Baseball is a game of numbers. Those numbers are split, crunched, analyzed and memorized by fantasy baseball owners more than anyone else. Without studying last year's stats, who would ever guess that Oakland's Trevor Cahill basically was of equal value -- in fantasy baseball terms -- to Philadelphia's Cole Hamels and Tim Lincecum of San Francisco? See fact No. 18 for proof. Furthermore, did you know that Brett Gardner of the New York Yankees had as many stolen bases in 2010 as former Tampa Bay Ray speedster Carl Crawford? Check fact No. 4 for the details.
Studying statistical trends can help owners uncover sleepers, avoid busts and have a successful fantasy baseball drafts. Detroit's Max Scherzer, for instance, should be on your list of sleeper starting pitchers for 2011 (see fact No. 7). If you're looking for a sleeper shortstop, check out fact No. 15. On the other hand, draft Toronto slugger Jose Bautista at your own risk (see fact No. 14). Basically, if you're preparing for a fantasy baseball draft in 2011, keep these 25 facts and various stats in mind. They just may help you improve your fantasy baseball rankings and fantasy baseball projections for 2011.
- Adrian Gonzalez, who was traded to the Boston Red Sox, last season batted .350/.402/.578 (BA, OBP, SLG) with 20 HR away from Petco Park.
- Dan Uggla, who signed with the Braves in the off-season, is a career .354/.399/.652 hitter at Atlanta's Turner Field.
- Houston outfielder Michael Bourn has a combined 113 stolen bases from 2009-10, the most in Major League Baseball over that time period.
- Last season, New York Yankee Brett Gardner had the same number of stolen bases (47) as Boston's Carl Crawford.
- Thirty-four players in the Majors stole at least 20 bases last season; only seven of them hit at least 20 home runs.
- Only seventeen players in MLB, stole at least 30 bases in 2010 and of those players none of them – not even Hanley Ramirez – hit more long balls (22) than Drew Stubbs.
- No players stole 30 bases and hit 30 homers.
- Detroit starting pitcher Max Scherzer put up a 2.47 ERA and 1.14 WHIP after the All-Star break.
- Pirates' third baseman Pedro Alvarez batting .270 with 13 home runs and 53 RBI in only 71 games in the second half of last season.
- St. Louis starting pitcher Adam Wainwright has averaged 20 wins, 2.52 ERA 1.16 WHIP and 212 strike outs the last two seasons.
- Roy Halladay, once considered an injury risk, hasn't started no fewer than 31 games in any season since 2005.
- The top five hitter-friendly parks in 2010 ranked by ESPN.com's Park Factors were Coors Field, Yankee Stadium, Wrigley Field, U.S. Cellular Field and Oriole Park at Camden Yards.
- According to the same list, the top five pitcher-friendly parks in 2010 were Tropican Field, Safeco Field, Minute Maid Park, Angel Stadium and Petco Park.
- Toronto's Jose Bautista smashed an MLB-leading 54 long balls last season; he had 59 career home runs before last season.
- Chicago Cubs' SS Starlin Castro batting .361 and .336 in July and August, respectively.
- Philadelphia pitchers Cliff Lee (1.00), Roy Oswalt (1.03) and Roy Holliday (1.04) ranked first, second and third, respectively, in the Majors last season in WHIP.
- Twins' catcher Joe Mauer was the leading-hitter in MLB after the All-Star break last season with a batting average of .373.
- Oakland's Trevor Cahill was the 17th-ranked starting pitcher on ESPN.com's Player Rater, which was higher than Cole Hamels (No. 19) and Tim Lincecum (No. 21).
- According to ESPN's Player Rater, Prince Fielder last season ranked No. 100.
- Pittsburgh second baseman Neil Walker had more total bases (197-189) and RBI (66-65) last year than Philly's Chase Utley.
- Boston's Kevin Youkilis hasn't had an OPS lower than .958 in any of the last three seasons.
- Baltimore third baseman Mark Reynolds struck out 211 times last season (St. Louis catcher Yadier Molina has struck out 253 times total in his seven-year MLB career).
- After playing in no fewer than 157 games in any season from 2005-2008, Cleveland outfielder Grady Sizemore has missed a combined 185 games over the last two season.
- New York Yankee Mark Teixeira is a career .274/.367/.508 before the All-Star break and .299/.388/.569 after the All-Star break; he is a career .237/.345/.414 hitter in April.
- As of Jan. 4, 2011, Yahoo! Sports Big Board: Baseball (a ranking of the Top 50 fantasy baseball players) has Colorado teammates Carlos Gonzalez and Troy Tulowitzki ranked No. 5 and No. 6, respectively; Boston's Adrian Gonzalez and Crawford are ranked No. 12 and No. 13 on the same list, while New York Yankees Teixera and Alex Rodriguez are No. 17 and No. 18.
Additional Sources
Baseball-reference.com. Accessed Jan. 8, 2011.
Major League Baseball Statistics / MLB.com: Stats. Accessed Jan. 8, 2011.
Adam Martini - Adam Martini is a freelance sports writer based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He has more than 15 years of writing experience, most recently as ...
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