Twins outfielder Delmon Young has burned a lot of fantasy GMs the past few years. We keep expecting him to play up to his vast potential . . . and he confounds us by failing to fulfill those expectations. He is plunging on most draft boards as a result. But early spring returns are positive.

Each spring major league training camps are full of veteran players trying to stage comebacks from some problem or another. They are great X-factors for fantasy general managers. How, exactly, does one quantify medical recovery?

Judging from average-draft position analysis so far this year, fantasy GMs are placing way too much on a number of veteran pitchers. Big names and established reputations often fail to translate into pitching results.

Bad things often happen to young starting pitchers who take on huge workloads.

By moving on from the Yankees to the Tigers, Johnny Damon will loses a great deal of fantasy value. The Tigers will pay him $8 million this season to lead off and play left field. He will get as many at bats as he can handle. Detroit’s overall offense offers real potential this season.
But Damon is a year older now at 36. He moves out of the new Yankee Stadium, where the dimensions and wind currents favored his swing.

Chien-Ming Wang finally knows where he will pitch this season. He signed a free-agent deal with the Nationals and will work toward returning to the mound by May. He has a great deal to prove. Last season he went 1-6 with a 9.64 ERA with the Yankees. During the past two years he suffered foot (torn tendon), hip (abductor muscle weakness) and shoulder (arthoscopic surgery) injuries.

Reds outfielder Jay Bruce was a rookie sensation back in 2008. He batted .254 with doubles, 21 homers, 52 RBI and a .453 slugging percentage.
Despite his high strikeout ration – 110 in 413 at bats – he projected to become a solid producer during his second full season playing in the hitter-friendly Great American Ball Park.
But the 2009 season brought a terrible early-season slump, then two months on the disabled list with a broken wrist. His batting average hovered near the Mendoza line until his last 18 games, when he went 15 for 46 (.326) with four homers and 17 RBI.

Former Cy Young Award winner Cliff Lee was unpleasantly surprised when the Phillies dealt him to Seattle.

Melvin Mora was been a reliable fantasy performer at third base for most of the past decade. He averaged better than20 homers during a seven-season span.
That made him popular with fantasy general managers, given the overall offensive instability at that position.
But now Mora, 38, is heading into the twilight of his career. He departed the Orioles as a free agent and landed in



Colorado as a super utility player. He could spell third baseman Ian Stewart against left-handed starters, start some games at second base and pinch hit

It is never too early to think about the next season, especially if you have keeper provisions in your league.
As usual, this season featured many breakout performances. Many late-round picks built fantasy value, as did some undrafted free agents.
Steelers RB Rashard Mendenhall was a great example. Coming into this season, he looked and smelled like a draft bust. He hadn’t developed into the power runner Pittsburgh needed to blend with chance-of-pace RB Willie Parker. He played just four games as a rookie and rushed for a grand total of 58 yards.

Fantasy general managers expected huge things from Cubs catcher Geovany Soto last season. What they got was zilch, nada, nothing.
Soto’s earlier work created these expectations. In his first full major league season, he hit 35 doubles and 23 homers, building an .868 OPS. He hit .285 and drove in 86 runs. Since he batted .389 in 54 big-league at bats in 2007, he appeared upward bound – despite his 121 strikeouts in 2008.
But last season he batted just .218 in 331 at bats. His OPS sank to .702. He hit 11 homers and drove in 47 runs. Nagging injuries (shoulder and oblique strains) hampered him, as did obvious conditioning issues.

Off-field issues drive fantasy general managers crazy. You can crunch numbers and make their own statistical projections, but you can’t account for personal problems that often derail players.
There is no formula for gauging the impact of substance abuse, psychological problems or other such issues. Those afflicted become X-factor players, offering big upside but considerable risk.
Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera threatened to join this unfortunate club after getting arrested at the end of last season. During the final weekend of the season -- when Detroit had a critical series with the White Sox -- Cabrera went on a drinking binge.