Fantasy Baseball Fallout: Troy Tulowitzki & Jorge de la Rosa Are Rockin' Heavy Wallets in Colorado
It seems painfully obvious that staying in Denver is ideal for Tulo and not so much so for de la Rosa, but these are two players worth examining further heading into 2011.
Starting with Tulo, durability concerns are a big issue for the shortstop. In four Major League seasons, Tulo has played over 150 games twice but fewer than 125 in the other two seasons. Torn quadriceps, lacerated palms, and broken wrists have sidelined Tulo in his career. Whether that means he is injury prone or just unlucky in that he has not had any recurring injuries is debatable, but a concern for fantasy owners either way.
However, shortstop is such a paper thin position that many will see Tulo as being worth the risk, and I am inclined to be one of those people. With 162 game averages of .290 BA, 104 R, 99 RBI, 27 HR, and 12 SB, you could certainly make the argument that if he remains healthy, Tulo could be the fantasy MVP in 2011 based on the woeful lack of depth at his position.
Tulo figures to be a borderline top ten hitting option in next year’s fantasy drafts, so with Roy Halladay sure to fit somewhere into that mix it seems that Tulo will be an early second round, possibly late first round pick you can feel good about drafting.
Last year de la Rosa was only being drafted somewhere between the 16th and 18th rounds in most ten-team leagues despite coming off a 16 win, 190+ strikeout season. Because of the time he spent on the DL last year, it is hard to see him being drafted that high again. ERA and WHIP aside, if healthy, de la Rosa could easily approach 15+ wins and around 200 strikeouts again which would likely place him among the top 20 pitchers in those categories.
Ultimately, Tulo is a high risk, high reward guy worth taking a shot on because of the potential value he could provide at a shallow position, and de la Rosa is a low risk, high reward guy worth taking a shot on because his 2011 ceiling will be much higher than just about anybody else being drafted near him.
Written by Brett Talley exclusively for thefantasyfix.com. Brett is a law student in Dallas who has considered naming his first two sons Troy and Jorge. You can follow him on Twitter @therealTAL.
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