MLB Fantasy Baseball 2011's All-Bust Team

Ryan Lester

Mar 28, 2011

First Base: James Loney, Los Angeles Dodgers

Loney has 89.3 RBI over the past three years despite combining for 36 home runs. His batting average and OPS have dipped the past three seasons.

He hit just .222 with a .575 OPS last year against lefties, and .245 and .662 over the past three years, which could lead Don Mattingly to sit him more often than Joe Torre did.

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If he doesn’t get the 575-plus at-bats he had in the past three years, he won’t achieve the counting numbers to overcome his lack of power.

Second Base: Brian Roberts, Baltimore Orioles

It’s not that I think Roberts will have a terrible year. I think he will be quite productive at times. I just fear that his back issues aren’t fully behind him. At 33 with a bad back, I think he’s a bit of risk for a starting fantasy second baseman.

Third Base: Michael Young, Texas Rangers

Young will be competing for at-bats with Adrian Beltre (3B), Mike Napoli (DH) and Mitch Moreland (1B), so 600-plus at-bats is far from a certainty. He’s going to have to adjust to not playing in the field and possibly deal with trade rumors all year. With those issues, accompanied with being 34, I don’t think Young will perform like a sixth-ranked (79 ADP—Mock Draft Central) third baseman.

Shortstop: Alex Gonzalez, Atlanta Braves

Gonzalez displayed great power numbers for Toronto last year, hitting 17 HRs in 85 games. Then he was traded to Atlanta. He hit just six in 72 games. His OPS for the Blue Jays was .793. It dropped to .677 with the Braves. He has just three seasons in his 12-year career with 60-plus RBI: last year (88), 2003 (77) and 2004 (79). At 34 I don’t expect him to come close to matching last year’s production.

Catcher: Jorge Posada, New York Yankees

Posada will turn 40 this summer. Sure he will have less injury risk at designated hitter, but players his age aren’t supposed to keep raking. Eventually Father Time catches up with you. I don’t see Posada getting 400 at-bats this year, and I think his AB/HR ratio comes down. He’ll certainly have his moments, but I think a breakdown is inevitable.

Right Field: J.D. Drew, Boston Red Sox

Drew is 35 and has just one 500-plus at-bat season under his belt (2004). With his age, injury history and the fact that Mike Cameron will eat into some of his at-bats, I don’t see a 20-HR season in Drew’s future. At this stage of his career I think he’s better for the Red Sox team than for fantasy teams.

Center Field: Julio Borbon, Texas Rangers

Borbon has excellent speed, but he offers no pop. He’ll share at-bats with David Murphy. There are better speed options out there.

Left Field: Alfonso Soriano, Chicago Cubs

Soriano is 35, and his power took a slight hit while his speed took a major hit. He hasn’t had 500 at-bats since 2007 and hasn’t played 150 games since 2006. With only 14 stolen bases over the past two years, back-to-back sub-.260 batting averages and average power, Soriano isn’t a top 100 player like he’s being drafted as.

Starting Pitcher: Trevor Cahill, Oakland A’s

Cahill was awesome last year, going 18-8 with a 2.97 ERA and 1.11 WHIP. He doesn’t get enough strikeouts for his ADP (25th pitcher, 94 overall), and his .238 BABIP is very alarming. In reality his ERA should be around 4.00 and his WHIP 1.30.

I wouldn’t be afraid to own him, but I would be afraid to own him at his asking price. His ADP is lower than Roy Oswalt, Wandy Rodriguez, Colby Lewis and Brett Anderson, to name a few.

Closer: Andrew Bailey, Oakland A’s

His stuff is fantastic. That isn’t a question. I’m just afraid that he won’t be able to hold up to a full year. He already gave us one scare this spring, and with Brian Fuentes waiting in the wings, I just can’t trust him as a No. 1 fantasy closer like he’s being drafted as.

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