{"id":527289,"date":"2010-04-14T11:59:01","date_gmt":"2010-04-14T15:59:01","guid":{"rendered":"urn:newsml:sports.yahoo,yhoo:20050301:fantasy,article,yhoo-ept_sports_fantasy_experts-234200:1"},"modified":"2010-04-14T11:59:01","modified_gmt":"2010-04-14T15:59:01","slug":"flames-smother-chris-young-in-adoration-gravy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/527289","title":{"rendered":"Flames: Smother Chris Young in adoration, gravy"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a>
<\/p>\n

\nAny qualified dietician would tell you balanced nutrition is
\nthe key to longevity. <\/p>\n

To achieve success in an epic game, baseball fanalysts would
\ntoo. Players composed mostly of saturated fats, high fructose corn syrup and inflated
\nstrikeout rates (i.e. David Ortiz<\/a>(notes)<\/a>)<\/span> typically are not recommended. <\/p>\n

However, Arizona’s
\nChris Young<\/a>, historically the KFC Double Down<\/a> of fantasy outfielders, may
\nsoon become an acceptable diet staple.<\/a><\/p>\n

Since his inaugural season in 2007 – he’s the only rookie in
\nbig league history to smack 30 homers and swipe 25 steals – Young has added
\nlove handles and spiked the cholesterol levels of his investors. His gross strikeout-to-walks
\ndisparity often created prolonged droughts. Flirting with Mr. Mendoza was an all too
\nfamiliar occurrence. Over the past two seasons, he averaged an artery-clogging
\n.233-19-64-70-12 line. To most, his banishment to Triple-A Reno last July was
\nwell-deserved and long overdue. <\/p>\n

However, Young, similar to Texas’ Chris Davis<\/a>(notes)<\/a>,<\/span> underwent a major
\ntransformation during his minor league hiatus. Disgusted frowns spurred by
\nover-pressing were replaced with jubilant smiles. Exhibiting
\nrenewed energy when recalled in September, he collected a respectable .277 BA with eight homers and 14 RBI
\nover his final 108 at-bats. The former top prospect credited his blue collar
\napproach for the turnaround. From MLB.com<\/a>: <\/p>\n

"I know how hard I was working and the
\nadjustments I was trying to make to turn things around," Young said.
\n"My desire and work ethic were not the issues. I love this game, it means
\nso much. I’ve played it since I was 4 years old. It was my first love. I push
\nmyself and expect more out of myself than anyone else ever could…"<\/p>\n

"To go back there and have some success really
\nhelped," Young said. "I didn’t have all the other pressure around me.
\nI was able to focus on what I needed to do and not have outside pressure on me.
\nI got comfortable in the box again and I was confident at the plate. I wasn’t
\nthinking as much. When you stop thinking is when things turn around for you,
\nbecause when you’re not thinking at the plate you let your natural abilities
\ntake over instead of thinking so much about mechanics."<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Determined to bury his destitute ways, Young worked hard
\nthis past offseason in an attempt to carry momentum over from his admirable
\nfinish. He came to spring training lrelaxed and stress free. In a paradoxical
\ntwist, his boyish exuberance spawned veteran maturity. Spring stats can be
\nirrelevant, but over 62 Cactus League at-bats, he accumulated a .306 BA with three
\nhomers, 12 RBI and two steals. More importantly, he posted a 9:10 K:BB split. <\/p>\n

So far in the regular season, the 60 percent-owned commodity
\nhas remained consistent at the plate. In 28 at-bats hitting primarily behind Mark Reynolds<\/a>(notes)<\/a>,<\/span>
\nhe’s notched an uncharacteristic .321 BA with three homers and a
\nposition-leading 12 RBI. Unfathomably, he’s struck out just four times (14.3
\nK%), remarkable when considering his tree-destructive past (26.4 career K%). With
\nterrific table-setters in front of him, banner numbers are attainable. Seriously. <\/p>\n

Yes, the sample size is minute, but Young’s initial results are
\ncertainly encouraging. He’s always possessed the pedigree. In 2005,
\nhe was named the White Sox’s Minor League Player of the Year. The outfielder’s sharpened
\neye – his walks percentage has steadily increased in three consecutive seasons
\n– is a significant evolutionary step.<\/p>\n

Simply put: some players’ developmental curves (i.e. Nelson
\nCruz<\/a>(notes)<\/a>)<\/span> are steeper than others (i.e. Jason Heyward<\/a>(notes)<\/a>).<\/span> With 1,725 at-bats under his belt, the 26-year-old could be
\non the precipice of a remarkable year, which really would be an unforeseen achievement.
\nJust four weeks ago most drafters would’ve rather mud-wrestled a Komodo
\ndragon. <\/p>\n

Nutritionists maintain five-a-day will keep the doctor away.
\nFor those who acquire the burgeoning Young, across-the-board contributions could
\nhelp their teams avoid additional waiver checkups. <\/p>\n

Fearless Forecast
\n(season): 575 at-bats, .273 BA, 33 HR, 90 RBI, 78 R, 16 SB<\/strong> <\/p>\n

— <\/p>\n

Discount Den <\/strong>
Quality commodity owned
\nin fewer than 20 percent of Yahoo! leagues<\/em>.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Nick Johnson<\/a>(notes)<\/a>,<\/span> 1B, OF
\n(19 percent-owned)<\/strong>: Finally busting out of a two-week slump, the Oscar
\nMeyer-athletic Johnson smacked his first homer of the season and scored three
\nruns April 13 against the Angels. At first glance, he may seem undesirable due to his injury-plagued
\nhistory and incredible depth at first, but the double-chinned three is very rosterable in 12-team mixed
\nleagues. The hitter-friendly microclimate at Yankees Stadium and his
\nentrenched No. 2 spot in the order benefits the lefty-swinger greatly. If he
\ncan somehow avoid the injury imp and muster 500 at-bats, Johnson is bound to
\nfinish in range of .285-20-75-100. <\/p>\n

Ooh Stream Weaver…<\/strong>
\nWidely available plug
\nn’ play starter heading into the weekend.<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/a>Colby Lewis<\/a>(notes)<\/a>,<\/span> Tex
\n(4\/15 at Cle, four percent-owned): <\/strong>An unheralded deep league Rip Van Winkle
\na month ago, Lewis was dandy April 9 against Seattle, earning the win ( 7 IP, 1 ER, 3:4 K:BB). Though his control was only adequate in
\nhis first start, the well-traveled righty has plenty of polish. While exiled in
\nJapan
\nfrom 2008-2009 he tallied sick numbers (354.1 IP, 369:46 K:BB, 2.82 ERA). The
\nwoeful Indians have collectively batted just .221 and scored a mere 3.4 runs
\nper game. Based on the matchup, Texas’
\nGulliver could again shine.
<\/strong><\/p>\n

Middle Relief Magic <\/strong>
\nERA\/WHIP savior,
\npotential saves\/wins vulture<\/em>. <\/p>\n

<\/a>Jeremy Affeldt<\/a>(notes)<\/a>,<\/span> SF (20
\npercent-owned)<\/strong>: As Alfredo Aceves<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> owners can attest, every season one or two
\nrelievers stumbles into winnable situations. With two Ws and an unconventional two-inning
\nsave already attached to his name, Affeldt could be a similar middle relief maestro.
\nLast year, the journeymen reliever was the Mariano Rivera<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> of holders, tying
\nMatt Guerrier<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> for the league lead in the controversial fantasy category with 33.
\nHis combination of strong strikeout and groundball totals arrows to continued
\nsuccess. Roughly 70 IP with an ERA well south of 3.00 and 60-plus Ks should be
\nexpected. <\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

Images courtesy of US Presswire, MLB.com <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Any qualified dietician would tell you balanced nutrition is the key to longevity. To achieve success in an epic game, baseball fanalysts would too. Players composed mostly of saturated fats, high fructose corn syrup and inflated strikeout rates (i.e. David Ortiz(notes)) typically are not recommended. However, Arizona’s Chris Young, historically the KFC Double Down of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5446,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-527289","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/527289","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5446"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=527289"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/527289\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=527289"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=527289"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=527289"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}