Five Fantasy Baseball Sleepers Everyone Should Know About

Sometimes with Fantasy Baseball there is always the obvious pick. You see you need a pitcher, take CC Sabathia. You see you need an outfielder, take Matt Holliday. A third baseman, Alex Rodriguez. But what about when you get past those first ten rounds and all of the big names are off the board? I am going to show you five guys that you should be looking at late in the draft.

Detroit 2B Scott Sizemore

First on the list is the 25-year-old rookie out of Detroit, he starts at second base. Sizemore lived a strong four-year career in the minors. In 2006, Sizemore won a mid-season All-Star team spot and he was a short-season All-Star for the A-team Oneonta.

In 2008, Sizemore was voted to the mid-season All-Star team on his team Lakeland. In 2009 Sizemore was voted into the Futures game being a member of the Toledo Mudhens (AAA) and he was named to the All-Prospect team in 2009. This spring, he has a .254 BA, three home runs, and seven RBI. This season Sizemore is expected to have a .281 average with 16 home runs and 79 RBI.

Minnesota RP Jon Rauch

Second on the list is the new closer of Minnesota Jon Rauch, 31. Some highlights for Rauch in his career are he won the Baseball America Minor League Player of the Year award in 2000 while playing with triple-A Birmingham. In 2007, Rauch lead the NL in games played with 88 and finished third in the NL with 33 holds. In 2008 he finished 13th in the NL with 18 saves. This year Rauch is the closer due to Joe Nathan suffering a season-ending injury. This year he expected to have 25 saves while going 6-4 with 52 strikeouts and a 3.97 ERA.

Detroit SP Rick Porcello

Third on the list is Detroit's 21-year-old pitching phenom Rick Porcello. In 2008 while part of AA Lakeland, Rick was voted to the mid-season and post-season All-Star teams. In May of 2009 with the Tigers, Rick was voted AL Rookie of the Month in May and also Tigers' Rookie of the Year. He finished 12th in the AL with 14 wins and with a 3.96 ERA, he finished 17th in the AL. This year Porcello is expected to go 15-9 with 111 strikeouts and a 4.00 ERA. This is .04 higher ERA, but one more win and 22 more strikeouts than last season. He will be the No. 2 starter.

Arizona RP Chad Qualls

Fourth on the list is Arizona's 31-year-old closer Chad Qualls. Qualls is entering his second year as the closer for the Diamondbacks, but he had his season end last year in August with a dislocated knee cap. However last year he was still able to go 2-2 with 24 saves, 45 strikeouts, a 3.63 ERA, and just a 1.15 WHIP. His saves count put him at 14th in the NL. This year a hopefully healthy Chad is expected to go 3-4 with 33 saves, 60 strikeouts, a 3.41 ERA, and a 1.21 WHIP.

New York Mets OF Jeff Francoeur

The final person on the list is the 26-year-old outfielder on the Mets, Jeff Francoeur. In 2004, Jeff was voted to the single-A post-season allstar team as a part of Myrtle beach. In 2005, he was voted a double-A mid-season All-Star and he was selected into the Futures game. In 2007 while on the Braves, Jeff won a Gold Glove award for his outstanding play in the outfield. Last year Jeff finished with a .280 batting average and 15 home runs with 76 RBI. He is projected to have a .279 batting average with 16 home runs and 80 runs batted in.