Sleepers

Sometimes, I wonder why I buy a fantasy baseball magazine every year, thumb through to the "Sleepers" section and make careful mental notes. Almost every single time, the idiots who write these things are wrong, like so far with these 10 guys...

10. Mike Piazza (.282, 1, 8)
I'll admit, I've been had by the Piazza Lure in more than one league this season. He can DH full time. He'll be playing in smaller parks. How can he not be good? Well, he hasn't been bad, but at this time of the season, just about everybody on waivers has a homer and 8 RBI. Now Piazza's going to be on the shelf for a month with a bad shoulder.

9. Matt Murton (.298, 0, 5)
He'll have no trouble beating out Cliff Floyd for starting duties in left field, right? Right? But he showed so much promise last year...c'mon!

8. Daniel Cabrera (1-3, 4.50 ERA)
You know we keep waiting, and waiting, and waiting for his breakout year. I know it's still very early. But if you're a D-Cab owner right now, admit it...you're not liking the direction he's currently headed. His control is getting worse, not better (5 walks or more in his last two starts). That's leading to high pitch counts (he's averaging 111 per start) and that's leading to early exits (he's averaging 6 1/3 IP per start). That's not a formula that will help your WHIP, ERA, or win total.

7. Mark Teahen (.269, 3, 12)
The other guy to get from the Kansas City Royals (in addition to Alex Gordon, who's been terrible) is, at least starting. And he does have eligibility at third and in the outfield. But with his numbers so far, who cares?

6. David Bush (2-2, 6.23 ERA)
I haven't given up on DB just yet, despite his sky-high ERA. His control is still great (5 BB in 30 IP), and his ERA is bad because of two bad starts. Still, people (and by people, I mean me) were expecting a win total in the teens, a sub 3.50 ERA and a WHIP around 1.20. He has a lot of work to do to get there.

5. Ervin Santana (2-4, 5.50 ERA)
Similar story as Bush. Young, talented arm on a team that should be good. Santana's had some control problems and two bad starts as well. We'll see what he does from here.

4. Coco Crisp (.250, 0, 7)
Most were willing to give him a Mulligan for his injury-plagued 2006. But what's the excuse this year? He's in a great lineup. There are always guys on base in front of him. And he doesn't have to hit lead-off. But he's still not producing. He needs to find 2004 and 2005 again, and he needs to do it soon.

3. Nick Markakis (.239, 3, 15)
Everybody was talking about what a hot second half he had and how he was poised for a dynamite year in an improving O's lineup. Sorry sports fans, it hasn't happened yet.

2. Josh Barfield (.169, 1, 9)
Most of the player capsules read: Up-and-coming middle infielder with 20-20 potential and a big league pedigree is on the verge of a breakout year, now that he's headed to one of the most potent lineups in baseball. To quote Borat, "He is not on the verge of a breakout year!"

1. Erik Bedard (3-2, 6.09 ERA)
I heard some of the announcers on MASN say he was a sleeper Cy Young candidate on opening day. Eeeeh. There's no questioning his stuff (42 K in 34 IP), but for whatever reason he just isn't dominating. He's given up at least 4 earned in 4 of his 6 starts. That's not going to work.

While everybody was going after those guys, here are the 10 we should have had our eyes on.

10. Aaron Hill
9. Kelly Johnson
8. Rich Hill
7. Al Reyes
6. Adrian Gonzalez
5. Barry Bonds
4. BJ Upton
3. John Maine
2. Tim Hudson
1. Ian Kinsler