Sleeper of the Week

If you’re using statistics-based cheat sheets or projections to plan for your draft, make sure you’re not undervaluing players who missed time due to injury last season. Most rankings, such as those presented in yahoo fantasy baseball or the popular 50%-33%-17% projection method based on three-year stats are strongly dependent on the previous season’s numbers, and players who sat out much of the campaign tend to fall to the bottom of these lists.

One such player worth keeping in mind is Jon Lieber. After missing the entire 2003 season following elbow surgery, the former Cub returns to the game, joining a strong Yankee rotation already bolstered by the addition of Javier Vazquez and Kevin Brown.

Lieber is clearly a risky pick, and it remains to be seen whether he can return to the form that allowed him to win twenty games for Chicago in 2001, but if fully recovered, he could be a true draft day steal. In his last two seasons, Lieber posted WHIPs of 1.17 and 1.15, respectively, accompanied by ERAs of 3.80 and 3.70. One sign of Lieber’s skill is his career K/BB mark of 3.6. In 2002, he was able to post a phenomenal 7.25 ratio before being shut down. And with the Yankees fearsome lineup behind him, Lieber’s run support should be strong.

Keep a close eye on Jon Lieber this spring. If his fastball looks good and he’s throwing his slider with confidence, bump him up those cheat sheets.