Fantasy Impact: Early Spring Training

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Making really good progress on the draft kit now.  Full positional rankings will begin posting either tomorrow or Wednesday.  In the meantime here are a few interesting stories…

Reyes, Soriano moving to the three spot? – I like this move for Soriano a lot better.  Where Reyes can steal upwards of 70 bases, Soriano may be better off getting his 15-20 and adding the RBI’s that come with batting third.  For Reyes, it’s all about getting on base, stealing second and scoring on a base hit.  If he bat’s third it would leave Luis Castillo to bat leadoff.  Not a great option to get on base, or steal a ton of bags. 

Looking toward the Phillies Lineup – Here’s the quote from the article,

“Manuel will play with some different batting orders in spring training, but he said he preferred the top of his lineup to go like this: Jimmy Rollins, Shane Victorino, Chase Utley and Ryan Howard. Lefthanded-hitting Raul Ibanez and righthanded-hitting Jayson Werth are both candidates to hit fifth. “The lineup will work itself out,” Manuel said.”

I really like Shane Vicotrino this year.  If he can stick in the two spot we’re looking at the type of production described here.  I also really like Jayosn Werth in the five hole.  He’d be in prime RBI territory and have the protection of a solid veteran hitter in Ibanez behind him. 

Edwin Encarnacion signs a two year deal – The deal has incentives based on plate appearances.  When it comes to money, players have a funny way of showing more focus.  I like Encarnacion as a breakout candidate in 2009.  He should be a steal of a deal in round 10.