If Sean Rodriguez didn’t have 2nd base eligibility, he wouldn’t get this 2011 fantasy sleeper post. Keep that in mind. I like him, but he doesn’t have a secure enough spot in the Rays’ plans to warrant his own post without that eligibility, which, of course, is much prettier at your middle infidel spot. Last year in part-time duty (hehe, I said duty), Rodriguez had a line of 53/9/40/.251/13. Yawn all you want, but that’s in only 343 ABs. There were probably times when you owned him. Say exiting Spring Training (.460 average, .873 SLG) or maybe you owned him from June to August (7 homers, 10 steals in 211 ABs). Maybe you owned him because you remembered he was some kinda Baldwin in the minors — 30 homers and 9 steals in 2009. That woke you up, huh? How about this — in 744 minor league games, he has 127 homers and 104 steals. Before we start gazing into each others’ eyes and whispering sweet-nothings, Sean-Rod put up those numbers in hitter-friendly parks. Prior to exiting this Intro Paragraph, let me point out he’ll be 26-years-old in April. It’s getting close to now or never. How one responds to that is anyone’s guess, but it’s there. So what can we expect of Sean Rodriguez in 2011 fantasy baseball and what makes him a sleeper?
It’s really about opportunity with Sean Rodriguez. If he gets 500 ABs, he could give you 15-20 homers and 15-20 steals. Right now, as I type this post, I don’t think he gets 500 ABs. But — and unless you’re an alien there’s always a but — he can get 500 ABs. No one’s drafting Rodriguez in the first 15 or so rounds. In some leagues, he won’t be drafted at all. As a last round MI, it doesn’t even matter if he has a starting job when you draft. Would you prefer Orlando Hudson as your MI who you’re going to drop by April 20th? Or would you prefer a guy with 20/20 upside that may not have a job? You want the latter, which, I believe, is the second one. Trust me, if you need to find an MI replacement in April, you’ll be able to. Go for upside! In 2011, I could see Sean Rodriguez giving a line of 65/18/75/.245/20. Sure, that’s crazy optimistic, but whatevs it’s a late-round flier. (BTW, is it flyer or flier? Can I get a ruling on this? Thank you.)
