Ryan Braun Fantasy Baseball: Is he Still the Top Player?

Photo courtesy of Jibby7.

Being a fan of baseball, or really any sport in this era, I’ve learned one lesson. Never get too excited about anything you see, and take nothing for granted. That seems incredibly jaded, but athlete after athlete has either admitted to using PED’s, or has tested positive for use of them, that it doesn’t seem like anyone has much of a choice but to view their achievements with skepticism.

Now, this is a site about fantasy baseball, and we’re trying very hard to keep it that way. I promise that I’ll get to fantasy baseball shortly (scroll down to the paragraph starting with bold letters if you want to jump right to it), but I’d like to take a second to address the Yahoo Sports article from Tim Brown and Jeff Passan, linking Ryan Braun to a Miami area clinic that allegedly distributed performance enhancing drugs to several athletes.

Now, according to their findings, no lists specifically linked Braun to receiving any substances, but when you consider that Yasmani Grandal, Melky Cabrera, Bartolo Colon, and Alex Rodriguez were all linked to this clinic, and all of those players have either tested positive or made some admission in the past, you can’t help but wonder about Braun. This is especially true when you consider that he was initially suspended following the 2011 season, only to have that suspension overturned not by anyone saying he was innocent, but by an improper handling of his sample. I won’t pretend to know the truth, but I am not going to try to talk anyone out of being skeptical.

Not in this era, anyway. The sad truth is that the benefit of the doubt doesn’t exist anymore in sports. I’d guess that PED use is probably down from what it was in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s, when MLB didn’t even test. But you can live another 150 years and I’ll promise you that while they may do a better job, of keeping it out, you will never see the true end of the “Steroid Era.”

But again, this is a fantasy site. Since I said I would take him No. 1, and I can’t imagine him falling outside of anyone’s Top 3, it’s fair to ask, what impact does this have on his fantasy value?

The answer is simple: Nothing. Not now, anyway. Heading into the 2013 drafts, he’s still the best player available.

The fact that he wasn’t listed as having received any PED’s from this clinic. Now, weigh that with this explanation (per the Brown, Passan article cited above):

"During the course of preparing for my successful appeal last year, my attorneys, who were previously familiar with Tony Bosch, used him as a consultant…More specifically, he answered questions about [testosterone-to-epitestosterone] ratio and possibilities of tampering with samples."

Again, I am not going to try to talk anyone out of being skeptical, but that explanation does hold up when you consider everything else.

When you’re talking about his fantasy value and weighing this report, you should really be worried about two things.

1. Is he likely to be suspended for 50 games?
2. Even if not, can I trust that he’ll repeat his previous achievements if he’s not going to be on PED’s.

The answer to No. 1 is no, not based on anything that we currently know, anyway. He has never tested positive for anything since his overturned 2011 test and looking at what we’ve seen so far, there’s no reason to believe that he’s been given anything since. MLB can’t suspend him for being involved with this clinic. The MLBPA is incredibly strong and without a positive test, he’s not going to miss any time. If he was said to have received PED’s, then I’d be really worried that a suspension is imminent. But nothing has been revealed yet to make me think that that will happen.

As for No. 2, I’d like to make one point. Remember that prior to 2011, Braun had never tested positive for anything, and was still one of baseball’s best players (real baseball and fantasy baseball). Yes, the 2011 and 2012 season’s were great and probably the best he’s ever had, but he was a star before that. By contrast, Melky Cabrera wasn’t a particularly good player at all, and he became a star in 2011 and then 2012 before being suspended. With him, that question is worth asking. Braun has a strong 2007-2010 resume.

So, even if you think his overturned suspension was more a technicality than a sign of innocence, the fact is that he’s still a Triple Crown contender who will likely score over 100 runs and steal 25 or more bags.

You may not like Braun or trust him, but that’s not production that you want to pass on if you have the chance to get it on your team.

I won’t tell you that Braun’s had a particularly good offseason, but I’ve yet to see anything that changes my mind on him. He’s still the top fantasy player heading into the 2013 season.