THREE UP/THREE DOWN
Hitters
- Johnny Damon, OF—NYY (UP) Damon has bounced back after a subpar 2007 in terms of batting average. Damon hit just .270 and it looked as if he was in the midst of a continuing decline phase. Turn the page to 2008 and a .350 BABIP has Damon’s batting average back above .300, along with 11 home runs, 57 RBI, and his usual 25 stolen bases and counting. He is certainly a catalyst for any offense and would be scoring more runs if not for the rest of the Yankees' lineup struggling to hit him in. Damon does still have 79 runs scored and an outside shot at 100 for the season. While an increased strikeout rate (to a career high 15.4 percent) and the high BABIP suggest his batting average would be lower, it looks as if Damon will continue to be a solid source of production for at least a few more seasons.
- Curtis Granderson, OF—DET (UP) If you look at the raw stats for Granderson, as compared to 2007, you would say that his value would have decreased, yet this version of Granderson projects much better for a more sustained run of success. He has improved his LH batting split to a solid .275, decreased his strikeout rate to 18 percent (it was nearly 30 percent just two years ago), maintained the power stroke with an ISO of .209, and has increased his walk rate to 11 percent. Just as Damon is the Yankees catalyst, Granderson is to the Tigers, scoring 91 runs in 115 games. He looks primed to be a top-notch fantasy player for the foreseeable future.
- Vernon Wells, OF—TOR (UP) Wells has had a rough year with injuries, missing two months of the season to wrist and hamstring issues. Though when on the field he has rebounded from the disastrous 2007 that saw him hit just .245 with 16 home runs. As a career .282 hitter, that couldn’t continue. Wells sports a good 12 percent strikeout rate and 14.6 percent home-runs-per-flyball rate in order to maintain his .299 batting average. With such a contact rate, Wells projects to have the ability to hit in the .280-.290 range on a consistent basis. The main problem we saw last season was an extreme dip in BABIP to .265. Barring any of those unforeseen surprises, Wells should remain a hitter that should produce a solid batting average with 25 home runs, 90 RBI, and a handful of steals. And the potential remains for more as we have witnessed in 2003 and 2006.
- Hank Blalock, 3B—TEX (DOWN)
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