When I started FanGraphs, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I was a fantasy baseball nut whose full time day job was creating reports and graphs in AOL’s operations department. In 2005 I decided to put those skills to use at something I really enjoyed.

Initially, FanGraphs had a few select stats and ten graphs for batters and pitchers that I thought painted a useful picture for fantasy baseball analysis. Since then, the site has taken a turn towards professional baseball analysis, and a lot of the work we do focuses on evaluating real-life transactions.

Fortunately, much of this type of statistical analysis can be applied to fantasy baseball, and in late 2008, we decided to get back to our fantasy roots by launching RotoGraphs, the fantasy baseball blog on FanGraphs.

This past summer, Marc Hulet, editor of RotoGraphs, asked me if I’d be willing to publish a fantasy baseball magazine written by our current stable of writers. And now, seven months and sleepless nights later, we’re very pleased to present you with the 2010 FanGraphs Second Opinion: Fantasy Baseball Companion.

Why the Second Opinion? We know that FanGraphs is probably not your very first source for fantasy analysis, but we think that what we say about a particular player will be valuable in your fantasy league. And we suspect that what we say may not exactly match up with what other publications are saying because of our particular style of analysis, hence the term: second opinion.

As you read through the articles, player profiles, and team previews, you should keep in mind that predicting the future is not an exact science, and hindsight vision is always 20/20. If you disagree with what one of our analysts has written, that’s certainly okay by us, and hopefully we’ve at the very least clearly laid out another side of the argument for you to consider.

With that said, we hope you enjoy the book. We are lucky to have so many open-minded, bright and encouraging readers, and FanGraphs would not be where it was today without your visits, comments and shared enthusiasm for the game.

So thank you for being a great reader, and thank you for purchasing the book and helping support FanGraphs as we continue to strive to supply timely, thought-provoking baseball analysis. If you have any questions or comments about the 2010 Second Opinion do not hesitate to contact me personally.

Best of luck in your 2010 fantasy baseball leagues!

FanGraphs Founder
-David Appelman