Fantasy Baseball: Land of the Rising Fastball

I tend to select "save guys" no earlier than the 10th round. If that is your mentality as well, Saito can be a nice selection at the start of Act II in most drafts. A selection of Saito in any league should follow with the insurance pick of Jonathan Broxton 10 rounds later. At 38, I doubt Saito finishes the year as the "save guy" for Joe Torre and the Dodgers.

Daisuke Matsuzaka SP- BOS
Tokyo, Japan

Heading into his sophomore season in the Big Leagues, the jury is still out on the overall value of Dice-K. You can pretty much bank on over 200 strikeouts, and if you have a low ERA and WHIP as your No. 1, then Matsuzaka can be a solid selection. But, if you are relying on Dice-K as your "ace," then you are in trouble. Don't over value him this season.

Ichiro Suzuki OF- SEA
Kasugai, Aichi, Japan

He hits for average, he scores runs and he steals. As long as you have a few power hitters to make up the difference, Ichiro is one of the best in the fantasy game. Seven seasons in the Majors, and he has over 1,500 hits. Wow.


Hideki Matsui OF- N.Y. (AL)
Kanazawa, Japan

A lot of people may be saying to themselves that the bottom two should be reversed. It is a fair argument, but for my fantasy buck, I like a guy who can get me 100+ RBI and runs, belt 25+ homers and hit near .290. I will take overall power and average over speed any draft of the week.

Until next time, I say Adios. Wait, I apologize. I must have already started to think about next week's look at the best fantasy players from Mexico. My mistake.

Sayonara.

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