Help Please: First Time Player

[D_LAW]

I am a first time fantasy baseball player, And I would like some input on my draft choices as the season is starting. In my league, There is a unique rule in which you can only have one starter with the same letter that starts their last name(EX: you cant have Ramirez and Rodriguez) It made it kind of difficult. Our categories are head to head- R, RBI, OBP, HR, SB, K, W, SV, ERA, and WHIP.

Here is my roster------

C- Russell Martin
1B- Adrian Gonzalez
2B- Ikinori Iwamura
3B- Evan Langoria
SS- Stephen Drew
OF- Alex Rios
OF- BJ Upton
OF- Alfonso Soriano
UTIL- David Ortiz
P- Josh Beckett
P-Felix Hernandez
P-Brandon Webb
P-Brian Fuentes
P-Jonathon Paplebon
P-Bronson Arroyo
P-Jair Jurjjens
P-Kenshin Kawakami
P-Joba Chamberlain
BENCH-Shane Victorino
BENCH-Chris Young
BENCH-Ryan Theriot
BENCH-Aubrey Huff
BENCH- James Shields

Give me some advice and critisize away. Thanks

[KJ24]

The team looks pretty good. The only thing I would say is look to trade for a better 2B. With your pitching staff looking like it does, I would think trading one of them for someone like Kinsler wouldn't be exceedingly difficult, and wouldn't hurt your staff too much.

[ROC AllStars]

I like you're squad overall. Here are my thoughts on what you should be looking into as we move forward:

2B: You really need an upgrade here, and the nature of the position may make it difficult. In contrast to the previous reply, I think trading for Kinsler would be difficult, especially with experienced managers. Typically, most experienced managers will go for hitting over pitching. Expectations for Kinsler are, justifiably, sky high this season. Remember that he put up dominant numbers last year prior to injury, and was limited to 121 games. He had a legitimate shot at leading the MLB in R and H. In any case, it will be difficult to pry him away from another team, unless that team happens to have another top 3 2B and is starved for pitching. I would try to nab someone without the "Potential MVP" label resting on their shoulders. Target a guy like Alexi Ramirez. Everyone expects a solid season from him, and he should have SS qualification soon. But IMO he'll produce more than expected. If you're willing to give a bit more, go for a guy like Brian Roberts, who always puts up top 5 numbers, but for some reason doesn't carry the same reputation as Pedroia, Kinsler, and Utley. Or, if you want to take more of a risk, look at a guy like Jose Lopez, who quietly put together a pretty nice season in SEA. A deep sleeper here could be Mike Fontenot (CHC), who is the regular 2B starter, and should put up an above average AVG and give you some pop along with a handful of SB's.

RP: Having just two closers may hurt your SV category, depending on the makeup of the rest of your league. Take a look around and see how many CL the rest of the teams are carrying. If you're short compared to them, check out the post in "Baseball Leftovers" near the top on closers, there is current info there on the CL situation on every team.

Other than that, you should be just fine. And really, by far the best advise anyone could give is to keep updated on the Cafe. Check the "Leftovers" and "Updates" sections as often as you can, there is always good advice there.

Good luck! And sorry this reply got a bit long... I hope it helps!