Top 10 Surprises

Just as there are busts, there are pleasant surprises. Some of them are the real deal, some are a fluke. Every year you can count on there being 3-5 players who just come out of nowhere and become fantasy studs. They can be past flames who withered away, but thanks to some HGH are suddenly alive and kickin' once again.. They can be unproven prospects that take the league by storm.. Or they can simply be players returning from an injury that forced them to miss much of the previous year. Regardless, if you take a chance on them late in a draft or are the first to claim them off the Free Agent list, they can really help you put your team above the rest.

Great fantasy teams aren't made in the first 10 rounds of a draft, that's the easy stuff. Great teams are made in the final 11 rounds, but most of these players went unnoticed..



Are they for real? Or is it just a flicker of light?





My opponent last week had Joe Crede... And Crede.... Of all people.... Lead his team to a 9-0-1 victory over mine with his 5 runs, 3 homeruns (2 grand slams), 9 rbi. My 3B, Miguel Cabrera, finished with 1 run, 0 homeruns, 1 rbi, and a .227 avg. Go figure.


But anyways, onto the list.


10. Alex Gordon (11 runs, 3 homeruns, 7 rbi, 1 sb, .307 avg) - Last year he entered the season as the top prospect in baseball. Fans in Kansas City expected him to turn water to wine. There were high expectations for him, to say the least. He ended last May with only 2 homeruns and 8 rbi. KC fans and fantasy owners had lost all faith in him. But come on, he was shot out of the minors with a cannon. After a horrible 1st half he finished with a solid 2nd half. His first 2 weeks have already been better than his first 2 months as a rookie. Not many people were talking about him coming into this season, they definitely should've been.


9. Johny Cueto (19.1 IP, 1 win, 24 K's, 3.72 ERA, 0.62 WHIP) - Nobody had heard of this guy until Spring Training. In a matter of 2 weeks he became immortal. He has nasty stuff so the strikeouts will be there all season, unfortunately he pitches in one of the biggest hitter-friendly parks so to expect Cueto to finish with an ERA under 4.00 is foolish. Dusty Baker also has a tendancy to ruin pitchers... Sell high if you haven't already.


8. Mark Reynolds (12 runs, 5 homeruns, 15 rbi, 1 sb, .280 avg) - What? You drafted A-Rod over Mark Reynolds? Are you an idiot?? Ok, so obviously Reynolds isn't going to keep this pace up, but Arizona has a talented young offense and play in a good hitters park so 25 homeruns/90 rbi isn't out of the question. But once again, you might as well try to sell high.


7. George Sherrill (5.2 IP, 6 saves, 3.18 ERA, 0.71 WHIP) - Sherril put up great numbers behind Putz last year in Seattle, but only had 4 career saves coming into this year. Not much is expected of Baltimore this season, but they've given Sherril plenty of opportunities and so far he's 6/6, despite a hiccup during his last outing. If you haven't noticed, bullpens have been awful so far this year. Sherril is a good find, hang onto him.


6. Kerry Wood (8 IP, 1 win, 3 saves, 4.50 ERA, 0.88 WHIP) - Wood was getting a lot of hype after a strong spring and was named the Cubs closer. Then came Opening Day and Wood gave up 3 runs in his first appearance. His owners probably felt like donkeys, buying into the hype once again. But since then Wood has only given up 1 run in 7 IP and as long as he can stay healthy he should do a solid job as the Cubs closer.


5. Brian Bannister (21 IP, 3 wins, 13 K's, 0.86 ERA, 0.71 WHIP) - Bannister has been lights out so far this season. Shutting down the Yankees, Twins, and Tigers with ease. He finished with 12 wins and a 3.87 ERA last year for the mediocre Royals, so there's no reason to think he can't improve on that in his second full season in the majors.


4. Joe Crede (7 runs, 4 homeruns, 15 rbi, .311 avg) - I can't really think of a word to describe how bad Crede was last year. And after a weak Spring Training every White Sox fan was praying that Crede would be traded to make room for Josh Fields, but their prayers weren't answered and Fields was optioned to the minors to start the season. Then Crede plays me in fantasy baseball and has a monster week (because all mediocre players get hot for one week against me). The jury is still out on Crede. He is capable of putting up good numbers, based on his 2006 season. So a rebound season makes sense. I don't see him ended the season in Chicago.


3. Justin Upton (7 runs, 5 homeruns, 12 rbi, .388 avg) - The 2005 #1 overall pick isn't wasting much time following through on his potential. He has no stolen bases yet, but the speed is there. ESPN only projected 8 homeruns from him this year... It would appear they underestimated him. He's only 20, so you should expect some growing pains with him, but his upside is ridiculous.


2. Nate McLouth (11 runs, 2 homeruns, 14 rbi, 2 sb, .383 avg) - Saito most recently ran into the buzz-saw formerly known as Nate McLouth, as he gave up a walkoff 3-run homerun. McLouth had 66 career RBI coming into this season and had never hit higher than .258, so expect him to come back to earth soon. The theme of this post is "sell high", otherwise ride him down to mediocrity.


1. Gabe Kapler (8 runs, 4 homeruns, 11 rbi, 1 sb, .423 average) - This time last year Kapler was coaching A-ball in the minors. Now he's making Prince Fielder look like a chump. The last time Kapler had double digit homeruns was in 2001. Don't even bother with him because homerun #5 may never come. Mike Cameron will be reclaiming CF once he returns from his suspension, putting Kapler in reserve. None-the-less, it's pretty impressive what he's done so far.