2006/2007 The Importance of Youth.

This past year we truly saw what youth could bring to a team. The best record in the National League was 90-72 a .556 winning percentage owned by one of the youngest teams in baseball the Arizona Diamondbacks, a team many picked to finish 3rd in the NL West. The Colorado Rockies perhaps the story of the 2007 season won 21 of 22 before falling to the Red Sox in the World Series. What do both these team have in common? Their comprised mostly of youngsters with little to no Post Season experience and solidified by a select few veterans to lead the way.
It can’t be argued that youth didn’t play a key role in virtually every playoff team season with guys like Ellsbury, Pedroia, Carmona, Joba Chamberlain, Chris B. Young, Corpas, Ubaldo Jimenez, Seth Smith). Where would some of these teams be without the aforementioned names? But we are not the GM’s of billion dollar franchises, we are managers of Fantasy teams worth the $25 buy in we gave to our friend or that guy in the corner office. Though when you look at the teams that won you start to see a lot of familiar names, and you realize youth is just as important in our fantasy leagues as it is in real life. When I look at the teams that won their respective leagues a few names consistently jump out at me. I am going to go down the list of the impact newcomers at each position listed in order of impact.

1. 3B Ryan Braun (MIL)- This guy put himself in a class of his own. Putting up rookie numbers that we haven’t seen since Albert Pujols. He barely lost out on the ROY to Troy Tulowitzki who you'll read about shortly on this list and something tells me he's going to be competing for a lot of awards in the near future. Luckily defense doesn't factor into fantasy as much as it factors into real life otherwise Tulowitxki and Martin would be ranked well ahead of Braun. It's hard to nit pick though about a guy that hits 34 HR with 97 RBI in only 113 games not to mention adding 15 SB. There is a reason everyone rants and raves about this kid and his 5x5 talent; this article is no different.

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB K SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS
113 451 91 146 26 6 34 97 29 112 15 5 .324 .370 .634 1.004

In his 113 games he put up numbers that ranked him in the top 20 of all players, and virtually locked himself as a top 15 pick in next years draft. He was a huge addition in virtually every fantasy category and the importance of getting this kind of boost from a FA pickup or a late round sleeper cannot be understated. With only 113 games played Braun put himself in an elite class of 3rd baseman with A-ROD and the Met’s golden boy David Wright with his combination of power, average & speed, he will the cornerstone of fantasy teams for years to come.

2. C Russell Martin (LAD) - Nobody outside of Los Angeles could have ever picked this offensive outburst. Among a weak class of catchers Martin established himself as an elite option. He easily topped all catchers with 21 SB, His 2nd half slump could have easily been attributed to him being over worked as he started at catcher in 145 of 162 games, which is unheard of.

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB K SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS
151 540 87 158 32 3 19 87 67 89 21 9 .293 .374 .469 .843

For his 2nd year and 1st full season Martin’s numbers are remarkable and the best LA has seen since Piazza migrated East. Martin’s ADP last year was an astounding 19.4 yet he went undrafted in far too many leagues. This year Martin is primed to be competing with Victor Martinez as the first catcher drafted in 2008, and considering Joe Mauer, was off the board by round 3 Martin could be next years hot pick at a thin position.

3. 2B BJ Upton (TB) - While this pick could be questioned since he played a combined 95 games 2004 & 2006; he had never had more than 175 AB’s in a season. Another thing going against this pick was that everyone knew of Upton and what he was capable of, the only question was his playing time. Regardless Upton was drafted on average in round 20.4 of a standard 12 team 21 round roto league. Adding to his ADP his position eligibility made him a must on this list.

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB K SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS
129 474 86 142 25 1 24 82 65 154 22 8 .300 .386 .508 .894

Considering his stat line and his eligibility at 2/3/OF he is rightfully ranked right at the top with second baseman Chase Utley & post phenom breakout Brandon Phillips. Considering Upton missed a month with a hamstring injury in June his 24-82-.300- 22 stat line has great chance of landing him as the #3 overall 2b in 2008. Of course his switch to CF and his position eligibility will have a lot to say with his ADP in 2008.

4. SS Troy Tulowitzki (COL)- Though he may have slumped in the limelight of October his glove had people doing double takes after seeing his Jeter-esque plays at SS. Troy boy could be credited with a lot the Rockies meteoric rise this past year. Along with stellar offensive numbers he added to an already potent lineup; Tulowitzki brought maturity and leadership at a young age and backed that up with a .987 fielding % to helped the Rockies lead the all of baseball in fielding %. Tulowitzki was left undrafted in most leagues making his numbers that much more of an impact as a FA addition.

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB K SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS
155 609 104 177 33 5 24 99 57 130 7 6 .291 .359 .479 .838

In Yahoo! Leagues Troy outperformed perennial top picks Derek Jeter, Miguel Tejada, Edgar Renteria & Rafael Furcal. In his first MLB season he already is looking like one of the bigger power threats at the SS position that has suddenly has some depth. At this point many of us would expect a leap next year in fantasy friendly Coors Field and Tulowitzki could be off the board late 4th early 5th round. Quite a steal as a free agent this past year.

5. SP Fausto Carmona (CLE)- After going 1-10 in 2006 nobody drafted Carmona let alone picked him to be a Cy Young finalist. No not even me. Tied for 2nd in the MLB with 19 wins, Carmona ranked as the 12th best fantasy pitcher in 2007 ahead of notables Roy Oswalt & Halladay (Down year for team Roy).

G GS W L SV CG SHO IP H R ER HR BB K ERA WHIP BAA
32 32 19 8 0 2 1 215.0 199 78 73 16 61 137 3.06 1.21 .248

Carmona made everyone quickly forget his 2006 season with one of the best comeback years of anyone in recent memory. I think the Yankees are still having nightmare flashbacks of his sinker after his Game 2 domination in the ALDS. After going undrafted this year Carmona should be well off the boards by rounds 8 & 9. Don’t fall in love with his numbers this year though, much like Chien- Ming Wang of the Yankees, Carmona doesn’t provide elite K’s and in a tough AL you can’t bet on a repeat of his 3.06 ERA

6. OF Chris B. Young (ARI)- I think Young may have received the most pre- season hype of anyone on this list and with playing time guaranteed his speed and sweet swing were on full display. His combination of power and speed is what makes him special and with some more experience and maybe shortening that long swing a little bit he could enter an elite class sooner rather than later. Young was drafted in the latter rounds of most drafts, but likely provided his owners with more then they expected.

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB K SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS
148 569 85 135 29 3 32 68 43 141 27 6 .237 .295 .467 .763

One thing that has Young listed this low is his scary Strikeout totals and low BA AVG. In 25 playoffs AB’s Young struck out a whopping 13 times carrying over from his regular season struggles. Making up for that is the fact he hit 32 HR along with 27 SB well surpassing the 20/20 preseason predictions. Unfortunately a player that hits 32 Hr usually has more than 68 RBI, but you would be wise not to let this turn you away in next years draft.

7. SP Tim Lincecum (SF)- Lincecum got a lot of hype a long with Chris Young. His tall lanky frame and unorthodox delivery had many people comparing him to Roy Oswalt and Pedro Martinez, but after this year I feel Lincecum will make a name for himself in the years to come (as much as it pains me and the other Dodger faithful). Lincecum like most young pitchers had a few rough outings that really ballooned his ERA and the hapless Giant offense could only muster up enough to net him 7 despite having 16 quality outings.

G GS W L SV CG SHO IP H R ER HR BB K ERA WHIP BAA
24 24 7 5 0 0 0 146.1 122 70 65 12 65 150 4.00 1.28 .226

Lincecum was typically a last round sleeper or a early FA pick up stocked away for the day he would be called up. Like many young pitchers the Giants monitored his innings closely and shut him down before the seasons end. Lincecum could be a steal in next years draft though he will no longer be referred to as a sleeper. Lincecum provides elite K totals and has shown the ability to command his fastball for stretches. With more experience Lincecum has the stuff to be an elite pitcher or he could head down Felix Hernandez’s path. Either way he will help Fantasy teams in 2008.

8. OF Hunter Pence (HOU)- If he only stayed healthy he would have been in the running for ROY. I mean from a fantasy perspective at least he hurt himself trying to steal second, and watching this kid play with reckless abandon has to make you smile. Pence was another impact rookie who brought the combination of power, speed and a good BA, another one of those rare 5x5 threats that a fantasy manager looks to build his team around.

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB K SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS
108 456 57 147 30 9 17 69 26 95 11 5 .322 .360 .539 .899

Pence was an early season call up in late April and came out red hot hitting .347 over April & May. Pence never really slowed down until he made an awkward slide into 2nd base against Pittsburgh on July 22nd. Pence went undrafted in most leagues and certainly gave a boost to the lucky owners who picked him. Likely to be a top 15 OF next year but may slip a few rounds in some drafts because of his injury much like Alex Rios this past year.

9. SP Yovanni Gallardo (Mil)- Gallardo’s mid June call up was much anticipated after he was dominating the minor league. Gallardo did not disappoint often times carrying a young Brewers pitching staff that was missing their ace in Ben Sheets for the stretch run. Between Aug. 31st and Sept. 17th Gallardo went 4-0 with a 0.45 ERA keeping the Brewers in the NL Central chase until the end.

G GS W L SV CG SHO IP H R ER HR BB K ERA WHIP BAA
20 17 9 5 0 0 0 110.1 103 48 45 8 37 101 3.67 1.27 .245

Gallardo was typically a late round sleeper pick or picked up off waivers by early may by a heady manager. With 30+ starts next year Gallardo could easily jump to a top ter level bringing solid pitching statistics across the board and not toying with owners emotions with his uber- efficient 3:1_ K:B ratio. Gallardo will be a solid option as a #3 SP so draft him accordingly.


10. CL Manny Corpas (COL)- Corpas started the year with the major league club setting up Brian Fuentes, quickly after Fuentes blew 4 straight saves to end the month of June Clint Hurdle turned the reigns over to the young gunslinger and he never looked back.

G GS W L SV CG SHO IP H R ER HR BB K ERA WHIP BAA
78 0 4 2 19 0 0 78.0 63 20 18 6 20 58 2.08 1.06 .224

In addition to Corpas’ regular season numbers he also converted 5 of 6 save opportunities in the bright lights of October giving up only 1 run in 10.1 IP. Corpas was likely a mid season waiver wire gem providing solid SV’s and ERA from a closer. For this very purpose I never recommend drafting closers too high as there always seem to be mid season surprises available at a bargain. This year alone we saw Matt Capps and Kevin Gregg bring FA relief to managers in need of a Closer. Corpas is on this list though due to his impact of the Rockies regular and post season as he added stability and a reliable stopper at the back end of a thin bullpen.


Honorable Mention: Dustin Pedroia (BOS), James Loney (LAD), Matt Capps (PIT), Corey Hart (MIL), Reggie Willits (LAA), Chad Billingsley (LAD), Jeremy Guthrie (BAL), Rajai Davis(SF), Mark Reynolds (ARI), Matt Kemp (LAD), Joba Chamberlain (NYY), Micah Owings (ARI).

Now I know it’s unthinkable to leave Dustin Pedroia the AL ROY off this list but in reality his user friendly line of 86-8-50-7 .317 ranked him the 17th best fantasy 2nd baseman behind Aaron Hill of Toronto and Mark Ellis of Oakland. In terms of real life impact he would surely be on this list but in terms of fantasy impact it’s hard to see who he would supplant in the top 10.

Aaron Sobel is a self proclaimed expert for FantasyBaseballExpress, to view more articles written by Aaron Sobel or other writers from FantasyBaseballExpress please visit www.fantasybaseballexpress.com