The fantasy baseball season is starting up soon for 2014 and owners want expert draft advice and some names to watch heading into the season are Hanley Ramirez, Michael Pineda, Matt Kemp, Scott Kazmir, Brandon Beachy and Robinson Cano as players that managers should pickup, watch out for and trade for as things head towards opening day.
Hanley Ramirez comes in as one of the best p[layers to draft, as he had a solid season last year with the Dodgers and with his contract coming up, he could be in line for another nice year and in that lineup he could rake. The Dodgers have spent money over the past couple seasons and Ramirez has been in the middle of all of it and at shortstop he could be one of the best options this season and in the second half last year he was as good as anyone and now he has the chance to do that for a full season and if he can stay healthy he will be even better.
The Yankees are hoping that Michael Pineda can make the starting rotation this year after coming back from shoulder surgery and he has been great so far this spring. Fantasy owners would be wise to snag him or trade for him this year, as he could be one of the surprise options heading into 2014 after making his comeback. This spring he has been lights out and he added a few more scoreless innings in his last start and he also looked impressive while striking out five hitters and that is what the Yankees will be looking for heading into the season.
Pineda came over in a trade with the Mariners for Jesus Montero and now that is looking like one of the worst trades ever and he has been over 90 with his fastball and that is very promising and if he ends up making the rotation as a starter, the Yankees will be very tough to beat this season and he was also very accurate, tossing the majority of strikes in his last start. Joe Girardi may use Pineda as the fifth starter as long as he is healthy and he is battling with other players for that spot and right now it looks like it will be his. Pineda struck out Miguel Cabrera this spring too and while that is just one player, the fact that Pineda is coming back from surgery makes it even better.
The Braves are in a tough spot and now fantasy owners need to watch out for Kris Medlen, who went 15-12 last season with a 3.11 ERA, but he injured a ligament in his elbow and now he could be out. Medlen is one of the best pitchers for the Braves and now fantasy owners may want to look at Beachy as an option after he went down and he is getting a second opinion on his injury. Matt Kemp, Scott Kazmir and Robinson Cano are players that could have good years and Cano is obvious, but Kemp is coming back from an injury and Kazmir was solid last season and could do it again.