Bill Konigsberg released his fantasy rankings and predictions yesterday.
Way too late to help those in the FishStripes Fantasy League.
The legend for hitting stats are average, runs, home runs, RBIs and steals.
The legend for pitching stats are wins, ERA, WHIP (walks plus hits, divided by innings pitched) and strikeouts.
Here are his predictions and rankings for the Marlins at their various positions:
Catchers with great offensive numbers in the minor leagues are often a risky pick (see John Buck, J.D. Closser) and Willingham is no exception. He hit 19 home runs for Triple-A Albuquerque last year, and figures to do some damage for the young Marlins as he'll also play outfield.
Prediction: .255-34-16-58-1
21. Mike Jacobs, Marlins, .310-19-11-23-0
Jacobs turned heads last year by hitting 11 home runs in 100 at-bats for the Mets. He's a terrific low ball hitter with great pop who likes to pull the ball. But can he adjust when pitchers begin to challenge him with high heat? Is he Ryan Howard, or, gulp, Kevin Maas?
Prediction: .255-44-18-53-0
28. Hanley Ramirez, Marlins (two ABs)
Hanley will start at 22 for the painfully young Marlins, and it's hard to know how ready he'll be. He stole 26 bases in Double-A last year, homering six times. Ramirez is probably not ready. He may be more of a risk than you're willing to take at SS.
Prediction: .233-31-4-25-9
3. Miguel Cabrera, Marlins, .323-106-33-116-1
What sort of effect will the massive change in his supporting cast of characters have on Cabrera? The fact is, the Marlins are primed to lose 110 games this year. That's bound to affect a moody player such as Cabrera. Still, we're talking about the youngest player in baseball history to have back-to-back 30-homer seasons. Cabrera has Hall of Fame talent.
Prediction: .298-97-35-110-2
26. Jeremy Hermida, Marlins, .293-9-4-11-2
A grand slam home run in his first major league at-bat. What do you do for an encore? Fans in Florida are about to find out. Hermida appears to be the one certain thing in what will surely be a lineup full of rookies. Speed, power, and a great bat make Hermida a serious prospect.
Prediction: .302-73-20-81-19
81. Eric Reed, Marlins (rookie)
Reed has a total of 171 at-bats at the Triple-A level. The 25-year-old outfielder has speed to burn, having stolen 53 bases in Class A in 2003, and he showed he could handle Triple-A pitching last year, hitting .310. But how he'll adjust to a starting job in the majors is anyone's guess.
Prediction: .255-40-0-17-21
90. Chris Aguila, Marlins, .244-11-0-4-0
It's one thing to grab a young rookie with untapped potential. But with Aguila, the Marlins are handing a starting job to a 27-year-old outfielder who has only modest skills and a .236 career average in 123 major league at-bats. In his last 468 Triple-A at-bats (spanning '04-05), Aguila did hit .325 with 18 homers and 16 steals, but that's not likely to translate in his rookie season.
Prediction: .241-28-2-21-3
15. Dontrelle Willis, Marlins, 22-2.63-1.13-170
The problem is that you need to actually win games to be a good fantasy pitcher. His 22 wins led the majors last year. Some prognosticators are saying the Marlins may struggle to win 60 games this year. Willis may still dominate on the mound, but don't expect 20 wins this year.
Prediction: 13-2.70-1.20-167
30. Joe Borowski, Marlins, 1-0-27-4.47-1.08
There are all sorts of reasons not to draft Borowski. Yes, he's currently the Marlins' closer. However, he hasn't closed since 2003, and the Marlins are unlikely to have that many save opportunities. The Braves' backup closer, for one, might be just as valuable as Borowski.
Prediction: 1-12-30-3.85-1.33
The stats legend for Borowski are wins, saves, strikeouts, ERA and WHIP.
Woo-Hoo our closer is predicted to get twelve saves. Could it really be THAT bad?
Look 'em over but I will tell you this...his predictions do differ from other sources. But, hey, they're free.
The full rankings, if you are interested: