Recently in OF Category

Damon will most likely take over as the Tigers' lead off hitter and left fielder.  He's essentially replacing Curtis Granderson in the Tigers' lineup.  How will Damon's new home park and teammates affect his fantasy value?  Well Comerica Park is not nearly as homer friendly as Yankee Stadium and the Tigers' lineup is not nearly as potent as the Yanks'.  There is a REAL good chance that both his home run and RBI totals will go down because of this.  I just don't see a repeat performance of his 2009 fantasy production; he'll be decent but be outside the top 100 fantasy players.

From the Tigers' perspective Damon replacing Granderson really is a downgrade all around.  He's going to cost more, has less power, and his defensive capabilities and arm are nowhere near as good (Tiger pitchers will be negatively affected).

Is there any way Damon repeats his 2009 fantasy performance?  I say no ... what do you think?

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.

We continue in our 2010 Keeper List series.  Outfielders are one of the most productive fantasy positions.  You need to make sure you get the right ones, here are our top ten lists of fantasy OF'ers.

1. Ryan Braun
2. Matt Kemp
3. Justin Upton
4. Matt Holiday
5. Grady Sizemore
6. Jason Bay
7. Carl Crawford
8. Josh Hamilton
9. Ichiro Suzuki
10. Carlos Beltran

Will's Take:  There is a clear seperation between the top two in the OF and the rest in the position.  Braun bursted on the scene in 07' and has been golden ever since putting on a big league uni.  He has never hit under 30 hrs and has a career BA of .308, certainly my #1.  Matt Kemp is a 5 tool player.  He can do it all and is only getting better.  The power is coming, look out for Kemp for several years to come.  Nobody in the rest of the group distinguishes themseleves.  They are all very good players, but you'd be just as happy with #3 as with #10.  Hamilton is a big risk big reward player, I'm a buyer.  You may want to move Jacoby Ellsbury up in your list if steals are worth a lot, but I prefer more power.

1. Ryan Braun
2. Matt Kemp
3. Jason Bay
4. Matt Holiday
5. Carl Crawford
6. Grady Sizemore
7. Ichiro Suzuki
8. Justin Upton
9. Jacoby Ellsbury
10. Andrew McCutchen

Steve's Take: Ryan Braun is the king of the fantasy Outfielders until somebody knocks him of the throne, this could be the year that Matt Kemp takes it but we'll have to wait and see.  Both Bay and Holiday are Free Agents and their value will be affected by what team signs them and which ball park they are playing in everyday.  Regardless of where they sign those two should put up solid numbers.  Crawford and Ellsbury steal a ton of bases so their value goes up and down based on how important steals are in your league format.  Sizemore needs to rebound from a season where injuries hampered his production.  Upton and McCutchen are young stud players just beginning to hit their fantasy stride.  Adam Lind, Adam Jones, and Carlos Beltran are guys who just missed making my list.