Matilda:I became Bulimic.
Derek Zoolander:You can read minds?

You would almost have to be “bulimic” to know the answers to the following Fantasy questions – but here at WaiverSharks – we continue to give it a whirl.

Who will be this years Blake DeWitt? Where are you Mike Aviles? Is there a 2009 Starting Pitcher version of Edinson Volquez, or a 2009 Catcher’s equivalent to the shockingly good Geovanny Soto?

Where will this year’s Alexei Ramirez hail from? What player could emulate, in this coming Fantasy Baseball season, the unpredictable stardom one Nathan Richard McLouth enjoyed in 2008?

Every year, a handful (or more) players who NO ONE is pre-season hyping on their consummate CHEAT SHEETS goes on to enjoy productive – and in many cases, Fantasy relevant campaigns.

At the beginning of the 2008 MLB season, Blake DeWitt was behind both Nomar Garciaparra as well as the Los Angeles Dodgers ‘supposed 3B of the future’ - Andy LaRoche.

As we all know by now. Nomar and Andy (sounds like a bad sitcom) both fell to early season injuries, which in turn opened the door for Blake DeWitt. The Dodgers acquired Casey Blake from the Cleveland Indians to play third base, in addition to Manny Ramirez, which consequently led them to making the 2008 playoffs.

Looking ahead to 2009 - Blake DeWitt, who no one expected to play baseball at the Major League level so quickly, appears at the top of the Dodgers Second base options. Jeff Kent is presumably eyeing a retirement home. Casey Blake will return to LA, and a key component in the trade made with Cleveland, Carlos Santana – makes his way to WaiverSharks 2009 Edition of our Deepest Sleepers list.

C – Carlos Santana, Cleveland Indians - How can we deny a guy who shares his name with the foremost Latin guitar legend? Victor Martinez injury riddled 2008 might be a thing of the past, and Kelly Shoppach emerged as a plausible everyday backstop. But, neither of them performed a full tour of duty behind the plate last season. If the injury bug strikes we could see Carlos Santana jammin’ with Kerry Wood down at Progressive field at some point in 2009. Break out the 'Oye Como Va' boys!

C – Max Ramirez, Texas Rangers - If you are looking for an equally Deep Catcher pick – but one with a bit more popularity buzz, consider the Texas Rangers Max Ramirez. Since Gerald Laird packed his bags for Detroit , Michigan (better bundle up Gerald!) everyone appears to be harping praises for Jarrod Saltalamacchia or Taylor Teagarden. Those two guys do have the more interesting surnames – but forgetting Max Ramirez’ existence would not be wise.

1B – Chris Marrero, Washington Nationals - We have shown the Washington Nationals plenty of love leading into the 2009 MLB season – and why not, someone has to right?

Marrero is a player who could very well be coveted quite highly – some day.

Will it be in 2009…Hmmm, not likely – but the Nationals are not exactly what we would call deep at first base, so a mid-season call-up is not out of the question. We can foresee a day when both big Chris Marrero and an outstanding outfield prospect by the name of Michael Burgess will allow Nat’s fans a bit more ‘National Pride’.

2B – Matt Antonelli, San Diego Padres - Antonelli took a step back in many eyes after a brutal 2008 Don’t throw in the towel on him yet – he still only turns 24 years old this April, and should still remain an important part of the Padres future. San Diego went out and got David Eckstein and also retained Edgar Gonzales to provide second base stop-gaps until Antonelli can re-energize and get back on track to looking like the player we all know he could be.

3B – Billy Rowell, Baltimore Orioles - Sooner or later Melvin Mora has to lose AB’s and give way to somebody in Baltimore doesn’t he? Will it be Scott Moore or this 20 year left-handed power hitter whose swing has occasionally been compared to Barry Bonds. (But, not in an a$$hole way) If he could ever get himself healthy - the 2006 Orioles draft pick could become a third base beast! As witnessed in this video, Mr. Rowell can certainly put a charge in the ball. Watch him put on an aluminum bat homerun clinic:

SS – Jason Donald, Philadelphia Phillies - WaiverSharks already made reference to both the “Beckham” (Tim and Gordon) Short Stop prospects in our SS Rankings - so man oh man, pretty soon we’ll be suggesting Short Stops from China !

We actually made mention of Jason Donald in our Bobblehead Daze blog a short time ago. The Reading Phillies have cooked up a cool duel Bobble that will feature Donald alongside Olympic Medalist, and fellow reading alumni Lou Marson.

Jason Donald is obviously blocked by Jimmy Rollins at Short in Philadelphia – so it’s plausible he’ll break in as a third baseman if he remains with the Phillies organization.

OF – Michael Saunders, Seattle Mariners - WaiverSharks mentioned Michael Saunders in our final OF - Outfielder rankings. This Canadian may not be the Evangeline Lilly of 2009 Fantasy, but not everyone’s highly touted, or “sexy picks” will pan out this season.

As we look over the Mariners roster we’re convinced we will see Saunders take some cuts at Safeco this year – with 2010 being an even better bet for regular duty.

Not all your 2009 draft picks will end up as pretty as Canadian ‘Lost’ actress, Evangeline Lilly – that’s why you need to keep checking back with WaiverSharks.com

OF – Nate Schierholtz, San Francisco Giants – The Giants certainly havn’t given this player many votes of confidence. Going out and signing Aaron Rowand prior to the 2008 season was a bit of a kick to the groin – and now the Giants have been linked to the Manny Ramirez sweepstakes this off-season.

Kayaks may not be required to retrieve Schierholtz homeruns, but he has some pop!

In the limited number of at bats he’s been awarded by the Giants, the young left handed swinger hasn’t looked out of place in the majors - batting .307 and .320 during his two abbreviated seasons. If the Giants finagle a way of signing “ManRam” – and I’m Schierholtz agent, I'd personally be requesting the first trolley car ticket out of San Fran.

Schierholtz also represented the American Olympic team when Colby Rasmus was injured last year. Perhaps the Rodney Dangerfield of the Giants organization will be rewarded some respect in 2009, and we could see yet another Fantasy player named ‘Nate’ develop into a solid 4th or 5th Fantasy outfielder worthy of our consideration.

OF – Jose Tabata, Pittsburgh Pirates - Acquired from the Yankees as part of the Xavier Nady, Damaso Marte deal, Jose Tabata is still a very young man – unfortunately he is still acting like it. He has been dubbed by some as a “Mini-Manny”, for sharing both ManRam’s quick bat speed – but also his fluctuations in attitude.

If he can get his act together he may get a cup of coffee chance this season with the Pittsburgh Pirates, who we feel need to give guys like Andrew McCutchen and Steve Pearce legitimate shots this coming Spring.

C’mon Jose – Be ”like” Manny. But don’t “be” Manny!

SP – Aaron Poreda, Chicago White Sox - He’s a 6'6", 240 pound south paw who can hit 100 MPH on the radar gun. Do we have your attention now? Poreda will need to improve his secondary pitches if he wants to crack the major leagues as a starter, otherwise the White Sox may want to groom him into a relievers role. Either way, his ability is worth keeping tabs on.

This entry was posted on Sunday, January 18th, 2009 at 8:59 pm and is filed under Individual players, Rankings, Sleepers. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.