Fantasy Baseball Manager of the Year

Week 13: Mid-Season Hot and Not Players

July 6, 2006 — Man, was that a fast 13 weeks or what? Thank the stars for the All Star break — we need the breather as much as some of the players who seem to be running on fumes lately. But first, let's reflect on the broad themes of the ’06 first half. Every fantasy season offers up plenty of surprises, some pleasant, some … not so pleasant. 2006 has been no exception.

The pleasant variety (re: “Hot”) — Detroit, Arroyo, Rios, Papelbon, Hanley/Uggla, Weaver "the Younger," every team in the West (both divisions) with 40+ wins, Morneau flirting with .400 and the Nomar/Thome comeback bids.

The evil twin of pleasant (re: “Not”) — Atlanta, the Last Place Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in Orange County of California (despite being only 5 games back), Lidge, Teixeira, Cleveland's 17.5 game hole, Pettitte, Weaver "the Elder," Prior/Wood and their 7 combined starts, Bonds flirting with .250 and the Big Unit's "Plus 5.00" era.

Dem's the broad strokes. What say we bust out the MOTY Scope™, focus on Week 13 and take a look at the guys who turned it up a notch heading into the All Star break? Likewise, those players we mentioned earlier who are limping into the break for some much needed “R ’n R.”

American League — Hot

Like every week, players appear in this list for 2 reasons — they’re the guys who’ve both risen to the top in the Last Week (LW) MOTY rankings AND, more than likely, are available in your league.

(Call us crazy, but notice how there are 4 Royals on this Week's Hot list? … or did you realize they've won 30 games (through 7/6/06) — 1 more than Pittsburgh?)

Log in to your MOTY account for more AL “Hot” players.

American League — Not

Key to the “Not” list is that these guys are almost certainly on a roster in your league, possibly yours. And based on sluggish or declining Last Week (LW) MOTY#s, may be down trending … toward the bench for a while, (maybe) as trade bait or (gulp) dropped to the wire.

(This week's Not list includes a certain player who mans the hot corner. Note that said player historically turns up the heat in the second half … go get him. There's nothing but upside to be had there.)

Log in for the complete list of AL players to avoid, bench or trade.

National League — Hot

Like the guys highlighted in the AL list, these players are singled out because of the up tick in their Last Week MOTY#s.

(Ray Durham is owned in just 3.9% of ESPN leagues. That's just wrong. Unless you need a middle infielder. Then it could be very right — for you.)

Log in to discover more NL players who might help your team.

National League — Not

When the “Last Week” MOTY# goes down, the player’s name goes up … on this list.

(Two of these guys, both fan-selected All Stars, have been mired in pretty rough slumps the last few weeks … and a third just went on the DL. Triple "ouch.")

Log in to find out more NL players could use a break — on the bench, or permanently.

Questions, thoughts, cool stories of how the MOTY System has helped your fantasy baseball team? Drop us an email. Your comments might show up here in a future MOTY Talk.