Fantasy Relevance ‘09 is a breakdown of each M.L.B. team that shows the players with fantasy value from each respective team. There are four categories the players will be broken down into and they are as follows: Studs, Role Players, Keepers and Sleepers. Hopefully this will help you in your quest for Fantasy Baseball dominance.

Studs:

Chipper Jones- After beginning the season on a tear, nobody thought that Jones would be able to sustain his statistical dominance for the entire season, and they were right. His season was cut short by injury just like every season it seems. It is so frustrating for a player of his caliber to only play 2/3 of a season every year. If he could just stay healthy for a full season he would be in the running for MVP every year. Draft him and try to trade him as late in the season as possible before he hurts himself and maybe you’ll be able to swindle someone into taking him off your hands before he falls apart.

Brian McCann- You really can’t go wrong with McCann as your Catcher. He will be batting cleanup for the Braves and is a solid fantasy player all around. He hits for average and has decent pop. He will have a lot of opportunities to drive in runs this year with Yunel Escobar, Kelly Johnson and Chipper batting in front of him.

Derek Lowe- Here is a very solid pitcher that will have a chance to really thrive in his new home. Always a good source of ERA and WHIP. Lowe should do just fine switching over to the NL East. His numbers might take a slight hit from the tougher competition he will be facing but I don’t think it will be that big of a difference. He won’t get you a ton of Ks but he will give you solid outings more often than not and that is a lot harder to come by than most people think.

Role Players:

Mike Gonzalez- Two years removed from elbow surgery, Gonzalez can’t wait to get on the mound and show Braves fans what he is really capable of. In ‘06 Gonazalez posted a 2.17 ERA while compiling 24 SV for the Pirates. Now he is ready to do that and more for the Braves. He has the potential to be a lethal Closer and is cemented in the role this year as long as he is healthy. Here is what he had to say about his arm after he started throwing in January, “I felt like I had a new arm,” Gonzalez said. “I felt like I was 20 years old again. I went out there and was just slinging it. I’ve been having to back off a little bit because my arm was just like ‘Man, you better go.’”
He could easily make his way into the fantasy stud category.

Jeff Francoeur- After a disappointing season last year, Francoeur has really made a point of doing everything he can to not repeat his ‘08 season. After batting .293 in ‘07, Francoeur hit a miserable .239 last year. I really think that a lot of it was mental and hopefully the off-season has given him time to forget about last season so he can move on and contribute the way everyone expected him to. Don’t be surprised though if he has a short leash with Bobby Cox. The Braves need him to play up to his potential or he won’t be playing for them at all.

Javier Vazquez- After a pretty good ‘07 season, Vazquez came back down to Earth in ‘08 to hover right around his career averages. He is a good middle of the rotation pitcher that will get you a lot of Ks but your ERA and WHIP will suffer. He shouldn’t have any problems getting you double digit wins but they will be low double digits.

Keepers:

Kelly Johnson- Now that the whole Rafael Furcal ordeal is done, Kelly Johnson can go back to knowing that he will be the starting 2b for the braves this year. He is one of those guys that people forget about every year and get angry with themselves when they see him go on draft day when they realize that they still don’t have a 2 bagger on their roster. He doesn’t have much pop but he will get on base a lot and he will score runs. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him raise hi batting average into the .290-.300 range this year either.

Sleepers:

Casey Kotchman- He didn’t do much after he was traded to the Braves last year but that shouldn’t follow him into this season. In limited at bats throughout his career, Kotchman has shown flashes of what he could do if given a regular starting job. He has a chance to win that job this year and could really surprise some people with his power.