Die Macht » ntasy-relevance among those on the list

Hot Stove season: Its the second-best season in baseball, behind, well, the actual season.Its a time when we fantasy owners dream big with free agents, hoping that each lands in ideal circumstances:Hitters: Everyone sign with the Colorado Rockies!Pitchers: Everyone sign up to work with Ray Searage!Realistically speaking, not every free agent can land in either dream scenario; after all, there are only eight field positions and five rotation spots per team. If you closely examine each players skill set, however, there are destinations that can maximize any free agents fantasy potential, even when limiting the choices to only those that have a reasonable possibility of happening.Today, lets have some fun predicting such dream arrangements for some of the games top free agents -- again, only those that have a reasonable possibility of happening. You can see all of Keith Laws top 50 free agents right here, though not every one has a preferred destination selected below.Youll notice that the top free-agent closers -- Kenley Jansen, Aroldis Chapman and Mark Melancon -- are excluded from the list. Theres a reason: Theyre all highly likely to land closer roles for 2017 wherever they wind up anyway, resulting in similar fantasy value to what they enjoyed in 2016.Edwin Encarnacion: Houston Astros.Operating under the assumption that Jose Bautista is also headed out of Toronto, Encarnacions fantasy value would be best served in a new organization of his own, being that the resulting hit on Toronto Blue Jays hitters counting stats (runs and RBIs) would certainly decrease his stock. Houston, and its home ballpark, Minute Maid Park, would be an ideal landing spot. Thanks to the Crawford Boxes, 315 feet away from home plate in left field, Minute Maid is an extremely favorable venue for pull-power righties. Encarnacion is one of the games best: He has pulled 89 of his 115 homers to left the past three seasons, 24 of those pulled directly down the line -- both of those tops in the majors -- and he has pulled 52 percent of his batted balls, ranking among the top 10 in the game during that same time span. The Astros (.351) got a comparable on-base percentage from their 1-2 hitters as the Blue Jays (.357) in 2016, resulting in a negligible difference in counting-number potential.Encarnacions addition would also give the Astros two advantages: He sees a lot of pitches per plate appearance, ranking among the top 30 qualifiers in each of the past three seasons, and has been one of the more comfortable hitters in the game at batting after taking a first-pitch strike. This could give speedier Astros like George Springer, Jose Altuve and perhaps Alex Bregman, who hit early in the lineup, more of a fighting chance at recapturing their past stolen base totals. Encarnacion also profiles much better as a designated hitter than first baseman at this stage of his career, meaning that his addition would signify the Astros trust in Evan Gattis as their primary catcher, as well as keeping first base (mostly) freed up for A.J. Reed.Yoenis Cespedes: Texas Rangers.This might seem like the columns lazy pick, as Texas Globe Life Park is viewed by fantasy owners as the American Leagues answer to Colorados Coors Field, but this ones more than simply putting a productive hitter in a hitting-friendly environment. The Rangers stand to lose Carlos Beltran and/or Ian Desmond to free agency, theyre pondering shifting Shin-Soo Choo to designated hitter full-time, theyve shown a willingness to overlook outfield defense, and theyve played the past few seasons with a lefty-heavy roster. Cespedes skill set is a tough read, as his righty/lefty splits and batted-ball profile have vacillated during his five-year career, but hed be an ideal name for the Rangers to drop into the third spot in the order.Dexter Fowler: Cleveland Indians.As Fowlers best asset is his plate discipline -- he had the majors lowest chase (percentage of swings at pitches outside the strike zone) rate in 2016 (17.5 percent) -- a return to the Chicago Cubs might seem like an obvious win for fantasy. Heres the problem: Retaining Fowler crowds the Cubs outfield, which returns a healthy Kyle Schwarber, up-and-comers in Jorge Soler and Albert Almora, and might also have to wedge in Ben Zobrist so that Javier Baez can see increased time at second base.For a win-win on both fronts, Fowler should sign with the Indians, giving them an electric top four of Fowler, Carlos Santana, Francisco Lindor and Jason Kipnis -- Id move Santana to second and Kipnis to cleanup in this scenario. Fowler would upgrade the Indians defense, a plus for their pitchers, and give them one of the best on-base combos atop their order, boosting counting-numbers potential all around. Whats more, hed probably get the green light on the base paths no less often under Terry Francona, who tends to make the most of his speedsters, than Joe Maddon. To that end, Franconas 2016 Indians had the fifth-highest stolen base attempt rate (opportunities as judged by Baseball-Reference.com) in the majors (7.4 percent), and it wasnt all attributable to Rajai Davis, as the Indians were one of only three teams to have as many as nine different players chip in at least five steals.Rich Hill: New York Mets.Ideally, Hill ends up somewhere in the National League East, which includes the Nos. 20 (Atlanta Braves, minus-7.4), 22 (Mets, minus-9.0), 24 (Miami Marlins, minus-9.7), 28 (Washington Nationals, minus-13.3) and 30 (Philadelphia Phillies, minus-17.8) teams in terms of PitchF/X run value, as well as the Nos. 21 (Mets, .254), 22 (Nationals, .250) and 29 (Phillies, .228) teams in terms of wOBA against curveballs in 2016. Hills curveball is utterly filthy, generating the third-best run value (16.3) last season. So why the Mets? Simple: Of the five NL East squads, they play in one of the more pitching-friendly environments, and they also possess one of the deeper rotations within the division, minimizing the teams temptation to push the injury-risky lefty to his limits. (The Nationals would be an equally good fit.)Justin Turner: Los Angeles Dodgers.Though dropping this late bloomer into the Boston Red Soxs deep lineup or the New York Yankees bandbox home ballpark might seem appealing, a return to L.A. would probably be the fantasy-friendliest resolution overall. Turner has thrived in the Dodgers analytically angled organization, and hes probably less likely to enjoy the kind of favorable lineup arrangement -- a typical No. 2 hitter against left-handers, No. 3 against right-handers -- anywhere else. Whats more, a Turner departure could persuade the Dodgers to shift Corey Seager off shortstop, which we do not want (nor do they need, considering Seagers favorable metrics).Mike Napoli: Minnesota Twins.If Encarnacion and the Astros arent a fit, Napoli could serve a cheaper alternative for them with similarly appealing fantasy traits. In this case, though, Napoli to the Twins is as much about forcing Miguel Sano back to third base permanently as it is placing him in a ballpark thats much better for right-handed power than fantasy owners perceive. Righties hit more homers at Target Field (152) than at any other venue last season, and their .207 isolated power there was second-highest, behind Coors Fields .212. Much of Napolis 2016 rebound centered upon his restoring his heavy-pull, fly-ball tendencies, an approach that should play well in Minnesota. Hed likely slot in at cleanup, behind Sano, who is a better on-base type than his 2016 numbers hint.Jose Bautista: Boston Red Sox.Hes one player whose fantasy value could only benefit from his landing in the most loaded lineup possible. Bautistas skills have begun to decline -- in 2016, he had his highest strikeout rate in seven years, and his highest miss rate on all swings as well as highest weak-contact rate in five years -- so hes a player who could stand to see a higher rate of runners on base to drive home, padding his counting stats. His extreme-pull tendencies, too, would play well at Bostons Fenway Park, with the Green Monsters proximity to home plate perhaps elevating Bautistas extra-base hit and RBI totals even if it somewhat adversely impacts his home-run total.Mark Trumbo: Toronto Blue Jays.Remaining in Baltimore might ultimately be Trumbos most favorable fantasy arrangement, but Torontos Rogers Centre is really no less friendly a power environment for a right-handed hitter. In the event that both Bautista and Encarnacion depart, Trumbo could find his way into enough playing time at both first base and right field to earn dual eligibility, which would be a nice little addition.Ian Desmond: Toronto Blue Jays.Once again, staying put might be the best arrangement for Desmond, but a move to Toronto could improve his chances at recapturing the shortstop eligibility that he lost in Texas in 2016. Should injury-prone Troy Tulowitzki miss extended time, Desmond would be a logical fill-in, and hed likely maintain much of his counting-numbers appeal as a high-in-the-order hitter for the Blue Jays. Stars Jerseys China . Despite dominating possession, Schalke needed an own goal from Nicolas Hoefler for the breakthrough a minute before the interval. The Freiburg midfielder misjudged Jefferson Farfans corner and bundled the ball into his own net. Wholesale Stars Jerseys . Nine days before the opening ceremony, organizing committee chief Dmitry Chernyshenko said Wednesday that Sochi is "fully ready" and will deliver safe, friendly and well-run games that defy the grim reports that have overshadowed preparations. https://www.cheapstarsonline.com/ .Y. -- Injured Buffalo Sabres forward Marcus Foligno did not practice with the team Monday and head coach Ron Rolston said its unlikely hell play in Wednesdays season opener in Detroit. Cheap Stars Jerseys . Newcastle dominated in the early stages but City weathered the storm and then raised its game in extra time. Negredo broke the deadlock from close range after a simple move in the 99th minute before Dzeko took the ball round goalkeeper Tim Krul to seal the victory in the 105th. Dallas Stars Gear . This should be celebrated because it will not always be this way. With the amount of money given to players by their clubs these days, it is a wonder that so many of those teams allow the sport to continue to take away many of their assets so they can play for a different team in the middle of their season. You can play the percentages all you want in setting your fantasy football lineup each week, but luck also plays a large role in determining whether you make the playoffs in your league. Some of that luck comes in the form of a late-round pick who breaks out or whether you were able to land a difference-maker off the waiver wire.As we list the most popular players on the rosters of 2016 ESPN fantasy playoff teams below, though, its also clear that its nice to have a first-round pick turn out to be the beast you hoped hed be. To that point, we give you Exhibit A: versatile Arizona Cardinals running back David Johnson.Johnson, whose average draft position (ADP) of 9.2 as of opening night ranked eighth, is on the roster of a fantasy playoff team in two-thirds of ESPN 10-team standard leagues. While its an impressive rate, it shouldnt come as a big surprise. Johnson has not only scored double-digit standard fantasy points in all 12 games thus far, hes eclipsed 20 points seven times, including each of the past four weeks.In all, 21 players are on rosters of playoff teams in at least half of ESPN 10-team standard leagues. Here they are, along with their preseason ADPs:The list above includes quite a range of entities, including 2015 first-round fantasy bust DeMarco Murray, who has enjoyed a bounce-back season with his third team in as many years, as well as four who were undrafted in 2016, led bby Robert Kelley, the most off-the-radar player to gain fantasy-relevance among those on the list.ddddddddddddBelow are the five most popular players at the four key positions on the rosters of ESPN standard playoff teams:Wondering where some of this seasons biggest disappointments come in? Among those who have missed little or no time, DeAndre Hopkins (ADP of 8.4) stands out the most, as hes on the roster of a playoff team in just 30.9 percent of leagues, ranking 107th overall. Allen Robinson (90th overall at 33.6 percent), Todd Gurley (88th overall at 33.7 percent) and Cam Newton (34.2 percent, 12th among quarterbacks) are also not big surprises to be on so few playoff rosters. Playoff-bound owners who have these players have gotten this far in spite of receiving significantly less production than expected from them to this point. After all, each of them were among the top 15 in ADP at the start of the season.In a couple of weeks, well revisit this topic to see who are the most common players to lead their teams to the finals in ESPN leagues. Last season, the likes of Tim Hightower and Charcandrick West played key roles in the fantasy playoffs. Who will emerge this year at this key juncture? Stay tuned ... and, of course, good luck if youre still in the mix. ' ' '