Top 225 MLB Players Ranking Posted at FBS!

The True GURU and Fantasy Baseball Search have posted on our web site our top 225 MLB players for Fantasy Baseball.

To check them out, please visit our site:

Top 225 Fantasy Baseball Players

Fantasy Baseball Bible Book 3 - The Art of Drafting

Book 3 - The Gospel The Art of Drafting By Todd "The True GURU" Farino


1) Drafting is the primary building block of your fantasy baseball team. We refer to it as “half the battle” in fantasy baseball. Setting the foundations for your entire season occurs in 1-2 hours of a draft. Here you will pick your starters, sleepers, breakout players, and All-Stars. It requires a comprehensive strategy that covers each round, and we will examine what type of player to get and when to grab them.


2) Most managers will go into a draft with a strategy of lining up there first 2-3 rounds, marking sleepers, and will have a list of players they most want. There is nothing wrong with doing a draft like that except there is more you need to do beyond just the first 2-3 rounds. Managers must prepare and prepare plenty. Since you've already read the first two gospels you know about the scoring systems, rules, and roster. Now, its time to put that knowledge to work for you. Knowing in-depth how your players will score and what players fit the bill in each position is absolutely an advantage going into the draft.


3) The first draft strategy we will cover in the following chapter is pre-draft preparedness. We will share the expert techniques used to prepare a manager for a fantasy baseball draft...................


To read the rest of the free book visit The Fantasy Baseball Bible Book 3 - The Gospel The Art of Drafting page.

One of Major League Baseballs Greatest Plays

By paulgreco at Fantasy Baseball Guy

This morning after reading through some of my e-mails, one stood out in the Subject Line. It read "Greatest Play in Baseball History." When I saw that, many plays ran through my head, the David Wright one handed catch, the Gary Matthews Jr leap of faith, even Bo Jacksons climbing the wall like a cartoon character, but never had I seen or heard of this in all my year around baseball.
I'll be honest here, I don't know everything about the history of baseball. I read a lot, listen to old-timers (my favorite) talk about the game, and watch the old games on ESPN classic, but I still don't know everything.
I want to thank Shayne Roberson for sending me this, and thank MLB for spreading the word. Hopefully sharing this with you doesn't get me in trouble.
So here it is....The Greatest Play in Major League Baseball History
Send me your thoughts or what you consider you favorite plays throughout history and we'll get them up on the site: paulgreco@fantasybaseballguy.com.

STEROIDS And The Impact On Fantasy Baseball

Not too many people are talking about the Mitchell Report and how it will impact our everyday fantasy baseball lives. Sure there are more important issues in the USA or even the world for that matter, but in our world of baseball its implications are disastrous.

Let's look over the past few years. After steroids in baseball went mainstream all of a sudden talk went to , "Is he on Steroids?" or "Look at the size of that guy, could it be steroids?". You'd even hear the whispers after a mammoth home run. I remember watching a Texas Rangers game (only because they were facing the Red Sox!) and the commentators went on to discuss Mark Texiera's sudden massive slump. One of the assumption's the commentator made was that his numbers were down since Major League Baseball started and enforced its new tougher testing policy. Well, Mark got traded and blew up as a member of the Braves, so you can put that theory in the toilet and flush it.

So here we are with the 2008 season on the way, and numerous major league ballplayers (I will not name a single one) have been named as steroid users. Many of them viable fantasy starters.

So it is true, and yes steroids will damage fantasy baseball.

The impact won't be as big as some may think, but it will be felt and many fantasy teams will lose match ups if not their seasons because of it.

First off, people will get suspended, and there is no doubt about it. We are talking the 60 day or more variety suspension. So right there come draft time a manager will have to decide on some of these players; draft or do not draft.

If you draft the player then at some point in the season he gets suspended, you the fantasy baseball manager gets hurt. If a player is out 60 days you might as well call it 75 or 90 cause when he gets back he'll need to get his "timing" back. They will also affect the draft in a negative way. Believe it or not drafts like a rhythm. Most of us kinda knows what is going to happen a few moments before it happens. Now, with so many players looking at possible suspensions they will fall in the draft opening holes where they just shouldn't be. It shatters the complexion of the draft, at least after the first 2-3 rounds.

Then there is the psychological affect it will have on players in the field. There will be those whispers of does he do steroids? It will sound like a pint-sized version of a witch hunt. This could impact players psyche, especially the young ones. Its fair for them to look at us as well and ask do they think I do steroids? Then there are the actual players who are doing steroids and we know they exist! Now they will be so focused on worrying about steroids that they will all look like Ray Liotta in Goodfellas when he was looking over his shoulder every five minutes for the cops strung out on coke. That is bound to impact a players numbers. This all stinks for the fantasy baseball manager who drafts one of these guys and the player is a dud. Its going to be sad.

Lastly there will actually be players who were using steroids and will quit, which is good for them, and good for baseball. Now, there is the fantasy manager to think about. Unless these players who are going dry from the juice announce they did steroids and are quiting on they're MySpace.com web site, I don't think we will ever know their identities before the draft. So we draft them, and we draft them based on the prior season and career numbers. We draft the because of their reputation, and we certainly draft them because we believe in them. Many will get burned by the trust we've given to the major league ball players. Hopefully this will only be a handful of players and hopefully the impact will be minimal.

So what can we as fantasy managers do to protect ourselves and still win? Well, not much. First off, don't draft any player named in the Mitchell Report, just don't! Then, try your best to determine if a player you want to draft looks like he does steroids. Especially consider that if its a tough choice between two players. Finally, make sure your bench is deep cause you may just need it early and often this year.

Steroids will no doubt hurt fantasy baseball, but the long run effect is much more bright. We need to rid the sport of this disease and hopefully this is just another step towards that goal. Maybe this year won't be the best for fantasy baseball, but for years to come it will get better and better. Then one day it will be gone. Gone will be the days of a player hitting 12 home runs, then the next season hitting 45. At least that's my dream.

Fantasy Baseball Bible Book 2 - The Key To Roster Power

Here is an excerp from book 2 of our Free Fantasy Baseball Bible.

Book 3, The Art of Draft Power is coming in a few days. Enjoy!

Book 2 - The Gospel of Roster Power By Todd "The True GURU" Farino

1) Now that there is a fundamental understanding of the scoring system and with that the rules that governor the league its time to work on your roster and positions. Every league type will have a set roster size, certain number of starters, delegated positions you can start players in, and we will show you how best to approach handling those positions and roster options from start to finish.
2) First, note the positions that are offered. Normally you get a C, 1B, 2B, 3B, and SS. After that you tend to have different outfielders. Here’s the first focus of position power.

To read the rest of the free book visit The Fantasy Baseball Bible Book 2 - The Gospel of Roster Power

Player Ranking Cheat Sheets for Starting Pitchers Posted!

We have are pre-season player ranking completed and posted at Fantasy Baseball Search. Check them out.

Starting Pitchers Top 110

Player Rankings For Designated Hitters (DH) Released!

Check out our pre-season rankings for all designated hitters (DH) who normally fill the utility spots on your fantasy roster. These rankings can change, so keep checking them as we get into spring training.

Designated Hitters

Fantasy Baseball Bible Book 1 - Knowing The Scoring System

To read more books from the The Fantasy Baseball Bible visit our site at http://www.freefantasybaseballbible.com/

1. Understanding the Scoring System

1) Before you even research a player or even draft a
player, you must know your scoring system of the league
you are playing in. Many managers might ignore its
details, learn it on the job, or just peak at it. It is
vital that you understand the scoring system and know it
like you know your own team. We all study the players we
will draft, so why not know your scoring system you are
drafting them for. Right?

2) Memorize it. Every scoring system is different and
depending on the type of league you are in it could be
dramatically different.

3) There are three primary scoring league types,
rotisserie, head-to-head, and points system. rotisserie
Leagues can be 4x4, 5x5, 6x6, or other variations. The
numbers represent the number of hitting and pitching
categories that will be scored. For example, lets
examine a 5x5 rotisserie League with 10 players. If a
team wins homeruns at the end of the season by hittig
the most homeruns overall, he gets 10 points, and if he
finishes last in doubles he gets 1 point. It's a pretty
simple concept, but the game is played different then a
straight points or head-to-head league.

4) In a head-to-head league you will matchup with
another team for a set period of time. Normally it's a
week, but depending on the league could be shorter or
longer. The way you win that game is throughout the time
period each scoring category is a matchup. So, homeruns
is a matchup and if you hit 7 in the week, and your
opponent hits 3 you are now 1-0. Normally there are
several categories and can be up to 20 or more. So at
the end of the week your record could be 15-5 or 10-10
depending on how well your team played. Head-to-head
leagues can be combined with points, but that is rare.

5) The final type of league is the points league. It is
the simplest, yet most common of all the league types.
This is where points are assigned to several scoring
categories, and its normally 18 or more. As each MLB
player performs points are accumulated and added to your
total score. At the end of the season, the team with the
most total points wins.

6) Allot of people may think, does it really matter if
I'm in a Rotisserie 5x5 or head-to-head league? NO, no
matter what type of league you are in understanding your
rules and scoring system is a key to winning and a must
strategy for any true fantasy baseball manager. Here are
some key tips on figuring out the best draft strategy
based on your leagues system. I won't go into detail for
all the type of leagues that are played as the
variations are similar at this point, nor is that what
I'm trying to explain in this gospel. It's about the
fundamentals of understanding a scoring system and
making it work for you. We will however examine
rotisserie, H2H, and points leagues. Understanding these
types of league scoring systems should allow you to
excel at any fantasy baseball game. Follow the
instructions below while examining your league scoring
system.

2. Which Categories are Being Scored?

7) You have to know and memorize which stat categories
are being scored. This is especially important for
rotisserie and head-to-head leagues. Some commissioners
are sneaky and may put in 10 pitching and 8 hitting
categories for a head-to-head league. That makes
pitchers far more important since they can score more.
For rotisserie leagues, saves, walks, or stolen bases
may be left out for other stat categories, again you
need to know that.

3. Study Thou Points per category

8) Study how points are scored in a points league or
head-to-head points league. Are they given for singles,
doubles, errors, or RBI? Do you get points for stolen
bases and more importantly does caught stealing count?
Knowing what you get points for and what gets taken away
is basic to anyone having a chance to win. Note if
points are given or deducted for At bats (AB).

4. Separate the Points into Groups

9) After figuring out what you get points for, now
separate them into three groups; Offense, Pitching, and
Everything Else. "Everything Else" isn't really used in
most leagues. That would be points for fielding errors
and fielding percentage etc... In most leagues it's not
necessary or used, but you never know. We won't examine
those scoring stats any further, but I wanted to let you
know they could be there.

10) Offense Group - Offense can be broken down into 3
types of hitters. You will have your run producers,
table setters, and finally the most deadly offense
player the combination of both. We will call them ARODs.

11) In order to figure out how good these players will
perform we will use a simple points system for our
examples in this gospel.

12) Offense - 1B = 1, 2B = 2, 3B = 3, HR = 4, RBI = 2,
Run = 2, BB = 1, SO = (-1), SB = 3, and CS = (-1).

13) Pitching - Wins =15, Losses = (-5), Innings = 3, SO =
1, BB = (-1), HBP = (-1), ER = (-2), Saves = 15, Save
Opportunity = (-5), Hold = 8, CG = 10, and SHO = 5.

5. Figuring Out Points Per At Bat (PPA) and Points Per Inning (PPI) Averages

14) Run Producers - Examine the scoring system for these
types of players. The categories they tend to excel in
are HR, 2B, RBI, RUNS, Slugging Percentage, SO, and even
walks (BB). Figure out what these categories will
produce in points, or if they are the primary categories
for your rotisserie or head-to-head leagues. Next, find
three of the top run producing players like Ryan Howard,
Prince Fielder, and David Ortiz. Now, take their
previous years stats and total their points in all
categories your league scores including ones that would
minus points from their score. Then perform the
following simple equation to figure out the Points Per
At Bat (PPA):

15) Points Per At-bat (PPA) = (Total Points/At-Bats)

16) I know we are trying to focus on the run producing
players, so you may be asking why we are including all
scoring categories like singles and stolen bases. That's
easy, we focus on their primary scoring categories only
to identify to type of player they are. After that, add
in the remaining categories to truly know how the player
will perform. In order to get their exact averages for
figuring out which type of player is best for your
league scoring system you must know their PPA. For
example, let's say that David Ortiz put up 712 points
according to the league scoring system you are
evaluating. Last season he batted 549 times. Now, input
this into your equation:

17) Points Per At-bat (PPA) = (712/549), which is a PPA = 1.30

18) To get a better average include 1-2 more run
producing players as mentioned above and average their
results. Now you have the PPA average for the top
sluggers in the league according to your scoring system.
Now figure out the table setters.

19) Table Setters - We all know these guys. They hit
well for average, have great OBP (On Base Percentage),
and tend to steal bases. These are typically the 1-3
batters in lineups, but not always, and they tend to
have speed, but again not always. Good examples are
Ichiro Suzuki, Carl Crawford, and Hanley Ramirez. Let's
examine Hanley Ramirez for the example. According to his
numbers last season he would have received an estimated
738 points in 639 At-bats.

20) Points Per At-bat (PPA) = (738/639), which is a PPA = 1.15

21) Now that the grade level mathematics is complete,
you know have an idea how each type of player benefits
from a league scoring system.

22) Pitchers – Pitchers carry equal if not more weight
on a fantasy team and the scoring system tends to
reflect their power. First you must note all the rules
that apply to pitching including start limits, innings
limits, and position limits. We will cover positions
much closer in the next gospel, but you must note how
many SP, RP, and P slots you have in order to truly
understand how important pitching will be to your team.

23) When examining your scoring system break the
categories up into only two areas; starting pitching and
relief pitching. Starting pitchers tend to excel at
innings, wins, ERA (earned run average), strikeouts, and
WHIP (walks/hits per inning). They also tend to do
poorly in losses, walks, ER (earned runs), HBP
(hit-by-pitch), hits, and in some leagues homeruns.
While relief pitchers excel at holds, saves, ERA, WHIP,
and even strikeouts. However, Relief pitchers do not do
well with innings or wins, and overall can do poorly in
strikeouts and ERA depending on the pitcher. They also
excel in categories like walks and ERs allowed by not
giving many of either.

24) Now, find three of the top starting pitchers from
the previous year and total their stats against your
scoring system. For example we can look at Josh Beckett,
John Lackey, and C.C. Sabathia We will figure the
average for Josh Beckett based on last season's numbers.
Beckett scored 885 points in 200.2 innings. With those
numbers we can figure out his points per inning or PPI
average. Note, we did not include hits given by pitcher
in our numbers for this example.

25) Points Per Inning (PPI) = Total Points / Total innings

26) PPI = 885 / 200.2, which is a PPI = 4.42

27) If you look closely at the numbers you will have to
assume that the standard average a pitcher should get
per inning is 3.0 points. We come up with that cause
according to our scoring system if a pitcher just goes
out there and gets three outs, he gets 3 points. That is
a good median to use when deciding on how good starting
pitchers are in your scoring system. This is important
to remember and consider. When a pitcher completes an
inning the only guaranteed points are the points awarded
for getting 3 outs. Everything else is extra, so
determining whether your pitcher exceeds that
pre-determined threshold is very important. Again,
repeat the equation above for 2 more pitchers and then
average all the PPI averages. Now, let's figure out
relief pitchers.

28) Relief pitchers tend to dominate leagues, especially
the closers. They are critical in most leagues and to
this day are still over looked by many managers in the
draft and in some rare cases even in free agency. This
occurs because they simply do not pitch allot and may
not pitch for several days at a time, but when they do
its explosive. They also command their own scoring
categories saves, save opportunities or holds. No other
type of player can boast that. We will see how these
guys match up in total points and PPI. We will use Jose
Valverde as our example relief pitcher. He scored a
total of 636.3 points last season on 64.1 innings.

29) PPI = 636.3 / 64.1, which is a PPI = 9.93.

30) Now you see the difference. Though the closer scored
less total points, his PPI was much higher. That is very
important to consider when choosing the players on your
team. Your fantasy bullpen could and most likely will be
the difference in whether or not you win your league
championship.

6. PPA / PPI Vs. Total Points

31) The PPA/PPI and Total points are critical to
understanding and mastering the scoring. Some leagues
limit starts, innings, and at bats, so the PPA/PPI is
far more valuable, others don't so total points reign
supreme. That's why knowing your league rules and
scoring system will allow you to draft allot better than
just getting the best available player.


32) If you play in a head-to-head points league or just
a standard points league determine whether or not they
limit at Bats or innings. Check if they even limit the
number of times you can start a player in a position
(162) or a pitcher. If they do have these common
limitations, consider the PPA/PPI average for
determining how your league scoring system will impact
your team. If they don't have said limitations consider
total points as the starting point to developing your
fantasy team.

33) If the run producing player you averaged comes to
725 points, while the table setters only average 690
then you can clearly see that your league favors run
producers. Knowing that information gives you an edge
going into the draft. Pitchers are far different. Its
clear that relief pitchers score at a higher clip per
inning, but they don't pitch everyday and with pitchers
you will always be locked down to certain positions like
4 SP's, 3 RPs, and 1P. In this case knowing the scoring
system will help you decide how much of your draft you
will invest into relief pitchers as opposed to starting
pitching.

34) Of course, if your league contains limitations as
mentioned, look at the PPA/PPI. If the PPA for table
setters is 1.25 according to your numbers powered by
your league scoring system and for run producers is
1.10, then you must consider loading up on table setters
when the draft comes around. Again pitchers are
different, and they will be explained more deeply in the
next gospel on team positions.

35) Now if you are in a rotisserie style league, the
categories play a much different role, and no math is
necessary. Separate the categories into three groups for
Rotisserie leagues; run producers, table settlers, and
common scoring. Everyone gets singles and doubles, so
those would be common scoring. Triples, batting average,
and stolen bases go to the table setters, and of course
HR, RBI, and slugging percentage go to the power
hitters. For example the Commissioner can give you the
following for a 5x5 rotisserie league; HR, RBI, Runs,
Average, and slugging percentage. Though this wouldn't
be the standard way a rotisserie league is setup you can
clearly see it's advantageous to the run producing
hitters.

36) It's the same for pitching. Separate the rotisserie
league pitching categories into starting, relief, and
common scoring. Starting pitchers tend to dominate wins,
loses, walks, innings, and strikeouts. Relief pitchers
tend to dominate saves, holds, and save opportunities.
Maybe the commissioner will leave out saves making
closers nearly useless, or holds making middle relief
nearly obsolete. Commissioners will try to make things
even, but simply breaking up the scoring categories for
a rotisserie league into these groups will point out
which type of player will benefit you the most.

37) After separating them categories into groups you
should be able to define which group looks like it
carries to most weight, but there are some tricks to
look out for. Many commissioners use negative categories
like strikeouts, caught stealing, loses, walks, and save
opportunities, and those categories must be examined
closely when deciding on players in the future. Later in
the bible we will cover more rotisserie strategies on
winning, but this gospel is to cover knowing your rules
and scoring system.

7. Finally, The AROD Factor

38) Earlier I mentioned the third type of player and I
referred to him as AROD, which is of course after Alex
Rodriguez. On offense there are a few select titanic
players that are must haves for all teams and that can
score at will in the full spectrum of offensive
categories. Impact players like Carlos Beltran, Jimmy
Rollins, and David Wright. Future AROD powerhouses could
very well be Chris Young and Curtis Granderson to name a
few. These players possess the ability to help you win
in any type of league and any type of scoring system.

39) Understand how players will impact your scoring
system is the first key to winning. If you have any
questions about your scoring system or league rules
email us at thetrueguru@fantasybaseballsearch.com.

To read more books from the The Fantasy Baseball Bible visit our site at http://www.freefantasybaseballbible.com/

The Fantasy Baseball Bible Site Has Been Launched!

Here at Fantasy Baseball Search we aim to offer not only the best sites on the web, but now the best content. Today we are announcing the launch of our latest site, http://www.freefantasybaseballbible.com/. Here are some excerpts from the homepage:

Welcome to the Fantasy Baseball Bible! If you have come to study the many masterful ways of dominating your opponents at fantasy baseball then you have come to the right place. If you search for the knowledge to win, and not the dependence of luck, you've come to the right place. If you believe one shall know there opponent better then thy, you are in the right place. If you simply want to remain a consistently competitive team one that which the other teams in your league will always say, "That team is the team to beat." You are in the right place. The Fantasy Baseball Bible was written according to the pseudo-religion of fantasy baseball, and creates the house rules & strategies of which all teams should play by. Studying and understanding this crucial book will make your team better. Winning is not about having a great draft or a lucky few weeks. Its 6 months and 162 games of pure dominance. Have fun reading and you are all in our fantasy baseball prayers.

The Fantasy Baseball Bible was written by Todd "The True Guru" Farino. He is the creator of great fantasy sports sites such as Fantasy Baseball Search, Fantasy Baseball Ad, Fantasy Football Search, and Fantasy Football Ad. He's been playing fantasy sports for over 17 years and has developed strategies and a scientific method to winning championships and all of his concepts are written in The Fantasy Baseball Bible.

Please visit http://www.freefantasybaseballbible.com/ an empower yourself!

Player Ranking For Relief Pitchers (RP) Posted!

Check out our rankings for the (RP) Relief Pitchers and primarily closers. Keep in mind that these could change based on player movement and spring training.

Relief Pitchers

Player Rankings Cheat Sheets for Outfielders POSTED!

Check out our Cheat Sheet section for the latest player ranking to be posted. Today we posted our rankings for outfielders.

Outfielders

Let us know what you think.
Thanks
The True GURU

Our Shortstop and Catcher Player Ranking are now up for 2008!

View our Player Ranking Cheat Sheets now for the following positions:

Shortstop


Catchers

Coming next is Outfielders!

New 2008 Player Ranking's Ready for 1B, 2B, and 3B

Check out www.fantasybaseballsearch.com for our Player Ranking Cheat Sheets. So far three positions are complete:

1st Basemen

2nd Basemen

3rd Basemen

These player rankings can and will be updated during spring training as necessary.