The 2005 Week One Fantasy Baseball All Stars

Written by The Fool on April 11, 2005

It’s never too early for lists and awards, so on this sunny Monday The Fool presents: The 2005 Week One Fantasy Baseball All Stars.

Only time will tell if this is a list of one-week wonders or guys making the case to remain in your lineup all season. But last week, this group was the best. And, if you had them on your fantasy baseball team, there’s a good chance you got a good start to your season.

The last player cut: Dmitri Young, utility guy for the Detroit Tigers. Sorry comrade, while it is the Week One All Stars, you gotta at least do something after the first game.

Catcher: Bengie Molina, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
(that name is pissing me off)
But anyway, this guy is the best of a sorry bunch, hitting .333 with two homers and five RBI. There’s no rush to pick him up; heck, he’s still available in The Fool’s AL-only league.

First Base: Paul Konerko, Chicago White Sox
He’s already got three homers and he’s batting .333 in that hot offense. But Konerko has driven in only six runs. Richie Sexson, Seattle new slugger, misses too often but he is also off to a good start (two homers, nine RBI).

Second Base: Brian Roberts, Baltimore Orioles
This one ain’t close. Roberts has three homers in his last four games and is thriving as the table sitter for the loaded Orioles. He has stolen no bases yet – the trait he excelled at last season, and probably the reason you drafted him. But those will come; meanwhile, enjoy the power ride.

Third Base: Troy Glaus, Arizona Diamondbacks
Glaus got off to a hot start last season, but nothing like this. He’s loving the National League, with tape-measure homers in each of his last four games and a .280 average so far. Here’s hoping he stays healthy, The Fool needs that powah in his lineup!

Shortstop: Derek Jeter, New York Yankees
“Captain God” is the best of a middling bunch; apparently, there are no great shortstops in baseball. Jeter’s average (for him) contributions, though, are enough to land him on the squad: A homer, a couple RBI, two stolen bases, a .435 average and seven runs scored. Oh, and he knows how to win, just ask John Kruk (and don’t look at the Yankees’ record). Meanwhile, if I were managing this Week One All Stars team, I’d bench Jeter, play Brian Roberts at shortstop and Jeff Kent at second, and we would dominate . . . . at least the first few games.

Outfield: Pat Burrell, Philadelphia Phillies
Has this supposedly talented slugger finally figured it out? Well, for a week at least, “Pat the Bat” has earned his moniker. Three homers, three doubles and 15 RBI through six games put him on pace for career highs, and the RBI numbers lead the majors. If you took a late flier, you’re happy so far.

Outfield: Ichiro Suzuki, Seattle Mariners
He’s picked up right where he left off last season, so this guy is no first-week fruke. Ichiro is an onbase machine, batting .478 in Week One while bagging 11 hits, stealing three bases and scoring seven runs. He will help you dominate the three standard non-power-related categories.

Outfield: Hideki Matsui, New York Yankees
Godzirra is not the reason the Yankees can’t win this year – in fact, they’re probably holding him down. He’s batting .348 with three homers and eight RBI and six runs scored while getting on base every game. Matsui has even been fun to watch in the field, robbing the Sox of a homer in the first series. A genuine star of Week One.

Bench: Edgardo Alfonzo, San Francisco Giants, third base
This guy, as I’ve stated before, gets worse every season. But he’s off to a great start in the Bonds-free Giants lineup, batting .455 with two homers, five RBI and seven runs scored. Congratulations, Fonzy, you’re a Week One All Star!

Bench: Jeff Kent, Los Angeles Dodgers, second base
Of course, he’s barely good enough to earn a spot in the Gaytrix Superleague, but the Dodgers must love what their new second base slugger is doing: a .458 average with a homer, eight RBI, 10 runs scored and 11 hits. Kent even stole a bag! Must be the ‘stache.

Starting pitcher: Pedro Martinez, New York Mess
Imagine if this team didn’t have Pedro – talk about a mess. But all Petey’s done is hide one bad inning with 14 remarkable ones. In two Week One starts, he’s struck out 21 batters, picked up one win (and didn’t lose the other game). And he has a .53 WHIP to go with a 2.40 ERA. This is vintage Pedro Martinez.

Starting pitcher: Rodrigo Lopez, Baltimore Orioles
You never know what you’re going to get with this guy, and just to keep us guessing, Rodrigo – who, one year ago, started the season in the bullpen – has gone out and dominated the A’s and Yankees in two starts. In 14 innings, he has a .64 ERA, 10 strikeouts and one win. Don’t bet the farm on this holding up.

Starting pitcher: Josh Beckett, Florida Marlins
We should probably have someone on this staff who has won twice, and look no further than this flamethrowing Texan. He punked the Braves – aka the team most likely to get no-hit or something similar on any given day – in his first start. Then, Beckett won a staredown with former fellow prospect John Patterson on Sunday, striking out 11 Nationals in a complete game shutout. Beckett has yet to give up a run while striking out 17 batters in 15 innings. He’ll be an All Star at midseason, too.

Relief pitcher: Brad Lidge, Houston Astros
Like The Fool said, this guy is the best in the biz, and he proved it during Week One. Lidge has three saves in as many opportunities, and he struck out six batters in 4.1 innings. A nice category boost to start the season!

Relief pitcher: Brandon Lyon, Arizona Diamondbacks
Lyon got a lot of work, struck out a bunch of guy, gave up another pitcher’s runs and saved two games. Talk about avoiding disaster.

Relief pitcher: Dan Kolb, Atlanta Braves
He’s still not striking people out at an alarming rate (2 K’s in 3 innings), but he showed poise pitching in the big time and picked up three saves in three games. That’s a nice early pace.

For comments, questions, ideas or mad props, please e-mail The Fantasy Fool.

-- Written by The Fool on April 11, 2005