Recently in Curtis Granderson Category

The three team trade that allowed the Yankees to acquire Curtis Granderson has been covered and analyzed by many people.  We've read tons of different opinions on how he will fit into the Yankees lineup and how this trade affects the Yankees ability to repeat as MLB champs. That's great, but we here at Fantasy Prospects are more concerned how this move influences Granderson's Fantasy Value!

Granderson had a weird '09 season; with the exception of his career high 30 HRs, pretty much all his numbers started heading the wrong way.  His '09 AVG of .249 was down 31 points from '08 and 53 points from '07.  He's batting an atrocious .183 AVG against left-handers. Granderson's strikeouts are up and his SLG, OBP, and OPS are all down.  So why did the Yanks go after him and will he be a good fantasy player for 2010?

One reason is because Granderson put up some pretty good numbers in the '07 and '08 seasons.  There's a good chance last season was just an aberration.  His numbers were trending well and they were good enough to make him a top 60 selection in most people's '09 fantasy drafts.  He also seemed to be to be a victim of his own home field, 20 out of his 30 HRs came on the road.  I'm guessing the Yankees are betting on the fact that more than a few of Granderson's fly balls in Comerica Park will turn into HRs in Yankee Stadium.  The Yanks also have the lineup to hide him a bit from lefties; they plan to bat him second against righties and near the bottom of the lineup against southpaws.