Hitting factors:

1) AL DHs who are forced to either miss at bats when their clubs visit National league cities/teams or play games in the field for a game or two;

2) National league hitters who will gain at bats visiting American league cities/teams. The problem here is that we don’t know which player will get the most at bats on most clubs, but if you have a player on your fantasy team who is a strong fourth outfielder or platoons based on pitching matchups you may want them in your lineup.

Pitching factors:

1) The biggest plus is for American league starting pitchers visiting NL parks that will get to face opposing pitchers instead of the DHs they normally see. This can add several strikeouts per game;

2) On the flip side, it may be time to bench marginal NL starters if they are visiting AL cities/teams unless they are in Cleveland, Seattle, or perhaps Kansas City.

NL teams at AL parks gaining AB

Arizona Diamondbacks          @ Boston        @Detroit

NY Mets                                 @Cleveland    @NY Yankees

AL teams losing the DH in NL parks

Chicago White Sox                 @Pittsburgh                @Washington

Texas Rangers                         @Florida                     @Houston

Oakland Athletics                   @Chicago Cubs          @St. Louis

Baltimore Orioles                    @San Francisco          @San Diego

Tampa Bay Rays                     @Atlanta                    @Florida

Teams with split schedules

Philadelphia Phillies                @NY Yankees            home vs Minnesota

Washington Nationals             @Detroit                     home vs White Sox

Colorado Rockies                   @Minnesota                home vs Milwaukee               

Houston Astros                       @Kansas City             home vs Texas

Milwaukee Brewers                @LA Angels               @Colorado

San Francisco Giants              home vs Baltimore      @Toronto

Los Angeles Dodgers             @Cincinnati                @Boston

Cincinnati Reds                      home vs Dodgers        @Seattle

Cleveland Indians                   home vs NY Mets       @Pittsburgh

Kansas City Royals                 home vs Houston        @Atlanta

LA Angels of Anaheim          home vs Milwaukee   @Chicago Cubs

Minnesota Twins                     home vs Colorado       @Philadelphia

Seattle Mariners                      @Chicago Cubs          home vs Cincinnati

Toronto Blue Jays                   @San Diego                home vs San Francisco

Teams with no change for lineups

Boston Red Sox                      home vs Arizona         home vs LA Dodgers

Detroit Tigers                          home vs Washington  home vs Arizona

NY Yankees                           home vs Philadelphia  home vs NY Mets

Atlanta Braves                                    home vs Tampa Bay    home vs Kansas City

Chicago Cubs                          home vs Oakland        home vs LA Angels

Florida Marlins                        home vs Texas             home vs Tampa Bay

Pittsburgh Pirates                    home vs White Sox     home vs Cleveland

St. Louis Cardinals                 home vs Seattle           home vs Oakland

San Diego Padres                    home vs Toronto         home vs Baltimore

As you know  if you  have read our previous articles on TOUT WARS or followed the competition at all (www.toutwars.com if you haven’t  or want current information) these are the premier “industry leagues” for fantasy baseball writers.

I drafted Sunday morning and below I am going to reveal my team in a blog mode, but here was my plan going in:

• Spend no more than $30 on any hitter….spreading the risk and going for a balanced team
• Spending a little more for pitching than you have seen in previous articles that Jason and I have done where I normally allocate $50-60 for pitching and trying to dominate the hitting categories and having all full time players. In this draft I would try for the best staff that $70 could buy
• My hitting/pitching allocation would be $190/70
• Try and get as much money out of my competitors early – they spent like crazy last year so that worked pretty well  and since I wouldn’t be buying the most expensive players it would give me a good nominating strategy
• Get two productive catchers….dollar catchers don’t work in this league format
• HAVE FUN

Okay, so here we go….Alex Cushing of MLB.com was on my left and had the first nomination and put up Tim Lincecum who was bought for $30. I thought this was a good way to go and put up Roy Halladay who fetched $29. I really didn’t like this beginning as today the opponents were very controlled and I feared this would lead to too much money available later and thus bidding wars in the middle of the auction, not the top where I wanted it.

Pujols went for $45….better but he went much higher last year.

I got the fifth player nominated – David Aardsma for $12….I liked that price (not realizing the closer market was going to top out at $20)

Almost a round later I bid $24 to get Brian McCann…just where I have him projected…and while I don’t rate to make money on that investment I won’t lose as others will.

$25 got me Zach Greinke….less than all the other Tier One pitchers at a price with some upside but very solid

Marlon Byrd was put for a dollar and few bids – got him for $4 which will be a very nice small profit (will earn at least $10)

Went the extra dollar to $31 for Justin Upton and think he will earn more than that…very nice…he will be my STUD hitter

Another long wait  for a player, but I like Kendry Morales at $25….less than the other Tier 1 and 2 1B…and more BA

Arizona outfielder Chris Young for only $7 – well I have the BAvg ballast to handle him

Shin-Soo Choo, hopefully one of my 20/20 outfielders for $23

Bengie Molina for $10…still a good run producer with plus BA for a catcher

Elvis Andrus….and Karabell costs me an extra two dollars but happy to land the speed at $18

VERY happy to get Wandy Rodriguez for my second SP at $13…very good value there

Asdrubal at 2B for me at $11….I think people are sleeping on him this year

Now getting buys very close together in the middle of the auction as I roster Chipper Jones for $9….sure he may miss some time…always does but at that price for a near .300 average and twenty home runs, I have good profit

Jorge Cantu for another $9 – giving me solid CI and 3B if Chipper misses time

$7 for Matt Capps as my second closer is Excellent

At this point, two hours into the draft, all of the $20+ players but one are gone, and most of the $15s, so while I had to push, I made a huge steal getting Adam Jones for $14

After that there are either value plays or bidding wars….so I wait

Finally we get to the end of the auction and I am in great shape….have $18 left for seven players. I need a MI and a UT and it would be nice if one of them qualified at CI….but the best hitter on the board is an “Angel in the outfield” so we will see….also have to be careful with the nominations. There are a couple with more money, one with way too much.

I nominate Daniel Bard for $2 and get him….good strikeouts and slight but possible odd save potential

I get Randy Wolf as my SP3 for $4….very nice

Martin Prado would have have been great for my team goes to moneybags for $12! most don’t have that total left

Arizona pitcher and very nice sleeper Ian Kennedy is nominated and I get him for $4 as well

Long time now but finally I nominate KC’s Alberto Callaspo for $1 and get him. I now have seven dollars left for my UT and two pitchers.

I nominate Juan Rivera for my final hitter at $2 and smile when I get crickets (no bids)

Aroldis Chapman is nominated for a buck and I get him for $2…..Sensational…sure he might start in the minors, but he will earn a lot more than that when he finally arrives.

Mat Latos, very promising young starter for the Padres is nominated and I say $THREE and get him with my last three dollars.

Wow, lot of fun but lot of work and that strategy requires a lot of discipline and some dry spells, but here is the final team

C – McCann (24) & Bengie Molina (10)

CI – Morales (25, Jones (9), & Cantu (9)

MI – A. Cabrera (11), Andrus (18) & Callaspo (1)

OF – J. Upton (31), Choo (23), Adam Jones (14) Chris Young (7), Byrd (4)

UT – Juan Rivera (2)

SP – Greinke (25), Wandy (13), Wolf (4), Kennedy (4), Chapman (2), Latos (3)

RP – Aardsma (12), Capps (7), Bard (2)

Reserves (drafted after auction) – Coco Crisp, Sergio Romo, Tim Wakefield, and Daniel Murphy

I think it looks pretty good. Callaspo might have been my one error as I may be lighter on stolen bases and could have used a Luis Castillo or Cliff Pennington there (assuming I could get them for the same dollar).

Pitching should be very good

Glad to answer any questions or discuss the mixed TOUT league on the message boards if you want.

NEW YORK YANKEES

• Well the burning question seems to be Joba Chamberlain or Phillip Hughes for the fifth spot in the Yankees rotation? The answer could easily be neither too.
• Will Curtis Granderson settle right in and take to the bright lights and constant demands of life in NYC?
• Can Nick Johnson stay healthy and hit enough so fans don’t miss Hideki Matsui as the DH?
• How many games can Joe Girardi get from aging but still productive catcher Jorge Posada?
• Will LF remain a platoon of Randy Winn and Brett Gardner or will one play so well/poorly that one is benched?
• Will Javier Vazquez fare better in his second tour of duty with the Yankees? I think that answer is yes but the numbers won’t be anywhere near as good as last year in the NL East.

 BOSTON RED SOX

• Will the Red Sox get enough production from DH David Ortiz? The second half of 2009 was encouraging but they need his bat
• Does 2008 MVP Dustin Pedroia give fantasy players enough production this season?
• Will Josh Beckett be the Ace of the Bosox staff? Lester and Lackey will be pushing him
• Does Tim Wakefield play super utility pitcher or will assorted injuries keep DiceK out of the rotation and let Wakefield start?

 BALTIMORE ORIOLES

• With a pretty good everyday lineup the question for Orioles fans will be can they get enough pitching?
• Fantasy players just want to know which pitchers to invest in? Matusz is the only certainty although Tillman looks good long term
• Will Matt Wieters take the next step up to stardom this year?
• Can new first baseman Garrett Atkins forget about last year and supply the power he has shown in the past?
• Will Miguel Tejada be successful in switching from SS to 3B?
• How hurt is Brian Roberts? Will he be able to lead off the season?

 TAMPA BAY RAYS

• Does Matt Joyce win the RF job outright? Or does 2B Sean Rodriguez force his way into the lineup? (likely platoon of Joyce//Rodriguez would have Zobrist alternate positions and places in the batting order)
• Will newly signed CI/DH Hank Blalock hit well enough to be fantasy relevant? And will he cost Willy Aybar AB and perhaps a job?
• Can B.J. Upton finally put together the season Rays fans and fantasy owners thought he would have?
• Will new closer Rafael Soriano be able to stay healthy all year?
• If David Price pitches well enough to be in the rotation what do the Rays do with Andy Sonnanstine?

 TORONTO BLUE JAYS

• Which three young Blue Jay pitchers will join Shawn Marcum and Ricky Romero in the rotation?
• When will SP Dustin McGowan be able to return to the team? (his rehab continues to be way ahead of schedule)
• Does outfielder Travis Snider find his stroke this year?
• Can veteran CF Vernon Wells find his game and be the cleanup hitter Toronto needs?
• Will RP Jason Frasor find a new home before the season starts or work with Kevin Gregg and Scott Downs in the Blue Jays pen?

A Season on Baseball’s Lunatic Fringe

AN ORIGINAL FANTASY BASEBALL DOCUMENTARY

Before the 2004 baseball season, Sam Walker was a happily married, tie-wearing sportswriter leading a responsible and well-rounded life.  But by the time that season was over, he had spent tens of thousands of dollars, traveled 19,000 miles, missed 3 weddings and a funeral, and ignored a raging fire in a neighbor’s apartment.  He’d become a caffeine-addled insomniac with back spasms, willing to ignore family, work and anything else that might distract him from his one, increasingly elusive goal:  winning his fantasy-baseball league.

Inspired by Walker’s best-selling book of the same name, FANTASYLAND is a documentary feature film about the bizarre and fascinating world of fantasy baseball, wherein an estimated 15 million Americans (approximately 5% of the nation’s population) actively play or have played fantasy baseball.  In FANTASYLAND, we’ll meet some of these people – the fans, fanatics, experts and amateurs, who battle it out every baseball season (and beyond). 

As in Sam Walker’s book, FANTASYLAND will document an “amateur” fantasy baseball player’s first season participating in Tout Wars, the ultimate fantasy baseball league, where the self-appointed gurus of the sport reside. However, unlike Sam Walker, the film’s lead character will not be a sports professional with media credentials and industry contacts; he’ll be an ordinary fantasy baseball player, who is thrown into the lion’s den of Tout Wars and forced to compete with the experts.

In 2008, Jed Latkin, a research analyst for ING and a fantasy enthusiast, beat out several hundred people for a seat at the TOUT WARS table, to test his skills against the foremost experts in the industry.  Utilizing his professional skills as a trader, and his innate ability and resourcefulness, he traveled to spring training to connect with scouts, players, journalists and anyone else willing to answer his questions about which rookie is due for a breakout season, what veteran fell out of shape during the off-season, and which overpaid superstar might see his playing time cut.   And his quest for information did not end once the first pitch was tossed on the 2008 baseball season:  whether it was tracking down Justin Verlander to give him a pep talk, confronting Carl Crawford about his recent performance, or even learning a little Japanese to communicate with Ichiro, Jed went to any length to win the league.

FANTASYLAND also examines the ways in which Jed’s personal life was severely impacted by his obsession.  Cameras followed him in his daily life as well as he had to manage his day job, a new bride, and the birth of twins.

In addition, FANTASYLAND will explore the larger cultural significance of fantasy baseball and other fantasy competitions – which includes every sport from football to soccer to Nascar, as well as fashion leagues, celebrity leagues, political leagues, and even graduate student leagues (where students draft their classmates and earn points on how well they do in school). 

Ultimately, FANTASYLAND will appeal to fans of competition documentaries like “Spellbound”, “Mad Hot Ballroom” and “King of Kong”, as well as the millions of fantasy sports players, general sports enthusiasts and anyone else intrigued by the exciting, humorous, sometimes scary and surprising lengths to which otherwise normal people will go just to win a mere contest of pride.

Director – Stephen Palgon, has 12 years of experience of working with a variety of television networks (including HBO, ESPN, CBS, USA), creating featured programming including the documentary “Star Crossed: The Shakespearean Tragedy of Darryl Strawberry and Dwight Gooden”, which received a Gold Medal New York Film Award.  Palgon also won two Sports Emmy Awards for producing and directing the HBO documentary series “Legendary Nights” as well as ESPN’s Hurricane Carter “Sports Century” documentary.

Producer – Endgame Entertainment is a privately financed independent entertainment company, headed by James D Stern one of the owners of the Chicago Bulls, producing and financing such films as Oscar nominated “Hotel Rwanda”, “Harold & Kumar Go White Castle”, “Lord of War” and the Oscar nominated Bob Dylan Biopic “I’m Not There” and “An Education”; while directing “Michael Jordan to the MAX” and “The Year of the Yao”.

Producer – Wonderland Sound and Vision was founded by McG who has directed several films including “Terminator: Salvation”, “We Are Marshall”, and “Charlie’s Angel’s 1 & 2”.  He is also responsible for creating television shows such as “The OC”, “Chuck”, “Pussycat Dolls’, “Supernatural” and most recently “Human Target”.

Producer – Sound Pictures is an independent production company run by John Limotte and Doug Bernheim and has produced several independent films including “The Assassination of Richard Nixon”, “Live Free or Die”, “Winter Solstice”, and “Pretty Bird”.

For extra scenes, more trailers and all the information you need as we get ready for Friday’s launch, and to be a part of the Fantasyland community join us at:

www.fantasylandfilm.com <http://www.fantasylandfilm.com/
http://Facebook.com/fantasylandfilm
Twitter.com/fantasylandfilm <http://twitter.com/fantasylandfilm> 
Youtube.com/fantasylandfilm <http://youtube.com/fantasylandfilm>

 ATLANTA BRAVES

• First and foremost for fantasy players if not Bobby Cox is “Will uber prospect Jason Heyward be the starting right fielder on April 5?”
• If Heyward is on the opening day roster how will the LF at bats play out with both Melky Cabrera and Matt Diaz thinking they should be full time players?
• Can Chipper Jones have one more productive and (mostly) injury free season before he rides off into retirement next year?
• Was SP Jair Jurrjens shoulder inflammation a one time occurrence or will he have problems during the year? We would have expected some regression from his ERA but otherwise solid performance if healthy.
• Can Nate McLouth bounce back and be the productive lead-off hitter the Braves need?
• Will Tim Hudson’s return continue in a positive direction? If so it should give Atlanta a very stable starting rotation.
• Is new closer Billy Wagner 100% healthy and can he stay that way all season?

 FLORIDA MARLINS

• Will the Marlins finally give prospects Gaby Sanchez or Logan Morrison the job at first base?
• If they choose neither and play veteran Jorge Cantu there what will they do at third base?
• Can LF Chris Coghlan avoid a “sophomore jinx” and improve on his 2009 ROY season?
• Does CF Cameron Maybin take the next step up towards star status?
• Can closer Leo Nunez be effective on a full time basis?
• Will the starting rotation stay healthy most of the year?  A very talented group IF they can pitch all year

 NEW YORK METS

• Looks like the medical staff gets most of these questions but foremost….Will Jose Reyes be able to play a full season…and run?
• Is Johan Santana completely healthy and ready to go?
• Are there more problems than we know about with KRod?
• How long will Carlos Beltran be out?
• Will at least some of David Wright’s HR power return?
• Who wins the fifth spot in the rotation?

 PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES

• Most of the questions for the Phillies are on the pitching side – starting with closer Brad Lidge – which one will we see this year? The Phillies would settle for something in between but definitely need a better effort than last year.
• If not is Ryan Madson the answer?
• Will J.A. Happ take the next step up from last year’s great effort, or regress in his second year in the rotation?
• Who wins the fifth spot in the rotation? To date Kyle Kendrick has looked better than Jamie Moyer or Jose Contreras.
• Can the offense make all the above questions irrelevant? Well we know they can, but will they?

 WASHINGTON NATIONALS

• Most fantasy players #1 question would be when Stephen Strasburg is put into the Nationals rotation? Bet on June and be happy with anything earlier
• Is this the year that all the talent in the Nats outfield takes a step forward?
• When will Jesus Flores be off the disabled list and ready to catch?
• How many AB will Ian Desmond get in 2010?
• Can Matt Capps return to form and be The closer for Washington this year?
• How many wins can new manager Jim Riggelman get from this edition of the Nationals?

On Saturday evening, I was the auctioneer for the twelve team AL league, while on Sunday evening I was one of the thirteen competitors in the thirteen team NL league which was auctioned by my good friend and current XFL Champion, Don Drooker.

So how would I attack this veteran group of fantasy experts this year?

I decided to us a 190/70 split where on the pitching side I would get one top starter and one good closer, going into the twenties if I had to but trying to leave enough dollars to get SP#2 in the low teens and then filling out the staff with late $2 and $3 selections and using most of my reserve picks for additional arms.

I also thought unless a player I really liked was going under projected value, I would eschew the highest paid players and hope to pick off good power speed combos in the teens and twenties and of course try for every hitter to be a starting player – Very tough in a thirteen team league.

So Big Dawgs projections and cheatsheets in hand along with some other lists (hey spring training for drafters too and I did want to have an idea where my competition would be headed), I found a nice corner spot and laid out my “draft kit”. In the AL draft I had auctioned on Saturday, NFBC’s Greg Ambrosius (this year with ringer Shawn Childs) and USA Today’s Steve Gardner were the only players without a computer…..in this draft more old school guys as Ambrosius, Gardner, and I were joined by HQ’s Doug Dennis, Steve Moyer of Baseball Info Solutions and Bob Radomski of Sandlot Shrink.

Soon the bidding started, and I was amazed to hear that Albert Pujols – clearly the most valuable player in the NL pool was going to be sold for only $40. That would never happen in tougher money leagues I play in, so I decided to keep the bidding alive and nudge the herd along and bid $41. This is not the classic enforcement mistake story as I was THRILLED to roster Pujols at that price. He gives you outstanding contributions in R, HR, and RBI and even a few SB in addition to massive BA ballast that will allow you to add a very productive low BA player like Mark Reynolds or Adam Dunn.

Well no surely I would not be getting many more players right away….or so I thought…..Lastings Milledge for only $16 and Jason Heyward for only $14 joined the hookers, and I was happy to get Brian McCann, the most productive NL catcher for $21.

Now I was in full buy mode – knowing that at some point, perhaps after the first break, maybe sooner, people who hadn’t bought many players would be chasing what was left, so anything close to projected value or better players I could make fit were my targets. I paid an extra dollar for Miguel Montero, not only because I thought there was some upside at that price but more importantly because think about what would be left in a thirteen team league where every team needed to play TWO catchers! Now I could bring up all the mid level catchers for a buck and watch the fur fly.

Finally the pizza break after which, while I had very little money left I got to sit back relax, manicure my player list and watch people pay more for Ricky Nolasco than I had for Wandy Rodriguez or Tommy Hanson, or double digits for both Molina brothers……sorry I love Bengie and Yadier (not so much Jose) and would be happy to have them as my catchers….BUT Miguel Montero is better production for only a few more dollars……to say nothing of some of the scrub catcher pairs you will see when the issue hits the newsstands next week.

To the best of my recollection, here was my squad prior to the end game stanza:

C – McCann (21) & Montero (16)

CI – Pujols (41), Reynolds (30)

MI –

OF – Milledge (16), Heyward (14), G. Jones (16)

SP – Wandy (19) & Hanson (22)

RP – Nunez (14)

Just over $200 there, but needing a CI (or OF because I could move Jones), all three middle infielders, two more outfielders and a DH, and six pitchers.

I got Luis Castillo for $10 – the second base pool below that was very thin and I wanted the steals and Aaron Rowand for $9 which will be a steal if he hits leadoff all season (he is going to be there on opening day and has looked very good in the first week of spring training).

And now I REALLY had to sit on my hands …….and did and in the finals stages of the end game, while I didn’t have the most money, I could flex…..and play off some errors – yes even better players make them…..like the guy who had the most money looking for $1 players when there were far better available.

I won’t bore you with the minutia, save for two great stories from this draft.

First I was down to looking for two or three dollar pitchers and trying to find one more undervalued good hitter while filling out my roster. I did not have the most money and I assumed that at least one of those guys had been saving a good amount since this pitcher had not yet been nominated, so inside I both cringed and cried when Aroldis Chapman was nominated…….several minutes later I had a hard time suppressing a war cry when I landed him for $6. WTH were people doing? For whatever number of innings he actually pitches in the show this year I will be happy for the contribution as my #3 starter for those six dollars. Of course I now had to get my remaining hitters for two dollar bids having “borrowed” the extra Chapman dollars from the hitting budget.

In the reserve round – a six round snake draft after a random draw – I was pretty much in the middle and very glad to have Garret Anderson  their for my first pick because unless a miracle happens from Uncle Lou, I have to reserve Starlin Castro to start the year for my utility player. But now I had to choose – there were two pitchers with save potential that I wanted. Perhaps I needed Mike MacDougal more because I owned Nunez, but it’s not even clear he makes the team AND the NY boys – Rick Wolf and Glen Colton of Rotoworld had two picks on the turn before my next pick and I thought sure might take new Met pitcher Ryoto Igarashi. So I took Igarashi and watched someone else grab MacDougal……well there are guesses.

So here is the full squad

C – McCann (21) & Montero (16)

CI – Pujols (41), Reynolds (30) & Blalock (2)

MI – Castillo (10), Manzella (2), & Bonifacio (2)

OF – Milledge (16), Heyward (14), G. Jones (16), Rowand (9), & F. Lewis (2)

UT – Starlin Castro (2)

SP – WRod (19), Hanson (22), Pelfrey (1), Chapman (6), D. Davis (1), Elbert (1)

RP – Nunez (14), Lyon (9), Gervacio (2), Grabow (2)

Reserves – Garrett Anderson, Ryoto Igarashi, Scott Mathieson, Brandon Allen, Brad Lincoln, and Blake Parker.

Watch for the Sports Weekly next week to see all the teams and feel free to discuss my team or ask questions on the message boards.

Here are some of the questions I see for teams in the NL Central Division – one that is virtually wide open for most of it’s teams to win.

 CHICAGO CUBS

• Starting pitcher would be first up on the doctor’s table – will Ted Lilly be ready to open the season in the rotation or will the Cubs have to find another starter?
• LF Alfonzo Soriano is also not totally healthy but needs to be for the Cubs to compete for the division
• Aramis Ramirez missed time last year and again the Cubs really need him all year especially since the team is not loaded with power
• Perhaps the biggest performance question will be closer Carlos Marmol…..will the Cubs see the closer so effective at the end of the season or the wild pitcher from earlier in the year?
• Sean Marshall and Angel Guzman both of whom can be effective are both coming off injuries so LHP John Grabow would seem to be the only non question mark.
• Can Mike Fontenot and Jeff Baker form an effective platoon at 2B (or will Lou put up with it for long), or does one of them take over and be fantasy relevant?
• Can new CF Marlon Byrd be an effective everyday player and contribute enough power in the middle of the Chicago lineup?

 CINCINNATI REDS

• Is Drew Stubbs ready to play CF and lead off every day? With the Reds trading Willy Taveras, they hope the answer is yes, and I think it is too.
• Who will win the LF job? Or might it be a platoon? Current contenders are Josh Anderson, Chris Dickerson, Todd Frazier, Jonny Gomes, Juan Francisco, Wladimir Balentien, Chris Heisey, and Laynce Nix
• Will the Homer Bailey who pitched in September bring that with him and finally be a dependable starter for the Reds?….and for fantasy owners.
• Can Aaron Harang rebound from 2009?
• Who will win the fifth starter spot? Matt Maloney, Justin Lehr, Travis Wood, and maybe even Cuban Aroldis Chapman will compete for the spot in spring training.
• While reports are there have been no further problems, can Joey Votto play the entire season?

 HOUSTON ASTROS

• Pitching questions dominate for the Astros…..first up will their Ace, Roy Oswalt regain his form? Perhaps last year’s problems can be blamed on the WBC, but it is now two below form years for Oswalt.
• Can Brett Myers regain value as the #3 starter for the Astros?
• Will Wandy Rodriguez take another step up to Ace status?
• Tommy Manzella is supposed to take over at shortstop where he will be more than adequate defensively but will he have any fantasy relevance offensively?
• Can veterans Lance Berkman and Carlos Lee hit enough to make this offense good enough to support the pitchers?
• Will the Astros closer be Brandon Lyon or Matt Lindstrom?
• Do J.R. Towles and Humberto Quintero split at bats at catcher or will one of them clearly win the job in spring training?

 MILWAUKEE BREWERS

• The main question for the Brewers is whether a reconstituted rotation can hold the opposing teams to few enough runs so that the good offense can win enough games to contend for the Central Division championship. That starts with Yovani Gallardo and whether he can take the next step up and be more consistent in his starts?
• Can LHPs Randy Wolf and Doug Davis repeat their very good 2009 seasons?
• Will the lights finally go on for Manny Parra?
• Does Rickie Weeks finally realize his potential or is this his last year in Milwaukee?
• Can the Brewers resurrect the promise of new CF Carlos Gomez?

 PITTSBURGH PIRATES

• For Pirate fans is there hope for a winning season? Fantasy players hope so if they are rostering Pirate pitchers
• Can Octavio Dotel handle the closer role? Dotel was great as a set up man years ago and can still get batters out, but perhaps mentally can he succeed?
• Will Paul Maholm rebound after a disappointing 2009 season?
• Can Ryan Doumit stay healthy for the whole season? He is a plus hitter at catcher IF the answer is yes.
• Does Garrett Jones build on his breakout 2009 season and supply the power the Pirates need from him?
• Can former Mariner catching prospect Jeff Clement hit enough to stay at 1B?
• Does Andrew McCutchen take another step up as a very promising young OF?
• Did the Pirates buy low on LF Lastings Milledge and see him blossom as an everyday player this year?

 ST. LOUIS CARDINALS

• Is Brendan Ryan healthy enough to start the season at shortstop? This is almost a domino effect question, because if not the Cards can sign newly signed Felipe Lopez to short, but
• Who will win the 3B job out of spring training? The leading candidates are David Freese and Joe Mather, but if neither step up and Ryan is healthy, Lopez could play there.
• If Ryan is at short and Freese/Mather at third, does Tony LaRussa play Lopez at second and move Skip Schumaker to LF?
• Will Brad Penny rebound as a key starter? He will have the advantage of pitching Coach Dave Duncan in St. Louis.
• Who wins the fifth spot in the rotation? Candidates include Rich Hill, Jaime Garcia, Kyle McClellan, and Blake Hawksworth.

ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS

• Certainly the most important question here is whether ace starting pitcher Brandon Webb has fully recovered from his arm problems and can join Dan Haren and Edwin Jackson as one of the top NL rotations
• Did Chris Young really fix his approach with his trip to the minor leagues last season? He looked much better after being called back up and is clearly their best option in center field if his on base average is good enough.
• Is Conor Jackson fully recovered and ready to play everyday in left field? The Diamondbacks do have Gerardo Parra ready to step in, but Jackson can be a valuable hitter in this lineup
• Will Ian Kennedy be able to build on his success in the Arizona Fall League and emerge as a consistent starting pitcher?

LOS ANGELES DODGERS

• Who will emerge as the badly needed fifth starter for Joe Torre’s club?
• Can Russell Martin rebound at the plate this year?
• Will Chad Billingsley regain his form of 2008?
• Can Clayton Kershaw gain more command and take the next step up as a top of the rotation starter?
• Will James Loney ever start to hit for more power?

COLORADO ROCKIES

• Will the Jim Tracy and the Rockies settle on regular starters behind the plate and at third base? Chris Iannetta would seem to be the starting catcher, but newcomer Miguel Olivo could claim the job with a great spring if Iannetta falters.
• Is Ian Stewart the everyday third baseman? Would a slow start have the Rockies give more AB to new utility infielder Melvin Mora at 3B and thus possibly have Stewart cut into full time AB for Clint Barmes at second base?
• Can catcher Chris Iannetta get off to a good start and avoid newcomer Miguel Olivo taking away more at bats?
• Is Jeff Francis recovered from shoulder surgery and ready to be a member of the rotation on Opening Day?

SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS

• The question for Giant fans is can the offense score enough runs to help the very good pitching staff and actually contend in a soft division? From a fantasy point, there aren’t a lot of productive players here and all the pitchers except Lincecum take a hit with the team scoring so few runs.
• Can second baseman Freddy Sanchez stay healthy? Is so he is a good value middle to late in fantasy drafts.
• Will Matt Cain pitch as well?….or at least get results as good as last season when his peripheral stats didn’t support the ERA or Wins.
• Does starter Jonathan Sanchez take the next step up and become a starting pitcher fantasy players can depend on? Right now he is a risk for numbers while you are hoping for the strikeouts.
• How many AB will Buster Posey see this year? Does he make the club out of spring training? (he is taking balls at first base to increase playing opportunities). Resigning Bengie Molina might reassure the pitchers and sell home tickets as well as adding a few HR, but won’t make Posey owners happy.

 SAN DIEGO PADRES

• Obviously the primary question for fantasy owners if not all Padre fans is “What will happen with Adrian Gonzalez?” While I sense that the rebuilding, penurious Padres would hope to sign him long term for cheap, at some point their not knowing if that is possible may force them to trade while they can get something valuable for the All Star first baseman
• The second most important long term question is can manager Bud Black manage the expectations of his young pitching staff while they have a AAA offense and defense behind them in the big leagues? Latos, Correia, Richard, Stauffer, and LeBlanc all have some talent but pitcher’s egos are fragile and this will be a tough year for any of them to get wins.
• Fantasy wise, can Scott Hairston hit enough to stay out of a platoon situation in the outfield? If so he is a viable OF5
• Will the return to third base help Chase Headley relax and allow him to progress as a very good young hitter?