Posted by Mike Caprio July 10, 2009

Yesterday we began an analysis of our own pre-season Top 10 2009 Fantasy Baseball Keepers, starting with Catcher, First Base, and Second Base.

We also highlighted surprising performances over the 1st half of the 2009 baseball season at each of those positions.

Permanent Power Outage at Citifield? (Icon Sports Media)

Third Base

This season has been an interesting one at the hot corner, with all the drama surrounding Alex Rodriguez during Spring Training, then the hip surgery, combined with David Wright’s power going the way of the buggy whip, it’s hardly been an easy year to handicap 3rd Base—especially in New York.

What went right

David Wright is a “mixed bag” for Fantasy owners as Citifield has affected the nature of what you can expect from our pre-season #1 Keeper.  With only 5 HR’s at this point of the season, Wright has been a disappointment, however for Roto GM’s his Average and Stolen Bases should pacify some critics; Evan Longoria has reinforced his top standing with a solid sophomore season at the break; Ryan Zimmerman has returned to his pre-injury fantasy status; and Kevin Youkilis has continued to make his case as a Top-5 Fantasy 3B.

What went wrong

Alex Rodriguez has not returned to form after pre-season Labrum surgery, batting just .247 at the break—but his 14 HR’s should give owners in PPA leagues reason to believe; Aramis Ramirez has missed two months after a shoulder separation and is now just returning to the delight of Lou Piniella; Edwin Encarnacion has missed nearly three months after a wrist fracture, returning to the line-up last week for the Reds for the first time since April; and Garret Atkins has seen his numbers drop out of the bottom with only 6 HR’s and .227 Average at the break.

Biggest Surprise

Russell Branyan.  No question about this one.  A part-time player for most of his career, Russell has morphed into a legitimate regular for the Seattle Mariners.  His 21 HR’s at the break put him among the Top 10 HR hitters in the league.  It’s unclear to me whether Branyan is for real…he’s hit both righties and lefties equally well, and it could just be that the 34-year old is now just “getting it”.

If he can stay healthy he's still the #1 Keeper in the Game (Icon Sports Media)

Shortstop

Shortstop was always one position that fantasy baseball GM’s coveted, and with good reason.  This season has proved to be a challenging for 2/3 of our top three Shortstop.

What went right

Despite some aches and pains along the way, the #1 Keeper in Fantasy baseball has performed admirably for a Marlins team in contention at the break…in Hanley we believe!; Derek Jeter appears to have returned to form with a resurgence in power—10 HR, 17 SB’s and a .314 Avg; Troy Tulowitzki has also returned to his pre-injury form with 14 HR’s at the break; and Yunel Escobar is showing that he can compete with the stick at the major league level.

What went wrong

What didn’t?  Jose Reyes’ mysterious calf, knee, or more specifically—leg issues have robbed fantasy owners of most of the season; Jimmy Rollins has hit like Felix Fermin through the first half; Stephen Drew has “caught” the family injury-bug; JJ Hardy and Jhonny Peralta are hitting .220 and .260 respectively; and Khalil Greene went on the DL for the second time this season for anxiety related issues.

Biggest Surprise

Ben Zobrist.  For the “lucky” bastard in your league who owns him, you should grant him a new league award, “Sleeper Nostradamus”.  Zobrist has a 1.008 OPS at the break, with 17 HR’s, 10 SB and 50 RBI’s.

400 yard drive? (Icon Sports Media)

Left Field

As I mentioned with our pre-season Keepers, in our leagues we separate OF positions—if you don’t in your league, you should.

What went right

Ryan Braun, again a no-brainer, has continued his reign as the top LF in baseball; Adam Dunn and Carlos Lee have performed to their consistent career lines; and Jason Bay has taken a leap in a contract-year to one of the top LF’s in baseball.

What went wrong

It was hard to argue with Matt Holliday’s career numbers (Road numbers notwithstanding), but he has had a tough contract-year in Oakland; Carlos Quentin has missed most of the season with plantar fasciitis; Alfonso Soriano, with 14 HR’s, is only batting .230 with 7 SB’s; and the “King” Manny Ramirez was of course suspended 50 games for PED’s.

Biggest Surprise

To me, there are a couple.  First: Carl Crawford has rebounded to the delight of Roto GM’s everwhere, with 44 SB’s at the break; Second: Raul Ibanez, though currently disabled, jumped out to an incredible start to the season, and if healthy could be the catalyst that sends the Phils back to the  Fall Classic.

I’ll try and get to the rest of the OF, and Top Prospects this weekend, before tackling the pitchers next week.

In the meantime, who do you think is the biggest disappointment at Third Base, Shortstop, or Left Field? (Vote for up to 3 players)

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