Top ten Chicago baseball fantasy sleeper picks

Ricky and I just had our fantasy draft Saturday (I think we did sick, Rick hopefully agrees). While the first eight to ten selections set the foundation of a fantasy squad, leagues are often won and lost by sleeper picks and players taken in the later rounds. Last season saw Carlos Quentin, Alexei Ramirez and Ryan Theriot become solid fantasy options. Below are ten Chicago baseball players that could potentially become 2009 version of Q.


10. Micah Hoffpauir
Hoffpauir has to be the oldest prospect in major league history. But at 29, Micah might be suiting up for the big league club on a daily basis. Hoffpauir leads the team in Spring Training at bats, which means Piniella really wants to let the guy prove himself. And thus far he hasn't disappointed. He is hitting .303 with a pair of home runs. While he probably won't have an everyday spot, he could spell for Bradley, Soriano or most likely, Derek Lee.

9. Dayan Viciedo
If there was a guarantee that he would be placed on the big-league team to open the year, Viciedo would probably be in the top two of this list. At 19, he was dubbed the savior of Cuba before he signed his $10 million deal. While it's more than likely that the numbers don't come this year, having him deep on your bench is never a bad thing.

8. Clayton Richard
Clayton Richard has not had a horrid Spring Training, but playing against a mix of MLB and minor league hitters, Sox fans probably would have liked to have less than the eight hits in the nine innings and only three strikeouts. And while these numbers surely will not hold up, if he has anything close to the 1.000 WHIP and 3.00 ERA he currently owns, the Sox have clearly found their #4.

7. Aaron Heilman
They gave up very little in exchange for a solid back-end rotation guy. While it looks like he might have to outshine some other guys to get himself into the rotation, the Cubs are maybe the rotation to try to get into. Rich Harden and Carlos Zambrano go on the DL at least once a season. We don't know what Dempster is up to either. So the Cubs could be in the need for a guy like Heilman. Aaron has done pretty well in his few outings, not giving up a run and only two hits in five innings.

6. Josh Fields
This is the most questionable of the guys on the list, not because he won't put up good numbers, but because he has done it before. His 2008 was not what the Sox or Ozzie expected after his 20-homer second half in 2007. While his average will probably be down, the power will more than likely still be there and 25 homers and 80 RBI are not out of the question.

5. Kevin Gregg
Jeff Samardzija has been, well, horrendous this spring. So Gregg will most likely get more setup and middle relief opportunities than initially anticipated. Gregg has also been a closer before, so if Marmol goes down, Gregg will probably get the nod at the closer position.

4. Chris Getz
Ozzie gave him the number 17, which all but makes him a guarantee to make the big league squad, and hopefully the starting second basemen too. Getz hit .300 in Triple-A last season and is hitting .278 this year in Spring Training. He'll be batting at the end of the order too so there could be a lot of runs coming from Getz also.

3. Sean Marshall
It sounds like Marshall possesses the inside track towards the the #5 spot in the rotation. And he has not disappointed Sweet Lou. Having only allowed one run in nine innings and only giving up six hits, it seems that he assures himself that spot everyday he goes to the bump.

2. Jeff Marquez
It looks like Marquez could get the #5 spot in the Sox rotation, and while there is not a lot of stats to back up this good praise, his early spring numbers have been very impressive. In two outings and five innings he has allowed only one run and struck out four.

1. Mike Fontenot
Fontenot is finally getting his time to shine, and there is a consensus feeling that he will not disappoint. He could be the best #8 hitter in baseball and after hitting over .300 in 3/4 of a season last year, anything less than .280 seems like a bit of a disappointment. He will be batting with guys on base like double machines Lee, Bradley and Soto, so we could expect a fair share of RBI. But also since Alfonso Soriano will be leading off, runs should come like crazy too.