We fill out the 2011 fantasy baseball rankings with the last few hitters, the top 10 utility players for 2011 fantasy baseball. These players are only eligible at DH aka Utility. Frankly, I don’t think you should draft any of these designated hitters. They don’t allow enough flexibility. For example, what if you had Travis Hafner clogging up your Utility spot last year and you really wanted to pick up Jose Bautista? You would’ve been wretched, retching on all fours to borrow from The Decemberists. These guys have no position eligibility for fantasy baseball. As with past rankings posts, this top 10 for 2011 will be broken up into tiers, and their 2011 projections will be included. Anyway, here’s the top 10 utility players for 2011 fantasy baseball:
1. Adam Lind – This is the first tier. Lind is the only one in this tier. I call this tier, “Lind will bounce back, check his eligibility in your league.” Went over Lind’s projections in the top 20 1st basemen for 2011 fantasy baseball. (Note: Has 11 games at 1st base and 16 games in the outfield.)
2. Vladimir Guerrero – This is a new tier. This tier goes from here until Ortiz. I call this tier, “These guys will tempt you to draft them. Don’t. Okay, draft Vlad if he has outfield eligibility in your league.” Went over Vlad’s projections in the top 40 outfielders for 2011 fantasy baseball. (Note: He only has 19 games in the outfield.)
3. David Ortiz – Big Popup’s HR/FB% went from 17.2% in 2007 to 14.8% in 2008 to 13.4% in 2009 to 19.0% in 2010, which was actually near his career norm. So that means at 34 years old, Ortiz stopped the career slide and reverted back to his old ways or it means he had one last good year and will go back to the career slide this year. I’m guessing on the latter. 2011 Projections: 80/27/100/.255
4. Luke Scott – This is a new tier. This tier goes from here until Matsui. I call this tier, “Don’t draft these guys under any circumstances.” I don’t mind picking Scott off of waivers when he’s on one of his hot streaks. If you draft him and keep him on your team, you probably autodrafted. You’re also not reading this so I can say whatever I want. I was the one who used your Seven Samurai Criterion Collection DVD as a coaster. That’s for not even knowing Kurosawa until the Barenaked Ladies mentioned him in one of their songs. Scott’s projections are in the top 80 outfielders for 2011 fantasy baseball. (Note: Scott has 19 games at 1st base and 14 games in the outfield.)
5. Hideki Matsui – I worry about you and your fantasy baseball team if you even consider drafting Matsui. If he’s on the board and you’re considering drafting him, go for an upside pick. 2011 Projections: 50/18/70/.270 (Note: Matsui has 18 games in the outfield.)
6. Jim Thome – This is a new tier. This tier goes from here until the end of the list. I call this tier, “Now would be a good time for the AL to revert back to the pitcher hitting.” People convince themselves Thome is a good bet on draft day. “Hey, he hits 25 homers! That’s better than a flyer on some guy who I’m not even sure is getting playing time.” That’s you. And that’s incorrect logic. If, say, Reid Brignac is not getting playing time when you draft and Thome is, you’re still better with Brignac because when it’s the day before the season starts and Brignac is suddenly the starter, guess whose value shoots up? Thome’s value never goes anywhere. Ever. It’s like this, do you buy a penny stock of Atari hoping they regain their past glory even though they haven’t done anything new in 20 years and their factory is three Chinese men passing around a porn magazine or do you buy a penny stock of a hot shot new company that may or may not burst onto scene? Go with the hot shot. 2011 Projections: 50/22/60/.255
7. Jack Cust – Another Atari. Cust kayin’. 2011 Projections: 60/20/70/.235
8. Travis Hafner – More like ColecoVision. 2011 Projections: 45/15/55/.265
9. Dan Johnson – I could see telling people to pick Johnson off waivers during the season, but unless he has 1st base eligibility in your league (14 games) and your league is an AL-Only league, there’s no reason to draft him. 2011 Projections: 60/15/70/.245
10. Jake Fox – I almost put Nick Johnson here, but I was afraid if I ranked Johnson, he would read it, get excited and throw out his back. As for Jake, I still have the “Unathletic like a Fox!” t-shirts. As soon as he hits, they hit the market. 2011 Projections: 30/10/40/.245
