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Yes, they're an old, veteran team. But there are still plenty of questions that need to be answered for fantasy purposes.
CATCHER
As you know, Carlos Ruiz has been suspended for the first 25 games. Nonetheless, he could be a sneaky play, especially in leagues that start two catchers or use OBP. While he won't repeat last year's career year, he has shown strong OBP skills for several years. Erik Kratz will fill in in the meantime. He became a fan favorite last year thanks to some clutch HRs, but he won't have any fantasy value outside two-catcher NL-only leagues. Tommy Joseph and Sebastian Valle are battling it out for catcher of the future, which is worth keeping an eye on as Ruiz is well north of 30.
INFIELD
The starters are set, but health and effectiveness questions abound. Ryan Howard is fully recovered from his Achilles injury but is no longer the elite slugger he was in the mid-'00s. Don't sleep on him too much, however, because he will still put up good HR and RBI numbers. But he gets worse at hitting lefties each year and won't help at all in AVG. Who knows what you'll get from Chase Utley, whose knees are shot. The good news is he changed his offseason regimen in order to allow his knees to be better prepared for the start of the season, and it seems to be working so far. The bad news is that his body is so worn down that you can't bid expecting him to play more than 120 games. Anything on top of that is gravy. Jimmy Rollins has been frustrating to own in recent years, as he has been prone to prolonged slumps. But he put up very good numbers after a slow start last year, and still carries 20-20 appeal at a thin position. Maybe he put his bad habits behind him for good. Michael Young was horrendous for the Rangers last year, but the Phils think he still has something left in the tank. He may be worth a "he can't possibly be worse than last year" bid when 3B options get thin. Given the age of the infield starters, the plan is to rest them more frequently than previous years. Kevin Frandsen, who filled in effectively for Utley and Placido Polanco last year, will be the biggest beneficiary of this. The infield prospect closest to making an impact is Cody Asche, who could take over for Young at third next year. The infield prospect with the highest upside is the speedy Roman Quinn. He might be ready when Rollins' deal is up after 2014, but it's too early to tell.
OUTFIELD
Your guess is as good as mine as to how this will play out. The only certainty is that Ben Revere, acquired from the Twins for Vance Worley and Trevor May, will start in CF. He is a contact hitter with very good speed but absolutely no power. In other words, he's Juan Pierre with better defense. LF and RF will be manned by some combination of Domonic Brown, John Mayberry, Laynce Nix, Darin Ruf, and Delmon Young. We could even see a double platoon, like the 1993 NL Champion. Mayberry and Nix could also see starts at 1B when Howard gets rested. (Mayberry, who kills lefties but struggles with righties, would be an ideal platoon partner for Howard, but that will never happen.) Brown, a former top prospect, and Ruf, who came out of nowhere last year to put up huge power numbers at AA and excel in a September callup, are the most worthy of speculative bids, but it's not worth investing much in any of them at this point. Young had microfracture surgery on his foot in the offseason and will start the year on the DL. The best-case scenario is that two guys excel before Young returns and render him superfluous. If the team is in contention in midsummer, OF is likely to be where they look to fortify via trade.
ROTATION
Other than a slight blip in 2009, Cole Hamels has put up consistently elite numbers since 2008, and has the most value of the team's three aces going into 2013. Among NL aces, only Clayton Kershaw and Stephen Strasburg should definitely be taken before him. Much was made of Cliff Lee's struggles last year, but his final numbers were better than what you might have expected. He suffered from incredibly poor run support, but he also had a few outings where he was wild in the strike zone and got hit hard. The law of averages says the former won't be as big an issue this year. The latter happens a few times every year, but it's impossible to predict when. If you can weather them, he'll put up numbers you'll be very happy with. Roy Halladay was injured and ineffective for most of 2012. He appears to be fully healed and primed for a bounceback. But given his age and what happened last year, don't bid expecting a return to 2009-2011 form. Kyle Kendrick and John Lannan are penciled in for the fourth and fifth spots. Kendrick's numbers have improved the past two years. In 2011, a lot of that was due to luck, but the gains in 2012 are supported by the numbers, as he's expanded his repertoire and increased his K rate. You could do worse at the back of your fantasy rotation. Lannan's last few years have been unremarkable, and now he moves to a less favorable home park. He should be left on the waiver wire except in very tight NL-only leagues. Should anyone falter, Tyler Cloyd and Jonathan Pettibone could get looks. The team's best pitching prospect is Jesse Biddle, but he's a few years away and could be dealt if the team is in contention and needs an impact player.
BULLPEN
Jonathan Papelbon is one of the league's elite closers and will rack up saves barring injury. The rest of the bullpen struggled last year, but given the volatility that goes with the position, they should be better this year. Mike Adams was brought in for the 8th inning and should get whatever save chances Papelbon is unavailable for. If your league uses K/9, pay attention to Antonio Bastardo, Jeremy Horst, and Jake Diekman, all of whom are very impressive in that category. Other young arms who could see time include Phillipe Aumont, Justin de Fratus, and Michael Schwimer.
Overall, the team is likely to finish third in the NL East and contend for the second wild card slot. Whether they do so will depend on whether Howard, Utley, and Halladay bounce back.
CATCHER
As you know, Carlos Ruiz has been suspended for the first 25 games. Nonetheless, he could be a sneaky play, especially in leagues that start two catchers or use OBP. While he won't repeat last year's career year, he has shown strong OBP skills for several years. Erik Kratz will fill in in the meantime. He became a fan favorite last year thanks to some clutch HRs, but he won't have any fantasy value outside two-catcher NL-only leagues. Tommy Joseph and Sebastian Valle are battling it out for catcher of the future, which is worth keeping an eye on as Ruiz is well north of 30.
INFIELD
The starters are set, but health and effectiveness questions abound. Ryan Howard is fully recovered from his Achilles injury but is no longer the elite slugger he was in the mid-'00s. Don't sleep on him too much, however, because he will still put up good HR and RBI numbers. But he gets worse at hitting lefties each year and won't help at all in AVG. Who knows what you'll get from Chase Utley, whose knees are shot. The good news is he changed his offseason regimen in order to allow his knees to be better prepared for the start of the season, and it seems to be working so far. The bad news is that his body is so worn down that you can't bid expecting him to play more than 120 games. Anything on top of that is gravy. Jimmy Rollins has been frustrating to own in recent years, as he has been prone to prolonged slumps. But he put up very good numbers after a slow start last year, and still carries 20-20 appeal at a thin position. Maybe he put his bad habits behind him for good. Michael Young was horrendous for the Rangers last year, but the Phils think he still has something left in the tank. He may be worth a "he can't possibly be worse than last year" bid when 3B options get thin. Given the age of the infield starters, the plan is to rest them more frequently than previous years. Kevin Frandsen, who filled in effectively for Utley and Placido Polanco last year, will be the biggest beneficiary of this. The infield prospect closest to making an impact is Cody Asche, who could take over for Young at third next year. The infield prospect with the highest upside is the speedy Roman Quinn. He might be ready when Rollins' deal is up after 2014, but it's too early to tell.
OUTFIELD
Your guess is as good as mine as to how this will play out. The only certainty is that Ben Revere, acquired from the Twins for Vance Worley and Trevor May, will start in CF. He is a contact hitter with very good speed but absolutely no power. In other words, he's Juan Pierre with better defense. LF and RF will be manned by some combination of Domonic Brown, John Mayberry, Laynce Nix, Darin Ruf, and Delmon Young. We could even see a double platoon, like the 1993 NL Champion. Mayberry and Nix could also see starts at 1B when Howard gets rested. (Mayberry, who kills lefties but struggles with righties, would be an ideal platoon partner for Howard, but that will never happen.) Brown, a former top prospect, and Ruf, who came out of nowhere last year to put up huge power numbers at AA and excel in a September callup, are the most worthy of speculative bids, but it's not worth investing much in any of them at this point. Young had microfracture surgery on his foot in the offseason and will start the year on the DL. The best-case scenario is that two guys excel before Young returns and render him superfluous. If the team is in contention in midsummer, OF is likely to be where they look to fortify via trade.
ROTATION
Other than a slight blip in 2009, Cole Hamels has put up consistently elite numbers since 2008, and has the most value of the team's three aces going into 2013. Among NL aces, only Clayton Kershaw and Stephen Strasburg should definitely be taken before him. Much was made of Cliff Lee's struggles last year, but his final numbers were better than what you might have expected. He suffered from incredibly poor run support, but he also had a few outings where he was wild in the strike zone and got hit hard. The law of averages says the former won't be as big an issue this year. The latter happens a few times every year, but it's impossible to predict when. If you can weather them, he'll put up numbers you'll be very happy with. Roy Halladay was injured and ineffective for most of 2012. He appears to be fully healed and primed for a bounceback. But given his age and what happened last year, don't bid expecting a return to 2009-2011 form. Kyle Kendrick and John Lannan are penciled in for the fourth and fifth spots. Kendrick's numbers have improved the past two years. In 2011, a lot of that was due to luck, but the gains in 2012 are supported by the numbers, as he's expanded his repertoire and increased his K rate. You could do worse at the back of your fantasy rotation. Lannan's last few years have been unremarkable, and now he moves to a less favorable home park. He should be left on the waiver wire except in very tight NL-only leagues. Should anyone falter, Tyler Cloyd and Jonathan Pettibone could get looks. The team's best pitching prospect is Jesse Biddle, but he's a few years away and could be dealt if the team is in contention and needs an impact player.
BULLPEN
Jonathan Papelbon is one of the league's elite closers and will rack up saves barring injury. The rest of the bullpen struggled last year, but given the volatility that goes with the position, they should be better this year. Mike Adams was brought in for the 8th inning and should get whatever save chances Papelbon is unavailable for. If your league uses K/9, pay attention to Antonio Bastardo, Jeremy Horst, and Jake Diekman, all of whom are very impressive in that category. Other young arms who could see time include Phillipe Aumont, Justin de Fratus, and Michael Schwimer.
Overall, the team is likely to finish third in the NL East and contend for the second wild card slot. Whether they do so will depend on whether Howard, Utley, and Halladay bounce back.
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