My Sweet Fantasy

It's that time of year again. Yes, the players practice their swing, test the strength of their arms, and work the mouse and keyboard? Yup, no mistake there. The fantasy owners are beginning to scroll through the fantasy rankings and are predicting their picks in the suspenseful draft. And the keys to winning your league this year lie right here in this article. It's as easy as that. Just follow my predictions and thoughts and you'll be on your way to a golden trophy or a cash prize sitting on your front desk. The key to these leagues are the little picks that make the difference, and the lower ranked players that burst out as Cy Young winners or MVP surprises. So who will it be this year?

Sleepers

Pedro Martinez- With this pitcher you can't go wrong. He's a sure strikeout pitcher and is likely to get his wins behind the best offense in the National League. So why is he ranked so low? Injuries. Pedro suffered an awful right shoulder injury that sidelined him for part of the 2006 season. And now he's back. With Martinez you're guaranteed strikeouts, wins, and even a good ERA. How do I know? In his career he has averaged 10.20 strikeouts per nine innings, a 2.81 ERA, and 206 total wins. Not good enough? Well what about the fact that he is a three time Cy Young winner, and won the award in both the American and National League. Oh, and how about the fact that he is only two strikeouts away from the unreachable 3,000 career strikeouts. Like I said before, with this pitcher you can't go wrong.

Hideki Matsui- Another injured product, this Japanese slugger is one of many dangerous weapons courtesy of the New York Yankees. With a wrist injury in the 2006 season, Matsui was sidelined for 111 games. And now he has become even more feared. With players such as Rodriguez and Abreu surrounding him, Hideki is bound to hit dingers, since walking him is out of the question. Before last season Matsui played each of the 162 regular season games, smashing 23 home runs, but more importantly, 116 RBIs and hit with a .305 batting average. The last association Matsui wishes to be a part of is that of inconsistency.

Derrek Lee- What a surprise. Another injured player rises to the top of this list. Well it's no surprise, since he went from 8th ranked in the 2006 season to 31st in the 2007 season according to Yahoo Fantasy Sports. The 2006 Triple Crown candidate was phenomenal, bodacious, staggering, astounding. Anything I missed? He put up numbers critics thought were untouchable: 46 home runs, 120 runs, 107 RBIs, 15 stolen bases, and a .335 batting average. This is what the Chicago Cubs thought they would get from Lee every year of his contract. That was until he suffered the notorious wrist injury that only allowed him to participate in 50 games in 2007. But now he's back. And he wants revenge for the 2006 MVP trophy he felt he deserved. He still wants to prove his worthiness to Chicago, and when better than now? With the newly acquired Alfonso Soriano by his side, he will have more opportunities to drive in runs, and even score a little more himself. All of that and a couple more homers.

Big Busts

Chase Utley- Yes I know, Utley was superb last season and there is no reason for him to choke. Hey, I like Utley a lot and I think he really proved himself last season. But it's a new year, and Utley just has no gas left in his tank. With an unbelievable ,309 batting average, including 131 runs, 32 home runs, 102 RBIs, and 15 stolen bases, Utley is going to have a tough time following with another ridiculous year. His numbers will remain fairly well, but if you're thinking about Utley as a top 15 pick, you are undoubtedly heading the wrong direction for a fantasy trophy.

Matt Holliday- Fantasy baseball is too difficult enough without the question of Holliday as a top 30 pick. This player is no where near his rank of 26 on yahoo rankings. As a player ranked ahead of Miguel Tejada and Andruw Jones, Holliday should be putting up even better numbers than his career year last season. With 34 home runs and 114 RBIs Holliday has shown he has potential. A .326 batting average also adds to his success, but many fans feel a repeat of last year is slim to none. Holliday is a good player, don't get me wrong, but to put him so far up with the risk of a bust by a player who was unknown last year is too dangerous. Not to mention Todd Helton, a huge impact on this team could be headed out of Colorado for good.

Hanley Ramirez- This player, I feel, was the hardest to put on this list. The number of stolen bases Ramirez robbed (51) is so astonishing, that I would not be surprised if comments blew up in my face over this placement. But Ramirez just cannot be trusted. Hanley, who posted 17 home runs and only 59 RBIs, is not a strong enough candidate to trust for anything besides runs and stolen bases. Although he did have 119 runs last year, matching a career high is extremely difficult. Moreover, even with these fantastic numbers in these two categories, Ramirez remains incomplete, only producing two out of the five categories. And don't forget, he's thought of as a 3rd round pick.

Always Reliable

New York Mets- Geez, talk about an offense. This powerhouse team is the epitome of a pitcher's worst nightmare, and I can see why. They contain hitters such as Wright, Reyes, Beltran, Delgado, Lo Duca, and way more. And that's not even the end of it. With Pedro Martinez and Tom Glavine, the pitching is pretty good. Not to mention one of the top five closers in baseball, Billy Wagner, with 40 saves and 94 strike outs. This team has everything. Stolen bases (league leading 64 by Reyes), home runs (41 and 38 by Beltran and Delgado), and RBIs (over 114 by three different players) are just some of the categories each of these players show consistency in. With the selection of any of the eight players mentioned, you're getting a performer who takes on any task.

Johan Santana- Johan has been the only pitcher for the last five years that is among the first round draft players. The two-time Cy Young winner has proven that he deserves to be at the top of the fantasy list with all those batters. In fact, last season Santana was the Triple Crown winner among starters who pitched at least 125 innings, leading the majors in wins (19), ERA (2.77), and strike outs (245). Not to mention he had a WHIP of only 1.00. This guy does it all. And now that Mauer, Cuddyer, and 2006 AL MVP Justin Morneau are getting the offense started, Santana has plenty of back up to support his arsenal. If you're a fantasy owner that is focused more on pitching rather than batting, the only way to win is by starting with the puissant Johan Santana.

Albert Pujols- The best of the best. That's what sports critics are starting to call Albert Pujols. Pujols, if he stays long enough, could be the record leader in career home runs, or even RBIs. This "work of art" is an epitome of natural born sports players, hitting home runs after home runs after home runs after, well you get the point. Albert hit 49 home runs, along with his 119 runs and 137 RBIs. And that was in only 143 games. Now that Pujols is coming off a World Series win, he is out to prove he is the best; and after showing aggravation over his loss to Ryan Howard in the MVP ballot, Pujols will blow out the competition, making it clear that the 2006 MVP voting was a fluke.