A park that a player hits in will certainly effect his fantasy baseball stats since he gets to play in that park half of the time. A good fantasy baseball manager takes this into consideration when picking players who have changed teams for the new season.
Another factor is whom to play in that particular week. If one of your part timers is playing in Philly and Cincy that week, you may want to give him a shot on your major league roster.
When it comes to analyzing parks for the best chances for success, Fantasy Baseball Dugout has done much of the homework for you.
According to The Sporting News, the following seven ballparks were considered hitters parks.
1. Citizen’s Bank Park (Philadelphia) — 241 homeruns in 81 games last year! Babe Ruth must have wished he hit here, with steroids instead of hot dogs and beer.
2. Great American Ball Park (Cincinnati) — didn’t the Reds old stadium look the same as the Phillies? This was their answer?
3. Coors Field (Colorado) — we’ve all heard about the thin air there. If Juan Pierre played here half the season, he’d probably have had a homerun last year (Pierre had 668 at bats last year and no dingers).
4. Yankee Stadium (New York) — of course, a lot of this stat has to do with the season that A-Rod had last year.
5. Comerica Park (Detroit) — had Gary Sheffield not had that collision with Placido Polanco last year, these numbers may have been higher.
6. US Cellular Field (Chicago White Sox) — Since 1999, there have been more than 200 dingers hit here every season!
7. Miller Park (Milwaukee) — led by boppers like Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun, the Brew Crew out-homered the NL average by 62 homers last year.
So whom do we see as hitters who may benefit from park changes this season? I guess you could call these guys hitting sleepers for 208. Let’s take a look:
1. Nick Swisher (Chicago White Sox) — Swisher hit 78 dingers in the past three years while playing in Oakland’s cavernous McAfee Coliseum. A move to US Cellular Field will help Swisher’s homerun totals. It is possible also that Swisher will hit # 2 in the lineup behind Orlando Cabrera and in front of Jim Thome and Paul Konerko. If that’s the case, Swish is going to get some pitches to hit.
2. Mike Cameron (Milwaukee) — Cameron, a 13 year vet, enjoyed his most productive power season in ’04 with the Mets when he banged out 30 homers. He had 21 and 22 the past two seasons in the MLB’s worst hitting park–Petco. In Milwaukee, he will return to those 30 homerun totals despite hitting lower in the lineup and seeing less good pitches.
3. Jacque Jones (Detroit) — Jones should benefit from playing at Comerica. After an injury plagued 2007 season when he hit just five homers, Jones will likely hit in the # 9 spot which should help his totals as well.
4. Pedro Feliz (Philadelphia) — Anytime a player gets traded to Philly, he’s got to be looked at as possibly having a better season. The former Giant will patrol third base except when Charlie Manuel wants to put in non-fan favorite Wes Helms. Feliz has been a mark of consistency with 22-20-22-20 homers in the past four seasons. Look for Feliz to love that left field porch in front of Harry the K’s restaurant at the Bank.
5. Cliff Floyd (Tampa Bay) — FBD has always been in awe of the raw power of the 6-4, 230 pound, left handed hitting Floyd. It will be interesting to see what the Rays do with the veteran on a team that should be more competitive this season. Floyd will see some action in right field or at DH with right handed hitting Jonny Gomes who had 17 homers last year, but hit just .244 last year and Rocco Baldelli. If the Rays fall out of the race early, however, the veteran Floyd’s playing time may suffer.
6. Ryan Zimmerman (Washington) — No, the former Virginia Cavalier has not been traded, but the new Nationals Park in Washington will help this up and coming star. The Nationals old park was more suited for a football field (which it was). FBD is expecting the new park to show a homerun bump for all the Nationals players over last year.
7. Milton Bradley (Texas) — Bradley played in two pitchers’ parks last season, Oakland and San Diego, where he popped 13 homers in just 209 AB’s. Bradley should get more opportunities with the Rangers this year and will be in a key RBI spot, the 5 hole, in the Texas lineup.
8. Geoff Jenkins (Philadelphia) — The left handed hitting Jenkins was an off-season pickup from the Brewers. He has hit 212 homers in the past ten seasons. He will platoon in right field with right handed hitting Jayson Werth who was a big part of the Phillies late season surge last year.
9. Austin Kearns (Washington) — At 6-3, 245, Kearns is built for power. He played in 161 games last year and hit 16 homeruns. Kearns is going to love the new Nationals Park.
10. Lastings Milledge (Washington) — Milledge is a good all around player who is going to get his chance in center field with the Nationals after being acquired from the Mets along with Paul LoDuca. Elijah Dukes, acquired from the Rays, may push Milledge for some playing time, but Milledge should have the edge.
As you are anlyzing your fantasy baseball draft plans, be sure to bump up the stats of the ten hitters listed above. They will all have stronger years in 2008 based on their more hitter-friendly ballparks.
BallparkBob is the editor of the Fantasy Baseball Dugout that providess free fantasy baseball tips to help you win your Fantasy Baseball League in 2008.
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