at saves, but Hembree is waiting in the wings, too.
Chris Heston, SP: Heston is another power arm in the Giants farm system who is ready if needed. In fact, manager Bruce Bochy and general manager Brian Sabean have indicated such this spring, as Heston continues to mature. He has a solid fastball, a curveball that falls off the table, and a changeup which is major-league ready. Heston struck out 135 batters in 148 2/3 innings for Double-A Richmond while compiling a 9-8 record with a 2.24 ERA. He is expected to be a key member of the Triple-A Fresno rotation, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see him getting action at the major league level if injuries strike one of the starters. He appears to have surpassed P Eric Surkamp in the pecking order among prospect starters.
Sergio Romo, RP: Romo slides into the role of full-time closer after a dominant season in 2012, and an amazing run in the postseason. He was 4-2 with a 1.79 ERA in 69 appearances during the regular season, converting 14 of his 15 save chances. The opposition hit just .185 against him, nearly mirroring his career number of .189 in 276 career appearances. Romo has been dominant, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll dominate as the team’s full-time closer. This will be his first go-around starting the year as the team’s fireman, and everyone adjusts differently. He has shown no real chinks in the armor, and was awesome in the postseason in pressure-packed situations. Early on, he still might be fairly cheap as opposed to the other more proven options, but that might not last long.
HITTERS
Gregor Blanco, OF: Blanco is penciled in as the team’s starting left fielder, and he’ll need to hit a lot better than he did in 2012 (.244 batting average in 141 games) if he wants to keep his gig. Blanco doesn’t do a whole lot of things well, but he will get regular at-bats which makes his a cheap sleeper heading into the season. He can just get back to the production level he showed in 2010 splitting time between the Atlanta Braves and Kansas City Royals, he’ll be in good shape. Blanco has a career .331 on-base percentage, and he drew 51 walks in 141 games last season. Blanco is also good for nine triples over his past two major league seasons, so he has wheels. He posted a career-high 26 steals in 2012, getting caught just six times. There is fantasy value, and he can be a nice addition if you want to spend money heavily to bolster other positions.
Gary Brown, OF: If Blanco flounders, the team has plenty of depth in the outfield. The time could be now for Brown, who posted a .279 batting average with seven homers, 42 RBI and 33 stolen bases in 134 games at Double-A Richmond in 2012. Brown, who is a center fielder by trade, played left field in the Arizona Fall League, a sign the Giants might not be so patient with Blanco. There is little doubt that Brown will arrive sometime this season in the majors. Whether that is simply as a September call-up when rosters expand, or earlier in the year, really depends on Blanco’s handling of the twig and/or injuries cropping up for others. Just remember the name, as Brown has a chance to be a good one. Think Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim OF Peter Bourjos if you want to compare him to a player already in the majors.
Marco Scutaro, 2B: ‘Scootie’ certainly endeared himself to fans with a magical postseason run, batting .328 with eight RBI and 25 total bases in 64 at-bats over 16 playoff games. Generally, all of his productive hits came in ultra-clutch situations. He also hit .362 in 61 games after coming over from the Colorado Rockies in a mid-season trade, so the expectations are high for Scutaro. However, his daily salary should be fairly low as opposed to other higher-profile 2B like New York Yankees Robinson Cano, Boston Red Sox Dustin Pedroia, Philadelphia Phillies Chase Utley, Texas Rangers 2B Ian Kinsler, etc. In fact, in most daily games, Scutaro’s fantasy salary ranks about Top 15-20 among all second basemen. That means he’ll be a tremendous value early on, and it will allow you to stack the rest of your lineup without hurting yourself too much at the position. He can rake, and will pile up the hits most nights.
