Fantasy Baseball Preview: The Dodgers

Fantasy baseball draft season is coming, so you best be prepared by delving through every major player on each team. Fantasy FanHouse is here to help with a quick once-over.

Meet the ...
Eventual landing spot for Manny Ramirez. Seriously, it's going to happen sooner or later, so we'll just assume it's already happened for the purposes of this post. Obviously, if he either signs elsewhere (unlikely) or sits out this season (as unlikely as the holier than thou media embracing A-Rod), we'll have to re-fantasy-spin the entire offense. He's that important to the lineup.

The Breakout
If you love Matt Kemp this season, get in line. I can't find a place who doesn't have him among their big-time "sleeper" candidates. I'll pass, because I refuse to board his hype train (plus, it's starting to make him borderline overvalued as his overall ADP of 40 illustrates).

I'll get on board with this season being the one when Clayton Kershaw announces his presence with authority. He made 21 starts last year -- which was one more than the number of his age -- which should have provided valuable major league experience for the phenom. He dominated the minors for a few years before getting his chance last season.

His numbers in the bigs were modest for his talent level. He struggled with control, gave up too many home runs, and allowed more than a hit per inning. For the love of God, though, he was only 20. We also saw him strikeout 100 batters in 107 2/3 innings. His minor league strikeout rate was through the roof, so we expect him to miss a lot more bats this year, especially in the light-hitting NL West.

Few phenoms develop into stars at age 21, but Kershaw is going to do so this year. He's special.

The Bust
I'm almost tempted to say Kemp at this point, but I wouldn't go that far. He's a quality option, just don't fall too much in love due to his excessive hype on the internets. You know who I am going to say, assuming he has signed a contract before your league's draft/auction? Yep. Manny.

I realize he's one of the best hitters in the game, but I also realize that he's going to be 37 years-old. The honeymoon period in Los Angeles is over, especially when he signs a two-year deal (and he will). You aren't getting the kind of production he gave the Dodgers in those magical 53 games last year, and Manny doesn't do anything extraordinary. He's got power. Wow, how rare in a fantasy baseball outfielder. Let someone else waste a first or second-rounder on him -- because you aren't getting more than .300, 35 homers, and 110 RBI. You could find that in an outfielder or first baseman in the fifth round.

The Lineup
1. Rafael Furcal, SS
2. Russell Martin, C
3. Matt Kemp, CF
4. Manny Ramirez, LF
5. Casey Blake, 3B
6. James Loney, 1B
7. Andre Ethier, RF
8. Orlando Hudson, 2B

Blake DeWitt and Juan Pierre also figure to garner significant playing time.

The Rotation
1. Chad Billingsley
2. Clayton Kershaw
3. Hiroki Kuroda
4. Randy Wolf
5. Claudio Vargas

Jason Schmidt could figure in the mix at some point, but I don't trust his arm to not fall off.

The Bullpen
CL - Jonathan Broxton
SU - Hong-Chih Kuo
SU - Guillermo Mota

The Skinny
• One person to watch is Billingsley. I would have made him my "breakout" pick above, but last season qualified. After an absolutely horrifying start, he locked himself into a stellar stretch, and by no means was it a small sample. In his last 28 starts, Billingsley went 16-6 with a 2.75 ERA, striking out 169 batters in 180 innings. He'll be turning 25 this season, so the best is yet to come. He's struggled with control in spurts, but those outings are becoming few and far between. Look for him to almost completely eliminate those outings and make the step into the elite echelon this season.

• It's going to be possible in many leagues to steal Furcal. There are obvious injury concerns, but sometimes people have a penchant to let guys like this fall way too far. Remember, he was healthy enough to wreak havoc on the Cubs in the playoffs -- not to mention how hot he was to start the season before his injury. I'm expecting a .300 average with lots of runs scored and a return to the 25 steal range.

• Ethier and Loney aren't great options due to some power deficiency -- for their respective positions -- but you could do much worse. Both are still young enough -- Ether will be 27, Loney 25 -- to see some more power growth anyway. Regardless, they'll help you in average and RBI after being acquired late in the draft (or cheap in the auction).

• Broxton's stuff is too electric to not translate smoothly into the closer role. He's one of the better options in the National League.

• Finally, don't get too excited about Hudson. He's only played more than 140 games twice. He's never stolen more than 10 bases, and his marginal power will be even less effective in Dodger Stadium. We're looking at a .280 average, 10 homers, 55 RBI, 65 runs, and eight steals -- which is assuming he stays healthy. Those are NL-only numbers, folks.