The Face That Launched 1 Man's Rankings

I mentioned a few days ago that I made my triumphant return to Milwaukee. During the brief amount of time I spent there, Monty and I were able to grab a few drinks and argue about baseball. This led to one fierce argument regarding fantasy baseball. A season ago, Monty took Chris Davis in a draft. While he contends it was not a bad pick at the time, I argued that he should have realized Davis came with considerable risks. At this point, it really doesn’t matter who was right. However, our argument took us many places…one of which was the ranking of players in fantasy baseball by supposed experts. Because the internet allows anyone access to any information, I contend that there is no such thing as a fantasy “expert” anymore. Therefore, without looking at the “experts” rankings going into 2010, I am going to compile fantasy rankings for 2010 on my own. Check out the rules and stipulations after the jump.

Naturally, there will likely be many questions surrounding this endeavor. Allow me to clear up a few things.

Rules

• I will not/can not look at any updated fantasy rankings that pertain to 2010. I will look at standard stats, advanced stats, history, and last season’s fantasy rankings (among many other factors) to make my decisions.
• Since these will be coming out pretty early, they will be subject to change as players are traded, switch teams, and succumb to potential injuries.
• I will start with position players and will rank 20 players in each of the following categories (C, 1B, 2B, SS, and 3B). I will cover outfielders and pitchers after I handle infielders.
• I will make sure I leave spaces for sleepers at the end of each position.

Expected Results/Goals

• My goal here is to prove that there is no such thing as a fantasy “expert” anymore. Since every analyst has the same set of stats and information available, anyone can accurately rank players.
• I suspect that many of my rankings will ultimately mirror the “experts” rankings. If this is the case, I believe that will prove that anyone can look at the number and come to similar conclusions. Thus, there shouldn’t be reasons for fantasy players to pay for any information that pertains to fantasy baseball.
• Obviously, there will be some instances where my rankings of certain players will contrast with the fantasy “experts.” These players will be the players I feel will out-perform/under-perform the rankings given to them by the “experts.” Once I compare my lists to the “experts’” lists, I will highlight which players I feel strongly about. Consider these players the bar to judge my rankings against.

Parameters

• Should my rankings mirror those of the “experts,” and my highlighted players perform better or worse than the “experts” expected, I will conclude that any knowledgeable fantasy player can consider themselves an expert if they choose to put the time in.
• If I happen to be off-base on many of my rankings and expectations, I have no problem admitting that there are such things as fantasy “experts.” I will also never call out these “experts” again.
• Since Monty is one of the main reasons I am doing this, I am open to any bets/suggestions he would like to make if I am right or I am wrong.

Let the battle begin. Catchers will come first (and soon). You have all been warned.

Think I’m an idiot, let me know about it in the comments.