Platoon Battles

April 29, 2009 3:40pm CDT

Throughout the fantasy baseball season, some of the most aggravating players can be those stuck in position battles with teammates. How each owner navigates these situations can determine just how successful their fantasy team will be, especially in deeper leagues. Here, the goal will be to dissect a handful of fantasy-relevant position battles each week as an aid. While this article may be geared more towards deeper leagues there should be something here that leagues of all shapes and sizes can take away.

Seattle Mariners - First Base

The Candidates

In most situations, platoon battles pit a pair of younger up and coming players against each other or one youngster against a journeyman veteran. Rarely do we see a battle between a 33-year-old who can crush the ball and a 35-year-old four-time all-star. Thus is the case in the upper northwest.

It is not just stunning that Mike Sweeney is still playing baseball, but he's continuing to be quietly productive, as well. A career .299 hitter, Sweeney continues to produce a strong batting average for the Seattle Mariners when given the chance. While he won't be ranging up the as high as the cumulative .329 batting average he posted between 1999-2002, he'll still continue to hover around .300 and chip in 10-15 home runs if he stays healthy. Health, most specifically his back, has been a significant concern since 2006 where he has missed more than half of the season in each of the last three years.

Russell Branyan is a monster at the plate. By the way, that name totally fits him doesn't it? It reminds me of Paul Bunyan, and Branyan plays the way I imagine Bunyan would. He capitalizes on brute strength. Branyan has also had some back problems (most likely from carrying that giant axe), but has crushed the ball since returning to the lineup. Over the past five games he is posting a .500 batting average and crushed two monster home runs with seven RBI and seven runs scored. What's the downside? A 33-year-old 11-year veteran certainly has a track record and Branyan's is consistent. He'll kill your batting average and will go through long droughts where he he'll do nothing but strike out.

The Forecast

The Mariners have not faced a lefty in their last 10 games, but even so it seems like these two veterans are platooning in a "try and keep each other healthy for the long haul" system. It's going to cut into each of their production but both have value in AL only formats. When Branyan is red hot, like now, he's worth it in a mixed league if you have the roster space and aren't cutting someone significant to make room.

Colorado Rockies - Left Field

The Candidates

If you haven't heard yet, the fantasy baseball world is abuzz about the new speed freak in town, Dexter Fowler. Since he has clearly won the rights to the everyday center field job in Colorado, his teammates are feeling the crunch. He may get spelled once a week to help with the logjam in left field, but for the moment there is only one spot left and at least three people trying to fill it.

Over the last 10 games, the job in left field has been broken up like this: Ryan Spilborghs (four starts), Seth Smith (four starts), and Ian Stewart (two starts). This platoon has narrowed to just two over the last few days, as Stewart has seen more and more time in the infield splitting time at second base with Clint Barmes, but it can't be ignored that the Rockies are using Stewart in the outfield about once every five games. If this continues, it will significantly cut into the fantasy production that either Spilborghs or Smith could have.

If it wasn't for Fowler's amazing breakout April, Spilborghs would most likely be battling for at-bats in center field and Smith would get more unquestioned at-bats. Even with the platoon, Smith has managed to put forth some strong numbers (.324-3-6 with a .477 OBP and .618 SLG in 34 at-bats).

Spilborghs has always been a part-time player in Colorado but has proven to be very useful in his opportunities. Over the past three seasons he has batted .289 and has produced a higher and higher OBP each year: .337 to .363 to .407. This year, Spilborghs is off to a similar pace as last year when he produced a .298-1-10 stat line through April. He has tied or bettered all of those marks to date (.304-1-10) and he still has a couple of games left in the month to surpass the home run and RBI marks. At the moment, the Rockies have seemed to feature him against left-handed hitters, where he has shown considerably better production including an uptick in power in far less at-bats. From 2006-2008, Spilborghs batted .336 against southpaws and averaged a home run every 26.1 at-bats. Against righties, those numbers worsen to .282 and 35.8.

The Forecast

This is likely Smith's position, but with a quality fourth outfielder like Spilborghs on the roster, it can be tough to find everyone enough playing time. Brad Hawpe won't be giving up any, and until Fowler comes back to earth the Rockies will ride the hot hand. This means Spilborghs will at least be hitting the left-handed pitchers and likely a get few more games per week based on match up. Neither one of these players have tremendous mixed-league value yet, but in NL-only leagues that feature five outfielders, each could play a role. Don't forget to keep an eye on Barmes and Stewart. If Barmes can force Stewart out of a job at second, he'll be cutting into the left field production more and more.

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim - Second Base/Shortstop

The Candidates

At the beginning of the season, we profiled the shortstop situation with the Angels as being nearly identical as it was a year ago. There were the same three men vying for playing time and each had only strengthened the opinions of their fans (and doubters) with the same potential (and flaws) that they brought to the table in 2008. Now, just over three weeks into the season, let's take another look.

Unfortunately, Brandon Wood is nowhere near the shortstop picture, as he is firmly entrenched as the backup third basemen. The kid has so much potential, but with the deep Angels infield he has yet to find a place where he can find enough at-bats to make his mark. One of these days he's going to get a shot with someone and he might turn into a legitimate power source, but for now he has limited value across the board.

Erick Aybar, as expected, is basically the everyday shortstop and Howie Kendrick is holding down most of the regular at-bats at second base, but Maicer Izturis has been scrapping together at-bats on both sides of the bag, filling in for both Aybar and Kendrick when the circumstances dictate. At the moment, he's been able to spell each enough that this has turned into fairly regular at-bats, but Iztuirs is clearly the third wheel, but when you look at the numbers you have to wonder how long that can last.

Here's how the three middle infielders stack up:

AB	AVG	HR	RBI	R	SB	OBP	SLG	OPS
Erick Aybar	49	.245	0	6	1	0	.269	.327	.596
Howie Kendrick	70	.257	3	16	10	1	.288	.457	.745
Maicer Izturis	43	.302	0	6	9	2	.333	.372	.705

The Forecast

It doesn't take a mad scientist to crunch these numbers. While Kendrick is still getting the bulk of the time at second base, and rightfully so, it wouldn't be shocking to see Izturis start to move in on Aybar's time at shortstop little bit more. The only real catch is that the Angels love having Izturis come off the bench. He's a more versatile player and that allows them to exploit better matchups and keep everyone in a groove. If the Angels choose to turn shortstop into a true righty/lefty platoon, Izturis will be the one you want to own. He's much better against right-handed pitchers than Aybar and he wouldn't mind leaving the southpaws behind. Kendrick holds fantasy value in all leagues, and both shortstops maintain some deep mixed league potential, but they would both be best utilized in AL-only action.