2011 Fantasy Baseball Spotlight: Why Brett Lawrie Will Win You a Championship

At the stroke of midnight, just a few moments ago, it officially became prospectin' season, aka June 1st.

Yes, that June 1st. A date that will live in infamy. Well, at least in the eyes of beloved fantasy baseball beholders.

June 1st is widely considered to be the acceptable date—by way of escaping potential financial implications in the future because of "Super Two" eligibility—to finally call up all those budding bats and happening hurlers to the major-league level.

These potent power-producing prospects certainly provide a glimmer of hope for every wayward fan looking for the shine in the silver lining, as every overpaid, overworked aging superstar unapologetically underperforms on his way to yet another losing season.

However, this infamous date, at least for me, raises a rather puzzling question: How can it be, in this ostensibly enlightened age, where we have access to the likes of B/R, ESPN, CBS, SI, MLB, Razzball and a plethora of other relevant and useful baseball websites, that anyone with such an overwhelming cacophony of production—even in the minors—could be so unowned in fantasy baseball leagues across the board?

In short, my conclusion is: I have no idea. Though, the way I see it, I'm here to change that.

So, what would you say if I told you that you could pick up a top-10 fantasy stud with second base and soon-to-be third base eligibility at this point in the season, at the incredibly low price of what my mom always claimed to be the most necessary virtue: patience?

"Um. That sounds like something I'd be interested in and way better than the guy I was gonna go with."

That's right. Now, what would you say if I told you that you could pick up a top-five fantasy stud with second base and soon-to-be third base eligibility at this point in the season, at the incredibly low price of, again, just a smidgen of patience?

"Um. Where the eff can I sign on the line which is dotted, mi amigo?!"

Well, mi amigo, your time has arrived.

Brett Lawrie Ownership Percentages

ESPN: 2.2 percent (+1.9 percent)

CBS: 45 percent (+29 percent)

CBS owners are apparently more well informed than ESPN owners, but for now, let's save that topic of discussion for another day and get to the good stuff.

In just under two months at Triple-A (48 games), Brett Lawrie can officially be labeled as major-league-ready. Absolutely en fuego from the get-go, he's hit 12 home runs and stolen 11 bases while slashing a ri-effin-donkulous .341/.403/.625 along his merry way. Because he'll be manning the hot corner at third base and is eligible at second base (he was asked to change positions when traded to the Toronto organization this offseason), he instantly becomes not only fantasy relevant, but fantasy gold as well. 

To illustrate my point, let's take a look at how the top 10 projected players at both second and third base have done so far this season.

***Note: Statistics are based on 2011 composite projections.

2011 Top 10 Projected 3B

Player Name	AVG	R	HR	RBI	SB
1. Evan Longoria, TB	.284	96	30	108	13
2. David Wright, NYM	.288	94	25	97	22
3. Jose Bautista, TOR	.253	97	38	113	7
4. Ryan Zimmerman, WAS	.291	95	28	101	3
5. Alex Rodriguez, NYY	.279	88	33	100	10
6. Kevin Youkilis, BOS	.298	96	27	97	6
7. Adrian Beltre, TEX	.287	81	25	92	8
8. Mark Reynolds, BAL	.232	85	35	101	12
9. Martin Prado, ATL	.299	93	14	79	1
10. Pablo Sandoval, SF	.298	76	19	85	4

2011 Top 10 Projected 2B

Player Name	AVG	R	HR	RBI	SB
1. Robinson Cano, NYY	.305	94	25	102	4
2. Dustin Pedroia, BOS	.298	98	16	80	16
3. Dan Uggla, ATL	.263	91	32	101	3
4. Ian Kinsler, TEX	.280	85	20	76	23
5. Martin Prado, ATL	.299	93	14	79	1
6. Brandon Phillips, CIN	.273	87	20	80	20
7. Kelly Johnson, ARI	.273	87	21	84	12
8. Rickie Weeks, MIL	.258	90	23	90	13
9. Ben Zobrist, TB	.260	86	19	76	19
10. Neil Walker, PIT	.272	80	17	82	8

Top 10 3B Production to Date

Player Name	AVG	R	HR	RBI	SB
1. Evan Longoria, TB	.222	13	3	10	1
2. David Wright, NYM	.226	23	6	18	9
3. Jose Bautista, TOR	.353	42	20	35	5
4. Ryan Zimmerman, WAS	.357	5	1	4	0
5. Alex Rodriguez, NYY	.284	28	9	27	2
6. Kevin Youkilis, BOS	.272	31	8	34	0
7. Adrian Beltre, TEX	.255	28	11	41	0
8. Mark Reynolds, BAL	.194	22	6	23	2
9. Martin Prado, ATL	.281	29	6	30	1
10. Pablo Sandoval, SF	.313	11	5	14	1

Top 10 2B Production to Date

Player Name	AVG	R	HR	RBI	SB
1. Robinson Cano, NYY	.286	29	10	35	5
2. Dustin Pedroia, BOS	.242	29	4	18	12
3. Dan Uggla, ATL	.177	20	7	16	1
4. Ian Kinsler, TEX	.239	33	7	30	10
5. Martin Prado, ATL	.280	32	7	32	1
6. Brandon Phillips, CIN	.300	32	5	30	4
7. Kelly Johnson, ARI	.223	29	9	22	7
8. Rickie Weeks, MIL	.282	37	9	21	6
9. Ben Zobrist, TB	.251	33	9	30	5
10. Neil Walker, PIT	.265	30	6	31	2

As you can see, the lot of third basemen have been—how do you say?— incredibly disappointing. As of today, three out of the top 10 are on the DL (Wright, Zimmerman, Sandoval) and—counting the casualties—up to seven of the top 10 have either severely underperformed (Longoria, Zimmerman, Reynolds, Sandoval) or are simply producing less than expected (Wright, A-Rod, Youk), each in their own right.

As far as second basemen are concerned, while admittedly they have been far less incredibly disappointing, by no means have they been sparkling. That being said, let's take a look at Brett Lawrie's Triple-A production so far this season.

2011 Triple-A Production

Player Name	AVG	R	HR	RBI	SB
Brett Lawrie, TOR	.341	46	12	40	11

Though Lawrie is raking at Triple-A, not yet at the major-league level, his production up until this point has been nothing short of astounding. In comparison to the output of production so far from the top 10 third base candidates, Lawrie would rank No. 2 overall, just behind Barry Bonds—I mean Jose Bautista—and No. 1, in front of the talented Mr. Cano, in comparison to the lot of second basemen.

Realistically speaking, this will probably change over the course of the season as players heat up and stats regress to the mean. But through two months we have seen more than enough from Brett Lawrie to completely negate the sample size argument.

If Lawrie gets recalled sometime in early June and takes over the everyday job at third—which he will considering his competition (John McDonald, Jayson Nix and Edwin Encarnacion)—he has a legitimate shot to go 15/15 or better, starting the very moment he hits the Jays' major-league roster.

Though he's not a burner on the basepaths, he can steal some bags, and the Jays certainly like to run, as evident by the simple fact that Aaron Hill has seven stolen bases. So depending on his batting average—which is a legitimate concern of mine considering he hit .274, .269 and .285 before this season—and counting stats—which should be glittering considering he'll be hitting in a lineup with Rajai Davis, Hill, Bautista, Adam Lind and J.P. Arencibia—he could easily land anywhere between top-10 and top-five production.

Projections

***Note: Projections are extrapolated out over 550 at-bats.

Low-end: .250 / 70 / 12 / 70 12 aka Chase Headley-lite

High-end: .290 / 90 / 28 / 90 / 28 aka Dustin Pedroia-plus

What I'm betting on: .265 / 80 / 22 / 80 / 22 aka mini-David Wright 

Name one other prospect, one other player, that will not only have that type of production, that sort of impact, but is also so widely available at this point in the season?

Don't worry, I'll wait.

K, done waiting. Am I saying Brett Lawrie is the next David Wright? No. That would be, objectively, unfair. So what am I saying?

Buy Brett Lawrie Right Now So He Can Help Win You A Championship Starting Tomorrow.