Key Stats: Merry Christmas from all of us at Fantasy Baseball 365. David Ortiz was not on too many teams wish lists as an aging designated hitter, but neither was Rudolph as a reindeer with a different nose. This one trick reindeer has it down to a science. In the last three years Ortiz has averaged 29 home runs and 99 RBI. He is not showing signs of getting radically worse even in his mid 30s. Last year was the second best season in terms of batting average of his career. 

Skeptics Say: Ortiz was in a contract year last season, and probably thought he was playing for another multi-year deal. That didn't pan out as Ortiz's best option was to accept salary arbitration. Perhaps that serves as motivation not just to the Red Sox, but to all thirty teams, to prove that he can still hit. Or perhaps, Ortiz and his body have a reality check and this year we start to see his numbers creep down.  no comments

Key Stats: No shortstop had more home runs than J.J. Hardy's 30 last season. Troy Tulowitzki had as many home runs, but also had 39 more plate appearances. The way Hardy got to 30 was impressive as he was consistent in the months of June, July, and August with 7 or more home runs in each month. He missed most of April, but finished healthy which means last year could have actually been better. 

Skeptics Say: Hardy hit just 17 long balls in over 770 at-bats in the two seasons before the 2011 campaign, so consistency could be an issue. Keep in mind that last season he more than doubled his HR:FB rate versus the 2010 and 2009 season (his HR:FB rate was second among shortstops to Tulo). He also will not steal more than a base or two next season which is important when considering the speed of the alternatives at the position as we highlighted in the Jhonny Peralta player profile. 

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Key Stats: Remember when there was a time that you had to distinguish which Chris Young you were talking about in fantasy baseball? Those days are gone. You will draft the Chris Young that's been ranked in the top 150 in four of the last five seasons, not the one who hasn't pitched more than 102 innings in the last four seasons. Young is the speed/power outfielder that you get on the cheap after Jacoby Ellsbury, Curtis Granderson, and Carlos Gonzalez. Over the last five years, Young has never had a season that he didn't have double digits in both home runs and steals. Last year he was ranked number 113 overall in the Yahoo player rater, so the 112 ranking seems appropriate for a guy that will be in his age 28 season. 

Skeptics Say: Young's career average is .240 and it was worse than that last season. He's a dent in any team's batting average which explains why Ellsbury & co. mentioned above go so much earlier. 
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Key Stats: Zimmermann came back strong in 2011 despite a win - loss record that wasn't favorable. His 3.18 ERA was 21st in all of baseball among qualified pitchers, with a FIP, xFIP, tERA and SIERA to back it up. He was able to cut down on his walks per nine while pitching with a pretty normalized BABIP giving us his best WHIP to date. After having Tommy John surgery in August of 2009, he was able to come back and pitch some in 2010, but his velocity was down and he generated some pretty inflated numbers. 2011 saw his velocity return to normal, along with any skewed peripherals from the prior season.

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Key Stats:  Doug Fister came out of nowhere to put up numbers that lead to a top 100 finish (#73) according to RotoChamp.com last year. An AL pitcher with an ERA under 3.00 and walked less than 2 batters per nine should be racking up wins like crazy, unless you were pitching for the offense starved Mariners like Fister did until his move to Detroit in August. He went 1-1 in his first three starts with Detroit, but then went on to win seven of his last eight starts. He pitched three games in the playoffs winning two of those. 

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Key Stats: The Panda had a lot to prove after a disastrous 2010 campaign and he started the ‘11 season like he was out to prove people wrong. Busting out of the gate with a .313 AVG and a .913 OPS for April, things derailed a bit when he broke his hand and missed the entire month of May and some June. He showed there was nothing to worry about after he healed up providing us with a .325 AVG 15 HR and a .963 OPS after the All Star break.  Sandoval put up his best power production numbers of his young career and continued to get on base at a great clip despite not walking a ton.

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Key Stats: Adam Jones set new career highs in home runs, RBI, and steals last season. He also didn't come far off his career bests in runs and batting average. It was what you would expect from a guy that will turn 27 late next season, but it is encouraging nonetheless. Jones has been ranked in the top 130 for three straight seasons, but last year was the first time he found himself in the top 75 according to Yahoo's player rater. 

Skeptics Say: Jones' walk rate was 12th worst among qualifying hitters and fourth worst among all outfielders. At the same time, it wasn't as if he was making contact everytime at the plate. He also had the fourth worst strikeout to walk rate among qualifying outfielders. Even leagues that don't carry OBP should take notice. This can impact where Jones hits in the Orioles lineup.  no comments

Key Stats: Max Scherzer is ranked higher here than anywhere else, but in terms of starting pitchers I only rank him 35th, so it's not too different from Tristan Cockcroft. Scherzer took a step back in the numbers from 2010, but was better than some of those numbers would indicate. His xFIP was lower than his FIP by almost 0.70 runs and his K:BB was up about 0.5 versus the 2010 season that made him the number 122 overall player. 

Skeptics Say: Only four pitchers gave up more home runs than Scherzer last season. That problem gets more complicated when you consider his 1.35 WHIP. Scherzer has a tendency for blowing up a team's ERA in one start. In six starts he allowed at least two home runs last year and in all of those starts he gave up at least five runs. Scherzer is still relatively young, so perhaps consistency will come with age. 
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