Nathan Dokken169 posts

The proverbial hot corner is awash in talent this year. I'll get into that a bit more momentarily, but first I wanted to use this space to offer up some of my deep, deep third base sleepers. Matt Duffy in Tampa could work his way into leadoff duties and score a lot of runs with double-digit homers and steals. Todd Frazier (if healthy) could still be useful in OBP leagues with some power and speed. Colin Moran hit .300 over the second half of 2018 and is the starting third baseman for the Pirates, for Pete sake. He's the 29th…

Moving on from second base and stopping just short of third, we have the most valuable defensive position in the game. Do we care about defense? Hell no! When we're talking Dudes or Don'ts, it doesn't matter if they're butchers in the field. We just want dingers. Shortstop is as deep this year as it's ever been, so if you miss out on the high-end names, you'll be able to find adequate help at any point in your mixed league draft. That's enough preamble. On to the Dude!!Spring Training games are underway! It's time…

Second basemen always intrigue me in fantasy. They're the guys who couldn't quite cut it defensively at shortstop, but their bats are good enough to let them play at one of the easier positions in second base. It's their bat we want, after all, and they often have plus foot speed as well. I have to say "often" because, well...*glares at Jed Lowrie and his seven steals in 1,109 games*. It's another intriguing group this year, and I am of the opinion (others disagree) that it's a pretty deep crop of fantasy talent. At the high…

Are Luke Voit and Jake Bauers Dudes or Don'ts? Where does Ryan O'Hearn fit into all this?

Welcome one and all to the 2019 version of Dokken's Dudes & Don'ts! If you checked in last year, you already know the drill. However, for you newbz, I'll explain what exactly this series is. But not what a newb is. You should know that already. Essentially, this is a positional sleepers and busts series. While I do enjoy sleeping and occasionally busting a move, the terms sleepers and busts are used by pretty much everyone in fantasy. I've gotta set myself apart, baby! Plus, it's catchy and alliterative.The players I…

Every draft is like a choose your own adventure book. I love drafts, and boy did I enjoy those choose your own adventure books growing up. Are you a pirate who wants to search for gold on a deserted island? You choose to look inside a cave. Turn to page 76 and guess what? You're dead. You're a secret agent and you choose to try the veal at a gala you're infiltrating for recon. Turn to page 101 and yep, that veal was poisoned. You're dead. You're a cab driver in NYC and you pick up anyone - ANYONE - turn to page 2 and you're…

We're inching ever closer to the 2019 season, and there are just so many pitchers to talk about. Therefore, this week I'm cheating and doubling up in my Reality Check! Is it really cheating if it's your own premise that you can technically do whatever you want with? Let' say yes, so that I can feel like a vigilante. Eat your heart out, Arthur Morgan.The Super Bowl is over and it's time to get the 2019 fantasy baseball season started! Leagues are already forming at Fantrax.com, so head on over and get your league…

Welcome to the second half of my series on Brooks Baseball and how it can make you a better fantasy baseball player! In Part One, we looked at how we can use the site to better analyze pitchers, and today we move on to the hitters. While I certainly use Brooks more for pitchers, it can be a very beneficial tool for hitters, too. You can learn a great deal about their strengths, weaknesses, and trends.The Super Bowl is history and it's time to start thinking fantasy baseball. Leagues are already forming at…

It is our goal at Fantrax to not only give you a leg up on the competition with player trends and evaluation, but to make you a better overall fantasy player. In my Sabermetric Series, I discussed some great metrics that are at our disposal. Another terrific tool that I use in a lot of my analysis is BrooksBaseball.net. If you haven’t used the site much, this will serve as a primer to get your feet wet and fill you in on much of what Brooks Baseball has to offer.I’ll dive into the hitting side of the site next time, but…

Nobody gives me headaches like the Dodgers. I'm not the only one who gets frustrated with some of their tactics, of course. On Fantrax's very own Launch Angle podcast, the triumvirate of Van Lee, Jeff Zimmerman, and Rob Silver have coined the term "Dodgered". It is now officially a verb. Let us check the dictionary to see what they mean:Dodg-ered (doj-urrrrd), verb:1. to unnecessarily platoon batters regardless of whether or not they have pronounced lefty/righty splits2. to shuffle rotations all willy nilly3.…