Players to Avoid

It's that time of the year again where baseball starts back up and that means fantasy baseball has been going on for a month. In light of several mock drafts I have done as well as all the player news I continue to read up on, I've composed a list (albeit no where near a complete list) of all the players I want to emphasize the importance to stay away from and NOT draft. These are the players that go relatively within the draft rounds, but are otherwise "foul's gold." That have on occasion, made us all believe that they would be useful in some way, but have dropped the ball in a huge way.

1. Josh Beckett (SP)

The guy gets injured more often than any other starting pitcher I would care to mention. And yet every year there's mention of how "he feels good this year" and "I think he's gonna show everyone he still matters." Well he doesn't. Beckett posted an atrocious 5.78 ERA and 1.54 WHIP last year. He was out for most of the season and so was only able to get 6 wins. Here's the thing that drives me crazy the most: He's out every season. It never fails that he ends up injured and missing half the season. And the part of the season he does play in so terrible that it simply is not worth to draft this guy ever.





2. Carlos Pena (1B)

He posted one of the worst Avg. ever at .196. Let that number sink in for a second... .196. He struck out 158 times last year. Pena earned the other outs because he consistently hit toward the right field every time and every team knew that and was ready for him. Sure he is in the NL now and in a more hitter friendly park, but ask yourself, "Is that enough for me to trust him?" Not for me when there are plenty of other players on the board that can provide just as many HR's and RBI's with an Avg that is above .200.



3. Mark Reynolds (3B)

See Carlso Pena and then add: Not even in the NL will his Avg increase. And now Reynolds is the AL in the hardest division in the AL? I'm sorry, but that's a deal breaker for me and once again, there are plenty of other players out there that hit HR's and above .200. If you're really desperate for HR's, then by all means draft him. But I warned you.









4. Daisuke Matsuzaka (SP)

Let me give you a tip right now; the only good pitchers on the Red Sox, are Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz. This is a guy, who like Beckett, does not produce where you need him to. Once again, there are better pitchers to pick up during the later rounds that will give you more of a high yield than this very high risk.















5. Carlos Zambrano (SP)

Although his ERA is better than the other two pitchers on this list, everything else of Zambrano's is terrible. Only 117 strikeouts last year, and an entire month off in suspension due to a severe drama attack. His walk rate is atrocious and since he's on the Cubs, it's a bit of a gamble to hope for any amount of Wins.















6. Brandon Inge (3B)

Think Mark Reynolds and Carlos Pena, but without the HR's. In short, he has nothing of value except for the 2011 projections that are way to generous. Even if you're in an AL only league, it's still insane to pick this guy up for your middle infield. It's actually best just to leave that position empty if for some reason there are no other options.