The StatMan  

The month of April is behind us and the statistics have all been tallied, checked, and re-checked.  Here are the fantasy stars, followed by at least one surprise and a disappointment, at each position.

CATCHER
1. Victor Martinez CLE - 83 points (.386/.455/.636, 5 HR, 11 RBI, 8 K in 88 AB)
2. Bengie Molina SFO - 61 points (.329/.329/.592, 4 HR, 18 RBI)
3. Yadier Molina STL - 55 points (.333/.407/.500, 2 HR, 12 RBI)

Surprises: Yadier Molina, John Buck KCY (#8 among C, 44 pts in 12 games, .300/.356/.700, 3 HR, 15 RBI)
Disappointments: Geovany Soto CHC (5 pts, .109-0-2 in 46 AB), Dionner Navarro TBY (17 pts, .181-1-3 in 72 AB)

FIRST BASE
1. Albert Pujols STL - 124 points (.337 AVG/.466 OBP/.675 SLG, 8 HR, 28 RBI, 7 K, 4 SB)
T-2. Adrian Gonzalez SDG - 90 points (.333/.438/.704, 9 HR, 20 RBI)
T-2. Kevin Youkilis BOS - 90 points (.395/.505/.697, 5 HR, 15 RBI)

Surprise: Carlos Pena TBY (T-4th among 1B, 73 pts, .628 SLG, 9 HR, 24 RBI)
Disappointments: Derrek Lee CHC (31 pts, .189/.259/.284, 1 HR, 10 RBI), Mark Teixeira NYY (53 pts, .200/.371/.371, 3 HR, 10 RBI), Prince Fielder MIL (50 pts, .234/.392/.442, 3 HR, 17 RBI)

SECOND BASE

1. Ian Kinsler TEX - 99 points (.322/.384/.656, 7 HR, 20 RBI, 7 SB, Cycle on 4/15 (24 pts))
2. Chase Utley PHL - 93 points (.342/.461/.644, 7 HR, 20 RBI, 13 BB, 11 K)
3. Orlando Hudson LAD - 90 points (.337/.411/.537, 3 HR, 12 RBI)

Surprises: Hudson, Aaron Hill TOR (#5 among 2B, 84 pts, .365/.416/.567, 5 HR, 20 RBI)
Disappointments: Alexi Casilla MIN (17 pts, .174-0-2 in 69 AB), Kelly Johnson ATL (38 points, .203-3-9, .295 OBP in 69 AB), Brandon Phillips CIN (43 points, .188-2-7 in 69 AB)

THIRD BASE
1. Evan Longoria TBY - 88 points (.369/.413/.714, 6 HR, 24 RBI)
2. Jorge Cantu FLA - 85 points (.365/.444/.778, 7 HR, 22 RBI)
3. Brandon Inge DET - 80 points (.319/.447/.667, 7 HR, 18 RBI)

Surprises: Cantu, Inge, Pedro Feliz (#6 among 3B, 57 pts, .323/.405/.477), Scott Rolen (#7 among 3B, 54 pts, .317 AVG)

Disappointment: Edwin Encarnacion CIN (14 pts, .127/.286/.190, 19 K in 63 AB), Chris Davis TEX (21 pts, .200-5-9, 5 BB, 34 K in 70 AB)

SHORTSTOP
1. Marco Scutaro TOR - 94 points (.281/.420/.506, 5 HR, 15 RBI, 22 BB, 13 K, 24 R)
2. Michael Young TEX - 75 points (.295/.354/.591, 6 HR, 13 RBI)
3. Derek Jeter NYY - 71 points (.287/.350/.457, 4 HR, 12 RBI)

Surprises: Scutaro, Jason Bartlett TBY (#4 among SS, 64 pts, .358/.395/.506, 3 HR, 5 RBI)

Disappointments: J.J. Hardy MIL (18 pts, .156/.226/.286, 19 K in 77 AB), Jhonny Peralta CLE (20 pts, .211-0-6, 25 K in 76 AB)

OUTFIELD/DESIGNATED HITTER

1. Raul Ibanez PHL - 96 points (.359/.438/.718, 7 HR, 17 RBI)
2. Jason Bay BOS - 94 points (.324/.495/.634, 5 HR, 19 RBI, 23 BB)
3. Nick Swisher NYY - 92 points (.312/.430/.714, 7 HR, 19 RBI)

Surprises: Swisher, Adam Jones BAL (Tied for 4th among OF, 90 pts, .359/.438/.628, 4 HR, 18 RBI), Mike Cameron MIL (Tied for 11th among OF, 78 pts, .333/.435/.667, 5 HR, 15 RBI)
Disappointments: Felix Pie BAL (7 pts, .157-1-2 in 51 AB), Brian Giles SDG (23 pts, .163-0-11, 2 R in 86 AB), B.J. Upton TBY (27 pts, .177-0-1, 21 K in 62 AB)

Our house fantasy baseball league, the First to Third League, had our 10th Annual Main Player Draft back on April 1st, and though we have had a few player transactions, here were the original draft picks for our 12-team league.  Any player is available to draft, though there are restrictions as to the positions that can be selected in the first seven rounds.

This is a keeper league, so teams can keep up to seven players with a maximum of one player per infield position, two outfielders, and three pitchers with no more than two starters or two relievers.  Teams that do not keep the maximum amount of players can pick players before those other teams in what we call the Supplemental Draft.  The same position restrictions are in place for the Supplemental Draft.

On the list below, the "keepers" are the players that were "retained" from last season.  Our Player Draft consists of 29 rounds, plus three (3) rounds for a Minor League Roster, in which all picks have to be on minor league rosters as of Opening Day.  The Minor League Draft, whose participation is completely optional, took place in the days after the FTL Main Player Draft.

Team Legend: CLE - Cleveland, DEA - Dearborn, GST - Gastonia, LI - Long Island, LV - Las Vegas, LWR - Lawrence, NO - Bourbon Street (New Orleans), QUE - Quebec, RC - River City, SD - San Diego, SF - San Francisco, STP - Saint Paul

Draft Order: 1. Dearborn, 2. Bourbon Street, 3. Quebec, 4. Lawrence, 5. River City, 6. Long Island, 7. Gastonia, 8. Las Vegas, 9. San Diego, 10. Cleveland, 11. San Francisco, 12. Saint Paul (order snakes in subsequent rounds)

FTL OPENING DAY ROSTERS
(round selected in parentheses, K - keeper from 2008, RK - rookie keeper from 2008)

BOURBON STREET BLUESMEN (Owner: Frank Mastrangelo, 8-12 in 2008)
C: Jorge Posada NYY (21)
1B: Aubrey Huff BAL (10), Todd Helton COL (14)
2B: Brian Roberts BAL (K), Howie Kendrick LAA (20)
3B: Aramis Ramirez CHC (6)
SS: Mike Aviles KCY (RK), Emmanuel Burriss SFO (27)
OF: Matt Holliday OAK (K), Nick Markakis BAL (K), Hunter Pence HOU (12), Eric Byrnes ARZ (16), Ken Griffey SEA (18), Shin-Soo Choo CLE (23), Aaron Rowand SFO (24), David Murphy TEX (29)
DH: None
SP: Josh Beckett BOS (K), Roy Oswalt HOU (5), James Shields TBY (8), Chien-Ming Wang NYY (9), Mark Buehrle CHW (13), Erik Bedard SEA (15), Scott Baker MIN (17), Kenshin Kawakami ATL (25), Glen Perkins MIN (26), John Smoltz BOS (28)
RP: Brad Lidge PHL (7), Chad Qualls ARZ (11), Joel Hanrahan WSH (22)

CLEVELAND WAHOOS (Owner: Michael Molek, 14-6 in 2008)
C: Ryan Doumit PIT (12), Kelly Shoppach CLE (24)
1B: Ryan Howard PHL (K), Ryan Garko CLE (23), Hank Blalock TEX (27)
2B: Ian Kinsler TEX (K), Alexei Ramirez CHW (9)
3B: Mark Reynolds HOU (15), Chris Davis TEX (16)
SS: Stephen Drew ARZ (K)
OF: Grady Sizemore CLE (K), Shane Victorino PHL (8), Raul Ibanez PHL (10), Brad Hawpe COL (13), Chris Young ARZ (14), Mark Teahen KCY (21)
DH: Jim Thome CHW (20)
SP: Fausto Carmona CLE (K), Felix Hernandez SEA (K), Ricky Nolasco FLA (11), Gil Meche KCY (17), Manny Parra MIL (19), Edwin Jackson DET (22), Anthony Reyes CLE (25), Pedro Martinez UFA (26), Micah Owings CIN (28), Clayton Kershaw LAD (RK)
RP: Brian Fuentes LAA (K), Brendan Morrow SEA (18)

DEARBORN MUSTANGS (Owner: Greg Jorgensen, 7-13 in 2008)
C: Victor Martinez CLE (10)
1B: Prince Fielder MIL (K), James Loney LAD (12)
2B: Clint Barmes COL (24)
3B: Evan Longoria TBY (3)
SS: Miguel Tejada HOU (13), Khalil Greene STL (22)
OF: Josh Hamilton TEX (K), Carlos Quentin CHW (6), Hideki Matsui NYY (15), J.D. Drew BOS (16), Rick Ankiel STL (17), Jay Bruce CIN (RK), Matt Joyce DET (29)
DH: None
SP: A.J. Burnett NYY (5), Scott Kazmir TBY (7), Chad Billingsley LAD (8), Justin Verlander DET (9), Brett Myers PHL (11), Oliver Perez NYM (18), Wandy Rodriguez HOU (19), Randy Wolf LAD (20), Randy Johnson SFO (21), Jordan Zimmerman WSH (25), Rick Porcello DET (28)
RP: Francisco Rodriguez NYM (4), Francisco Cordero CIN (14), Dan Wheeler TBY (23), Scot Shields LAA (27)

GASTONIA GAZELLES (Owner: Eric Brown, 10-10 in 2008)
C: Russell Martin LAD (K), Ivan Rodriguez HOU (26)
1B: Lance Berkman HOU (K), Adam LaRoche PIT (21)
2B: Robinson Cano NYY (9), Rickie Weeks MIL (17)
3B: Alex Rodriguez NYY (K), Ian Stewart COL (25)
SS: Jimmy Rollins PHL (K), Michael Young TEX (10)
OF: Ryan Braun MIL (K), Ichiro Suzuki SEA (K), B.J. Upton TBY (8), Milton Bradley CHC (15), Travis Snider TOR (24), Cameron Maybin FLA (27), Kendry Morales LAA (28)
DH: Travis Hafner CLE (22)
SP: Jon Lester BOS (7), Yovani Gallardo MIL (11), John Lackey LAA (12), Jered Weaver LAA (13), Johnny Cueto CIN (14), Gavin Floyd CHW (16), Luke Hochevar KCY (RK)
RP: Frank Francisco TEX (18), Matt Lindstrom FLA (19), Heath Bell SDG (20), Fernando Rodney DET (23)

LAS VEGAS FLASHERS (Owners: Heather Yunger and Pete Yunger, 10-10 in 2008)
C: Geovany Soto CHC (8), Kurt Suzuki OAK (18)
1B: Kevin Youkilis BOS (K), Paul Konerko CHW (13), Lyle Overbay TOR (28)
2B: Dustin Pedroia BOS (K)
3B: Mike Lowell BOS (11)
SS: J.J. Hardy MIL (9), Orlando Cabrera OAK (12), Yuniesky Betancourt SEA (27)
OF: Curtis Granderson DET (K), Jayson Werth PHL (K), Jermaine Dye CHW (14), Jose Guillen KCY (19), David DeJesus KCY (20), Brian Giles SDG (22), Randy Winn SFO (23), Fred Lewis SFO (29)
DH: None
SP: Johan Santana NYM (K), Ryan Dempster CHC (10), Matt Garza TBY (15), Chris Young SDG (16), Ubaldo Jimenez COL (17), Todd Wellemeyer STL (24)
RP: Joe Nathan MIN (K), Hideki Okajima BOS (K), Joey Devine OAK (21), Manny Corpas COL (25), Scott Linebrink CHW (26)

LAWRENCE WELK (Owner: Jon Strauss, 8-12 in 2008)
C: Chris Iannetta COL (18)
1B: Derrek Lee CHC (8), Casey Kotchman ATL (17), Chad Tracy ARZ (29)
2B: Mark DeRosa CLE (15), Akinori Iwamura TBY (22)
3B: Chipper Jones ATL (7)
SS: Hanley Ramirez FLA (K), Ryan Theriot CHC (16)
OF: Manny Ramirez LAD (K), Adam Dunn WSH (9), Andre Ethier LAD (11), Josh Willingham WSH (20), Luke Scott BAL (23), Mike Cameron MIL (24), Ryan Spilborghs COL (25), Michael Cuddyer MIN (27)
DH: David Ortiz BOS (K)
SP: Dan Haren ARZ (K), Daisuke Matsuzaka BOS (K), Rich Harden CHC (10), Derek Lowe ATL (12), Javier Vazquez ATL (13), Jamie Moyer PHL (28)
RP: Jonathan Papelbon BOS (K), Kevin Gregg CHC (14), Troy Percival TBY (19), George Sherrill BAL (21), Justin Masterson BOS (26)

LONG ISLAND BLUEBIRDS (Owner: Wills Gillan (new owner, franchise was 9-11 in 2008)
C: Bengie Molina SFO (K), Mike Napoli LAA (25)
1B: Miguel Cabrera DET (K), Billy Butler KCY (18), Mike Jacobs KCY (26)
2B: Brandon Phillips CIN (K), Luis Castillo NYM (28)
3B: Edwin Encarnacion CIN (9), Melvin Mora BAL (22), Casey Blake LAD (24)
SS: Troy Tulowitzki COL (8), Cristian Guzman WSH (21)
OF: Torii Hunter LAA (K), Bobby Abreu LAA (10), Ryan Ludwick STL (13), Xavier Nady NYY (17), Ryan Church NYM (20), Carlos Gomez MIN (29)
DH: None
SP: Andy Sonnanstine TBY (K), Carlos Zambrano CHC (K), Josh Johnson FLA (11), Aaron Harang CIN (14), Mike Pelfrey NYM (15), Jair Jurrjens ATL (16), Bronson Arroyo CIN (19), Chris Volstad FLA (23), Doug Davis ARZ (27)
RP: Bobby Jenks CHW (K), B.J. Ryan TOR (12)

QUEBEC POUTINES (Owner: Tim Bresnahan, 8-12 in 2008)
C: Dioner Navarro TBY (21)
1B: Adrian Gonzalez SDG (6), Carlos Delgado NYM (10), Conor Jackson ARZ (12)
2B: Placido Polanco DET (13), Freddy Sanchez PIT (20)
3B: Jorge Cantu FLA (16), Kevin Kouzmanoff SDG (24)
SS: Jose Reyes NYM (K), Jason Bartlett TBY (27)
OF: Jason Bay BOS (K), Vladimir Guerrero LAA (7), Alex Rios TOR (8), Corey Hart MIL (11), Delmon Young MIN (17), Garret Anderson ATL (29)
DH: None
SP: Roy Halladay TOR (K), CC Sabathia NYY (K), Cliff Lee CLE (9), Kevin Slowey MIN (18), Brad Penny BOS (19), Joe Blanton PHL (22), Jeremy Guthrie BAL (23), Scott Olsen WSH (26)
RP: Mariano Rivera NYY (K), Mike Gonzalez ATL (14), Brad Ziegler OAK (15), Chris Ray (25), Brandon Lyon DET (28)

RIVER CITY STORM (Owner: Stephen Johannes, 9-11 in 2008)
C: Yadier Molina STL (K)
1B: Justin Morneau MIN (5), Nick Johnson WSH (22), Travis Ishikawa SFO (27)
2B: Jose Lopez SEA (13), Felipe Lopez ARZ (24)
3B: Garrett Atkins COL (6)
SS: Yunel Escobar ATL (15)
OF: Alfonso Soriano CHC (K), Nate McLouth PIT (8), Pat Burrell TBY (11), Coco Crisp KCY (17), Skip Schumaker STL (18), Daniel Murphy NYM (20), Marcus Thames DET (25), Cody Ross FLA (28), Jordan Schafer ATL (29)
DH: None
SP: Jake Peavy SDG (K), Edinson Volquez CIN (K), Adam Wainwright STL (10), John Danks CHW (12), Chris Carpenter STL (16), Jonathan Sanchez SFO (19), Jesse Litsch TOR (21), John Lannan WSH (26)
RP: Jonathan Broxton LAD (7), Brian Wilson SFO (9), Jason Motte STL (14), Ryan Franklin STL (23)

SAINT PAUL SAINTS (Owner: Michael Josephson, 16-4 in 2008)
C: Joe Mauer MIN (K), A.J. Pierzynski CHW (16)
1B: Mark Teixeira NYY (K), Pablo Sandoval SFO (14)
2B: Chase Utley PHL (K), Orlando Hudson LAD (22)
3B: David Wright NYM (K), Chone Figgins LAA (28)
SS: Jed Lowrie BOS (13)
OF: Matt Kemp LAD (K), Jacoby Ellsbury BOS (8), Vernon Wells TOR (10), Denard Span MIN (17), Jeremy Hermida FLA (18), Jason Kubel MIN (21), Jack Cust OAK (25)
DH: None
SP: Tim Lincecum SFO (K), Brandon Webb ARZ (K), Joba Chamberlain NYY (9), Ervin Santana LAA (12), Hideki Kuroda LAD (19), Ian Snell PIT (23), Andrew Miller FLA (24), David Purcey TOR (26), Jeremy Bonderman DET (27), Chan Ho Park PHL (29)
RP: Carlos Marmol CHC (11), Matt Capps PIT (15), Grant Balfour TBY (20)

SAN DIEGO STATS (Owner: George Stathopulos, 11-9 in 2008)
C: Ramon Hernandez CIN (16), Matt Wieters BAL (26), Jarrod Saltalamacchia TEX (27)
1B: Albert Pujols STL (K), Joey Votto CIN (12)
2B: Kelly Johnson ATL (11), Aaron Hill TOR (23)
3B: Ryan Zimmerman WSH (K), Alex Gordon KCY (15)
SS: Jhonny Peralta CLE (8), Edgar Renteria SFO (18)
OF: Carlos Beltran NYM (K), Carlos Lee HOU (K), Magglio Ordonez CHW (9), Justin Upton ARZ (14), Lastings Milledge WSH (20), Adam Jones BAL (21)
DH: None
SP: Cole Hamels PHL (K), Francisco Liriano MIN (K), Matt Cain SFO (13), John Maine NYM (17), Armando Galarraga DET (19), Paul Maholm PIT (25), Anibal Sanchez FLA (28), Max Scherzer ARZ (RK)
RP: Jose Valverde HOU (7), Kerry Wood CLE (10), J.J. Putz NYM (22), Jose Arredondo LAA (24)

SAN FRANCISCO SOUR DOHS (Owners: Dung Nguyen and Dino Aliferis (new owners, franchise 10-10 in 2008)
C: Brian McCann ATL (K)
1B: Carlos Pena TBY (11), Jason Giambi OAK (19)
2B: Dan Uggla FLA (K)
3B: Carlos Guillen DET (K), Adrian Beltre SEA (10), Andy LaRoche PIT (28)
SS: Derek Jeter NYY (8), Rafael Furcal LAD (15)
OF: Carl Crawford TBY (K), Johnny Damon NYY (12), Jeff Francoeur ATL (14), Nelson Cruz TEX (24), Elijah Dukes WSH (25)
DH:
SP: Zack Greinke KCY (K), Ted Lilly CHC (K), Andy Pettitte NYY (16), Joe Saunders LAA (17), Jon Garland ARZ (18), Aaron Cook COL (20), Kyle Lohse STL (21), Barry Zito SFO (22), Dave Bush MIL (23), Nick Blackburn MIN (26), Jeff Suppan MIL (27), David Price TBY (RK)
RP: Joakim Soria KCY (K), Trevor Hoffman MIL (9), Huston Street COL (13)

FTL MINOR LEAGUE ROSTERS
BOURBON STREET (3 picks): SP Phil Hughes NYY, 3B Brandon Wood LAA, SP Virgil Vasquez PIT
CLEVELAND (3): 3B Michael Moustakas KCY, SP Carlos Carrasco PHL, 1B Lars Anderson BOS
DEARBORN (3): SP Tommy Hanson ATL, SP Madison Bumgarner SFO, Brian Matusz BAL
GASTONIA (3): 3B Mat Gamel MIL, SP Aaron Poreda CHW, C J.P. Arencibia TOR
LAS VEGAS (0): No picks
LAWRENCE (2): SP Clay Buchholz BOS, SP Michael Bowden BOS
LONG ISLAND (2): OF Matt LaPorta CLE, OF Jason Heyward ATL
QUEBEC (1): SP Jeff Samardzija CHC
RIVER CITY (0): No picks
SAINT PAUL SAINTS (3): SP Chris Tillman BAL, OF John Mayberry PHL, C Jeff Clement SEA
SAN DIEGO STATS (3): OF Andrew McCutchen PIT, SP Jonathan Niese NYM, RP Chris Perez STL
SAN FRANCISCO SOUR DOHS (2): SP Neftali Feliz TEX, SS Alcides Escobar MIL

Stay tuned for more postings on our house fantasy league, including more about the individual teams that make this league what it is, and the pennant race that will shape the 2009 fantasy baseball season.

We talk some fantasy sports on the show, but when I talk about a certain player scoring 10 points in a game or 30 points for a week, what exactly does that mean?

In the show's house fantasy baseball league, the First to Third League (FTL), we play head-to-head, which means we draw up a 20-game schedule before the season and the starting lineups of each team goes up against the starting lineup of that team's opponent.  Each game takes place over an entire week (Monday through Sunday) and the playoffs are played over the final six weeks of the MLB regular season.

The starting lineups consist of: 1 C, 1 1B, 1 2B, 1 SS, 1 3B, 1 corner infielder (1B/3B), 1 middle infielder (2B/SS), 5 OF, 1 utility hitter (any hitter and all DHs must play here), 5 SP, 2 RP, 2 "wild card" pitchers (either SPs or RPs).

Hitters score one (1) point for every total base, run scored, and run batted in.  They score two (2) points for every stolen base, but lose two (-2) points for every time the hitter is caught stealing.  Hitters score one (1) point for every walk and lose one (-1) point for every strikeout.  They score one (1) point for every time they are hit by a pitch, but lose one (-1) point if they ground into a double play.

Pitchers score five (5) points for a win, eight (8) points for a save, and lose four (-4) points for a loss.  A hold by a middle reliever is worth four (4) points.  A good start for a starting pitcher yields three (3) points for a quality start, a long start returns two (2) points for a complete game, and a great start is worth four (4) points for a shutout.  Each out recorded by a pitcher is worth one (1) point (3 points per inning pitched) and pitchers score one (1) point for a strikeout, but a hit allowed, a walk allowed, or a hit batsman cost pitchers a point (-1) and an earned run gives back three (-3) points.

For those of you who absorb this better in a list, here you go:

So, if a player hits a solo home run, it is really worth six points (4 total bases, 1 run scored, 1 run batted in).  A player who singles, steals a base, and scores a run nets four points.

A pitcher who wins (+5) a six-inning (+18 for 6 IP) quality start (+3) after allowing two runs (-3 x 2 = -6) on six hits (-6), walking three (-3) and striking out seven (+7) would score 18 points.  A closer who strikes out the side and does not allow anything else would pick up 14 points.

I hope that explains our fantasy baseball scoring system.  If you have any questions, please leave a Comment.