Eli Marrero

Marrero shed his utility role last season and formed one half of a successful platoon in left field with Charles Thomas. He killed left-handed pitching to the tune of a .415 BA and 1.132 OPS. Unfortunately for fantasy owners he didn't get into any games behind the plate and lost his valuable eligibility at catcher. While Marrero has always had good power, he hasn't drawn enough walks to post a consistent .300 average. He'll contend for a starting outfield job after his trade to Kansas City. Unless he gets behind the plate again, let someone else bet on a repeat of his stats.

Traded to the Braves, Marrero should get back to being mostly a catcher, as opposed to the utility player manager Tony La Russa made him. He's shown enough power in the past to make him an asset for both the Braves and your fantasy team. He might not be catcher-eligible for a week or two, but he's worth the wait.

Marrero had a breakout season of sorts last year with 18 homers, 66 RBI, 63 runs scored and 14 stolen bases. If you look at his per at-bat production, however, .262/.327/.451, it’s right in line with his 2001 numbers of .266/.312/.438. Marrero isn’t really a catcher anymore. He’s more of a fourth outfielder these days. But, he did play at least an inning behind the plate in 44 games last season, so he should qualify in most leagues. In summary, with J.D. Drew’s injury history and Jim Edmonds always good for a short DL stint, Marrero should see another 350-400 at-bats and put up numbers similar to last season’s. That makes him a more valuable fantasy-leaguer than big leaguer.