AmateurGm.com

If Ryan Braun is off your fantasy league draft board there is no need to be confused.  The analysts at amateurgm.com are here to help you decide who to anchor your fantasy outfield with. Alex Childers (Carl Crawford) – Four years $66 million; Seven years $120 million.  No, that’s not the Saudi Prince’s inheritance; those are the respective pay days that Jason Bay and Matt Holliday earned this year. Carl Crawford has the potential to earn an equivalent payday if he can perform like he has in the past.  With the Yankees showing interest, Crawford is prepared for a career year and a huge pay day. Last season Crawford produced his typical stat line .305/.364/.452 (BA/OBP/SLG) 60 SB, 15 HR, 68 [...]

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• Category: Cleveland Indians, Colorado Rockies, Fantasy, Los Angeles Dodgers, Milwaukee Brewers, Oakland Athletics, St. Louis Cardinals, Tampa Bay Rays, Teams
• Tagged as Carl Crawford, Grady Sizemore, Jason Bay, Matt Holliday, Matt Kemp, Ryan Braun

Whether you like him or hate him, I think we can all agree that the Yankee’s Alex Rodriguez is the best third basemen in baseball. I think we can also agree that Rodriguez is going in the top 5 picks in most fantasy drafts. If you are planning on drafting a third basemen in the first several rounds of the draft, you do have some options (and I recommend that you do, as it is a fairly weak position this year). Four amateurgm.com analysts break down who they feel is the 2nd best fantasy option below. Andrew Swanson (Evan Longoria) – Evan Longoria is one of the best third basemen around. In just two major league seasons Longoria has averaged 30 HR, [...]

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• Category: Arizona Diamondbacks, Fantasy, New York Mets, New York Yankees, Tampa Bay Rays, Teams, Washington Nationals
• Tagged as Alex Rodriguez, Aramis Ramirez, ARod, Ben Zobrist, Carl Crawford, David Wright, Derek Jeter, Erin Andrews, Evan Longoria, Mark Reynolds, Pablo Sandoval, Ryan Zimmerman

There was a collective sigh of relief from the Minnesota Twins and their fan base as they signed MVP and All-Star catcher Joe Mauer to an 8 year $184 million dollar contract with a full no-trade clause. The deal covers the 2011-18 seasons and is the fourth largest — both in total value and average salary — in major league history. Mauer has won three AL batting titles, two Gold Gloves, and an MVP award. Mauer was going into the final year of his current contract. He will make $12.5 million this year in the final season of a $33 million, four-year deal and will earn $23 million in each of the following eight seasons under the extension. The only [...]

• 2 Comments
• Category: Boston Red Sox, Minnesota Twins, New York Yankees, Teams
• Tagged as Alex Rodriguez, Joe Mauer, Roger Clemens, Victor Martinez

Respected ESPN baseball insider Buster Olney created quite a buzz in the Phillies and Cardinals’ camps this past weekend. Olney reported his sources were telling him that the Philadelphia Phillies were having internal discussions about a blockbuster trade of Ryan Howard (1B) for Albert Pujols (1B). While Olney said the Phillies were not prepared to approach the Cardinals with the proposal, the mere thought of these internal discussions being reported has raised some eyebrows in both camps. Phillies GM Ruben Amaro was adamant that these discussions have not taken place and questioned who Olney was getting his information from. When questioned by reporters on the topic, both Pujols and Howard didn’t put much stock into the rumor and expected to [...]

• 1 Comment
• Category: Fantasy, Free Agents, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies, Rumors, St. Louis Cardinals, Teams, Toronto Blue Jays
• Tagged as Albert Pujols, Alex Rodriguez, Buster Olney, Matt Holliday, roy halladay, Ruben Amaro, Ryan Howard

If you are hoping to land the Florida Marlin’s Hanley Ramirez as your fantasy league shortstop, you better have one of the top three picks in your league or be willing to pay the steep price he will command in an auction league.  There are several great shortstop options to choose from after Hanley, but the question is “who is second best at shortstop?”  Four amateurgm.com analysts give their thoughts on this fantasy question for the critically important position of shortstop and discuss Derek Jeter, Jose Reyes, Jimmy Rollins, and Troy Tulowitzki. Scott Oleniczak (Derek Jeter) – 10-time all-star shortstop Derek Jeter is this generation’s “Iron Horse.” Jeter is showing no signs of slowing down playing an average of 153 games over [...]

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• Category: Colorado Rockies, Fantasy, Miami Marlins, New York Mets, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies, Teams
• Tagged as Alex Rodriguez, ARod, David Wright, Derek Jeter, Hanley Ramirez, Jason Bay, Jimmy Rollins, Jose Reyes, Troy Tulowitzki

After a brief hiatus, it is time to take a look at the next part of our fantasy preview series and focus on some potential sleepers for the upcoming season. Every year fantasy owners are on the lookout for players that have the element of surprise and often times those players are found in the late rounds of your draft. This year there is no shortage of players from each league that have the potential to surprise and reward fantasy owners for drafting them. Here is a look at some sleeper candidates in the American League for 2010. Brandon Wood (3B) Los Angeles Angels – The former first round pick of the Angels in 2003, is finally ready to receive [...]

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• Category: Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Detroit Tigers, Fantasy, Los Angeles Angels, Minnesota Twins, New York Yankees, Oakland Athletics, Seattle Mariners, Tampa Bay Rays, Teams, Texas Rangers
• Tagged as Austin Jackson, Brandon Wood, Brian Matusz, Chone Figgins, Clay Buchholz, Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels, Curtis Granderson, David Price, Francisco Liriano, Johnny Damon, Julio Borbon, Kendry Morales, Rajai Davis

Tim Marchman of Sports Illustrated recently ranks all 30 Major League General Managers. So we must ask ourselves how do you measure a GM’s success? Is it dollars spent per win? Playoff appearances? Do you take into account the minor league system and player development? The Twins may not be a power house but they have been a very successful team. Ultimately the goal of every team is to win the World Series. However, I am not convinced that this is a sign of a good GM. Guys like Theo Epstein of the Boston Red Sox and Brian Cashman of the New York Yankees, who get a bunch of blank checks every season seem to have an advantage over the [...]

• 13 Comments
• Category: Boston Red Sox, Free Agents, Minnesota Twins, New York Yankees, Oakland Athletics, Tampa Bay Rays, Teams
• Tagged as Alex Anthopolous, Andrew Friedman, Andy MacPhail, Bill Smith, Billy Beane, Brian Cashman, Brian Sabean, Dan O'Dowd, Dave Dombrowski, Dayton Moore, Doug Melvin, Ed Wade, Frank Wren, General Manager, gm, Jack Zduriencik, Jed Hoyer, Jim Hendry, John Mozeliak, Jon Daniels, Josh Byrnes, kenny williams, Larry Beinfest, Mark Shapiro, Mike Rizzo, Neal Huntington, Ned Colletti, Omar Minaya, Ruben Amaro Jr, Theo Epstein, Tony Reagins, Walt Jocketty

Welcome to draft day. It has come to that all important time of selecting a second basemen. Chase Utley was gone in the first round and now you are wondering who you should invest in to stay competitive in your league. Which guy will give you that slight edge? Should you look for more power? Speed? High batting average? There are too many choices! Well don’t worry we have you covered. Our analysts have the information you need to make an informed decision. Bryce Carlson (Brian Roberts) – In the fantasy baseball second base market, Brian Roberts is a performance enhancing choice… no pun intended.  First of all, Roberts is a workhorse.  He has averaged 157 games for the last three seasons.  You don’t [...]

• 2 Comments
• Category: Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Cincinnati Reds, Fantasy, Philadelphia Phillies, Teams, Texas Rangers
• Tagged as Aaron Hill, Alex Rodriguez, Alfonso Soriano, brandon phillips, Brian Roberts, Chase Utley, Derek Jeter, Dustin Pedroia, Ian Kinsler, Miguel Tejada, Nomar Garciaparra, Robinson Cano, Steve Buechele

The Arizona Diamondbacks and right fielder Justin Upton have agreed to a 6-year $51.25 million deal.  This deal is the second largest in club history. The contract buys out Upton’s arbitration years and his first two eligible years of free agency.  Upton said he considered going year by year in arbitration and eventual free agency before choosing security. He probably would have made more money if he went year to year. Upton has a bright future ahead of him. At 22-years-old Upton has drawn comparisons with many Hall of Fame caliber players such as Hank Aaron and Willie Mays. He broke out last season with a .300 batting average, 26 home runs, 86 RBI and 20 stolen bases. While the [...]

• 3 Comments
• Category: Arizona Diamondbacks
• Tagged as Andruw Jones, Hank Aaron, Justin Upton, miguel cabrera, Willie Mays

The American League Central Division has always been an enigma. There never seems to be a dominant team that can run away with the division title. The Twins put together a consistent product but they aren’t guaranteed to win every year like the Yankees. The Royals are trying to keep their heads above water and the Indians are going through a swoon after being highly competitive for a number of years. So who among these teams has the best rotation for the asking price? Minnesota Twins: The Twinkees are always competitive. They have a very regimented process to move their minor leaguers up to the majors, requiring them to complete specific tasks and to do them consistently. Their owner, James [...]

• 2 Comments
• Category: Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers, Fantasy, Kansas City Royals, Minnesota Twins, Teams
• Tagged as Aaron Laffey, Armando Galarraga, Brian Bannister, Brian Duensing, Carl Pavano, Carlos Carrasco, Daniel Hudson, David Huff, Dontrelle Willis, Fausto Carmona, Francisco Liriano, Freddy Garcia, Gavin Floyd, Gil Meche, Jake Peavy, Jake Westbrook, James Pohlad, Jeremy Bonderman, Jeremy Sowers, John Danks, Justin Masterson, Justin Verlander, kenny williams, Kevin Slowey, Kyle Davies, Luke Hochevar, Manny Acta, Mark Buehrle, Max Scherzer, Nate Robertson, Nick Blackburn, Rick Porcello, Robinson Tejeda, Ron Gardenhire, Scott Baker, Zack Greinke