Short End of the Stick

There are quite a few players the get chewed out by fantasy geeks in their descriptions. I say leave 'em alone, outside of a few flukes, each of these players has earned their right to start or atleast hold down a useful role in the majors.

Mike Jacobs was an aging 1st Basemen, in a huge park with average power before 2008. Last year he flashed some serious bat, bashing 32 home runs, many of the in one of the hardest parks to hit a home run out of. Keith Law as well as Buster Olney have a serious problem with Law and they've them him know that through their articles--calling him overrated and letting him know that he doesn't get on base enough to make their fantasy teams a winner with him on it. Peter Gammons however hasn't trashed Jacobs, he's actually taken the point of view that the guy is a pretty nice fit for first base on the Royals. KC, an emerging powerhouse needs a guy to hit--well--for power out of the 5 spot. Putting Jacobs with Guillen would make him a nice RBI man. He doesn't walk, true, but he would never be a run guy anyway and 40 walks really isn't THAT bad.

Alex Gordon, on the Royals as well, seems to get shitty press everyyear, reminding him that he's not living up to his potential. Ryan Zimmerman puts up comparable numbers and wins a gold glove, a ROY and is considered the Savior by Nats fans. Gordon hasn't hit more than 16 homeruns in a season yet, but the kid is still well under 27 years old. His batting average is always around .280, he can steal 10-15 bases and he plays good defense. At the hot corner that's more than enough to get from a young gun. He could easily hit 30 homeruns within the next few years, maybe even 35, and with Butler as his 2 hitter, 120 RBI's is in reach.

Scott Olsen, traded to the Nationals this offseason is another guy that pitches 200 innings yearly and doesn't get any credit for doing so because of his lax approach. He drinks way too much and gets in trouble for it, but he's gotten in better shape lately and his 200 innings last year was a nice garnish to his reliable stuff. He hits 92 on the radar gun, and tosses a pretty nice cutter, slider and change-all average to decent pitches. The Nats will look for the 26 year old to slot in as their no. 2 starter behind Lannan, but he may very well finish the year no. 1.