Rookie pitchers give you a roofie. Rookie hitters give you agita. So why do we keep going back for more like a guest on Oprah? It’s sorta like the old joke that Woody Allen quotes in Annie Hall. We need the eggs. Besides said eggs, if a rookie somehow/someway breaks out, he’ll help you win your championship. Face it, if you draft properly in the first 7 to 10 rounds, your team will be competitive, but so should other teams. It’s what you do after those rounds that makes the difference. You’re not winning your league with A-Rod, but you could with Ian Desmond. As wonky as that sounds, it’s true. If you click on the player’s name, you’ll find whole posts and projections for each guy. It’s like Santa woke up drunk in March. Anyway, here’s some rookies to target for 2010 fantasy baseball:
Brian Matusz – As the fortune cookie that snuck through quality control says, a person who goes to bed with scratchy rear wakes up with a smelly finger. Rookie pitchers can give you a scratchy rear. I’m real hesitant about rookie pitchers. I’d prefer a starter to target from that post.
Buster Posey – I wouldn’t touch him in two catcher leagues at this point. There’s nothing really to get excited about for 2010 without the Giants getting hit by injuries. Namely, the fat one in The Flying Molina Brothers. In deep keepers, I’d grab him late; Posey will be back at some point.
Logan Morrison – Just about everyone has given up on Gaby Sanchez, except the Marlins. Morrison will break on through at some point. May not be until September, says my Native American shaman.
Ian Desmond – It’s asking a lot for the Nats to make the right move, but the right move is starting Desmond.
Jason Heyward – NL Rookie of the Year? Yeah, he can do it, but more than likely, if he gets off to a hot start in April, I’m going to be telling everyone to sell him.
Carlos Santana – Unlike Posey, he could be up sooner vs. later because Lou Marson and Wyatt Toregas, who sounds like a vaquero, are blocking him. Still wouldn’t draft Santana for my bench in non-keepers. The roster space vs. reward just isn’t great enough.
Tyler Flowers – One of the few rookies I didn’t dedicate a post to in the offseason, because A) Pierzynski is nothing if not reliable. Emphasis on nothing. B) Rookie catchers tend to underperform their 1st year. See Wieters’s 2009 for further proof. C) There’s no C.
Austin Jackson – Along with Ian Kennedy, Austin seems to be suffering from The Felipe Lopez, Not That Felipe Lopez Rule.
Neftali Feliz – Ah, I had high hopes for Feliz this year, but it doesn’t look like he’s making the club out of the spring. There’s always Aroldis Chapman. Speaking of which…
Aroldis Chapman – If anyone can handle Dusty’s human rights violations, it’s a guy who played for Fidel Castro.
Desmond Jennings – Probably won’t be up until September, but I’d grab him in deep AL-Only leagues and/or keepers. Desmond will be a great one as long as he can find his constant.
Mike Stanton – Barring injuries, we won’t see him until September at the earliest. In NL-Only keepers, I could see taking a flier on him.
Scott Sizemore – Hey, a player on this list that actually might have an every day job to start the season! Dare to dream. And he’s the one with an injury. He’s recovering from his ankled ankle and should be ready to go by Opening Day. Sizemore can/should be owned in 12 team mixed leagues.
Stephen Strasburg – I’m pretty sure the only reason Strasburg even seemed like he might have a chance to make the club out of the spring was so the Nats could sell some tickets. Now the House of Strasburg fans, dressed in early-1900s Austrian uniforms, will have to wait until at least June.
