As the hot stove league slows down, fantasy baseball talk starts to heat up. After a few months of writing pieces about MLB related topics, I find myself itching for a change in wanting to spend some time focusing on fantasy baseball. With that said, the Mets have four of the top twenty fantasy players around in Jose Reyes, David Wright, Johan Santana and Carlos Beltran. (Beltran and Reyes helped lead my N.L. only team to a title last season) Heading into 2009, the four aforementioned players should continue to be fantasy stalwarts, but how will other Mets fare? From a fantasy standpoint, the 2009 outlook is solid, but leaves little to the imagination in terms of sleepers and breakout performers.

Luis Castillo: How soon we forget how long it has been since Castillo put together a 30+ steal campaign. When healthy, Castillo can be serviceable in a pinch, but probably should not be drafted in even the deepest of leagues. Counting on players with speed and on-base ability (Castillo’s M.O. in the early 2000’s) is a shaky proposition as a tweaked hamstring destroys any value the player has and overall fantasy decline stage is quick and painful.

Ryan Church: In deep or National League only leagues, Church is a fine fourth or fifth outfielder. However, look for .275/.350/.450 line instead of the April/May production Mets fans have fallen in love with. He’s also a decent spot play against middle of the road right handers.

Carlos Delgado: At 36, Delgado’s 38 home run, 115 RBI campaign surprised many who believed his 2007 was the start of his downward slide to mediocrity. I was even able to pick him up off of waivers in a 12 team by 30 player league in June. With 2007 being his lone sub-30 home run season since 1997, I’m skeptical of any publication which predicts a sudden steep decline in his game; Especially in a contract year. Sure he has some wear and tear and will likely have a few less HR and RBI, but one can do much worse than to land Delgado as a first baseman or utility player after the 10th round due to predictions of his demise.

John Maine: After an injury shortened 2008, will fantasy managers forget about John Maine? When healthy, he is a solid fantasy SP3 and could approach 16-18 wins should he near 200 innings pitched during the entire 2009 season. With his value as low as it has been since arriving in New York, now might be a good time to pick Maine up in dynasty leagues with the hope of him returning to sub-four ERA form. If he ever cuts his walk rate, Maine could be even better. He’s one of the few current Mets with fantasy upside.

Daniel Murphy: Murphy has gone from possible full time second base duty to a platoon corner outfield role heading into 2009 with the possibility of even less depending on whether or not the Mets add some outfield punch. In just a couple of months, Murphy has gone from a fast fantasy riser to waiver wire fodder with none of it due to his performance. At this point, it’s best to avoid Murphy for a number of other outfield options who stand the chance to play everyday. In deep dynasty leagues, I can see owning Murphy in the hope of him being dealt and playing second base somewhere else. Other than that, I just don’t see the value.

Mike Pelfrey: With 13 wins and an ERA of 3.72, Pelfrey finally showed a little of what made him a first round pick in 2005. The question is can he build on his 2008 and become a second-tier fantasy pitcher entering 2009. With poor peripherals including a 1.36 WHIP, 4.93 K/9, and more hits than innings pitched, I’m not so sure. When I consider pitchers for possible breakout status, it’s often because of high strikeout rates and low hit rates in spite of a high ERA or WHIP. Due to this, Pelfrey is simply a quality fantasy SP4 at this point who may regress a touch. Avoid him as a “young starter with upside” play–it’s likely not in the cards this season.

J.J. Putz: Putz provides me the opportunity to discuss an overlooked fantasy baseball strategy which doesn’t receive enough credit; Especially in dynasty leagues or leagues that use holds as a category. With premiere pitching often hard to come by, top set up men with impressive ERA, WHIP, and strikeout totals can be enough to keep a staff competitive. A healthy Putz can truly be a fantasy stud whether he has the opportunity to steal a few saves from K-Rod or not. However, 25-30 holds and 8-10 saves with solid peripherals would leave him one of the most valuable relievers in fantasy.

Francisco Rodriguez: With nowhere to go but down after a 62 save season, K-Rod will likely be the first closer off of the board in many fantasy drafts. However, with the Mets potent, but streaky offense, will K-Rod have anywhere near the same amount of save opportunities as with Anaheim? As a K-Rod owner, I doubt it. While still a relative lock for 35-plus saves if healthy, Rodriguez will continue to be a premiere source for saves, but may wind up finishing just outside of the top five closers statistically. Remember, one of the first rules of thumb in fantasy baseball is to not pay big dollars for saves with the closer role being so volatile by nature.

Overall, the real Mets are much similar to the fantasy baseball Mets as player roles and expections are pretty well defined. With Jon Niese and Daniel Murphy not expected to be fantasy baseball factors and no true talents coming off of major injury, the Mets regulars make up a solid, but unspectacular bunch unless you are an owner of Reyes, Wright, Santana, or Beltran. Just remember, “homers” don’t win fantasy leagues (and I don’t mean home runs!) If you play fantasy baseball, leave your Mets fandom at the door! Just three years ago, I had the second pick in my own dynasty keeper league and nabbed Albert Pujols after a Mets homer tabbed Pedro Martinez with the top overall pick. Don’t be THAT guy!