Exciting News: Moving to TopTeamFantasy.com

Hey all you loyal followers!
We have launched a brand new website TopTeamFantasy in which we will be providing the same advice and analysis you have come to love, just from a bigger and better source!

The site is equipped with fourms (so you can all ask questions about your fantasy teams), as well as scoreboards, news and articles from our growing group of fantasy writers. We are hoping to continue serving you all from that new website!

Thanks!

Bourn to be Wild: Impact of the Tribe Signing Michael Bourn

Hey all you loyal followers!
We have launched a brand new website TopTeamFantasy in which we will be providing the same advice and analysis you have come to love, just from a bigger and better source!

The site is equipped with fourms (so you can all ask questions about your fantasy teams), as well as scoreboards, news and articles from our growing group of fantasy writers. We are hoping to continue serving you all from that new website!

Thanks!



By: Russell Shaffer

Disclaimer: I was born (or should I now say Bourn?) and raised 45 minutes south of Cleveland and am a lifelong Indians fan. Despite my obvious bias, I believe I can restrain myself to offer objective analysis of the Tribe’s offseason and its fantasy impact.

It was awesome!

Okay, perhaps a little homerism just came out there but you have to agree what Cleveland General Manager Mark Shapiro pulled off this winter was nothing short of amazing. The Indians have effectively turned over a roster that was contending at the All-Star Break and then suffered a historic August collapse to finish with 94 losses. The final Hot Stove product as Spring Training opens is a clubhouse and fan base full of optimism and a lot of fantasy value now calling the Lake Erie shore home.

Monday’s signing of Michael Bourn is the exclamation point on what was already a surprising and productive offseason that now has to be seen as only second to Toronto in terms of potential impact.

You Mocking Me? Practice Makes Perfect for Draft Day

Hey all you loyal followers!
We have launched a brand new website TopTeamFantasy in which we will be providing the same advice and analysis you have come to love, just from a bigger and better source!

The site is equipped with fourms (so you can all ask questions about your fantasy teams), as well as scoreboards, news and articles from our growing group of fantasy writers. We are hoping to continue serving you all from that new website!

Thanks!



By: Russell Shaffer

Let me start by saying your draft is not the end all, be all indicator of how your fantasy fortunes will fall. A good draft doesn’t automatically predict that you will win a championship any more than a lousy initial haul means you’ll be phoning it in by mid-season. Trust me, after 12 years of playing fantasy I’ve been on the plus and minus side of draft day results and I’ve both driven a virtual juggernaut into the ground and rode a giant dog all the way to a championship.

A lot of other things – including how well you comb the free agent list, your choosiness when using your waiver priority and the shrewdness of your trades – play just as big a part of your overall roster management as the draft itself.

Bradshaw Cut Opens Door for Wilson

Hey all you loyal followers!
We have launched a brand new website TopTeamFantasy in which we will be providing the same advice and analysis you have come to love, just from a bigger and better source!

The site is equipped with fourms (so you can all ask questions about your fantasy teams), as well as scoreboards, news and articles from our growing group of fantasy writers. We are hoping to continue serving you all from that new website!

Thanks!



By: Russell Shaffer

February roster cuts in the NFL are nothing new, and the league’s story-starved reporters typically do a decent job not overplaying a move’s relevance in a post-Super Bowl content wasteland. That’s because most of these cuts are salary cap motivated reductions of overpaid offensive or defensive lineman or linebackers and defensive backs who do not fit a new coach’s scheme. Occasionally you’ll see an aging QB or fringe WR be shown the door, but for the most part these types of post-season shufflings have little impact on fantasy leagues.

Then along comes news last week the New York Giants decided to cut ties with starting RB Ahmad Bradshaw and his reported $2.7M cap figure for 2013. Despite being a major contributor on two Super Bowl championship teams and amassing a very respectable 1,050 rushing yards in 14 games in 2012, when you stop and assess this move it really should have come as no surprise.

Hot Fantasy Basketball Pickups - Week 16

Hey all you loyal followers!
We have launched a brand new website TopTeamFantasy in which we will be providing the same advice and analysis you have come to love, just from a bigger and better source!

The site is equipped with fourms (so you can all ask questions about your fantasy teams), as well as scoreboards, news and articles from our growing group of fantasy writers. We are hoping to continue serving you all from that new website!

Thanks!


In Week 10, when Isaiah Thomas was renamed the started for the Kings, we urged you to pick him up. Over the next 6 weeks, the ride has been anything but smooth, but IT2 is no longer just a hot pickup he is a must own player. Still available in 43% of leagues, Thomas has played at least 33 minutes in each of his last 5 games, and has taken the league by storm with insane averages of 19.4 points, 3 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 1.6 steals, 1.8 threes, and is even getting to the line almost 6 times per game. If he's still available in your league, stop reading this article right away and go add him before anyone else does. Make sure you come back and read the rest though, there's some good stuff here!

Isaiah Thomas is now a must own fantasy player

The following players will not be discussed here because they are already owned in too many leagues, but should be owned: Byron Mullens, Andrea Bargnani, Danny Granger, Earl Clark, Nate Robinson and Jerryd Bayless

Now let’s take a look at the rest of the hot fantasy basketball pickups for Week 16.

Early Fantasy Baseball Rankings - SS

Hey all you loyal followers!
We have launched a brand new website TopTeamFantasy in which we will be providing the same advice and analysis you have come to love, just from a bigger and better source!

The site is equipped with fourms (so you can all ask questions about your fantasy teams), as well as scoreboards, news and articles from our growing group of fantasy writers. We are hoping to continue serving you all from that new website!

Thanks!



The top 25 fantasy baseball shortstops are presented here for standard 5×5 Rotisserie leagues (R/HR/RBI/AVG/SB and W/ERA/WHIP/K/SV). To better understand the difference between the SS options, the players are divided into tiers. For example, while Jose Reyes, Starlin Castro and Ben Zobrist are ranked 3 through 5, the drop off between Reyes and Castro is much less than between Castro and Zobrist. 1B and 2B rankings are also available for your viewing pleasure.

Oldies but Goodies: Five Aging Stars with Fantasy Upside

Hey all you loyal followers!
We have launched a brand new website TopTeamFantasy in which we will be providing the same advice and analysis you have come to love, just from a bigger and better source!

The site is equipped with fourms (so you can all ask questions about your fantasy teams), as well as scoreboards, news and articles from our growing group of fantasy writers. We are hoping to continue serving you all from that new website!

Thanks!



By: Russell Shaffer

Fantasy baseball, just like the MLB, is all about assembling the most productive team possible. But unless you play in a keeper or salary cap league, that’s about where the similarities begin and end.

Age makes a big difference in real-life baseball when it comes to contract length and cost and assessing whether a player is trending up or fading into the sunset. In a standard single-season 5x5 rotisserie league, however, age should be irrelevant. What difference does it make whether your fantasy SS hits .316 with 15 HR and 58 RBI and is age 38 or 25? None at all!