Saturday, March 31, 2007

2007 Major League Baseball Predictions

EDIT: Removing typo. It's "Toronto," not "Toronton!" Duh!

AL East
X-Boston 91-71
Y-New York 89-73
Toronto 82-80
Baltimore 74-88
Tampa Bay 70-92

AL Central
X-Chicago 87-75
Cleveland 85-77
Detroit 83-79
Minnesota 82-80
Kansas City 70-92

AL West
X-Los Angeles 88-74
Oakland 86-76
Texas 82-80
Seattle 68-94

NL East
X-New York 91-71
Y-Philadelphia 86-76
Atlanta 84-78
Florida 77-85
Washington 64-98

NL Central
X-Milwaukee 87-75
St. Louis 84-78
Houston 83-79
Chicago 82-80
Cincinnati 77-85
Pittsburgh 75-87

NL West
X-Los Angeles 86-76
San Diego 84-78
Arizona 83-79
San Francisco 81-81
Colorado 69-93

Division Series
Boston over Chicago in 4
Los Angeles Angels over New York Yankees in 4
New York Mets over Los Angeles Dodgers in 4
Milwaukee over Philadelphia in 5

Championship Series
Boston over Los Angeles Angels in 6
New York Mets over Milwaukee in 6

World Series
New York Mets over Boston in 6

AL MVP: Vladimir Guerrero
NL MVP: Albert Pujols
AL Rookie of the Year: Daisuke Matsuzaka
NL Rookie of the Year: Chris Young
AL Manager of the Year: Ron Washington
NL Manager of the Year: Ned Yost

2007 FantasyDrafthelp.com Baseball Mock Draft

EDIT: Due to formatting issues, picks in the even rounds show up in reverse order.

Participants as follows:
1 Jason Jones, FantasyDrafthelp.com
2 Ray Flowers, SportsGrumblings.com
3 Jim Kushlan, SportsTalkCleveland.com
4 Tim Foust, FantasyDrafthelp.com
5 Nathan Noy, FantasyDrafthelp.com
6 Dan Heyder, SportsGrumblings.com
7 Samantha Schiedemantle, SportsTalkCleveland.com
8 Mike Ptak, FantasyDrafthelp.com
9 Eric Styranka, SportsTalkCleveland.com
10 Jon Adams, FantasyDrafthelp.com
11 Mike Vili, SportsTalkCleveland.com
12 Rick Morris, SportsTalkCleveland.com

1
Pujols
J Reyes
M Rivera
A Rodriguez
Soriano
Crawford
R Howard
Utley
J Santana
M Ramirez
V Guerrero
Beltran
2
Tejada
Sizemore
V Martinez
Oswalt
D Lee
D Ortiz
Hafner
D Wright
Jeter
Carpenter
M Cabrera
Berkman
3
A Jones
Ichiro
Ar Ramirez
Texeira
Halladay
F Rodriguez
Bay
V Wells
Kazmir
Rollins
Konerko
McCann
4
Delgado
M Young
Car Lee
Cano
Peavy
Holliday
Sabathia
Morneau
Dye
Mauer
Webb
H Ramirez
5
Figgins
Abreu
C Zambrano
Nathan
Atkins
B Hall
Dice-K
Bonderman
Glaus
B Roberts
Uggla
Sheets
6
Wagner
Dunn
Iguchi
Cain
Furcal
J Pierre
C Jones
H Matsui
Kendrick
Smoltz
Damon
F Hermandez
7
Hoffman
Helton
Swisher
C Guillen
Ryan
Sheffield
Street
A Rios
Fielder
Thome
Putz
Cordero
8
Zito
Lidge
Piazza
C Young SD
Durham
Lackey
F Sanchez
C Hamels
Ray
Ja Giambi
Schilling
Rolen
9
Willis
Jenks
Schmidt
Baldelli
Bonds
Weeks
Johima
Verlander
Myers
Zimmerman
Mussina
F Lopez
10
R Hernandez
Harang
W Tavarez
M Ordonez
Clemens
A Gonzalez
Haren
Del Young
Burrell
Markakis
Wickman
Ja Weaver
11
Burnett
Sexson
F Garcia
E Santana
Maddux
R Martin
T Hunter
Saito
Posada
Sowers
Ra Johnson
Huff
12
Barfield
Harden
Lugo
Bedard
Hermida
Papelbon
Cantu
Peralta
Alou
Wang
Francouer
An LaRoche
13
C Patterson
Er Chavez
D Bush
Ibanez
Arroyo
F Cordero
E Gagne
M Barrett
Contreras
Olsen
Capuano
J Rivera
14
JD Drew
J Vazquez
K Rogers
Overbay
Garciaparra
Teahan
Cuddyer
Beckett
Kent
Garland
Glavine
Jennings
15
Pettitte
Blalock
Beltre
Lowe
Crede
Escobar
Cl Lee
Ensberg
J Patterson
Byrnes
N Johnson
A Sanchez
16
Prior
Hudson
Blanton
Cameron
Renteria
Wainwright
Crisp
S Drew
Buehrle
C Jackson
Thomas
Wiggington
17
Wood
Zumaya
J Jones
Kinsler
Hawpe
Tracy
O Cabrera
T Gordon
M Jacobs
Fuentes
Crosby
Ethier
18
B Phillips
Penny
Matthews Jr
Borowski
C James
R Hill
Z Duke
D Cabrera
T Jones
Duncan
Wilingham
Kearns
19
D Roberts
M Giles
Dotel
Winn
Dempster
O Hudson
Westbrook
B Colon
B Giles
Jose Valentin
Tulowitzki
N Robertson
20
Rowand
Pierzynzki
J Lopez
B Molina
Varitek
Millwood
Marte
C Young AR
Griffey Jr
Baez
I Rodriguez
A Benitez

2007 FDH Baseball Keeper League Prospects

1
Phillip Hughes
RHP
NY Yankees
2
Alex Gordon
3B
Kansas City
3
Delmon Young
OF
Tampa Bay
4
Cameron Maybin
OF
Detroit
5
Billy Butler
OF
Kansas City
6
Homer Bailey
RHP
Cincinnati
7
Jay Bruce
OF
Cincinnati
8
Andrew McCutchen
OF
Pittsburgh
9
Luke Hochevar
RHP
Kansas City
10
Brandon Wood
SS
LA Angels
11
Andrew Miller
LHP
Detroit
12
Yovani Galardo
RHP
Milwaukee
13
Reid Brignac
SS
Tampa Bay
14
Justin Upton
OF
Arizona
15
Carlos Gonzalez
OF
Arizona
16
Tim Lincecum
RHP
San Francisco
17
Adam Miller
RHP
Cleveland
18
Jacob McGee
LHP
Tampa Bay
19
Evan Longoria
3B
Tampa Bay
20
Nick Adenhart
RHP
LA Angels
21
Joey Votto
1B
Cincinnati
22
Chuck Lofgren
LHP
Cleveland
23
Jason Hirsh
RHP
Houston
24
Mike Pelphrey
RHP
NY Mets
25
Matt Garza
RHP
Minnesota
26
Matt Harrison
LHP
Atlanta
27
Troy Patton
LHP
Houston
28
Ryan Braun
3B
Milwaukee
29
Adam Lind
OF
Toronto
30
Colby Rasmus
OF
St Louis
31
Troy Tulowitzki
SS
Colorado
32
Ubaldo Jiminez
RHP
Colorado
33
Hayden Penn
RHP
Baltimore
34
Clayton Kershaw
LHP
LA Dodgers
35
Jimmy Barthmaier
RHP
Houston
36
Brad Lincoln
RHP
Pittsburgh
37
Franklin Morales
LHP
Colorado
38
Scott Elbert
LHP
LA Dodgers
39
Jeff Clement
C
Seattle
40
Greg Smith
LHP
Arizona
Projected Stars
Position
Organization
41
Josh Fields
3B
Chi Sox
42
Chris Young
OF
Arizona
43
Matt Kemp
OF
LA Dodgers
44
Chris Volstad
RHP
Florida
45
Eric Hurley
RHP
Texas
46
Micah Owings
RHP
Arizona
47
Carlos Carrasco
RHP
Philadelphia
48
Miguel Montero
C
Arizona
49
Adam Loewen
LHP
Baltimore
50
Jaime Garcia
LHP
St Louis
51
Terry Evans
OF
St Louis
52
Jeff Niemann
RHP
Tampa Bay
53
Matt Walker
RHP
Tampa Bay
54
Stephen Marek
RHP
LA Angels
55
Andy LaRoche
3B
LA Dodgers
56
Sean Rodriguez
SS
LA Angels
57
Will Inman
RHP
Milwaukee
58
Johnny Cueto
RHP
Cincinnati
59
Jose Tabata
OF
NY Yankees
60
James Loney
1B
LA Dodgers
61
Gabriel Hernandez
RHP
Florida
62
Joe Koshansky
1B
Colorado
63
Brian Barton
OF
Cleveland
64
Ben Harrison
OF
Texas
65
Clay Buchholz
RHP
Boston
66
Donald Veal
LHP
Chi Cubs
67
Mike Carp
1B
NY Mets
68
Garrett Olson
LHP
Baltimore
69
Mark Reynolds
2B
Arizona
70
Lance Broadway
RHP
Chi Sox
71
Phillip Humber
RHP
NY Mets

Friday, March 30, 2007

The Draft Day and Auction Day goodies begin!

As promised, we'll be providing you with draft and auction help all weekend here on the FDH blog. To start with, we present our top players at each position. With each player, we list our standard deviation number for their 2006 production. To make a long story short, the stat is a compilation of the overall production on a per-AB or per-IP basis in the standard 5X5 roto categories. And remember for more detailed fantasy help, you can still order an electronic copy of our draft guide at FantasyDrafthelp.com.

LEGITIMATE STARTING CATCHERS
TOP TIER
1. Brian McCann 437
2. Victor Martinez 232
3. Joe Mauer 372
SECOND TIER
4. Russell Martin 279
5. Kenji Johijima 208
6. Jorge Posada 305
7. Ramon Hernandez 249

LEGITIMATE STARTING FIRST BASEMEN
TOP TIER
1. Albert Pujols 698
2. Ryan Howard 537
3. Lance Berkman 452
SECOND TIER
4. Justin Morneau 320
5. Mark Teixeira 196
6. Derek Lee 457
7. Paul Konerko 270
8. Victor Martinez 207

LEGITIMATE STARTING SECOND BASEMEN
TOP TIER
1. Chase Utley 394
SECOND TIER
2. Robinson Cano 370
3. Brian Roberts 300
4. Dan Uggla 283
5. Rickie Weeks 292
6. Ray Durham 432
7. Howie Kendrick 151
8. Felipe Lopez 280

LEGITIMATE STARTING SHORTSTOPS
TOP TIER
1. Jose Reyes 454
SECOND TIER
2. Miguel Tejada 331
3. Hanley Ramirez 348
4. Derek Jeter 423
5. Jimmy Rollins 294
6. Michael Young 255
7. Carlos Guillen 355
8. Rafael Furcal 264
9. Billy Hall 240
10. Felipe Lopez 264

LEGITIMATE STARTING THIRD BASEMEN
TOP TIER
1. Alex Rodriguez 408
2. David Wright 309
3. Miguel Cabrera 414
4. Garret Atkins 383
5. Aramis Ramirez 360
SECOND TIER
6. Scott Rolen 258
7. Troy Glaus 405
8. Chipper Jones 505
9. Ryan Zimmerman 222

LEGITIMATE STARTING OUTFIELDERS
TOP TIER
1. Carlos Beltran 671
2. Alfonso Soriano 373
3. Lance Berkman 577
4. Manny Ramirez 502
5. Carl Crawford 388
6. Vladimir Guerrero 389
SECOND TIER
7. Matt Holliday 429
8. Jermaine Dye 532
9. Jason Bay 296

LEGITIMATE #1 STARTING PITCHERS
TOP TIER
1. Johan Santana 522
SECOND TIER
2. Chris Carpenter 342
3. Roy Halladay 308
4. Roy Oswalt 302
THIRD TIER
5. Scott Kazmir 407
6. Jake Peavy 328
7. Brandon Webb 307
8. Carlos Zambrano 322

LEGITIMATE #1 CLOSERS
TOP TIER
1. Joe Nathan 461
2. Francisco Rodriguez 407
SECOND TIER
3. BJ Ryan 393
4. Mariano Rivera 239
5. Billy Wagner 313
6. Jonathan Papelbon 266

TOP 25 OVERALL PLAYERS
1. Carlos Beltran
2. Albert Pujols
3. Alfonso Soriano
4. Johan Santana
5. Ryan Howard
6. Chase Utley
7. Lance Berkman
8. Jose Reyes
9. Alex Rodriguez
10. Manny Ramirez
11. Carl Crawford
12. Vladimir Guerrero
13. David Wright
14. Miguel Cabrera
15. Brian McCann
16. Chris Carpenter
17. Roy Halladay
18. Roy Oswalt
19. Miguel Tejada
20. Matt Holliday
21. Justin Morneau
22. Mark Teixeira
23. Hanley Ramirez
24. Derek Jeter
25. Jermaine Dye

Thursday, March 29, 2007

Thursday night fantasy agenda

It's another great night of fantasy sports action with THE FANTASYDRAFTHELP.COM INSIDER on SportsTalkCleveland.com tonight from 9-11 PM EDT.

9 PM: We carry over our fantasy hockey talk from our lead-in program NORTHCOAST HOCKEY TONIGHT. By the way, NORTHCOAST HOCKEY TONIGHT moves to 5-7 PM EDT next Thursday, April 5, to make way for our flagship football program on STC, THE ORANGE AND BROWN REPORT. The fantasy program remains from 9-11 PM EDT.

9:10 PM: We begin our last-minute fantasy baseball Draft Day or Auction Day preparation. We will evaluate a "fantasy busts" list from The Hardball Times, examine my experiences in the last week to draw lessons for silent auction leagues, break down all fantasy positions, and check the last minute news (i.e. the Jorge Julio trade making him a closer again -- yay for keeper league Julio owners such as me!).

10:40 PM: We resume our NFL Draft coverage with position-by-position analysis.

Check the blog Friday for a large assortment of Draft Day goodies courtesy of FantasyDrafthelp.com. Also, check FantasyDrafthelp.com for details on how to order our 2007 Fantasy Baseball Draft Guide.

Sunday, March 25, 2007

FDH Lounge Show #5: March 25, 2007

It's the Fifth Show Anniversary for the FDH LOUNGE tonight on SportsTalkCleveland.com from 8-11 PM as our every-other-week program returns with a flourish.

We begin by examining the Fred Thompson for President movement as this famous former Senator and actor has the chance to turn the 2008 race upside down. This folksy gent from Tennessee is intimidating both the Democrats and his fellow Republicans alike right now as he ponders his possibilities. Will he run, and what are his chances?

From there, we review the hot movie "300," we break down an Internet bracket rating the hottest female sportscasters, we provide your first preview anywhere of the Final Four, we preview Wrestlemania 23 next week and we bring on our friend Joe Aiello from the Big League Baseball Report podcast and The View from the Bleachers website for our 2007 MLB season preview.

Plus, we'll hear from two of the Dignitaries of the FDH LOUNGE on location as Tim Foust provides a perspective of what it's like to go to an NHL game for the first time (at Nationwide Arena in Columbus) and Jim Kushlan reports live from the LeBron vs. Carmelo (or Cavs vs. Nuggets) matchup at the Q in Cleveland.

Catch us live (or later on the archives, if you must) on SportsTalkCleveland.com tonight from 8-11 PM EDT.

NOTE: Edited to correct from "Show #4" to "Show #5" in the heading.

Thursday, March 22, 2007

Much fantasy baseball talk tonight

On tonight's FANTASYDRAFTHELP.COM INSIDER on SportsTalkCleveland.com, we are coming your way at a special start time of 7:30 PM EDT -- with a replay at our usual time of 9 PM EDT. From 7:30-8:30, we'll work on getting you ready for Draft Day or Auction Day, as the case may be, with our top myths of the 2007 season. At 8:30, we dive headlong into our NFL Draft coverage. Tune in for another great edition of the INSIDER!

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

2007 FantasyDrafthelp.com NCAA Bracket

Here it is, folks, our bracket for your use for the 2007 NCAA hoops tournament. Be sure to check out the archives on SportsTalkCleveland.com for our 2007 FANTASYDRAFTHELP.COM NCAA HOOPS TOURNAMENT SPECIAL from this past Sunday as we broke down the brackets from start to finish and showed you how to run a "fantasy hoops bracket."

MIDWEST/ST. LOUIS FIRST ROUND
Florida
Arizona
Maryland
Butler
Oregon
Notre Dame
Wisconsin
UNLV

MIDWEST/ST. LOUIS SECOND ROUND
Florida
Maryland
Oregon
Wisconsin

MIDWEST/ST. LOUIS THIRD ROUND
Florida
Wisconsin

MIDWEST/ST. LOUIS REGIONAL FINAL
Florida

WEST/SAN JOSE FIRST ROUND
Kansas
Kentucky
Southern Illinois
Illinois
Pittsburgh
Duke
UCLA
Gonzaga

WEST/SAN JOSE SECOND ROUND
Kansas
Illinois
Pittsburgh
UCLA

WEST/SAN JOSE THIRD ROUND
Kansas
UCLA

WEST/SAN JOSE REGIONAL FINAL
UCLA

EAST/EAST RUTHERFORD FIRST ROUND
North Carolina
Michigan State
Texas
Arkansas
Washington State
Vanderbilt
Georgetown
Boston College

EAST/EAST RUTHERFORD SECOND ROUND
North Carolina
Texas
Vanderbilt
Georgetown

EAST/EAST RUTHERFORD THIRD ROUND
Texas
Georgetown

EAST/EAST RUTHERFORD REGIONAL FINAL
Texas

SOUTH/SAN ANTONIO FIRST ROUND
Ohio State
Xavier
Virginia
Tennessee
Texas A&M
Louisville
Memphis
Nevada

SOUTH/SAN ANTONIO SECOND ROUND
Ohio State
Tennessee
Texas A&M
Memphis

SOUTH/SAN ANTONIO THIRD ROUND
Ohio State
Texas A&M

SOUTH/SAN ANTONIO REGIONAL FINAL
Ohio State

NATIONAL SEMIFINALS
Florida
Ohio State

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Ohio State

Thursday, March 08, 2007

Baseball mock draft program tonight!

It's one of the biggest editions of the year for THE FANTASYDRAFTHELP.COM INSIDER -- our baseball mock draft on SportsTalkCleveland.com!

Tune in at 7 PM EST as the gurus at FantasyDrafthelp.com, SportsTalkCleveland.com and GridironGrumblings.com go toe-to-toe and show you where you should be looking to select your players this year!

Thursday, March 01, 2007

Talkin' Fantasy Baseball!

On tonight's March 1 edition of THE FANTASYDRAFTHELP.COM INSIDER (9-11 PM EST on SportsTalkCleveland.com), we will hit the topic of fantasy/roto baseball hard as we get you ready for our mock draft next Thursday, March 8 (special start time of 7 PM EST next week):

9 PM: We carry over our hockey talk from NORTHCOAST HOCKEY TONIGHT as we examine trade deadline implications.

9:15 PM: We welcome in our fantasy baseball contributor Tim Foust for a look at this year's sleepers and top prospects in the game. We also continue our draft and auction strategy examination.

10:25 PM: NFL free agency begins at midnight and we take a look at the early fantasy implications for 2007.

10:40 PM: We continue to get ready for the NFL Draft (and our HUGE Draft Day broadcast) with a look back at the combine winners and losers.