Sleeper Watch

Barry Bonds a sleeper? It isn’t April Fool’s Day yet, is it? With six MVP awards and 658 career home runs and counting, Bonds is hardly an unknown quantity in the baseball world.

Yet if a sleeper is defined as a player who is drafted later than he should be, Bonds surprisingly seems to be just that this year – in keeper leagues, at least. Despite ranking among the most valuable fantasy players last season, many keeper leaguers are shying away from choosing Bonds in their innaugural drafts due to his age. In some mocks we’ve seen, Bonds has gone undrafted until the round four.

Granted, at age forty Bonds shouldn’t be viewed as a long-term keeper. But you’re not playing to win in 2008; you’re looking to put the best team on the field this year in order to have a chance at hoisting your league’s trophy come October. Barry Bonds is a player who can bring you closer to that goal.

In just 130 games played in 2003, Bonds’ numbers were staggering. Forty-five home runs, 90 rbi, 111 runs, and a .341 average. His seven steals were a nice bonus, too. And in leagues that count walks or replace average with on base percentage, Bonds ranked second to none. Clearly, you shouldn’t draft him ahead of younger players of equal caliber – such as Alex Rodriguez or Albert Pujols – in a keeper league, or sign him to a long-term contract, but that doesn’t mean you should avoid him entirely. If you see Bonds slipping in your keeper draft, pick him up without hesitation. There’s no reason why Barry Bonds should be a sleeper.

Note: Barry Bonds withdrew from the MLBPA’s licensing agreement this offseason. While this is currently not expected to keep him out of fantasy games, it’s a situation that bears watching.