Nap time

Just received my ESPN the mag fantasy baseball preview issue.  I get the mag of course as a free supplement to my ESPN insider subscription, which is really a must for those that play fantasy baseball just for their sheer volume of content alone.  That being said, when I opened to the sleepers section of their mag, I felt like I was taking a trip to Wonderland...

Here is their complete list of sleepers...

Eric Young
Desmond Jennings
Reggie Willits
Mike McCoy
Fernando Perez
Jason Marquis
James Shields
Tim Wakefield
Aaron Cook
John Lannan
Matt Weiters
Chris Ianetta
Cameron Maybin
Homer Bailey
Jay Bruce
Placido Polanco
Raul Ibanez
Adrian Beltre
Alex Rios
Manny Ramirez
Alex Avila
Willy Aybar
Jake Fox
Eric Hinske
Maicer Izturis
Dan Uggla
Juan Pierre
Nick Swisher
Joe Saunders
Jorge De La Rosa
Michael Wuertz
Nick Masset
Chris Perez
Angel Guzman
Mike Adams

I am stunned at what defines a sleeper these days I guess.  I mean, maybe I'm wrong, but adding Jason Marquis to your squad just doesn't seem like it's going to win your any titles.  The argument for Marquis was actually that he will pitch a lot of innings.  You really can't make that up.  Really, more innings from Jason Marquis is a good thing for my team?  Really?  How exactly is he going to help again?  Also, their philosophy seems to say that veterans are where you look for sleeper potential, not in rookies or youth.  I guess I disagree with that premise.  Half the guys on that list are on the downside of their career and many of them have no upside poential from the spot they were in just last year.  De La Rosa, Uggla, Aybar, Ibanez, Ianetta, Shields, Hinske, Wakefield, Cook, F. Perez, Izturis and Swisher, don't have any reason to make you think you'll get more out of them in 2010 than 2009.  Manny, Beltre and Rios are past their primes as players and are going to be big wild cards at best.  Which leaves us with a few legit youthful sleepers (are we still actually calling Weiters a sleeper?) and a handful of set up men from their list.

Of those guys, Pierre seems to have sleeper potential due to a large increase in PT.  Chris Perez seems like he has a shot at saves in Cleveland, and I like Bruce, Maybin and Bailey as nice breakout candidates, although I've been burned by Maybin before.

So, who do I think are sleepers in 2010?  I'm looking for a change in circumstances, allowing for more production, or youthful upside.  Sleepers have to have a good chance to outperform their draft position or auction value significantly.  Here is who fits that bill to me...in no particular order.

J. Pierre
D. McGowan
T. Snider
M. Garza
J. Bruce
H. Bailey
M. Joyce/S. Rodriguez (whoever gets the PT)
A. McCutchen
D. Price
R. Davis
D. Stubbs
B. Myers
N. Reimold
E. Cabrera
B. Morrow
J. Borbon
M. Latos
C. Gomez
A. Gordon
B. Wood
I. Stewart
C. Rasmus

Now, you've heard of all these guys and you've picked many of them before, only to be disappointed.  Still, I can't think of a reason why I'd rather take Tim Wakefield than Brandon Morrow.  There is no circumstance that would make that scenario play out for me.  Could Wake outproduce Morrow?  Absolutely, but I can guarantee I can find another Wakefield type whenever I want one.  If Morrow starts the season strong and begins to realize his potential as a talented strikeout SP, that ship will have sailed.  You get the point.

Cheers,
TFAM