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If you are unfamiliar with the RULES for the is contest, you can get caught up to speed HERE. * Spring Training scores do not count for the regular season. This is to get everyone ready for a long season of writing. None of the articles have been or will be modified for the staff of FantasyPros911.com. Spring Training Week One Question:Why Hanley Ramirez is Fantasy Baseball’s number one pick?Tom Walker, the home team, will take the pro side to this debate Is there really any reasons why Hanley Ramirez shouldn’t be the first overall pick in your league? He plays SS, a shallow position where there is a giant drop off after the elite 3. He’ll fill up all 5 categories in standard scoring. Plus, there are some injury issues with perennial top picks Albert Pujols (who has landed on the DL two of the last three years) and Alex Rodriguez (whose injury has gotten more than enough publicity already). Ramirez just turned 25, is yet to reach his prime, and isn’t even close to his potential. He has gotten better with experience, improving his OBP, K:BB and HR totals every year he’s been in the big leagues. He’ll also be hitting third this season, so you know he’s going to see a big jump on RBI’s. Don’t let the move in the lineup scare you away. His run and SB totals will not be significantly affected. Runs are most simply based on plate appearances and OBP. Yes he’ll give up 30-40 plate appearances by moving down in the lineup. But he averaged a run every 4.5 plate appearances over the last two years. That works out to giving up about six to nine runs this season. As I already said, his OBP has gotten better every year he’s played. There is no reason to think that trend will change now, especially considering he’ll have protection directly behind him in the lineup for the first time, with either Cantu or Uggla batting 4th. Basically, as long as his OBP stays up his run totals will be fine. He might only get 115-120, but he’ll still be among the league leaders. There’s also always a decent chance he doesn’t miss the 8-10 games he’s missed each of the last two years and makes up for the lineup move with extra games played. No I don’t think it’s likely he’ll steal 50 bases from the three hole, but he isn’t going to stop running altogether either. He is still a virtual lock for 30 SB. You have to look at the makeup of the lineup. There is no longer going to be a two hitter to hit and run with before the heart of the order. He has the skills to move himself into scoring position and he’s going to have the green light in most situations. In any case, the bump in RBI’s will more than make up for a small decrease in Runs and RBIs. Hanley Ramirez is the consensus top player going into this year. You need to have a very good reason to pass on that type of player, and those reasons just aren’t there. And to cap it all off you have to look at his ceiling. There is always that small chance he plays out of his mind and ends up with a 40/50 season. Before you vote read Kevin Jebens' con side  Loading Poll...Trackback(0)
Comments (4)
  written by Yogi, March 18, 2009
This should be fun. The hard part (as a voter)is to not vote for what I think the right answer is to a question, but to vote for the most well constructed argument. If you're on the difficult side of an argument and you get me to pause and think for a sec, you score. For example, if you're given the task of convincing me that when my sweet ol' granny wasn't turning ticks, she was a triple axe murderer, and you make me stop and wonder why she missed my high school graduation, in my book you score. On the other hand, if you have the easier side, and I get the feeling you just threw your glove out on the field, you lose. In other words, bring it !! Slight nod to Kevin this time
written by Kevin Jebens, March 16, 2009
For what it's worth, I mention that Reyes outscored Hanley in points leagues, both last year and for his 3-year average. I suppose I could have re-emphasized that in my closing lines, but the word limit does place restrictions.
written by patrick dicaprio, March 16, 2009
kevin hit the main point of the article--there is a word limit so it is tough to go more in depth on a player comparison.
written by tonycincotta, March 16, 2009
I was not awed by either article. I felt like Tom really didnt sway me in picking Hanley. His biggest point was to pick the consensus player becasue everyone else is. Kevin did tell me to pick Reyes or Albert and I agree. Yet I would have liked to know why !
Battle on !
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