Platoon Battles

July 29, 2009 12:55pm 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.

San Francisco Giants - First Base

The Candidates

	AB	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
Ryan Garko	243	29	11	39	0	.280	.356	.457	.813
Travis Ishikawa	220	28	7	30	2	.268	.319	.409	.728
Jesus Guzman	14	0	0	0	0	.143	.143	.143	.286

There's no doubt about it, the first base situation in San Francisco has certainly been a fantasy disappointment. The Giants weren't thinking about the fantasy baseball world when they pulled the trigger to acquire Ryan Garko from Cleveland on Monday. All they did was create one more platoon.

Garko had finally carved out a nice niche for himself in Cleveland bouncing between the outfield and first base. He had been performing with consistent power this season and saw a spike in at-bats in July despite losing a few games due to the All-Star break. Recently Garko has been red hot. His batting average over the last month is .343 compared to the .260 he was posting from April to June. Unfortunately, Garko appears to have landed himself in a platoon with Travis Ishikawa. If so, Garko will certainly grab hold of all of the at-bats against southpaws and a game here and there against right-handers. His .333-4-13 stat line over 69 at-bats versus left-handed pitchers this year dwarfs the numbers from Ishikawa (.304-0-1).

The Giants have really tried hard not to let Ishikawa face left-handed pitchers at all this season. With only 23 at-bats against them all season it's apparent that neither he nor the Giants are comfortable in that situation. Despite struggling for the better part of the season, Ishikawa has been better as of late batting .333 over his last 21 at-bats and launching six of his seven home runs since June 1.

While we are looking at platoon mates, it is worth noting that Jesus Guzman was called up from Triple-A immediately following the Garko trade. Guzman has shown a lot of promise in the minors since he turned 23 in 2007. Since then, he has posted some impressive numbers that average out to a .326-28-132 stat line over 162 games. While he isn't going to see tons of playing time right away, he could certainly force his way into the mix if the Giants are ready to shuffle things up a little bit.

The Forecast

Guzman very well may be the best prospect of the three, but Ishikawa and Garko aren't exactly elder statesmen. Garko, 28, is the oldest of the bunch. He's also the most reliable at this point. Despite ending up on the short side of the platoon at first base, Garko could easily end up playing right field in San Francisco on off days and while Aaron Rowand is recuperating from his slightly torn right forearm. Ishikawa has been tough to own in fantasy leagues, but if you were going to own him now wouldn't be a bad time. All of the competition may help keep him swinging a hotter bat. Keep you eyes on Guzman if the Giants start to slide out of the wild card race.

Boston Red Sox - First Base/Third Base

The Candidates

	AB	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
Kevin Youkilis	304	62	17	59	4	.296	.409	.553	.962
Adam LaRoche	338	48	13	43	2	.251	.330	.453	.783
Mike Lowell	.292	32	10	44	0	.292	.331	.474	.805

It must be nice to have a guy like Kevin Youkilis. He's got a great bat with a developing power stroke that compliments his gold glove caliber defense at both corner infield spots. Originally a third baseman, it looked like Youkilis would be heading back to his roots on a more regular basis after the Red Sox finalized a trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates on July 22 to acquire slugger Adam LaRoche.

Let's get the easy one out of the way now. Youkilis isn't going to miss any playing time barring an injury (that sound you just heard was the cumulative knock on wood from Red Sox Nation). He's a .289 career hitter who is on pace to top 30 home runs for the first time in his career. Not too shabby. He's also owned in every fantasy baseball league on the planet. If he's not owned in your league I would like an invitation to join next year.

LaRoche has got to be one of my personal favorites. No one ever wants to own him but at the end of the year he ends up with a .275-25-90 output that works in all formats. The best part about him is that it all comes in the second half. If he can keep getting on the field in Fenway Park he's going to cash in big time as a free agent at the end of the season. He does this every year, but the second half numbers he puts up have crushed his first half numbers without fail since 2006. It's hard to deny a 60-point jump in batting average with comparable home run and RBI numbers in 75 percent of the at-bats. From 2006-07 he jumped from .247-37-136 in 884 at-bats to .317-41-127 in 663. It's plain as day. The only question he has is will he see the regular playing time in Boston?

Mike Lowell seems to be the odd man out. There has been talk that he's going to keep his job, but when LaRoche starts in his place for three-straight days actions start to speak louder than words. It's not as if Lowell hasn't been producing either, although his power numbers have started to slow after his red hot start (eight home runs through May). Unfortunately, if this platoon with LaRoche turns into a true left-handed vs. right-handed matchup play, Lowell will be dealt the southpaws. He's balanced, but LaRoche is significantly better against right-handed arms.

The Forecast

This will really be interesting to watch since we know the Red Sox are going to put up a ton of runs and they'll be playing to win right until the end of the season. While I was in the minority, I snagged LaRoche off the waiver wire the day they announced the deal to Boston. Couple his hot second half with a better supporting cast and a renewed spirit with a chance to actually win and you have the makings of a stud fantasy prospect. Unfortunately, this all may be short lived as there were some rumors floating about that Adrian Gonzalez may be on the Boston radar if they decide not to pursue Roy Halladay.