Getting a Grip

Many years ago before I had a wife and kids I had a roommate to help pay the bills.  One day we went to a state park with some friends and we spied this ledge near a canyon.  Now, the ledge was about four feet up from the ground but if you looked at it from the right angle it looked for all the world as if it was the edge of the canyon and a 500 foot drop.

So, my buddy got down under the ledge, reached up and grasped the edge, looked at the camera in terror, and hilarity ensued.  We snapped the picture and put it on our refrigerator.  Priceless.

This year, like last, I'm having to work hard to get a grasp on the fantasy landscape.  I can't say I have a look of terror yet but sometimes I wonder about certain players, especially at the top end of the draft.

I wonder what $161 million does to Chris Davis.  I wonder what a $150 million demand from an aging Jose Bautista does to him.  Speaking of big deals, how much are Greinke and Price affected by their new ballparks?  Can Giancarlo Stanton play a full year?  Will McCutchen's speed return?  He's only 29 years old.

I suppose it's the same every year.  And truly, questions abound all the way down the list.  I mean, is Pablo Sandoval worth drafting?

It goes to show that homework is as important as it ever has been.  I suggest you either do all of the exhaustive work yourself and make up your own mind about each player from a vacuum... or you access multiple sources of information and generate a consensus.

One of the very best tools for this is FantasyPros.com.  This isn't a commercial for those guys, but I find the slicing and dicing of many expert opinions to be exceptionally helpful.  It's free and fast.  You can pick the experts you want to include and who you want to exclude.  There are even site rankings from some of the big guys on there.  You can also see how accurate each expert was last year.

If you do head over there and create a customized composite of the most accurate experts, I do recommend you include at least the top 19 in your list.  19?  Why such a specific number?  Well, I just think that #19 is particularly talented.

Good luck in your drafts, Brainiacs.