For whatever it's worth, according to Fantasy Baseball Guide...in the last three years (Vlad played 112 games in 03):
Vlad earned $134*
Beltran earned $129
According to Shandler's Forecaster in the last three years:
Vlad earned $107*
Beltran earned $101
Both are healthy now so I gotta go with Vlad.
"Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that." ~George Carlin
That's in real life, though. I doubt Beltran will steal this year, my projections for him are: .280 34 HR 20 SB. Vlad over Beltran any day of the week.
Yoda wrote:Guerrero is a better player for fantasy. Not that far apart but Vlad is better.
The thing about Beltran is will he run? If the Mutts get Delgado, which at the moment seems highly likely, the lineup would be (provided everyone is healthy): Reyes, Matsui, Beltran, Delgado, Piazza, Wright... It is hard for me to imagine that Beltran will be doing a lot of running. He just signed a huge contract, moving into a pitcher friendly park and playing under the pressure in NY. He will also be hitting 3rd with ample protection behind him. However, I assume Randolph is a small ball type manager who may give him the green light and Beltran is an extermely efficient base stealer.
But the SBs are expected to come down and he is more of a risk than Vlad. Still a top 10 player but not better than Vlad.
One of the reasons why Beltran is so valuable is because he is so good at stealing alot of bases. I dont see why they would suddenly stop one of his strong points. I still think Vlad is better though.
Rirruto wrote:One of the reasons why Beltran is so valuable is because he is so good at stealing alot of bases. I dont see why they would suddenly stop one of his strong points. I still think Vlad is better though.
Yeah that is why I think Beltran may get the green light. But you have to think about it from a business point too. I saw this discussion on Rotoman's message board. The Mutts just dumped $119 million on a guy that is supposed to make them competitive. Would they discourage running him because he may hurrt himself? Food for thought.
"Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that." ~George Carlin
Rirruto wrote:One of the reasons why Beltran is so valuable is because he is so good at stealing alot of bases. I dont see why they would suddenly stop one of his strong points. I still think Vlad is better though.
Yeah that is why I think Beltran may get the green light. But you have to think about it from a business point too. I saw this discussion on Rotoman's message board. The Mutts just dumped $119 million on a guy that is supposed to make them competitive. Would they discourage running him because he may hurrt himself? Food for thought.
They paid for a 5 tool player. Do you think they will only use 4 of them? I wouldn't. He was brought there to do everything. The Mets will run him when they are in close games, because they want to win! He'll run.
Cornbread Maxwell wrote:Beltran. His BA will bounce back to the .3 - .31 range - 120+Rs, 120+RBIs, 30-35 HRs, 40-45 SBs. He'll challenge to be the fantasy MVP this season.
I'm working on Beltran's projections right now, and I'm in this area with my stats, Cornbread. I have him at .310, 33 HR, 120 R, 95 RBI's, 40 SB.
The only difference we have here is in RBI's. My reasoning is because I dont have alot of faith in the two guys hitting ahead of him (Reyes and Matsui), and if he moves up to the two hole, it means either one of those guys and the pitcher are in front of him.