Nick Markakis v Carlos Beltran - The Great Fantasy Baseball Debate Week #5

This week The Great Fantasy Debate gets a little more fun with a head to head comparison of two fantasy baseball outfield studs - Nick Markakis (pictured 2008 Allen & Ginter baseball card) and Carlos Beltran. Here's the question:

Home team, tell us why Carlos Beltran is the better Fantasy Baseball Player
Away Team, tell us why Nick Markakis is the better Fantasy Baseball Player

I have the Nick Markakis side and cite some fairly good points - Markakis is younger, hits for a higher average, bats in the three hole and Citi Field may be one of the best pitchers parks in baseball. I'm a Mets fan so this one was kind of tough. Truth be told I think Beltran is the better pick for this season but clearly Markakis is the pick in any keeper format.

I did implore a high batting average early strategy in both of my NFBC drafts this year and Markakis would be the better pick in that case.
NFBC Main Event draft results
NFBC Satellite draft results
The theory being that loading up on BA early lets you pick up some low BA guys later that have specific scoring categories that you need. It can be hard to tell what your fantasy baseball team may need after the first 10 rounds or so and maximizing batting average early on creates a lot of flexibility.

Click here to vote for Greg in this Week's Great Fantasy Debate.

Remember to pick up a Nick Markakis autographed baseball card on eBay!