Below are player projections for the most and least valuable of fantasy commodity on their teams. Projections are based on a 5×5 format in a standard ten-player league.
Part 3 of 30: Baltimore Orioles
Remember when the Orioles were thought of as an up-and-coming powerhouse? That’s before Brian Matusz, Chris Tillman and a host of other youngsters didn’t quite progress as planned. Now the team is a mysterious combination of underperforming veterans and kids which could easily land the Orioles in the basement of the very talented AL East.
Projected Roto MVP: Matt Wieters (2011 fantasy line: .262/22/68/72/1 )
It’s tempting to want to go with Adam Jones here, however, the arrow continues to point up for the 2007, first-round pick. Doubling his home run total from the 2010 season (from 11 to 22) there is little reason to believe that a 25 home run, 85 RBI season isn’t on the horizon for Matt Wieters.
Projected Roto Flop: Kevin Gregg (2011 fantasy line: 0/4.37/53/1.64/22 )
Kevin Gregg will enter the season as the Orioles’ closer, but there is little evidence to support he will keep it. He walked 40 in 59.2 innings pitched for Baltimore last year, blowing seven saves along the way. Jim Johnson adequately filled in for him down the stretch. Plus, Matt Lindstom has been acquired from the Rockies. Both will diminish Gregg’s fantasy value.
Projected Roto Surprise: Matt Lindstrom (2011 fantasy line: 2/3.00/36/1.22/2)
Matt Lindstrom regains fantasy relevance after being traded from the Colorado Rockies along with Jason Hammel to the Orioles for Jeremy Guthrie. While he will compete with Kevin Gregg and Jim Johnson for the closers role, his fastball is enticing. Though he hasn’t put all the pieces together in Houston or Colorado, expect him to receive significant chances in Baltimore.
Top Roto Prospect: Wei-Ying Chen (2011 fantasy line: NA)
Pitching for the Chunichi Dragons of the Japan Central League, Wei-Ying Chen was a proven commodity in Japanese baseball. With a career strikeout per nine innings of 7.1, he is regarded as a polished product who should be immediately ready to contribute to the Orioles starting rotation.
Notes: At 34 years of age, Brian Roberts should be considered a speculative play at best….J.J. Hardy is only 29 years of age and while a return to a 30 home run season seems unlikely, he could be a cheap source of power from the shortstop position….Nick Markakis did not have the bounce back season people expected (.284/15/73/72/12) but is young enough to regain form….With the exception of Wei-Ying Chen, no other Orioles starter is worth your attention.