Drop It Like It's Hot!

There is a lot of debate over the strategy of dropping a category in your league. One side says that you want to compete in every category and should never concede any of them (at least until late in the season). The other side says, you probably are going to lose some category anyway, why not give one up to shore up your other ones. I am in the camp of dropping a category in one, and only one, situation - if your league has both saves and holds as categories. If your league has Saves and Holds, I say drop saves. Why? 4 reasons: 1) Because saves is such a finicky category. Too many closers do not keep their jobs all year. You may draft some closer and at he may end up as a holds guy or worse. Two recent articles have highlighted the danger of closers ('Forget Your Closers' by Scout Berardi and 'Draft Strategy: Heavy on Hitters' by Scout Rob). 2) There are always holds guys. While other teams are struggling to find closers, you can sit back and have your pick of guys who will get you some holds. 3) Discovered treasure. The pitchers you select to get you holds are also the ones that are generally in line to be closers if the present closer was to fail in someway. How nice is that? - A teams closer falls into your lap. Now you have excellent trade bait. You can trade him off for some player that helps your team and simply go pick up another holds guy. 4) One less thing to worry about. If holds and saves are categories, you are probably in a league that is 6x6 or greater. There is so much to consume that having one less category to stress over is pretty nice. Does this strategy work? Yes! I have used this strategy very effectively. In fact, this year I picked up Scott Downs (after the draft) and now will probably be able to trade him for a decent return since he will be getting some time at closer due to injuries to B.J. Ryan. It's already paying dividends! Every league is different. This may not work for you. Be sure to consider multiple strategies and find one that suits you best. Do not be afraid to experiment, mix things up, stick it to the man, drop it like it's hot. -Scout Monkey (scout_monkey@gmx.com)

Breaking it down

I am going to go through all 30 MLB clubs and give you a breakdown of hitters you want and hitters you don't. I am going to base this on 5 categories single season leagues(players that I dont see getting much better then now or are Worth drafting for one year), keeper leagues (players I think have the best ahead of them but can also help you win now), Steady contributors (these are players that just keep producing similar stats year in and year out), under the radar (players that are going forgotten in drafts but could definitly help your fantasy team), and avoid at all cost (pretty much self explanitory). I am not saying I know it all and these are just my personal opinions. feel free to post in response with your opinions on this as well. Starting in the AL East: Boston Red Sox Single Season--Dustin Pedroia Keeper--Jacoby Ellsbury Steady contributor---Kevin Youkilis Under the radar--Julio Lugo Avoid at all cost--Jason Varitek Baltimore Orioles Single Season--Brian Roberts Keeper--Nick Markakis Steady contributor--Melvin Mora Under the radar--Adam Jones Avoid at all cost--Cesar Izturis New York Yankees Single Season--Arod Keeper--Mark Teixera Steady Contributor--Johnny Damon Under the radar--Nick Swisher Avoid at all cost--Melky Cabrera Toronto Blue Jays Single Season--Alex Rios Keeper--Travis Snider Steady contributor--Lyle Overbay Under the radar--Aaron Hill Avoid at all cost--Scott Rolen Tampa Bay Rays Single Season--Carl Crawford Keeper--Evan Longoria Steady Contributor--Pat Burrell Under the radar--Dionar Navarro Avoid at all Cost--Akinori Iwamura AL Central: Cleveland Indians Single Season--Grady Sizemore Keeper--Grady Sizemore Steady Contributor--Johnny Peralta Under the radar--Shin Soo Choo Avoid at all cost--Travis Hafner Chicago White Sox Single season--Jermaine Dye Keeper--Carlos Quientin Steady Contributor--Jim Thome Under the radar--Jerry Owens Avoid at all cost--Chris Getz Minnesota Twins Single Season--Justin Morneau Keeper--Carlos Gomez Steady Contributor--Joe Mauer Under the radar--Michel Cuddyer\Delmon Young Avoid at all cost--Nick Punto Kansas City Royals Single Season--Coco Crisp Keeper--Alex Gordon Steady Contributor--Jose Guillen Under the radar--Mike Aviles Avoid at all cost--Mark Teahan Detroit Tigers Single Season--Magglio Ordonez Keeper--Miguel Cabrera Steady Contributor--Placido Polanco Under the radar--Gary Sheffield Avoid at all cost--Brandon Inge AL West: Seattle Mariners Single Season--Ichiro Suzuki Keeper--Jose Lopez Steady Contributor--Adrian Beltre Under the radar--Russell Branyan Avoid at all cost--Kenji Johjima LAA Angels Single Season--Vlad Guerreo Keeper--Howie Kendrick Steady Contributor--Bobby Abreu Under the radar--Juan Rivera Avoid at all cost--Gary Matthews JR. Oakland Athletics Single Season--Matt Holliday Keeper--Matt Holliday Steady Contributor--Jack Cust Under the radar--Mark Ellis Avoid at all cost--Eric Chavez Texas Rangers Single Season--Josh Hamilton Keeper--Chris Davis\Ian Kinsler\Josh Hamilton Steady Contributor--Michael Young Under the radar--Hank Blalock Avoid at all cost--Andruw Jones NL EAST: Atlanta Braves Single Season--Chipper Jones Keeper--Brian McCann Steady Contributor--Kelly Johnson Under the radar--Yunel Escobar Avoid at all cost--Jeff Francoeur New York Mets Single Season--Carlos Beltran Keeper--Jose Reyes\David Wright Steady contributor--Carlos Delgado Under the radar--Daniel Murphy Avoid at all cost--Ryan Church Philadelphia Phillies Single Season--Ryan Howard Keeper--Shane Victorino Steay contributor--Raul Ibanez Undert the radar--Chris Coste Avoid at all cost--Pedro Feliz Florida Marlins Single Season--Dan Uggla Keeper--Hanley Ramirez Steady Contributor--Jeremy Hermeda Under the radar--Cameron Maybin Avoid at all cost--Gaby Sanchez Washington Nationals Single Season--Adam Dunn Keeper--Lastings Milledge Steady Contributor--Christan Guzman Under the radar--Elijah Dukes Avoid at all cost--who ever plays 2nd base this yr. NL Central: Chicago Cubs Single Season--Alfonso Soriano Keeper--Geovany Soto Steady Contributor--Aramis Ramirez Under the radar--Mike Fontenot Avoid at all cost--I will say Milton Bradley bacause of the constant injury headache. Milwaukee Brewers Single Season--Prince Fielder Keeper--Ryan Braun Steady Contributor--Rickie Weeks Under the radar--Angel Solome Avoid at all cost--Bill Hall Houston Astros Single Season--Carlos Lee Keeper--Hunter Pence Steady Contributor--Lance Berkman Under the radar--J.R Towles Avoid at all cost--Miguel Tejeda St Louis Cardnials Single Season--Albert Pujols Keeper--Albert Pujols Steady Contributor--Troy Glaus Under the radar--Chris Duncan Avoid at all cost--Kahlil Greene Pittsburgh Pirates Single Season--Ryan Doumit Keeper--Nate Mclouth Steady Contributor--Adam Larouche Under the radar--Steve Pearce Avoid at all cost--Jack Wilson Cincinnati Reds Single Season--Brandon Phillips Keeper--Joey Votto\Jay Bruce Steady Contributor--Edwin Encarnacion Under the radar--Ramon Hernandez Avoid at all cost--Who ever plays SS NL WEST: Colorado Rockies Single Season--Brad Hawpe Keeper--Troy Tulowitzki Steady Contributor--Garrett Atkins Under the radar--Ryan Spilborghs Avoid at all cost--Todd Helton San Diego Padres Single Season--Adrian Gonzalez Keeper--Kevin Kouzmanoff Steady Contributor--Brian Giles Under the radar-- Matt Antonelli Avoid at all cost--David Eckstein Arizona Diamondbacks Single Season--Stephen Drew Keeper--Justin Upton\Chris B. Young Steady Contributor--Conor Jackson Under the radar--Felipe Lopez Avoid at all cost--Eric Byrnes San Francisco Giants Single Season--Aaron Rowand Keeper--Pablo Sandoval Steady Contributor--Randy Winn Under the radar--Fred Lewis Avoid at all cost--Eugenio Velez LA Dodgers Single Season--Manny Ramirez (if he signs) Keeper--Matt Kemp Steady Contributor--Juan Pierre Under the radar--Casey Blake Avoid at all cost--Juan Pierre (if manny signs) I will be doing my pitching breakdown shortly and will be posting it in the next couple days. Thanks for reading,

The Bay State Scout