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If you read this blog, there's a good chance you're going to play in a year-long fantasy baseball league of some kind this year.
If you are, there's a good chance you're already thinking about your draft, targeting players, looking for steals and sleepers, and marking down which players to avoid.
And, there's a good chance there won't be a Philadelphia Phillie on your team.
Oh sure, there are a couple guys which are fantasy relevant, but not many. In ESPN's latest Top 250 fantasy baseball rankings (done by Tristan Cockcroft), there are only two, count 'em, two Phillies included on the list.
#99 - Maikel Franco
#225 - Aaron Nola
And that's it. That's all, folks.
In other words, you're likely not targeting many Phillies in your drafts this year. And the Phils didn't fare too well when things were broken down by position.
| Position | Player | Pos. Rank |
| C | Cameron Rupp | 25 |
| 1B | Ryan Howard | 38 |
| 2B | Cesar Hernandez | 33 |
| SS | Not Ranked | |
| 3B | Maikel Franco | 10 |
| OF | Odubel Herrera | 87 |
| OF | Aaron Altherr | 88 |
| SP | Aaron Nola | 57 |
| SP | Jerad Eickhoff | 83 |
| RP | David Hernandez | 36 |
Ouch. You can see why there are concerns this team may not score more than 75 runs the entire season (sarcasm font engaged).
The top-ranked catcher on the team, Rupp, is 25th. Ryan Howard is 38th among first basemen. Cesar Hernandez is 33rd among second basemen. No Phillie shortstop even made ESPN's Top 40 at the position (sorry Freddy Galvis). Only Maikel Franco is seen as a legitimate offensive fantasy option this season.
In the outfield, two Phils made their Top 100, Herrera and Altherr. Two starting pitchers, Nola and Eickhoff made that top 100 list, and only one reliever, David Hernandez, made their Top 40 relief pitchers.
Of course, in daily fantasy, that's a different story.
Given that the point of daily fantasy is finding value for low prices, you can bet most Phils players will not have big dollar amounts attached to them this year. So keep an eye on key splits, like lefty-righty match-ups, which teams Phillies pitchers are going up against, and pay attention to hot streaks.
The Phils could actually win you some daily fantasy games this season. No doubt about that.
There is a lot of optimism about the Phils in 2016. We're pretty sure the team is going to be a bit better this year.
Just remember to avoid all Phillies players not named Franco or Nola for your year-long fantasy teams in 2016. But have a few ready for those daily games.