Contract-year players to watch in 2009

By Tristan H. Cockcroft

Money-money-money-money, muhhhhh-nay!

Even in these troubling economic times, the almighty dollar sure has a way of motivating players to take that extra step, go that extra mile, give that extra effort. Just ask Milton Bradley, A.J. Burnett, Ryan Dempster, Manny Ramirez and CC Sabathia, who parlayed huge 2008 campaigns into solid -- if not as monstrous as in winters past -- free-agent paydays. Every one of them scored a contract of $30-plus million; talk about a bailout!

In the fantasy realm, these are the guys we call "contract-year players," an extensive list of career-year performers that includes such...Cockcroft: Contract-year players

March 25 mock draft: Spring training lessons

By Brendan Roberts

"If you can't pick well according to your own projections, you're doing something wrong."

That's just one of our mantras here at ESPN Fantasy. You should have your own opinions on players, not someone else's. And then you come into your draft with a game plan and an idea when you want to draft players, and you stick with it.

But sometimes it's just handy to have a nice example to work from. It's like that algebra class in the eighth grade. One of my math teachers, Mr. Kratz, would work out a math problem, showing all the steps, on the blackboard (do...Roberts: March 25 mock draft analysis

How do lineup spots affect steal attempts?

By Tristan H. Cockcroft

I have one word to ease the minds of people who worry that Hanley Ramirez will stop stealing bases now that he's slated to bat third for the Marlins:

Don't.

Traditional thinking has a way of tainting even the most knowledgeable baseball mind. It always has been assumed that players who bat atop the order are the ones who steal the bases, while the Nos. 3 and 4 hitters are the ones who knock 'em home, with no exceptions. Even those who casually browse the statistics might point out that among all major league teams in 2008, the average team produced 30...Cockcroft: How do lineup spots affect steal attempts?

The Talented Mr. Roto: Berry's Top 250

By Matthew Berry

The answer is almost always "No."

The question will go like this. "Hey TMR. I have pick five. Is it too early to take Chase Utley?" And I'll say no. Now, I wouldn't take him there. As you'll see below, I have five guys I like more than Utley.

But it's your team. If he's the guy you want, grab him. Because he won't be there when it swings back around to you in Round 2 so your only chance to roster him will be right now. And it's not like he's bad.

There are a lot of flaws with rankings,...Talented Mr. Roto: Berry's Top 250

AL LABR draft recap: Pedroia leads way

By Christopher Harris

Strategy? We don't need no stinking strategy.

I entered my second season of the AL-only flavor of the League of Alternate Baseball Reality (LABR) with one modest goal in mind: do not own Scott Rolen. After all, I'd languished in the second division throughout the '08 season despite entering the draft with a laser-like focus: While everyone else is overspending for hyped players who haven't reached their high ceilings, I'd go the high-risk, high-reward veteran route, grabbing unsexy guys who had definite black marks on their recent records, but decent chances to recapture past glory.

With this philosophy in mind, I drafted...Harris: AL LABR draft recap