I have a confession, there’s no easy way to do these sleeper posts. A sleeper in a 15 team league is undraftable in a 10 team league. A sleeper in a 10 team league is muy obviousmente in a 15 team league. Last year, I got some guff for calling Carlos Gonzalez a sleeper because everyone in anything deeper than a 10 team league knew about him. In a ten team league, people were excited to know about him. I mention this because I feel Drew Stubbs is in the same boat this year. Last year, he put up a line of 91/22/77/.255/30. To think a guy who went 22/30 is a sleeper is laughable in some leagues. If you’re in a 15 team league and you don’t know about Drew Stubbs, well, to paraphrase Walter Sobchak, you’re out of your league, Donny. So if you know all about Drew Stubbs, skip ahead to the comments and compliment me on the fullness of my mustache. If you’d like to know why Drew Stubbs is a 2011 fantasy baseball sleeper, read the next paragraph.
It’s no secret; I love guys who only hurt you with a low average. You obviously don’t want a ton of these guys on the same team. I’m not here to tell you to punt average. It’s just average is crazy fickle and a .240 hitter is easily a .275 hitter with a few more bloop singles. Then you get a guy whose speed is off the charts. A guy whose speed is tied with Jose Reyes and just off Michael Bourn on Bill James’ Speed Score and is top five for all of baseball. In 550 ABs, if Stubbs has 130 hits and beats out an extra 10 infield singles, his average goes from .236 to .255. Ten infield hits is nothing for a guy with his speed. Last year, he only had 18, but Hunter Pence had 31 and Jeter had 26. They are decidedly obviously whateverly slower, but they do hit more ground balls. So I’m not saying he will hit for a better average, but it’s possible with a little luck. Stubbs tends to hit the ball in the air, which is good and bad. He doesn’t always utilize his speed as much, but he hits a bunch of homers. The minor league numbers don’t scream power, but he’s showing it and I’m willing to believe it will continue. A line of 95/18/65/.260/32 doesn’t seem farfetched. That’s a top 20 outfielder who will be drafted after the top 20 outfielders and will be a fantasy sleeper next year. Oh, and the 2011 rankings come Monday, prepare your Moose Munch.
