Fantasy Beat: Hot Spots: Outfield

* = Range stats not available, or from alternate position

Mike Street covered the Blue Jays' DH situation on Monday, commenting on most of the outfielders, and the situation remains confused. The latest from Heater team expert Marc Hulet suggests that even after Snider's heroics of late, he's only about 50/50 to make the team; and that coin flip rates to be as popular with fantasy owners as the postseason overtime flip was to NFL fans. Fortunately for Snider and his fantasy owners, manager Cito Gaston has gushed about his ability since he first came up in 2008, and when Cito was asked whether there was any way Snider would fail to make the team, his first reply was, "I wouldn't think so…" (MLB.com). Snider, despite his struggles in 2009, had an ISO of .178 (1.69 TB/H). His top comparables list from PECOTA include Jose Canseco and Juan Gonzalez. That's how rare it is for a player to have his sort of jaw-dropping power against major-league pitching at such a young age. Of course, Jack Cust checks in at #6 on his comparables list, serving as a reminder that not every high-power batter gets a chance right away. PECOTA shows him being worth $83 million over the next decade, and it's possible that GM Alex Anthopoulos is trying to use the strikeouts as a reason to slow down the arrival of the inevitable high arbitration salaries. But, between the possibility that Encarnacion will be unready to start the season (and Bautista will move to 3rd) and the possibility that Randy Ruiz will return to Reality, it seems easy to envision Snider making the team and becoming a fantasy bargain.

For deep AL leagues, the 40% PT estimates for Mike McCoy and Jeremy Reed are of interest. McCoy can play three infield positions and anywhere in the outfield and stole 40 bases in 46 tries in AAA last year. He bats righty, but has actually posted a higher OBP vs righty pitchers in his time in the minors – .373 vs RH, .357 vs LH. One can almost envision Gaston wishing he was just a little bit better, as the team is sorely lacking a true leadoff hitter, and McCoy is like Ryan Freel Lite. But, as it is, he should have the edge over journeyman Reed if one of them gets eliminated by the Snider shuffling. Even if he doesn't end up playing 40% of the time, there are plenty of less-than-fleet runners on the team for whom he can pinch-run.

* = Range stats not available, or from alternate position

A month ago, it appeared that Dusty's characteristic loyalty would result in Drew Stubbs leading off 160 times for Cincinnati this year, manning center field, and, well, doing his best impression of a right-handed Corey Patterson as a miscast leadoff hitter with enough defensive skill to help a team if he batted deeper in the lineup. Despite Keith Olberman raving about drew Stubbs even before he was called up, the PECOTA line is closer to his real skills than the optimistic expectations of many; but he will hit more like 15 HR if he gets 600 PA, not just 9 as PECOTA forecasts.

Things have gotten confusing on the way to the Drew Stubbs Show, however, and Dusty has a “good problem” – as everyone seems to be hitting, especially in terms of slugging%:

Gomes      36 AB .667 SLG


Stubbs     34 AB .706 SLG


Dickerson  33 AB .545 SLG


Francisco  29 AB .552 SLG


Balentien  28 AB .500 SLG


Nix        24 AB .583 SLG


For now, Heater Reds expert Shawn Weaver notes that Dickerson's stock is rising, and Nix might make the team. Dusty Baker has come out and talked about how inefficient it is for Francisco to swing at pitches outside the zone, and how he'd do better if he was more patient. Considering the source, that's one of the most damning comments about a player's plate discipline possible, and Francisco is likely to find himself taking pitches in AAA full time instead of backing up Rolen and serving as the fifth outfielder. Francisco has drawn 55 unintentional walks so far in 1892 plate appearances in the minors. For perspective, Jeff Francoeur drew 76 in 1558 minor-league PA.

For deep NL-only leaguers, expect Francisco and Balentien to fail to make the team from the above list. Nix and Gomes may not be any better, but the organization will want to get full-time at-bats for the two younger players.

In the past decade, there have been 27 seasons where a player has had more than 1 steal per 4 times on base with 250 or more plate appearances (thanks to baseball-reference.com P-I tool). 17 players accounted for all 27 seasons, and Brett Gardner's 2009 was one such player-season. By both scouting reports and advanced stats, his range in the outfield is very good in center field and outstanding in left field. Assuming that the Yankees lineup can support his light offensive contributions, he could easily find himself amassing a full complement of 600+ plate appearances and stealing 50 bases. With his great speed, groundball tendencies (49% so far in his career), and the advantage of batting from the left side, he should improve on his .311 BABIP from 2009. He will need this higher BABIP to keep his batting average from being swallowed up by his low contact percentage – 80% in his minor-league career, which wouldn't be noteworthy if he had anything resembling power.

Jamie Hoffman was the odd man out, leaving Winn and Thames as backups and insurance, if Gardner doesn't perform with full-time duty. They complement each other well, with Winn long being an underrated “Jack of all trades”, and Thames remaining a good option for a home run off the bench and a spot start.