The Testing Era is in full swing. And miss. You’re out. Again. Sit down. Justin Verlander, Clayton Kershaw, Cliff Lee, Roy Halladay, Jered Weaver, CC Sabathia, Jamie Shields and Cole Hamels all checked in with sub-3.00 ERAs in 2011 and all could repeat in 2012. None of them find themselves in the Romo/Ramblings Fantasy Top 10. The reason? Jon Lester, Felix Hernandez, C.J. Wilson, Ian Kennedy, Matt Cain, Dan Haren, Madison Bumgarner, Gio Gonzalez, Zack Greinke and the boatload of guys poised for huge years throwing the baseball. If not for Prince, you could fit the elite bats in the league in a phone booth. Premier hitters are now that much more valuable, so grab some lumber with your first pick.
The 2012 Romo/Ramblings Fantasy Rankings are chemically engineered to win you ANY league, regardless of format. The players have been ranked according to their up-to-date baseball efficiency rating, or “UBER” score.
1. Albert Pujols, 1B – LAA. Albert, Angel of Anaheim (Triple-A) is both a major league win for LA and totally Busch by St. Louis. Despite seeing his average dip to .299 and falling short of 100 RBI for the first time since Trebek shaved his moustache, Albert overcame a broken wrist in 2011 to lead St. Louis to their second championship of the now-defunct APE (Albert Pujols Era). A killer in interleague, we have no anxiety at all about Al in the AL.
2. Matt Kemp, OF – LAD. In 2011, Matt Kemp stopped doing Rihanna and started doing everything else. For those that voted Ryan Braun in as NL MVP (before he tested positive), Braun had similar (if not worse) numbers, a better lineup, a better ballpark and Fielder for protection while Kemp had Peter Noone. Something tells me he’s in for something good in 2012.
3. Jacoby Ellsbury, OF – BOS. There wasn’t much in-between for the Red Sox in 2011. Leading the charge of the players that “did it” is Jacoby. Bobby Valentine has a reputation for getting the most out of his players, but that will be tougher than a diner steak with Ellsy in ’12. But if he does repeat, or take even just another small step forward on what projects to be a seriously up year for Boston, you’ll regret not making him your first round pick.
4. Miguel Cabrera, 1B – DET. Here’s how you go from last to first: For the last 8 years, Miguel has been a first round pick. At 29, there’s actually reason to believe he could get better, as his batting averages are trending up over the past three seasons (.324, .328, .344).
5. Jose Bautista, 3B/OF – TOR. Bautista followed his eye-popping breakout 2010 (.260/54/124) with a season that was in many ways better for the Jays in 2011. Joey Bats raised his average to .302, still led the majors with 43 homers and in doing so became the first hitter to repeat as ML Home Run King since McGwire in ’98-’99. And that’s the only thing he and McGwire have in common. Except their profession. Also that they both like “Storage Wars.”
6. Curtis Granderson, CF – NYY. Curtis found it in 2011. He didn’t “return to form” or “finally get comfortable in New York,” he worked that hard and changed his approach. Detractors will point to his .262 batting average, but 41 HR, 119 RBI, 25 SB and a self-eye-gouging 136 runs carried his owners for long stretches in 2011. On an overall philosophy note, all of these guys are going to hit between .260 and .340 and there’s really no telling which from year to year, so don’t draft for batting average, but rather, draft for the player’s dynamism at their position.
7. Robinson Cano, 2B – NYY. Position dynamism at its finest, and right on cue! How ’bout that? (Mel Allen). Robinson is the best 2B in the game today and is making his case for being the best 2B in New York or anywhere since Robinson (Jackie). Cano offers 1B-type production from the significantly shallower 2B slot.
8. Adrian Gonzalez, 1B – BOS. For years, Gonzalez had been the character Fleming cut out of The Wizard of Oz, singing “If I only had a lineup” to himself in the cavernously lonely trailer known as PetCo. All extended film metaphors aside, “Baby, we had always wondered. Wondered, what’d ever become of him. If he got into a better lineup, what a hitter he’d turn out to be.” Ok, ALL extended metaphors aside, the guy is legit. Draft with confidence.
9. Joey Votto, 1B – CIN. Miguel’s 2007 trade to Detroit followed by Adrian’s departure for Boston and now Albert’s relocation to Anaheim have left Joey the best first baseman in the senior circuit. If Prince goes to the AL this offseason, he’ll really have it all to himself with Ryan Howard ailing and just Freddie Freeman and Paul Goldschmidt to challenge him. Expect more of a 2010 than 2011 from Votto in 2012, which means (you guessed it) he’ll be livin’ on the air!
10. Prince Fielder, 1B – FA. Prince’s behavior seems to suggest that he’d prefer not to be ‘the’ guy, yet he’s definitely seeking the-guy money. Wherever he lands, his value won’t be affected much; the low end being Seattle and the high end being Texas. On a non-fantasy note, it does beg the question: does having Prince on your team make financial sense? For if this is so, why wouldn’t the Brew-has call their old buddies at the Miller Brewing Company and propose a deal by which the Brewers are loaned money to pay Prince’s salary, which will surely be returned in ticket revenue, apparel sales, and sales of the very beer they produce? ITTET (In these tough economic times), would not Prince Fielder be as safe an investment as any? Particularly now with Ryan Braun facing a 50-game ban, the Brewers should really pick up the phone and do a Brenda Lee.
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