1. Cameron Maybin, OF, San Diego Padres
Maybin is one of the most underrated outfielders in baseball. He has become the Padres best offensive option and their best fantasy player since the departure of Adrian Gonzalez. I wouldn’t hesitate to draft 82 R and 40 SB when the necessary time comes.
Cameron Maybin, OF, San Diego Padres
2. Freddie Freeman, 1B, Atlanta Braves
Not a lot of people expected Freeman to do as well as he did in his rookie season. He hit 21 HR and 76 RBI while hitting .281 in 571 ABs.
3. Vance Worley, SP, Philadelphia Phillies
The Phillies had the best starting pitching staff in baseball even before Worley became a fixture in the rotation later in the season. He posted 11 wins in just 25 games with a very respectable 3.01 ERA.
4. J.P. Arencibia, C, Toronto Blue Jays
Arencibia proved himself as one of the best fantasy catchers in baseball. He had just 97 hits, 23 of which were long bombs, while knocking in 78 RBI.
5. Rick Porcello, SP, Detroit Tigers
All the talk about Detroit’s pitching staff last season was Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer, but Porcello tallied 14 wins of his own. He’s an unsung hero on a playoff quality staff.
6. Ryan Vogelsong, SP, San Francisco Giants
Vogelsong came out of nowhere and went straight to the All Star Game in 2011. He isn’t the strikeout man that Lincecum is but he had as many wins as the Cy Young hurler and was fourth in the NL in ERA. He’s just another good pitcher in one of the best rotations in baseball.
7. Dexter Fowler, OF, Colorado Rockies
Fowler hasn’t played to his full potential yet in his career, but he has shown signs of it. His speed makes him worthy of a mid to late round pick as long as he is healthy. He’s a younger, more powerful Juan Pierre.
8. Jemile Weeks, 2B, Oakland Athletics
Rickie’s younger brother is starting to be referred to more as Jemile now. He doesn’t have near the power his brother does, but he makes up for it in speed.
He hit over .300 and stole 22 bases in just 406 ABs. The A’s, and possibly your fantasy team, have a decent lead-off man for years to come.
9. Jake Arrieta, SP, Baltimore Orioles
You don’t hear about Arrieta a lot, probably because he plays for the Orioles, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t a worthy fantasy pitcher. A 10-8 record while pitching in the same division as the Yankees, Red Sox, Rays, and Blue Jays isn’t a bad feat.
10. Gerardo Parra, OF, Arizona Diamondbacks
There has been talk of Parra going to another team before the 2012 season, but GM Kevin Towers doesn’t want that to happen. He was a pleasant surprise for the Diamondbacks during their playoff run last season and hits for a pretty good average.
2 Comments
I like a lot of your sleeper picks, but Vance Worley will be on our list of 2012 Duds this year. It’s the sophomore slump factor plus he doesn’t get a lot of strikeouts.
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True about the strikeouts. He does get a lot of innings, though, and had a great winning percentage (.786).