Today's Fantasy Rx

CDM Fantasy Baseball

To select this roster for CDM Fantasy Baseball, we directly computed each player's projected points based on our projections, then divided the point total by each salary (and multiplied by 1000 to give us more workable numbers) for an expected Points Per Dollar(PPD).

Catchers: While neither Brian McCann(223 PPD/$1880) nor Joe Mauer(218 PPD/$1890) qualify as outstanding values compared to some of the catchers available, both All-Stars simply possess too much upside to ignore. Among the several comparable options, including Mike Piazza, we settled on Josh Bard(329 PPD/$1010) as the best value and a potential superb cap saver for our roster.

First Base: A few seemingly excellent picks like Ryan Shealy, Conor Jackson, Xavier Nady, and even Kevin Youkilis appeared greater playing time risks than we anticipated, so we settled on a couple of guys with higher likely upside: Prince Fielder(283 PPD/$1850) and Adrian Gonzalez(363 PPD/$1420). That duo will man first, and as a regular DH whenever we don't run Johan Santana, Albert Pujols(195 PPD/$3890) seemed a logical fit now instead of forcing us to burn an in-season move once we clear more cap room. A dearth of outfielders allowed us room for a fourth first baseman, and since most of the normal power options like Tex, Berkman, and especially Ortiz simply cost too much, Ryan Howard(185 PPD/$3240) seemed logical despite our conservative projection. While Justin Morneau may attract plenty of attention, we just don't believe he'll echo last year's breakout to the extent that he demands a spot on our team.

Second Base: Simply the worst position on the board, second base left us with few acceptable options. Despite the high salary, we couldn't pass on the production of Chase Utley(195 PPD/$2850), though we complemented him with a couple of really cheap options: Ian Kinsler(369 PPD/$1270) and Brandon Phillips(323 PPD/$1160), who beat out Howie Kendrick by virtue of his new role hitting third on the Reds.

Third Base: The exact opposite of second base and probably the deepest position on the board, only Garrett Atkins(260 PPD/$2240) seemed inevitable. We then opted for the production of David Wright(221 PPD/$2900) and the relative experience of Mark Teahen(254 PPD/$1980) over teammate Alex Gordon. Lastly, to cover us when we can't deploy Pujols, Miguel Cabrera(211 PPD/$3300) emerged as a good fallback at DH.

Shortstop: While we planned to roster Julio Lugo, he just didn't crack our final quartet as Jose Reyes(254 PPD/$2460), Bill Hall(236 PPD/$2410), Hanley Ramirez(265 PPD/$2150), and Stephen Drew(272 PPD/$1450) all claimed spots. Drew wound up the next-to-last player we selected as his salary fit nicely as a an option for our second DH slot, especially since he offers even more upside due to his new role leading off in Arizona.

Outfield: Usually a great source of value, we found few of the mid-priced bargains we normally target. Instead we grabbed a few really cheap guys like Rocco Baldelli(327 PPD/$1500), Delmon Young(293 PPD/$1500), Willy Taveras(312 PPD/$1460), and even Chris B. Young(454 PPD/$1000), who offers superb upside considering he costs as little as anyone in the game. Rejected options here included Nelson Cruz, Corey Hart, Kelly Johnson, and Shane Victorino.

Of course, since taking fewer than eight outfielders makes no sense due to the need for injury insurance and the requirement to employ eight position players as backups, we found a few acceptable options at a higher price range. With apologies to Jason Bay, we selected Grady Sizemore(209 PPD/$2760), Matt Holliday(191 PPD/$2730), Nick Swisher(252 PPD/$2190), and J.D. Drew(175 PPD/$2640), who shoots to a rather intriguing 226 PPD on average when healthy.

Designated Hitter: We generally plan to deploy either Pujols, Cabrera, or Howard here depending on cap needs and match-ups, likely supplementing the sluggers with Nick Swisher or one of our extra shortstops.

Starting Pitcher: Instead of dealing with projections, we instead focus on skill and opportunity for wins to fill our pitching staff. Along with the automatic selection of Jon Papelbon($1950), the single most automatic player to own in the contest, we also wanted to maximize our initial deployment of double starts. To fulfill that quest, we selected five aces with promising week one doubles and then four capable #2 pitchers set to pitch twice in weeks two.

Johan Santana($3410), Roy Oswalt($3070), Chris Carpenter($3010), Jake Peavy($2730), and Ben Sheets($2030) comprised our initial deployment. Our week two starters then include Josh Beckett($2520), A.J. Burnett($1940, Chris Young($1760), and Rich Harden($1690), almost certainly joined by Santana's home start against Tampa. We hope to net at least thirty points from each double on the basis of twelve total innings, eight strikeouts, and one win. If we also can grab a couple of saves from Papelbon each week and a nice start from Pujols, we could carry well over 300 points from our starters alone into week three.

Relief Pitcher: With ERA no real consideration here, we focused on inexpensive closers likely to amass both saves and strikeouts. Takashi Saito($2200) belongs on every roster for now, and neither the selections of Jorge Julio($1920) nor Jose Valverde($1880) caused us much consternation at all. Joe Borowkis($2100) then completed our roster, though if he stumbles in the AL after his impressive work in Florida, we have no problem immediately grabbing on the first new closer promoted in the spring.

Roster for Rotohelp.com 
C	Joe Mauer		1890
C	Brian McCann		1880
C	Josh Bard		1010 
1B	Albert Pujols		3890
1B	Ryan Howard		3240
1B	Prince Fielder		1850
1B	Adrian Gonzalez		1420
2B	Chase Utley		2850
2B	Ian Kinsler		1270
2B	Brandon Phillips	1160
3B	Miguel Cabrera		3300
3B	David Wright		2900 
3B	Garrett Atkins		2240 
3B	Mark Teahen		1980
SS	Jose Reyes		2460 
SS	Bill Hall		2410 
SS	Hanley Ramirez		2150
SS	Stephen Drew		1450 
OF	Grady Sizemore		2760
OF	Matt Holliday		2730
OF	J.D. Drew		2640 
OF	Nick Swisher		2190
OF	Rocco Baldelli		1500
OF	Delmon Young		1500 
OF	Willy Taveras		1460
OF	Chris B. Young		1000

SP	Johan Santana		3410
SP	Roy Oswalt		3070
SP	Chris Carpenter		3010
SP	Jake Peavy		2730 
SP	Josh Beckett		2520
SP	Ben Sheets		2030
SP	Jon Papelbon		1950 
SP	A.J. Burnett		1940
SP	Chris Young		1760 
SP	Rich Harden		1690
RP	Takashi Saito		2200
RP	Joe Borowski		2100
RP	Jorge Julio		1920
RP	Jose Valverde		1880 

Today's Fantasy Rx: Winning in Points' contests requires maximizing your total team points regardless of the source. While that concept seems quite simple, we regularly see very useful players emerge here that you wouldn't expect to retain much value outside of traditional roto. Specifically, a couple of speedsters invariably rank among the most valuable players in the game, and given the upside of his move to Colorado, Willy Taveras easily heads the list of contenders for that crown this year. Maintaining a willingness to employ essentially anyone you expect to provide plenty of points for their price while fitting your roster structure and budget remains the key to victory in this game.