2010 MLB Sleeper Player Profile: Jordan Schafer, OF Braves

Written By Todd Farino, http://www.fantasybaseballsearch.com/

• Player: Jordan Schafer
• Team: Atlanta Braves
• Bats: Right
• Position: OF

Fantasy Baseball Search Sleeper Rank: 20/30

Schafer came onto the scene last season and belted a home run in his first at bat. He cooled off after a hot start, but that was expected with a rookie. The reason for his downward spiral was his bad wrist, which he had surgery on to remove bone spurs in August effectively ending his season. He is back to hitting and hitting with full power. Schafer has a lot of competition for a starting gig in the Braves OF with Gregory Blanco, Nate McLouth, Matt Diaz, and Melky Cabrera. He’ll even have some pressure from top prospect 21-year old Jason Heyward. Still, Schafer looked great last year in his rookie season. I have no doubt that he will make the roster, unless the Braves choose to give him at bats in the minors. Either way he will come up at some point if he isn’t on the roster and he could give your fantasy team some much needed power and offense.

His best chance to make the roster is to out play Matt Diaz in spring training and that is very possible. My projections are very conservative and can change depending on his role. Schafer has the talent to be a 20/20 if he gets the playing time. You should be able to draft Schafer extremely late in the season, seeing his injury and shorten season went by quite last year.

2010 Projections (assuming 400 at bats): .288 BA, 11 Hrs, 46 RBI, 64 Runs, 8 SB 

To get more from Todd Farino, RC Rizza and Rhett Oldham, catch our weekly podcast at www.blogtalkradio.com/fantasy-baseball-tonight . Listen to us LIVE every Wednesday at 10pm EST for 90 minutes of pure fantasy baseball talk.

2010 Breakouts Player Profile: Tommy Hanson, Atlanta Braves

Written By Todd Farino, www.fantasybaseballsearch.com.


Player: Tommy Hanson
Team: Atlanta Braves

Throws: Right

Position: SP

FBS Breakout Rank: #1

Tommy Hanson quietly had a great rookie season.  After getting a no-decision in his first major league start, he went on to win 11 of 20 starts and finished with an ERA under 3.00.  Hanson stunned the NL hitters with a .225 average and had excellent command of his fastball. He struck out 116 batters in 127.2 innings, which gave him a stellar 8.2 K/9 and a solid 3.2 BB/9. Those numbers alone don't tell the whole story.  Hanson had a rough start in June walking 17 batters and striking out only 18.  By the end of September he had 12 walks and 34 strikeouts for the month. If you eliminate his slow rookie start his numbers look even better, which is a great statistic for Sabermetric haters like myself.

At 23, Hanson already has the makings of a staff ace and will take the next step in his second season by posting breakout numbers.  Currently he has an ADP of 84, and that's a steal for a pitcher of Hanson's quality.  Hanson should easy get 175 innings in 2010 and post 167 or more strikeouts. A key to Hanson's progress will be his ability to adjust to the hitters and keep his pitch counts low early in the games. We expect Tommy Hanson to have a great 2010 and he is our #1 breakout.

The True Guru Projections: 17 wins, 167 Ks, 2.78 ERA, 1.11 WHIP

I feel this player will achieve my projections through our formula based on 11 herbs and spices (its locked at Fort Knox). Of course we are assuming he stays relatively healthy for the entire season.
Check out the rest of our breakouts here

To get more from Todd Farino and RC Rizza, catch our weekly podcast at www.blogtalkradio.com/fantasy-baseball-tonight . Listen to us LIVE every Wednesday at 10pm EST for 90 minutes of pure fantasy baseball talk.