T.R. Sullivan, of MLB.com, reports Texas Rangers OF Josh Hamilton is predicting that the team will win 96 games this season. Hamilton is optimistic entering the 2010 season and said he is feeling very strong. “I feel good,” Hamilton said. “I feel strong. I got all of my weight back. I’m running good, throwing good, fielding good. My back feels good, my abs feel good, my rear feels good. Everything feels good.”
Our Instinct: Your rear feels good, Josh? Well, at least we know where he got the 96 win prediction from. The Texas Rangers are improved, but so are the Seattle Mariners and the Los Angeles Angels aren’t going to go away. As for Hamilton, he hit .268-10-54-43-8 in an injury riddled 336 ab’s last season. It is what it is man – Expect better things for Boomhauer in 2010.
BI Precision: Josh Hamilton’s 2009 season was a mess. 1st, Former hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo messed him up by trying to alter his swing. Hamilton was gracious enough, but it doesn’t take a genius to know that he thought that it sucked. 2nd, He had a muscle tear in his abdomen to go along with a back and rib injury; to say the least he was a mess.
Coming into this season, Hamilton is healthy and happy to be back to his toe tapping batting stance. He’s also pleased with the Rangers commitment to win. The pitching staff looks great and he will have Designated Hitter Vladimir Guerrero hitting behind him. Granted, Vlad isn’t the same player he use to be, but moving to Texas where he crushes the ball and exclusively being the designated hitter adds great protection to Hamilton.
Hamilton is currently ranked #18 on our outfielder list. Here’s a peek at our projections:
AB R H 1B 2B 3B HR GS RBI BB HBP KO SB CS FPTS $$
575 89 156 101 31 3 28 2 105 61 3 115 14 5 658 $20
Josh is a popular player. Despite coming off an injury year, most people are expecting big things from him. If you can get him for $20 or less, he makes for a great buy. I don’t think you will find that very often. You can go as high as $25 and still feel good about his addition. Beyond that, you’ll have to hope he out performs expectations. At $26 to $30, you better have some built in value on your roster or an auction plan to get some. Beyond $30, hes no longer an investment, hes a love affair. In fantasy baseball, love affairs cost owners championships.
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