Baseball is Back Swinging

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Three Things We Know After The Start of the MLB Season

When a season is 6 months long, it might seem a bit ridiculous to start

making projections this early. After all, more than 150 games still remain for

all the teams in Major League Baseball. With that being said, there are

millions out there in daily fantasy baseball leagues trying to identify not only

players poised for a breakout year, but World Series sleepers. Here are 3

early trends that probably will hold up for the entire season.

Kris Bryant Hype Will Only Grow

The Chicago Cubs actually have some pretty solid talent on the roster in

2015. Jon Lester is their new ace, and they have young performers in daily

fantasy baseball leagues like Starlin Castro and Anthony Rizzo poised to be

possible All-Stars. However, the most talked about player on the team is not

even in Chicago at the moment. Bryant was controversially sent down to the

minor leagues after an outstanding spring training. Basically, the move was

made due to the fact that it saves Chicago money in the long run. Between

billboards near Wrigley Field and minor league updates on ESPN, the hype

isn’t going away.

Kansas City Is Here To Say

A lot of people around baseball saw the Kansas City Royals as a nice story

in 2014. They were able to put together a pretty good run in the playoffs last

year, making it all the way to the World Series before losing to the San

Francisco Giants. However, not a lot of people really gave them the credit

they deserved. The winter wasn’t especially kind to them, as they did lose

their ace pitcher James Shields, but they have been able to stay competitive

early on this year. In fact, they are the best team in baseball through the 1st

few games. The American League Central looks to be pretty good, but

Kansas City is not a one-hit wonder.

Aging Hitters Still Have Value

Performance enhancing drugs allowed older players to stay relevant for

longer period of time. No one is going to say that they are officially gone

from the game of baseball, but testing has certainly limited things a bit. Once

that became the norm, older players started to regress pretty early. However,

people should not be so quick to write off guys in 2015. Adrian Gonzalez,

Miguel Cabrera, Nelson Cruz and Ian Kinsler are just a few guys well into

their 30s performing at a high level. Their injury risks might be a little bit

higher, but they still have value for their teams.

Mallet

In 2009 the patriots relied heavily on backup Matt Cassel.  Unfortunately despite his strong play he left as a F/A.  He was a clear product of the patriots offense.   He struggled over the next few seasons in KC (where Alex Smith has starred).  Now Cassel is Teddy Bridgewater's backup (or backup to be) in Minny.   Since then the Patriots have drafted Brian Hoyer, who struggled as a Patriot until he eventually was cut.  Hoyer then became the Browns starter (through a ton of injuries and cuts).   In 2011 the patriots replaced both of the former backups with Ryan Mallet.  Mallet has thrown 4 career regular season passes and struggled in each and every preseason but became a notable name.   In 2013 trade rumors started circling and the drafting of Jimmy Garllapolo sealed his fate.  Earlier today the patriots sent Mallet away for a sixth round pick (mallet was a 3rd rd.).  Mallet is now likely to battle Case Keenum, Tom Savage and Ryan Fitzpatrick for starts in Texas.  I expect Savage and Fitz to remain ahead o9f mallet until he proves himself or lucks out and they are injured.  Mallet can easily be compared to Hoyer, who was a 3rd string but started because Campbell and Weeden got injured.