Fantasy Baseball Sleepers: Round 3

I've done 5 or 6 mock drafts and today completed my first live draft (Carlos Gonzalez and Ryan Braun falling to picks 12 and 13 is criminal). I've listened to just about every podcast I can get my hands on and I'm chomping at the bit to draft in my own league. That said, some of my juiciest sleepers will be saved for draft day... some of you have a history of stealing them from me!

I'm really souring on the idea of taking pitchers early. There are a plethora of guys who can get you 190Ks and 13 wins. I'm planning to focus my offensive strategy on AVG and HRs and my pitching strategy on ERA & Ks. The way I look at it, every other stat falls into line if you get those ones down.

OF - Ryan Raburn - Detroit Tigers
He shared time last season when Brendon Boesch went on a first half tear. But if you look at his 2nd half numbers 13 HRs and a .315 AVG over the final 70 games is pretty promising. It's all but certain that Raburn will start the season as the Tiger's left fielder. But what kind of stats can you expect from a guy who has struggled to find work for two straight years? Well, if you combine his ABs from 2009 & 2010, you get a stat line that looks like this: 31HR, 107RBI, 98 Runs in 632 ABs. A full season's worth of at bats put him at Jayson Werth like numbers. Now, the likelihood of him producing like that in a single season is doubtful. But 25HRs is pretty solid for a 3rd outfielder that is being overlooked by most fantasy owners. If you're in a league that has loose position eligibility requirements, Raburn may even qualify as a 2nd baseman. I think just about everyone would jump at the idea of getting .280/25/85 out of their 2B slot. At this point, an early season slump is the only thing that would change my mind about him.

1B - Freddie Freeman - Atlanta Braves
After experiencing with the Troy Glaus & Derek Lee's of the world, the Braves finally have their first basemen in rookie Freddie Freeman. He's been compared to a Jason Heyward "light" on more than one occasion and expecting similar numbers to Heyward is probably a stretch. But he's probably the real deal. Scouts have been touting his bat for a few years and he's hit for both power and average in his minor league stops. First Base is an incredibly deep position so he likely won't go in all drafts, but with an injury or budget constraints, Freeman could be a solid waiver wire pickup.  He'll have extremely limited pressure in ATL this year with Uggla, Heyward, McCann, Prado and Chipper Jones hitting around him, but his job is very safe. I put him in the same class as guys like James Loney and Ike Davis so if you're already that far down on your list he's worth considering.

SS - Jed Lowrie - Boston Red Sox
This one is a little far out there... even for me. At the end of last season, there was a lot of talk about the Red Sox trading away Marco Scutaro. Afterall, Lowrie hit 9 homeruns from mid August on and was a catalyst in the lineup. But those trade talks have all but disappeared. Still, Lowrie has the ability to play all 4 infield positions and the Scutaro/Pedroia combo hasn't been the most healthy in recent years. Lowrie is 26 years old and had made no excuses about his hunger for playing time. In a perfect world where salaries don't matter and Terry Francona can just plug in his best player, Lowrie would see more playing time. But just about any infield injury would make him a starting player. If you're in a really deep league and can stash him, it might pay dividends come mid season. If you just want to take a risk, you might still be able to get 15 HR and 50 RBI out of him.