I was actually able to pick up Aroldis Chapman in my Keeper League!  Don’t ask me why he was dropped in order to add Milton Bradley in a Keeper League.  Or how with the last waiver priority I was able to pick him up at all.  The manager that did this has been known to draw a response of mass confusion from the rest of the league.  Well, my point is don’t worry if you have an expendable roster spot on your team.  There is always someone available on the waiver wire.

Here is a list of players that might be available on your waiver wire that can help your squad immediately or maybe a little bit down the road.

~First Base~

Adam LaRoche: We all know that he can’t hit in the beginning of the year but he always turns things around after a few months.  He will be a part of a nice lineup in Arizona and he will have a lot of opportunities for RBI and Runs.

Nick Swisher:  BA is not his strong point but he will hit HRs.  Every batter in front of him is a quality hitter which means he will be up to bat with runners on and/or in scoring position a lot this year.  He is a decent option if you’ve noticed that your team is lacking some pop.

~Second Base~

Scott Sizemore: The Tigers like him so much that they didn’t even try to resign Placido Polanco this past off season.  Many in fantasy baseball feel that Sizemore is capable of putting up a serviceable BA while reaching double digit HR and SB.  Now I know this doesn’t sound great but if you missed out on one of the better 2baggers, you might want to think about jumping on Sizemore before someone else does.

Alberto Callaspo:  He’s hurting a bit right now but he will be the type of player to get you double digit HR (barely) and hit around .300 while scoring a decent amount of Runs.

~Third Base~

Chase Headley:  Moving to third full time should help Headley out a bunch.  That coupled with another year of growth and he could be ready to have that breakout season.  He will be batting fifth this year so he should have some opportunities to knock in some Runs this year.  Double digit SB and HR are easily attainable for him this year.

Scott Rolen: Ability has never been the question when it came to Rolen.  Durability is his problem.  If he can stay healthy, he is more than capable of putting up very nice numbers.  Double digit HR with a BA around .300 is always nice off of the waiver wire.

Brandon Inge: No secret here what his value is.  Power to the tune of 25+ HR but you will have to swallow a pretty ugly BA.  Hopefully you have a strong BA team if you are forced to use Inge.

~Short Stop~

Alcides Escobar:  If you need SB then Escobar is your guy at SS.  He will start the season batting 8th for the Brew Crew but could move his way up the lineup if he shows that he can consistently hit at the major league level.  He will steal a lot and be noticed by your opposing managers quickly so don’t sit on him too long.

J.J. Hardy: He is coming off of the worst year of his career, but the good news is that he doesn’t have that many years in his career so far.  He is a former All-Star and could be a major comeback candidate this year.  He has the starting gig in Minnesota and could put up some big HR, RBI and Runs numbers if he can correct his swing from a year ago.

~Outfield~

Scott Podsednik:  He will get you SB if he is given the green light in Kansas City.  A .300 Ba is nice too.  He could make a nice 3-4th OF if you are in need of SB.

Carlos Gomez: Lots of SB opportunity here if he can just get on base.  He needs to show that he can do that first before he becomes a viable option but the Brewers seem to want to bat him in the two hole which will absolutely mean that he will see some seriously hittable pitches this year.  He will be running the bases a lot too so he will be a nice source of Runs and SB this year.

Kyle Blanks:  I know, he was probably drafted in your leagues but he wasn’t drafted in two of my leagues so I am going to talk about him here.  30+ HR potential here and he is only 23.  He is the reason that the Padres are even considering trading Adrian Gonzalez this year.  He is OF eligible right now but will most likely be 1B eligible shortly after the trade deadline.  I love this kid and his power is beautiful.  He will hit around .265-.275 but I will take that any day with the kind of upside he has.  If he is available, GO GET HIM NOW!!!

~Utility~

Troy Glaus: He is healthy and will play 1B for the Braves this year. He can still mash the ball out of the park and will be a good source of HR and RBI this year. As long as he is healthy, he will contribute.

I had a lot of fun during this draft.  In part because it was done over a conference call, thank you Michael Sadek (yes this is the son of former San Francisco Giants Catcher Mike Sadek but he knows nothing about baseball whatsoever) and also because of the way the dominoes fell for me during the draft.  I really like the first half of my draft but I was most impressed with the second half of my draft and how I was able to find value at a reasonable price considering where I took each player in the draft.  More on that later.  My goal was to wait as long as I could to draft a player with an ‘09 BA under .300 and to not overpay for closers.

Braun with the #5 pick was a no brainer.  I took him with the 3rd pick in my keeper league and I was ecstatic to see him fall to me at 5.  It is well documented how I feel about Braun so I won’t go on anymore in this article about him.

Hernandez will win the AL Cy Young and win me most of the pitching categories this year.  20+ win potential with a pitcher friendly park, tremendous defense and one more year of experience under his belt.

I’ve been known to refer to Morales as Pujols Jr.  He is a stud that hits for average, power and will be smack dab in the middle of that potent lineup in LA.

Cano is as solid as they come for second baseman.  In my book he is the #2 option behind Chase Utley(notes) and he will produce a comparable line to Utley.  Last year Utley’s line looked something like this: Avg. .282, HR 31, RBI 93, Runs 112 and SB 23 while Cano’s line was: Avg. .320, HR 25, RBI 85, Runs 103 and SB 5.  Keep in mind that Utley went 9th overall in this twelve team league and I got Cano with the 44th pick.  I’ll give up 6 HR, 8 RBI, 9 Runs and 18 SB if it means I can gain 38 points in BA 35 picks later.  I’m not saying that Utley is a bad pick, I’m surprised he made it to 9, but I think that if you include the the draft positioning I made out by picking up Cano instead.

Gallardo is poised to be a stud this year and could be a top 10 Pitcher this year.

Lind can hit and he hits a lot.  Not to mention he hits ‘em far.

Johnson is a very solid pitcher.

Cain will compete for the NL Cy Young this year.  He is a stud and I can’t believe I got him this late especially since this league is loaded with Giants fans.  This was one of my favorite picks this year.

Soria is as solid as they come when it comes to closers and I didn’t reach to get him.

Now here is where I really get proud of my drafting skills.

Kubel is the cheapest form of 30 HR, 100 RBI and 100 Runs you can get in the draft.

Borbon will bat lead off for the Rangers and will steal a ton of bases and score a ton of runs while not hurting me in BA.

Martin was my first non .300 hitter taken but I feel he is poised for a major comeback campaign and I got him with the 140th pick.

Miguel Tejada won’t hurt my BA, and he’ll get me 14-18 HR and he’ll score and drive in a solid amount of runs also.

Wagner was lights out when he came back last year and now he will close for the Braves this year.

Beltre is no longer hitting in Deathco Field in Seattle and should be able to easily eclipse 20 HR this year and supply some major offense for the Red Sox with 25+ HR potential.

Loney is somewhat blah but he will not hurt me in any category.

Liriano is my draft darling this year. I reached a bit to get him but there are two guys in this league that are in the keeper league so they knew I was targeting him.  If he can stay healthy all year he will be one of the most dominant pitchers in the league.

Rasmus is going to breakout this year.  If he hits in the 2 hole in front of Pujols and holliday, he could easily hit 25+ HR with all of the meatballs thrown his way.  There is no pitching around the Cardinals 2 hole whatsoever.

Jenks is healthy and back to being dominant.  We’ll see how long it lasts but for now, he looks pretty good at pick #221.

Perez will start the season as the Indians closer and he will finish the season as the Indians closer.  Kerry Wood is old and frail and the tribe will trade him as soon as he is healthy and has a few good innings of work under his belt.

Blanks has 30+ HR potential and he will do it from the 245th pick in the draft.  I love this kid’s potential.

Jackson was the draft pick that got everyone saying oh yeah I shouldv’e picked him up.  He should have a breakout year and supply me with a .300 BA with 15-20 HR pop.  All of the experts agree that he is a major upside sleeper since he is going way late in drafts and even being forgotten in some.

So, feel free to praise my team or rip me for being completely delusional.

Now, the San Diego Padres may want to hold on to Bell until the trade deadline to maximize their return but now is the time to trade him. He is coming off of a career year that will be hard to duplicate for a cellar dwellar like the Padres. Plus they have Mike “Impossible to Hit” Adams waiting in the wings. The Twinkies are desperate for a closer, so much that they have thought about putting Francisco Liriano in the role. Personally, I think that would be a tremendous move. But what do I know?

Bell to the Twinkies makes perfect sense. They need him. The Padres are willing to give him up. They need to make this deal before the Twins realize that John Rauch or Matt Guerrier can close games for them without any problems. Honestly, how many competitive teams at the trade deadline really need a closer? If they do trade for a closer they usually put them in a setup role which means that they are not really willing to pay top dollar for a guy that isn’t even going to close for them.

Now is the time for the Padres to get full value for Bell. Pull the trigger then wait until the deadline to trade Adrian Gonzalez and move Kyle Blanks to First Base. That would make my entire fantasy year seeing as I have Blanks, Bell and Adams in my Keeper League!

NL MVP- Albert Pujols (StL)… Enough said.  Ryan Braun will challenge him though.

AL Cy Young- Felix Hernandez (SEA). 20+ wins should be a cinch for King Felix with the retooled Mariners lineup.

NL Cy Young- Roy Halladay (PHI).  Tim Lincecum’s reign is over.  Halladay moves to a better team that will compete deep into the season.  Lincecum’s numbers might be slightly better this year but Halladay will probably have 20+ Wins to go with the rest of his stellar numbers.  Lincecum might have 15-16 Wins and will also have Matt Cain taking away some of the attention.

AL Rookie of the Year- Neftali Feliz (TEX).  Showed great stuff in a short call up and Texas is on the rise in the AL West.  Now that we know he will be pitching in relief, let’s just see how long it takes for him to become the closer.

NL Rookie of the Year- Stephen Strasburg (WAS).  I don’t care if he isn’t called up until after Memorial Day.  He will win the NL ROY award.

Position Player Most Likely to Surprise Everyone- Carlos Gonzalez (COL). He plays in a hitter friendly park and should see regular playing time. Expect a BA around .280-.290 with 25+ HR potential and 25+ SB potential.

Position Player Most Likely to Disappoint Everyone- Aaron Hill (TOR).  He had a great season last year blasting 36 HR and driving in over 100 RBI.  Don’t expect that to happen again with the lineup surrounding him this year.  He will still be a solid fantasy second baseman but think more along the lines of 22-25 HR.

Pitcher Most Likely to Surprise Everyone- Brett Anderson (OAK).  He has the makeup of a future Ace and he should be able to add on to his stats from last year.. Now, if he could only get some run support!!!

Pitcher Most Likely to Disappoint Everyone- Edwin Jackson (ARI).  He went from Detroit to Arizona.  Pitcher’s park to a hitter’s park.  He hasn’t been throwing all too well in spring either.  He looked like a future ace last year but something urged the Tigers to let him go.

Breakout Candidates/Keeper League Targets- Jason Heyward (ATL), Kyle Blanks (SD), Pedro Alvarez (PIT), Michael Taylor (OAK), Chris Carter (OAK), Justin Smoak (TEX), Madison Bumgarner (SF), Mike Stanton (FLA), Buster Posey (SF), Carlos Santana (CLE) and Drew Stubbs (CIN)

AL BA Leader- Ichiro Suzuki (SEA) .349

NL BA Leader- Hanley Ramirez (FLA) .344

AL HR Leader- Alex Rodriguez 42

NL HR Leader- Albert Pujols (MIL) 41

AL SB Leader- Jacoby Ellsbury (BOS) 64

NL SB Leader- Michael Bourn (HOU) 61

AL Wins Leader- Felix Hernandez 20

NL Wins Leader- Roy Halladay 21

AL SV Leader- Jonathan Papelbon (BOS) 43

NL SV Leader- Francisco Cordero (CIN) 42

AL West Champs- Los Angeles Angels

AL Central Champs- Minnesota Twins

AL East Champs- New York Yankees

NL West Champs- Los Angeles Dodgers

NL Central Champs- St. Louis Cardinals

NL East Champs- Philadelphia Phillies

AL Wild Card- Boston Red Sox

NL Wild Card- San Francisco Giants

AL Champs- New York Yankees

NL Champs- Philadelphia Phillies

World Series Champs- New York Yankees