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Coming of Age PDF Print E-mail
Roaming The Outfield
Written by Sean   
Wednesday, 06 May 2009 00:00
The other day I celebrated a birthday. This one was one of those big milestone ones and to put it nicely …its sucks getting older. However, life goes on. To celebrate my coming upon old age I figured we could take a closer look at some of the outfielders in the under 30 crowd who are making a name for themselves on the fantasy landscape this year.

Adam Jones is looking Fantastical!  Ranked #7 overall by Yahoo so far this year, he is proving to be the 5-tool player scouts hoped he would become.  Don’t expect him to continue hitting with a .350 batting average, but he has made major strides since last year when he was considered one of leagues biggest free swingers.  This year his swing rates are down to league average and should stay that way.  Everyone who drafted him this year is very happy with that pick.  If you go out and acquire him now for your fantasy teams you will be buying high for this year. However you may still be buying low if you are grabbing him for your keeper league.  His future in Baltimore is bright as he is paired nicely with another younger stud outfielder, Nick Markakis. Also be on the look out for them to be joined by Nolan Reimold (8 HRs and batting .390 at AAA so far this year) in the very near future.

Matt LaPorta was the buzz of the outfield waiver wire this weekend.  For those who don’t know about LaPorta, he was the prize for the Indians obtained for dealing CC Sabathia last year to the Brewers.  He also played well for Team USA.  He has a great power bat and should hit for an average batting average.  However all those that acquired him already for this year will have to deal with guessing when he will be playing, as he is stuck sharing time with David Dellucci.  Unfortunately, he fits into that very crowded Indian mold of DH, 1B, corner OF and will be fighting for playing time. 
Nelson Cruz has been up before and failed  But this year was different.  Many experts touted him as a great breakout player in Texas this year.  So far he has delivered by hitting home runs, batting .280 and he is right on pace for the projected 30 home runs for the season.  Remember, though, that he is 29 and should have done this a few years ago to be considered a long range keeper. While we do not recommend trading him now, there are a few other quality guys who might hit 30 home runs a year for the long term that you might be able to swap him for.

Nick Swisher is another 29-year old making headlines.  He is a career .240 hitter who donned the Yankee pinstripes and suddenly is hitting above .300.  Needless to say I am not sold.  Let's just say I’d rather have Nelson Cruz.

Adam Lind is a younger power hitter finally playing everyday this year.  His current .300+ batting average seems too high for him to continue on this pace.  I don't trust him on any of my fantasy teams unless I just want him for home runs.  He is just another one of these power outfielders/DH’s who will hit 20-30 home runs and .280  Nice safe player to use for counting stats in your roto league but that’s about it.

Dexter Fowler made sure we all noticed him last week when he stole five bases.  He is another five tool player that is well worth acquiring for the long term.  The only concern this year was playing time and that he might struggle at times due to his jump right from Double-A.  So far he has made a believer out of me.

Carl Crawford  has been a top tier fantasy outfielder for years now.  We mention him here due to the six steal performance he made on Sunday.  What everyone seems to forget is that he is still young, and last year was down year that should be forgotten.

Elijah Dukes has been one of the few bright spots for the Nationals this season.  He seems to appear in the highlight reels just about every night.  However, his current stats are not even on pace with many of the off-season projections.  Call it a gut instinct but I have feeling that the wacky Washington front office is spotlighting him for a trade.  My recommendation is to sell now before the unthinkable happens. It always seems to occur for Dukes and the Nats.

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Disagree with me or have someone else you would like to share your opinion on.  Feel free to leave comments below.  FantastyPros911.com encourages our community of fantasy players to participate with us,  whether in comments, our online chats or during our podcasts. 

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written by kevinorris, May 06, 2009
The best part of the Adam Jones picture? The empty seats behind him.

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