13. Xavier Nady Pittsburgh Pirates
Last season Nady played in more games and received more plate appearances than at any point in his career. He responded with a respectable .280 and 17 Home runs in 468 at bats. Career .327 hitter versus left handed pitching. (.245 versus righties.) Nady hit .300 as a Pirate after the July 31st trade from the Mets. However he did not hit a homer in 102 at bats at PNC Park, which we will discount as an aberration.
Xavier Nady 2007 Projections
|
G
|
AB
|
Runs
|
Hits
|
2B
|
3B
|
HR
|
BB
|
RBI
|
SO
|
SB
|
CS
|
E
|
AVG
|
|
141
|
525
|
70
|
147
|
29
|
2
|
20
|
34
|
75
|
7
|
3
|
3
|
8
|
0.280
|
14. Nomar Garciaparra Los Angeles Dodgers
Garciaparra had a nice comeback season, in which his power returned. He hit 20 homers for the first time since 2003. The other nice thing about his season was that he was relatively healthy. "Relatively" for Garciaparra means missing
only 40 games. He is an injury risk again in 2007 and hit only .229 after the All-Star break last year. Alas, his production would look at lot better as a middle infielder.
Nomar Garciaparra 2007 Projections
|
G
|
AB
|
Runs
|
Hits
|
2B
|
3B
|
HR
|
BB
|
RBI
|
SO
|
SB
|
CS
|
E
|
AVG
|
|
130
|
496
|
70
|
143
|
30
|
2
|
19
|
39
|
76
|
3
|
2
|
0
|
11
|
0.290
|
15. Rich Aurilia San Francisco Giants
The versatile Aurila played at least 10 games at every infield position in 2006. He had his best offensive year since 2001. At 35, it will be hard to replicate that in 2007, especially moving from a great hitter’s park (Cincinnati) to pitcher friendly AT&T Park. Aurila figures to be the Giants primary first baseman but his production is more likely to represent that of a middle infielder.
Rich Aurilia 2007 Projections
|
G
|
AB
|
Runs
|
Hits
|
2B
|
3B
|
HR
|
BB
|
RBI
|
SO
|
SB
|
CS
|
E
|
AVG
|
|
128
|
471
|
66
|
135
|
26
|
2
|
16
|
40
|
70
|
6
|
3
|
0
|
10
|
0.290
|
16. Scott Thorman Atlanta Braves
First base is Thorman’s job to lose now that the Braves dealt Adam LaRoche to Pittsburgh. The Braves figure that the 25 year old Thorman is a similar player to LaRoche, but more cap friendly. That applies to his fantasy perception as well. If he struggles, especially against lefties, he will end up in a platoon role with Craig Wilson. He got 37 at bats against southpaws last year and hit only .189. Thorman is a reach for 2007, but deep NL-only owners will want to keep tabs on his spring training production.
Scott Thorman 2007 Projections
|
G
|
AB
|
Runs
|
Hits
|
2B
|
3B
|
HR
|
BB
|
RBI
|
SO
|
SB
|
CS
|
E
|
AVG
|
|
126
|
436
|
62
|
124
|
23
|
1
|
21
|
32
|
64
|
2
|
2
|
2
|
15
|
0.280
|
