Sleeper

Well, folks, here we are. It's the end of the line for my 2018 Dudes and Don'ts, and it's my first foray into calling D&Ds at closer. They're an incredibly volatile bunch, and with so many bullpens still unclear as we roll into the season, one call could be completely wrong within a few days of me writing this. All it takes right now is one bad outing for one of the guys vying for a job to bump him way down the closer depth chart. So what the hell, let's have some fun! It is fantasy, after all. To the Dude! The Dude -…

Welcome to the Negative Nate version of Dudes and Don'ts! It was actually more difficult than I thought it would be for me to come up with names here. I dislike plenty of starters, but with most of them, it's all purely injury related. That doesn't make for great written content. "Hey, this guy gets hurt all the time. He'll get hurt again this year. Don't draft him!" Shampoo, rinse, repeat. Guys like James Paxton, Alex Wood, Rich Hill, and Danny Duffy all congregate under this umbrella of doom. I expect varying returns of…

With all hitting positions in the books, it's time to move to the mound. As was the case with my Outfield Dudes, these players are all going to be down a bit in Fantrax ADP. It doesn't do you any good to have me tell you how great Chris Sale is (especially when it comes to kirigami). The aces will cost you plenty, and you're just hoping they break even and don't bust. The real profit comes from the players you're taking in the middle-to-late rounds that provide excellent returns on your investment. Here are some starters I…

All right, enough of the mushy stuff! I was 100% positive on the last edition of my Dudes & Don'ts, looking only at my Dudes in the outfield. Well, now it's time for the hate! *Cues up Slayer, starts moshing with himself* Every position is full of landmines, and there are more than a few in the outfield this year. It's like Saving Private Ryan out here. Is that reference too dated? Man, I'm getting old. It's like Hacksaw Ridge out here! Ok, so maybe the war analogies are a bit extreme. It's still just fantasy baseball.…

I really wanted to call this "Dudes in the Outfield," but I think I'll leave that to an aspiring screenwriter. Kevin Costner is already lining up for the lead role. Outfield is a deep position, like starting pitcher, so as promised I'll be breaking the positions up into two write-ups each. There are plenty of outfielders I like early on (hello, Byron Buxton), but it doesn't do you any good for me to tell you to draft top-20 outfielders. Therefore, my Dudes are generally going to be the guys you're drafting as your third…