Fantasy Baseball Advice

With our 2009 fantasy baseball rankings a sneeze and a “Bless you,” away, I’ve decided to look at the guys who have multiple position eligibility for this upcoming 2009 fantasy baseball season. This was an arduous (<–Word of the Day!) task, but I thought it might come in handy for the 2009 fantasy baseball drafts you’ll be doing. I know if I were in your shoes, I’d want a comprehensive list like this. I’d prolly even bookmark it. Maybe I’d even print it out for drafts. I only listed players that have multiple position eligibility because of ten games or more played outside of their primary position. Arod is not here; but Alfredo Amezaga is. Players with multiple position eligibility are listed once alphabetically under their primary position. The games played are listed in parentheses. Anyway, here’s all the players multiple position eligibility for the 2009 fantasy baseball season and where they’ll be eligible at:

CATCHERS

Brandon Inge C (60), 3B (51), OF (13)
Paul LoDuca C (26), 1B (17)
Russell Martin C (149), 3B (11)
Victor Martinez C (55), 1B (10)
Javier Valentin C (17), 1B (11)

1ST BASEMEN

Rich Aurilla 1B (82), 3B (63)
Roger Bernadina 1B (33), 2B (29), 3B (31)
Wilson Betemit 1B (36), 3B (21), SS (14)
Hank Blalock 1B (34), 3B (31)
Aaron Boone 1B (54), 3B (16)
John Bowker 1B (71), OF (19)
Miguel Cabrera 1B (143), 3B (14)
Miguel Cairo 1B (70), 3B (19)
Kory Casto 1B (23), 3B (13)
Frank Catalanotto 1B (33), OF (26)
Chris Davis 1B (51), 3B (32)
Ross Gload 1B (111), OF (11)
Doug Mientkiewicz 1B (37), 3B (33), OF (10)
Pablo Sandoval 1B (17), 3B (12), C (11)
Kevin Youkilis 1B (125), 3B (36)

2ND BASEMEN

Jeff Baker 2B (49), 1B (22)
Clint Barmes 2B (61), SS (36), 3B (13)
Asdrubal Cabrera 2B (94), SS (20)
Alberto Callaspo 2B (46), SS (18)
Jamey Carroll 2B (74), 3B (43)
Ronny Cedeno 2B (43), SS (27)
Mark DeRosa 2B (95), OF (59), 3B (22)
Joe Inglett 2B (66), OF (34)
Adam Kennedy 2B (84), OF (10)
Felipe Lopez 2B (101), OF (17), 3B (13), SS (13)
Jose Lopez 2B (139), 1B (13)
Mark Loretta 2B (46), 3B (17)
Luis Maza 2B (35), SS (16)
Aaron Miles 2B (85), SS (27), 3B (11)
Augie Ojeda 2B (44), 3B (28), SS (22)
Pablo Ozuna 2B (37), 3B (17)
Eric Patterson 2B (22), OF (17)
Cliff Pennington 2B (16), SS (10)
Omar Quintanilla 2B (40), SS (39)
Alexei Ramirez 2B (121), SS (16), OF (11)
Eugenio Velez 2B (69), OF (17)

3RD BASEMEN

Garrett Atkins 3B (94), 1B (61)
Willy Aybar 3B (41), 1B (19), 2B (10)
Casey Blake 3B (133), 1B (29)
Jorge Cantu 3B (129), 1B (66)
Jose Castillo 3B (110), 2B (12)
Craig Counsell 3B (38), SS (24), 2B (19)
Blake DeWitt 3B (95), 2B (27)
German Duran 3B (30), 2B (17)
Chris Gomez 3B (20), 2B (18), SS (13)
Carlos Guillen 3B (89), 1B (24)
Jack Hannahan 3B (126), 1B (10)
Wes Helms 3B (60), 1B (42)
Aubrey Huff 3B (33), 1B (24)
Martin Prado 3B (24), 1B (17), 2B (17)
Robb Quinlan 3B (39), 1B (22)
Ian Stewart 3B (65), 2B (12)
Matt Tolbert 3B (17), SS (14), 2B (11)
Juan Uribe 3B (57), 2B (52)
Ramon Vazquez 3B (70), SS (26), 2B (11)
Ty Wigginton 3B (82), OF (30)
Brandon Wood 3B (32), SS (28)

SHORTSTOPS

Mike Aviles SS (91), 2B (28)
Manny Burriss SS (47), 2B (41)
David Eckstein SS (57), 2B (24)
Brandon Fahey SS (46), 2B (10)
Nomar Garciaparra SS (31), 3B (11)
Alberto Gonzalez SS (26), 3B (14)
Brendan Harris SS (55), 2B (39), 3B (34)
Chin-Lung Hu SS (35), 2B (30)
Maicer Izturis SS (52), 2B (23)
Jeff Keppinger SS (108), 3B (10)
Jed Lowrie SS (49), 3B (45)
Nick Punto SS (61), 2B (26), 3B (12)
Luis Rivas SS (31), 2B (29)
Brendan Ryan SS (40), 2B (23)
Ramon Santiago SS (33), 2B (21)
Marco Scutaro SS (56), 2B (50), 3B (41)
Ben Zobrist SS (35), OF (19)

OUTFIELD

Alfredo Amezaga OF (79), SS (19), 3B (15), 2B (10)
Will Bloomquist OF (43), SS (12)
Eric Bruntlett OF (36), SS (35), 3B (27)
Chris Burke OF (26), 2B (18)
Chris Duncan OF (45), 1B (21)
Adam Dunn OF (141), 1B (19)
Darin Ertsad OF (88), 1B (12)
Esteban German OF (39), 2B (35)
Jerry Hairston OF (42), SS (34)
Willie Harris OF (103), 3B (14), 2B (14)
Eric Hinske OF (89), 1B (11)
Omar Infante OF (36), 3B (32), SS (20), 2B (10)
Conor Jackson OF (77), 1B (68)
Greg Norton OF (26), 1B (11)
Dan Ortmeier OF (15), 1B (13)
Ryan Raburn OF (57), 3B (18), 2B (16)
Nick Swisher OF (97), 1B (71)
Mark Teahen OF (119), 3B (19), 1B (14)

Who’s a 2009 NL Rookie of Year candidate? Who’s a 22-year-old Phillies rookie who should be owned in keeper leagues already? Who won The Pickup Artist and how? Wait, that last one was off topic, but to answer, Carlos Carrasco, Carlos Carrasco, Simeon with negs and DHV spiking. Yes, saying these things about Carlos Carrasco is high praise. Lumping him in with a pregunta about The Pickup Artist is the ultimate. So why all the hype about Carrasco? Can he help your fantasy baseball team in 2009?

Um, dur. Yeah, of course. What was I just saying?  He’s the real deal. The butter on your biscuit, the mustard on your hot dog, the donkadonk on your badonkadonk. He’s wrestled with an average WHIP but he has a nice K:BB and doesn’t give up many home runs. In the last year, he improved his walk rate… Oh my, I almost put myself to sleep. Let’s say this, Carrasco can be a difference maker in 2009 like Volquez was in 2008. The real hangup, will he be pitching in Lehigh Valley or Philly in 2009?

The Phils promoted Kyle Kendrick from Double-A last year and he was hardly a doughy bagel. Pursue Carlos Carrasco in your 2009 fantasy drafts. All of them. Hold on, I’m bring out the caps — ALL OF THEM. Now don’t make go get the exclamation mark. If Carrasco doesn’t make the club out of spring training, he’ll soon be there and will make an impact. If he does make the team but only as a long man out of the bullpen, he will soon be starting. Don’t worry about what the Phils will be saying out of spring training. Remember Evan Longoria in 2008. In March, the Rays said they wouldn’t bring him up just yet. Then he won the Rookie of the Year. (And I’m not talking about a DVD of that bad Gary Busey movie.)

Most of the rookie nookie reacharounds I’ve given out so far have been for hitters. But that doesn’t mean all 2009 fantasy baseball rookies will be hitters. Right, David Price? So today there’s Dodgers rookie pitcher, James McDonald, who is in no way related to the smooth-as-a-Mah-Jong-tile, Michael McDonald. On my own… As with the other 2009 rookies, James McDonald is not being talked about today because he should be drafted in the first round of an 8 team league. He’s a rookie that needs to be examined for sleeper and deep league keeper consideration. Can James McDonald compare to Billingsley or Kershaw? Can he help your fantasy baseball team in 2009? Who am I, Ms. Cleo? Do I have a Doctorate in The Voodoo That You Do? Respectively, nope, yup, nope and definitely, but let’s look at James McDonald’s fantasy baseball status anyway, shall we?

In almost 100 games started in his minors career, James McDonald has the stats of a capable starter: 3.41/1.20 and a 9.74 K/9 ratio. He took most of his beatings in Single-A and Rookie Ball. In Double- and Triple-A last year, he had an ERA of 3.26 and a 7-4 record.  Then when the NLDS rolled around, McDonald found more than partially hydrogenated soybean oil in his Happy Meal when he was added to the roster by Joe Torre, even if it was just for middle relief. McDonald’s starter status in 2009 will be contingent on offseason free agent signings and the Dodgers are in too big of a market to simply rely on a rookie pitcher. But if they are stuck with McDonald, it might not be such a bad place to be. James McDonald could be a capable fifth starter for the Dodgers, a must grab in NL-Only leagues and a late round mixed league sleeper — recognize!

Andrew McCutchen has been compared to a young Barry Bonds. Not because he takes steroids and kicks puppies. He’s getting the comparisons because McCutchen is toolsy. Hey, Grey, my friend works at Home Depot and we call him Toolsy. Good to know, random italicized voice. McCutchen’s power is still developing and the speed is already there. He’s the top prospect for the Pirates (which is a bit like being the world’s tallest midget), as long as the Pirates don’t turn him into a crappy pitcher or lose him to the Calcutta Cricket League. (As some longtime readers may know, a few years ago I pitched a baseball reality show to studios. One of our biggest hurdles was who in their right mind would sign a winner of a reality show. Ladies and gentlemen, your 2009 Pittsburgh Pirates!) With the hype on McCutchen, can he help your fantasy baseball team in 2009?

The short answer is no. The long answer is nooooooo. The Pirates’ GM Neal Huntington said that McCutchen won’t be getting the starting job out of spring training. If McCutchen were playing for the Marlins, he’d prolly be going on his third year in the majors.  In all fairness, there’s only room for one Mc in center (much to the chagrin of anyone named Seamus in the Pirates organization), and McLouth is doing just fine. There’s a good chance McCutchen will simply be refining his tools in the minors in 2009 and if he gets the call it won’t be until rosters expand in September. Unless something changes in spring training, McCutchen is only a very deep sleeper in 2009 NL-Only leagues and a good, late draft pick in keeper leagues.

We’ve already looked at some 2009 rookies for fantasy baseball, such as Travis Snider, Matt Wieters, Killa Kahula and Brett Gardner. Now we turn our monocled eye towards David Price. It took some time for the Rays’ farm system to pay dividends, but, now that it has, it’s a doughy bagel. (A doughy bagel is a situation that is very good for its kind; eminently good. I’m trying to get “doughy bagel” to catch on so use it whenever you can. Thanks!) The best thing about this doughy bagel farm system is they are stacked right now in the majors and they have prospects in the minors. And the Jewel of the Tampa Nile is David Price. He’s bona fide as a character in a bad Coen Bros film might say. Aw, look at Grey, he watched the World Series and now he’s hyped up on David Price for 2009. God, random italicized voice, I hate you. Yes, there’s a chance that the World Series will have people overrating David Price for 2009. But there’s a chance he can be as good as the hype.

When he was at Vanderbilt (Did you know Grey almost went there for undergrad? You did? Stalker!), Price was some kind of dynamo. Price’s numbers are those of legends. Then the Rays took him from High A to Double-A to Triple-A to the Majors in 2008 as they boosted his Frequent Flyer miles and primed him for 2009. Between those Minor League stops he went a cumulative 12-1/2.30 and 109/32 K/BB ratio in 19 starts. He suffered his only loss in his Triple-A debut. Not necessarily a terrific sign, but it might have been nerves. In 2009, I predict the Rays will try and get Price at least 20 starts. This could mean he starts the season in the bullpen and waits for an injury to a starter cough Kazmir cough. This will shake out more in spring training. If you’re drafting for 2009 before spring, grab Price like a third or fourth fantasy starter. Think Gallardo going into 2008. Yes, I used one of the biggest busts of 2008 on purpose because drafting Price means embracing risk. Anyway, Price should go in mixed leagues some time around draft pick 130 to 140. In AL-Only and keeper leagues, you obviously need to be much more aggressive.