2013 Fantasy BaseballFantasy Baseball

2013 Fantasy Baseball, Total Run Series: Right Fielders

Like every other position, right field was rocked by injuries this season. If you assume a 12 team league then you had ten right fielders taken in the first ten rounds. When the season is over, only two of the ten players will likely be among the top ten right fielders in runs created. The biggest name barely squeaked into the top twenty and has a ton of controversy surrounding him moving forward. His injury troubles are only a small part of that.

The Miami Marlins utilized a scorched earth policy again this season after trying to make a playoff run in 2012. They have some good prospects in the outfield, so they could possibly deal him and get a king’s ransom. If they could find a team willing to give away some top notch infield prospects. While this might seem trivial for fantasy players, the prospect of playing for a contender could transform him into a true top ten player. Otherwise, he likely shouldn’t be picked there. Yes, he has true forty home run potential, but without runners on base it won’t much matter. This season has almost been a case of him checking out.

Some might say the same of Josh Hamilton, but he keeps going out there and he manages to produce some runs in the process. Since the beginning of July, Hamilton has driven in 29 runs and slugged seven home runs. Through this writing, that totals 150 plate appearances. Multiply that by four and you have a guy with 28 home runs and 116 RBIs. That’s not brilliant, but it is closer to what the Angels thought they were getting when they signed him to that huge contract.

The final disappointment came from Jason Heyward. I touched on this a few weeks ago. Simply put, Heyward is a very good overall player and he might be underrated overall. The problem is that most of that reputation is built on defense. He is about 100 plate appearances short of where he would be if he were 100 percent healthy. That’s important, but even if you projected his numbers out with those at bats he wouldn’t be where most people drafted him. He might have hit twenty home runs and driven in maybe 80 runs. That’s not worth a third round pick.

PRE

RC

BR

TOT

Notes
Jose Bautista

15

76

0

76

After a season of injuries he has regained his spot on top.
Jay Bruce

38

72

1

73

He is a consistent performer and deserves a lot more respect than he gets
Michael Cuddyer

163

71

2

73

We thought he would be brilliant in Denver and he finally has delivered.
Torii Hunter

191

70

0

70

He is a consistent performer that just keeps going.
Carlos Beltran

102

69

1

70

It will be interesting to see what happens to him this winter.
Hunter Pence

118

67

3

70

Like Beltran, he is a free agent, but he has a better chance of staying in San Francisco.
Alex Rios

73

61

6

67

He actually is better offensively than the player he is replacing.
Nelson Cruz

104

65

-2

63

He would have been a solid top ten performer without Biogenesis.
Jayson Werth

189

62

-1

61

He is quietly performing like he did when he was in Philadelphia.
Gerardo Parra

408

55

3

58

He plays all three outfield positions and is more valuable off the bench.
Nick Markakis

139

58

-2

56

He is not quite as good as people think he is.
Yusiel Puig

459

55

-2

53

He is this year’s Mike Trout. The Dodgers would be lost without him.
Nate Schierholtz

438

53

0

53

He has come on since the Cubs traded Hairston away.
Norichika Aoki

130

54

-2

52

He isn’t as good as he was last season, but he is still a good contact hitter
Andre Ethier

147

54

-3

51

He is destined to be somewhere else next season.
Shane Victorino

100

48

2

50

He’s actually been productive when healthy.
Josh Hamilton

24

45

3

48

He has been much better over the last several weeks, but he buried himself in the first half.
Ichiro Suzuki

152

46

0

46

I can’t believe people were drafting him at all at this point.
Jason Heyward

30

44

1

45

He has been better since coming off of the DL.
Giancarlo Stanon

10

43

0

43

Injuries have made this consensus first rounder an afterthought.

The biggest name not on the list is Wil Myers of the Rays. When we look at the list at the end of the season he will likely be on it. This is really not his fault and in a perfect world he would have been on the field from the get go. This is one of the problems that needs to be fixed at the next CBA. There is no reason to keep this super two stuff going. It only serves to keep top talent in the minors for the first few months of the season.

 

 

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