FDH Fantasy Newsletter: Volume III, Issue VIII

Welcome to our 73rd edition of the FDH Fantasy Newsletter, as we continue to bring you weekly fantasy sports updates in addition to our usual content on FantasyDrafthelp.com. Our archive of past editions is available right here on The FantasyDrafthelp.com Blog and specific links to past editions are available on the front page of FantasyDrafthelp.com.

In this week's double-edition, completely devoted to fantasy baseball coverage that is a preview of our forthcoming FANTASY BASEBALL DRAFTOLOGY 2010:

^ FDH UQB rankings
^ Experts’ draft board
^ FDH Top 50 prospects
^ FDH Top 15 prospects for 2010
^ Players with the biggest variance of opinion

FDH UQB Rankings

NOTE: The UQB is the “Ultimate Quantitative Baseline,” our measure of how players performed in 2009 on a per at-bat or per innings-pitched basis, with 750 as a perfect score. Here is how we calculate the formula.


Catcher
UQB
1
Joe Mauer
750
2
Jorge Posada
579
3
Miguel Olivo
410
4
Victor Martinez
401
5
Chris Ianetta
397
6
Mike Napoli
396
7
Brian McCann
374
8
Jesus Flores
343
9
John Baker
306
10
Miguel Montero
304
11
Bengie Molina
278
12
Ryan Doumit
253
13
Kurt Suzuki
251
14
Rod Barajas
237
15
A.J. Pierzynski
227
First Base
UQB
1
Albert Pujols
750
2
Prince Fielder
617
3
Carlos Pena
503
4
Ryan Howard
486
5
Carlos Delgado
479
6
Kevin Youkilis
383
7
Mark Reynolds
376
8
Derrek Lee
346
9
Adrian Gonzalez
300
10
Mark Teixeira
293
11
Joey Votto
285
12
Adam Dunn
280
13T
Miguel Cabrera
264
13T
Russell Branyan
264
15
Justin Morneau
257
16
Kendry Morales
251
17
Pablo Sandoval
241
18
Paul Konerko
238
19
Lance Berkman
217
20
Nick Swisher
211
Second Basemen
UQB
1
Rickie Weeks
444
2
Chase Utley
421
3
Ben Zobrist
414
4
Ian Kinsler
354
5
Ian Stewart
303
6
Casey McGehee
297
7
Maicer Izturis
287
8
Aaron Hill
280
9
Robinson Cano
278
10
Placido Polanco
274
11
Dan Uggla
259
12
Gordon Beckham
241
13
Brandon Phillips
237
14
Howie Kendrick
221
15
Brian Roberts
210
Shortstop
UQB
1T
Hanley Ramirez
750
1T
Troy Tulowitzki
750
3
Maicer Izturis
526
4
Jason Bartlett
382
5
Derek Jeter
339
6
Yunel Escobar
294
7
Marco Scutaro
259
8
Miguel Tejada
249
9
Alexei Ramirez
236
10
Jose Reyes
235
11
Asdrubal Cabrera
231
12
Cliff Pennington
219
13
Jimmy Rollins
214
14
Erick Aybar
208
15
Stephen Drew
184
Third Basemen
UQB
1
Alex Rodriguez
750
2
Mark Reynolds
706
3
Kevin Youkilis
667
4
Aramis Ramirez
555
5
Evan Longoria
501
6
Ryan Zimmerman
431
7
Jake Fox
385
8
Casey McGehee
368
9
Ian Stewart
366
10
Pablo Sandoval
312
11
Casey Blake
287
12
David Wright
264
13
Michael Young
250
14
Gordon Beckham
241
15T
Alex Gordon
235
15T
Chipper Jones
235
17
Scott Rolen
223
18
Mike Lowell
222
19
Miguel Tejada
207
20
Juan Uribe
206
Outfield
UQB
1
Jason Bay
750
2
Julio Borbon
641
3
Raul Ibanez
620
4
Adam Dunn
588
5
Jonny Gomes
560
6
Nelson Cruz
507
7
Adam Lind
503
8
Jason Kubel
495
9
Torii Hunter
474
10
Jayson Werth
459
11
Ben Zobrist
456
12
Ryan Braun
449
13
Ryan Raburn
435
14
Garrett Jones
414
15
Ryan Ludwick
411
16
Manny Ramirez
390
17
Matt Holliday
389
18
Kyle Blanks
381
19
Jake Fox
365
20
Bobby Abreu
363
21
Johnny Damon
345
22T
Andre Ethier
341
22T
Carl Crawford
341
24
Luke Scott
334
25
J.D. Drew
333
26T
Jay Bruce
325
26T
Nick Swisher
325
28
Seth Smith
324
29
Matt Kemp
303
30
Justin Upton
297
31
Carlos Gonzalez
294
32T
Michael Cuddyer
291
32T
Rajai Davis
291
34
Carlos Beltran
288
35
Carlos Quentin
283
Designated Hitter
UQB
1
Jim Thome
367
2
Hideki Matsui
315
3
David Ortiz
225
4
Travis Hafner
198
5
Vladimir Guerrero
182
Starting Pitchers
UQB
1T
Tim Lincecum
750
1T
Chris Carpenter
750
1T
Neftali Feliz
750
4
Zack Greinke
701
5
Jake Peavy
669
6
Javier Vazquez
656
7
Dan Haren
558
8
Justin Verlander
550
9
Felix Hernandez
543
10
Rich Harden
528
11
Tommy Hanson
522
12
Adam Wainwright
489
13
Erik Bedard
487
14
Jorge De La Rosa
477
15
Jon Lester
465
16
Ted Lilly
446
17
CC Sabathia
435
18
Roy Halladay
427
19
Yovani Gallardo
407
20
Clayton Kershaw
389
21
Josh Beckett
386
22
Scott Feldman
378
23
Johan Santana
373
24
Josh Johnson
366
25
Jair Jurrjens
357
26
Matt Cain
342
27
Wandy Rodriguez
340
28
J.A. Happ
324
29
Randy Wolf
321
30
Hiroki Kuroda
304
31
Jonathan Sanchez
298
32
Scott Baker
295
33T
Jered Weaver
293
33T
Ubaldo Jimenez
293
35
Ricky Nolasco
291
36
Max Scherzer
281
37
David Price
276
38
Cliff Lee
272
39
Randy Wells
266
40
Clay Buchholz
258
Relief Pitchers
UQB
1
Joe Nathan
646
2
Jonathan Broxton
572
3
Mariano Rivera
572
4
Andrew Bailey
453
5
Trevor Hoffman
439
6
Huston Street
405
7
Rafael Soriano
345
8
Heath Bell
344
9
Brian Fuentes
329
10
Jonathan Papelbon
318
11
Joakim Soria
314
12
David Aardsma
280
13
Brian Wilson
272
14
Francisco Cordero
252
15
Jose Valverde
232
16
Frank Francisco
221
17
George Sherrill
219
18
Francisco Rodriguez
213
19
Billy Wagner
206
20
Ryan Franklin
195

Experts’ Draft Board

NOTE: The experts’ draft board is a compilation of the rankings of our leading peers in the industry.


Catcher
1
Joe Mauer
2
Brian McCann
3
Victor Martinez
4
Miguel Montero
5
Jorge Posada
6
Geovany Soto
7T
Russell Martin
7T
Kurt Suzuki
9T
Matt Wieters
9T
Ryan Doumit
11
Mike Napoli
12
Bengie Molina
13
A.J. Pierzynski
14
Yadier Molina
15
Chris Ianetta
First Base
1
Albert Pujols
2
Miguel Cabrera
3
Prince Fielder
4
Mark Teixeira
5
Ryan Howard
6
Kevin Youkilis
7
Adrian Gonzalez
8T
Joey Votto
8T
Justin Morneau
10
Mark Reynolds
11
Pablo Sandoval
12
Victor Martinez
13
Kendry Morales
14T
Derrek Lee
14T
Lance Berkman
15
Adam Dunn
16T
Carlos Pena
16T
Billy Butler
18
Garrett Jones
19
James Loney
20
Michael Cuddyer
Second Basemen
1
Chase Utley
2
Ian Kinsler
3
Dustin Pedroia
4
Robinson Cano
5T
Brandon Phillips
5T
Brian Roberts
7
Aaron Hill
8
Ben Zobrist
9T
Jose Lopez
9T
Asdrubal Cabrera
9T
Dan Uggla
12
Howie Kendrick
13T
Rickie Weeks
13T
Ian Stewart
15
Casey McGehee
Shortstop
1
Hanley Ramirez
2
Troy Tulowitzki
3
Jose Reyes
4
Jimmy Rollins
5
Derek Jeter
6
Alexei Ramirez
7
Jason Bartlett
8
Asdrubal Cabrera
9
Yunel Escobar
10
Stephen Drew
11
Rafael Furcal
12
Miguel Tejada
13
Jhonny Peralta
14
Elvis Andrus
15
Orlando Cabrera
16
Marco Scutaro
17
Erick Aybar
18
Ryan Theriot
19T
JJ Hardy
Third Basemen
1
Alex Rodriguez
2
David Wright
3
Evan Longoria
4
Kevin Youkilis
5
Ryan Zimmerman
6
Mark Reynolds
7
Aramis Ramirez
8
Pablo Sandoval
9
Chone Figgins
10
Michael Young
11
Gordon Beckham
12
Chipper Jones
13
Jorge Cantu
14
Jhonny Peralta
15
Casey McGehee
16
Alex Gordon
17T
Ian Stewart
17T
Casey Blake
19
Adrian Beltre
20
Mark DeRosa
Outfield
1
Ryan Braun
2
Matt Kemp
3
Carl Crawford
4
Matt Holliday
5
Jacoby Ellsbury
6
Justin Upton
7
Jason Bay
8T
Grady Sizemore
8T
Ichiro Suzuki
10
Carlos Beltran
11
Nick Markakis
12
Andre Ethier
13
Jayson Werth
14
Bobby Abreu
15
Manny Ramirez
16T
Adam Lind
16T
Carlos Lee
18
Shin-Soo Choo
19T
Josh Hamilton
19T
Shane Victorino
21
B.J. Upton
22
Curtis Granderson
23T
Ben Zobrist
23T
Nelson Cruz
25
Hunter Pence
26
Torii Hunter
27
Adam Dunn
28
Adam Jones
29
Raul Ibanez
30
Denard Span
31
Alex Rios
32T
Carlos Quentin
32T
Andrew McCutchen
34T
Alfonso Soriano
34T
Garrett Jones
34T
Nate McLouth
34T
Michael Bourn
Designated Hitter
1
Vladimir Guerrero
2
Hideki Matsui
3
Pat Burrell
4
David Ortiz
5
Travis Hafner
Starting Pitchers
1
Tim Lincecum
2
Zack Greinke
3
Roy Halladay
4
Felix Hernandez
5T
Dan Haren
5T
CC Sabathia
7
Johan Santana
8
Adam Wainwright
9T
Justin Verlander
9T
Jon Lester
11
Chris Carpenter
12
Cliff Lee
13
Javier Vazquez
14T
Jake Peavy
14T
Josh Johnson
16
Josh Beckett
17
Matt Cain
18
Cole Hamels
19
Clayton Kershaw
20
Yovani Gallardo
21
Wandy Rodriguez
22
Jair Jurrjens
23
John Lackey
24
Ubaldo Jimenez
25
Brandon Webb
26
Tommy Hanson
27
Chad Billingsley
28
Jered Weaver
29
Ted Lilly
30
Matt Garza
31
Scott Baker
32
Ricky Nolasco
33
Max Scherzer
34
James Shields
35
John Danks
36
Roy Oswalt
37
Ryan Dempster
38
A.J. Burnett
39
Gavin Floyd
40T
Rich Harden
40T
Clay Buchholz
Relief Pitchers
1
Joe Nathan
2T
Jonathan Broxton
2T
Mariano Rivera
4
Jonathan Papelbon
5
Joakim Soria
6
Andrew Bailey
7
Heath Bell
8
Carlos Marmol
9
Francisco Rodriguez
10
Jose Valverde
11
Brian Wilson
12
Francisco Cordero
13T
Huston Street
13T
David Aardsma
15
Trevor Hoffman
16T
Brian Fuentes
16T
Ryan Franklin
18
Frank Francisco
19
JP Howell
20

FDH Top 50 Prospects


1
Stephen Strasburg, SP, Washington
2
Jason Heyward, OF, Atlanta
3
Buster Posey, C, San Francisco
4
Carlos Santana, C, Cleveland
5
Brian Matusz, SP, Baltimore
6
Pedro Alvarez, 3B, Pittsburgh
7
Neftali Feliz, SP, Texas
8
Jesus Montero, C, New York Yankees
9
Madison Bumgarner, SP, San Francisco
10
Mike Stanton, OF, Florida
11
Michael Taylor, OF, Oakland
12
Justin Smoak, 1B, Texas
13
Kyle Drabek, SP, Toronto
14
Desmond Jennings, OF, Tampa Bay
15
Martin Perez, SP, Texas
16
Dustin Ackley, OF, Seattle
17
Domonic Brown, OF, Philadelphia
18
Chris Carter, 1B, Oakland
19
Jeremy Hellickson, SP, Tampa Bay
20
Starlin Castro, SS, Chicago Cubs
21
Wade Davis, SP, Tampa Bay
22
Aroldis Chapman, SP, Cincinnati
23
Casey Kelly, SP, Boston
24
Christian Friedrich, SP, Colorado
25
Jhoulys Chacin, SP, Colorado
26
Freddie Freeman, 1B, Atlanta
27
Logan Morrison, 1B, Florida
28
Brett Wallace, 3B, Toronto
29
Lonnie Chisenhall, 3B, Cleveland
30
Aaron Hicks, OF, Minnesota
31
Ryan Westmoreland, OF, Boston
32
Jarrod Parker, SP, Arizona
33
Hector Rondon, SP, Cleveland
34
Derek Norris, C, Washington
35
Matt Moore, SP, Tampa Bay
36
Jaff Decker, OF, San Diego
37
Mike Montgomery, SP, Kansas City
38
Tyler Matzek, SP, Colorado
39
Jenrry Mejia, SP, New York Mets
40
Brett Lawrie, 2B, Milwaukee
41
Jason Castro, C, Houston
42
Scott Sizemore, 2B, Detroit
43
Jordan Lyles, SP, Houston
44
Drew Storen, RP, Washington
45
Mike Moustakas, 3B, Kansas City
46
Eric Hosmer, 1B, Kansas City
47
Julio Teheran, SP, Atlanta
48
Josh Vitters, 3B, Chicago Cubs
49
Jake Arrieta, SP, Baltimore
50
Fernando Martinez, OF, New York Mets

FDH Top 15 Prospects for 2010


1
Neftali Feliz, SP, Texas
2
Brian Matusz, SP, Baltimore
3
Brett Wallace, 3B, Toronto
4
Wade Davis, SP, Tampa Bay
5
Buster Posey, C, San Francisco
6
Chris Carter, 1B, Oakland
7
Jake Arrieta, SP, Baltimore
8
Stephen Strasburg, SP, Washington
9
Pedro Alvarez, 3B, Pittsburgh
10
Madison Bumgarner, SP, San Francisco
11
Mike Stanton, OF, Florida
12
Justin Smoak, 1B, Texas
13
Jhoulys Chacin, SP, Colorado
14
Carlos Santana, C, Cleveland
15
Michael Taylor, OF, Oakland

Players with the Biggest Variance of Opinion

NOTE: In terms of the experts’ draft board, these are the players with the widest variety in their rankings and as such, they may be the most unpredictable ones to forecast the market value for in your draft or auction.

C: Matt Wieters
1B: Lance Berkman, Garrett Jones, Derek Lee, Victor Martinez, Mark Reynolds
2B: Casey McGehee
SS: Elvis Andrus, Jason Bartlett
3B: Mark Reynolds, Ian Stewart
OF: Nelson Cruz, Curtis Granderson, Josh Hamilton, Raul Ibanez, Adam Jones, Alex Rios, BJ Upton, Jayson Werth, Ben Zobrist
SP: Tommy Hanson, Ted Lilly, Brandon Webb
RP: David Aardsma, Matt Capps, Francisco Cordero, Ryan Franklin, Brian Fuentes, JP Howell, Francisco Rodriguez, Rafael Soriano, Jose Valverde