NFBC Weekly Profile - Scott Fleming

[Tom Kessenich]

When looking at this season’s early fantasy baseball value picks, one name clearly stands out from the rest.



Lance Berkman.



Left for dead in the eyes of many before the season began, Berkman was an afterthought in many National Fantasy Baseball Championship drafts. In fact, Scott Fleming was able to land him in the 17th round of his Double Play Live league in Las Vegas.



That 17th-round pick has turned out to be gold so far for Fleming.



Thanks in large part to another productive week from Berkman (9 RBIs), Fleming’s team topped the Double Play field last week with 6,656.5 points. That strong surge helped move Fleming up the overall standings in the event. When play began on Wednesday he was a little more than 100 points away from cracking the Top 5 in the Double Play Live.



And there’s no question in Fleming’s mind who he gives a lot credit for his team being positioned to make a strong move into the upper echelon of the event’s overall standings.



“I'm sure most teams off to a fast start have Berkman rostered as I do on this team,” he said. “He was a guy that just two years ago was a first/second rounder, so he was a high reward type player and so far has done just that.



“I really didn't go into this draft with a set strategy. I just went with the flow and looked for opportunities when they came up. I actually made some big mistakes in this draft that may cost me down the road though. I took HRam (Hanley Ramirez) at pick three and then (Ryan) Howard in the third round. I should have taken Miggy (Miguel Cabrera) and then (Jose) Reyes in the third.



“Then, I took (Mike) Stanton in the fifth round when I should have taken my second starter in (Jered) Weaver,(Cole) Hamels, or (Tommy) Hanson. I could have come back with either Chris Young or Drew Stubbs instead of Chad Billingsley in the seventh round and had a much stronger core.”



How the season plays out for Fleming’s team remains to be seen. The New Jersey resident is off to another strong showing this week as his offense has already collected 11 runs scored and 14 RBIs with his pitching staff notching 17 strikeouts thanks to Tim Lincecum and Trevor Cahill. That has Fleming owning a 3.5-point lead for first place in his league prior to play on Wednesday.



The keys now to maintain this strong run the rest of the season?



“I need to find some more speed and manage my pitching staff a bit better,” said Fleming, a charter member of the NFBC who has been playing fantasy sports for nearly 30 years.



“There are a few really good teams in my league. (Jon Stadtmueller) and (Dave McDonald) have great offenses. And on the pitching side I think (Scott Keikoan) can potentially finish first in every category.”

[Less than Dave]

Congrats, Scotty! I'd say good luck, but, ya know...

It was nice talkin to ya in Vegas also. Good luck in all your OTHER leagues... I'll be comin for ya!