This article was originally published by Ian Youhanna over at Fake Teams
Fantasy Baseball: Top 5 Oakland Athletics for 2010
We move on to one of the divisions I expect to be most competitive in 2010: The American League West.
1. Andrew Bailey- Bailey will probably be the top Athletic drafted in 2010 and he should be the safest bet to produce. The 2009 AL rookie of the year winner put up superb numbers closing for the A’s. I don’t think Bailey will put up another sub 2.00 ERA season due to an extremely low BABIP in 2009, but Bailey’s got the peripherals and mid-nineties fastball to be a successful closer.
2. Brett Anderson- Like Bailey, Anderson had a breakout season in his rookie year in Oakland. Anderson is only 22 years old and boasted a minor league K/BB of 9.7/1.9 and 7.7/2.3 in the major leagues. While he may not become the pitcher he can be in 2010, he should be relatively useful as a mid-back end starter for you.
3. Ben Sheets- Sheets could very easily vault his way to the top of this list if he can return to form after missing the 2009 season recovering from elbow surgery. While he probably won't get a ton of run support, pitching the majority of his games in Oakland will only help matters. If Sheets is still there late in your drafts, I would have no issue taking him as a late round, risk/reward guy. You've gotta love a career BB/9 under 2.
4. Rajai Davis- Another player who could have had a few votes for H2H MVP late in 2009, Rajai Davis ended the season with a whopping 41 stolen bases in 125 games. He's currently listed as the starting left fielder and with a full season, Davis could become the next Jacoby Ellsbury.
5. Kurt Suzuki- Who wouldn’t like a catcher to drive in nearly 90 RBIs with double digit home runs that won’t kill you with his batting average. Suzuki won’t put up a fancy OPS, won’t steal bases and won’t hit for power, but he also won’t hit .250 or play only 110 games. He’s the perfect candidate if you want to skip catching all together and just get a warm body in there.
Sleeper alert. Chris Carter- The Athletics' top prospect (According to BA) should have a shot in Spring Training in 2010 and very well could make the club. Over the last three years, Carter's hit 24,39 and 28 home runs in t he Athletics' farm system and once he's established himself, should be a dangerous middle of the order bat with first round upside.
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