Key Stats: Just take a look at the what they’re saying section, and you get the idea of where Michael Young’s value comes into play. Depending on the type of league he could be eligible at three different infield positions. There isn’t a player that should be taken ahead of Young that plays that many positions.  Going back to 2002, Young has never been placed on the disabled list. That is the biggest reason why he is the only third base eligible player to be ranked in the top 100 for six straight seasons.

Skeptics Say:  Maybe he’s never been on the DL, but studies show that he is human. He will be 35 this season. None of his numbers are really troubling in terms of Young heading toward a downward trend other than the home run production. That said, if he continues to hit for average and just hit in the Rangers lineup, it won’t matter in the grand scheme of a fantasy season. no comments

Reigning NL MVP Ryan Braun will get to start the season on Opening Day after all. Braun had been going 28th overall on average at Mock Draft Central, but now will undoubtedly be getting picked in the top five after his first ever 30 home run and 30 stolen base season. 

Braun won the appeal on a 2-1 vote at arbitration. More details can be found at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel who broke the story. 

While this news is huge for teams that were going to be forced into a tough decision on whether or not to keep Braun, it is also important for other players. Players that stand to gain the most from this include Corey Hart, Rickie Weeks, and Nyjer Morgan who have a little pressure lifted from their shoulders in trying to replace not just Braun but also Prince Fielder. Perhaps Morgan's value could even take a little dive as he will be less aggressive on the base paths with Braun being on the field in the Brewers first 50 games. 

I have Braun ranked fourth behind Miguel Cabrera, Albert Pujols, and Matt Kemp. It will be interesting to see in the coming days and weeks whether or not this story gets another chapter to it or it just simply becomes a footnote. 
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Key Stats: Brandon Phillips has been ranked as one of the 110 best players in fantasy baseball for five straight seasons according to the Yahoo rankings. Most recently he was ranked 37^th this last season as he contributed in all five of the major categories. He was 9^th in home runs, 7^th in steals, 5^th in RBI, 5^th in runs, and 3^rd in batting average among second basemen. When you draft this guy you are drafting dependability and a chance for help in every category.

Skeptics Say: Phillips’ line drive rate was significantly higher last season (about 4%) than it had been from 2008 through 2010. As a result his batting average was 29 points higher than it had been during that stretch of time. Bill James is one person that does not believe Phillips can sustain a high average as he projects that he will hit .279 next season. I agree with James. no comments

Key Stats: Elvis Andrus finished tied for 9^th in batting average, 7^th in OBP, and 13 in OPS among shortstops last season. Where he gets drafted should depend on if your league is progressive or traditional in the stat categories.

Skeptics Say: As the OPS above would indicate, Andrus does not get very many hits for extra base hits. Last season was actually a vast improvement compared to 2010. Andrus went from only 18 extra base hits to 35 extra base hits in almost the exact same number of at-bats. Still – 35 extra base hits is nothing when you consider that some of the players being taken off the board when he is jumping off the board could get 35 home runs. And when you look at his run in the playoffs (one double in 68 at-bats) all the growth from the regular season is easy to ignore. no comments

Key Stats: What a difference protection in the lineup makes... Pence was having a solid all-around year before a July trade freed him from the quad A squad in Houston. The power numbers were down slightly, only 11 HR's and a .163 ISO (his lowest ever) through 100 games with the Astros, but once he reached the city of Brotherly Love he was a new man, equaling his HR's to that point and producing a .234 ISO and a .954 OPS in 54 games down the stretch. We can't say the ballpark played a factor last year as according to statcorner.com both Citizens Bank Park and Minute Maid Park are extremely favorable to the long ball off right handed bats.

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Key Stats: Since his first full season in 2006 Howard has averaged a staggering 43 HR's a year. He has the most HR's over that time with 262 and it isn't even close (Albert Pujols is 2nd with 244). In that same 6 year stretch he has 796 RBI, once again, tops in that time, and also, once again, the 2nd place Pujols is left in the dust with a paltry (in comparison) 708 RBI's. Power production has never been an issue for Howard, and even when he is batting in the .250's we haven't cared since 30 HR's and 100 RBI's were automatic.

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Key Stats: Like many young pitchers tend to do, David Price gained better command of the strikezone in his second Major League season. The walks went down and the strikeouts went up, but despite this his ERA rose by three quarters of a run. That is why sometimes ERA isn't the best way to gauge a pitcher's performance. His xFIP, FIP, and WAR were all better in 2011 than they were in 2010, so although fantasy folks would tell you he had a down year it was really a better season.

Skeptics Say: All the numbers look great at the end of the season, but going game by game Price's season wasn't at all spectacular. His quality start percentage was tied for 46th among starters with at least 100 innings last year. That's a big part of the reason why he finished with more losses than wins and a reason to be concerned about taking him as one of the first twelve starting pitchers off the board next year.  no comments

Paul McCartney's Yesterday was voted to be the best pop song of all time by Rolling Stone. The line "Yesterday... love was such an easy game to play. Now I need a place to hide away. Oh, I believe in yesterday." can be applied to baseball. There are dozens of guys that played the game with such ease one year, then fell flat on their face the next, and I would guess wish they were right back to where they were when things were going right. Using McCartney's ballad as inspiration, we take a look at those guys and try to figure out what is in store next for them.

In 2008 the Pirates that the #2 pick overall in the June Amateur draft and used that pick on Pedro Alvarez. After a lost 2008 due to a contract dispute, Alvarez finally got on the field in 2009 and at 22 years old hit 27 HR's and batted .288 across advanced A and AA. He didn't slow down in 2010 and smacked 13 more HR in 66 AAA games, then got the call, and played 95 games with the Pirates. He hit 16 HR's and batted .306 in Sept/Oct that year. A legend was born. The Pirates had their HR threat to drive in McCutchen and Walker. 
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