Fantasy Baseball 2012: Sleepers Who Will Allow You to Gamble Early

If you're the kind of person who likes to live life on the edge in fantasy sports, this is the list for you. See, I know what it's like to take a Dan Uggla-type of player early, forsaking reliable statistics for an up and down player at a thin position. 

Fortunately, guys like this will allow you to do that. You can pass over reliable studs at deep positions because these sleepers are going to be available later in the draft. With players like this in your back pocket at the deep positions, you can take a chance on shakier thin position players early.

Paul Goldschmidt, 1B, Arizona Diamondbacks

I can tell you from watching this guy that he is a masher through and through. Every time this kid hits the ball it makes a loud noise, and you don't see that often.

Playing a full year with the big club, look for his numbers to be big. He still shares a division with the likes of Tim Lincecum and Clayton Kershaw and is also a touch raw, so the average won't necessarily be that great early, but look for that to level off down the stretch. 

The pop will be present from Opening Day all the way through. Playing half of his games in the launching pad of Chase Field, the sky is the limit for his pop. Remember, this is a good lineup with very few breaks (more on that later), so Goldschmidt will be pitched to. 

Projections

Runs	HR	RBI	SB	AVG.
81	28	82	9	.267

Jason Bay, OF, New York Mets

With the possible exception of David Wright, nobody will benefit from moving the fences in at Citi Field more than Bay. The guy didn't just forget how to hit when he went to the Mets. No, he simply signed with a team that plays in one of the the worst hitting stadiums in the league. 

Now that the fences are going to moved in, the Mets hitters are going to become much more viable. Now, I am not saying that Bay will return to his Red Sox level of productivity, for the Mets lineup isn't that good. 

But we are going to see a much more solid all-around hitter. This year will come closer to what we saw in Boston than what Bay has done over the last two years. Remember, he's only 33, there are still plenty of good offensive years left. Now that he's in more of a hitter's park, 2012 will be one of those good years.

Projections

Runs	HR	RBI	SB	AVG.
73	21	86	13	.272

Jason Kubel, OF, Arizona Diamondbacks

Here's another player who will benefit from a full year in the desert and in a real major-league batting order. 

He is not unlike Goldschmidt in that Kubel won't produce a terribly high batting average, but the power numbers will be there. Opposing pitchers are going to have nightmares facing the Diamondbacks, as Kubel is another player with a swing custom built for that park. 

Take Kubel late and enjoy the power that comes to your team from it.

Projections

Runs	HR	RBI	SB	AVG.
68	26	82	2	.268

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