What Jake Peavy, Johan Santana, Cole Hamels and Brandon Webb all have in common is obvious. They all belong in the Pitchers Who Shouldn’t Speak At Next Year’s Fantasy Baseball Symposium For Fear Of Being Attacked category. To a certain respect, Ricky Nolasco is right there with them. He came out of the gate looking like a three-legged pony that wore a ribbon sponsored by Elmer’s Glue. The reason why I point out Nolasco as a potential keeper is there’s a good chance someone dropped him in your league when he was sent to the minors, so you might have him for a free round pick or very cheap. If that’s the case, giddy up, pony boy! I like Nolasco’s potential for next year. Through 147 innings, he has a 147/37 K/BB ratio, that’s outstanding. Any time a pitcher is throwing a K an inning and keeping his walks in check, he’s worth considering for next year if you have him on the cheap. He may just be my Wandy for next year, appearing on a majority of my teams. Also, the reason I didn’t like him in the beginning of this year (high innings in 2008) is the reason why he’s now appealing in 2010 (low innings in 2009). Anyway, here’s some more fantasy baseball keepers for 2010:
Joey Votto – He was dealing with some shizz earlier in the year that cost him over a month of the season. So let’s say he had his average month of 5 homers during that month off, then he’d be blowing his 2008 season out of the water and taking that natural step forward many predicted. For a player who will only be 26 next year, don’t be thrown off by the late season tailspin this year. He’s still very capable of being a 30 homer, 10 steal, .300 average 1st baseman. With upside from there.
Chris Davis – I’ll be perfectly honest. I love when guys fail after they are hyped. This allows their value to fall and people to begin to forget them. I’m actually kind of excited to even see if Josh Hamilton falls far enough in 2010 fantasy baseball drafts for me to have a chance at drafting him. The same goes for Davis. Last preseason, I talked about how Davis was overrated and ended up with Mini Donkey on all of my teams as a replacement. That worked out okay. With the emphasis on the imaginary “very, very” before okay. In 2010, it might just be Davis’s turn to strikeout 200 times and give decent production. As a keeper (I’m assuming he was dropped and you have him for cheap), Davis is looking much better for next year.
