Steve Finley

Finley's fountain of youth appeared to dry up in 2005. With the exception of his decent May, his numbers were down considerably across the board for the entire season. There was no surge in the second half and no real positive indicators against the inevitable decline. Give Finley credit, there aren't many major league outfielders who have been able to produce consistently into their forties. Finley's days as an everyday starter are likely behind him as he's better suited to a role as a fourth OF and matchups starter, which is how he'll be used in San Francisco.

Last year the 39-year-old Finley put together his finest season since 2000. He's one of the best-conditioned players in baseball and is a very low injury risk. In Anaheim, Finley should be expected to remain productive in 2005, although another 36 HR may be a long shot.

Finley was one of the few Arizona batters who didn't suffer from reduced offensive productivity in 2003. After hitting .287-25-89 (.869 OPS) in 2002, he followed that up with .287-22-70 (.863) in 2003, and you can blame the RBI slump on the multiple slumps of his teammates. He'll likely start the spring as the D-Backs' leadoff hitter, but Finley is usually a slow starter, so we'll see if he can hang on to that role through April and May.

Finley rebounded from an injury-marred 2001 to go .287-25-89 last year, and he'll be Bob Brenly's everyday centerfielder in 2003. Finley turns 38 in the spring, however, so don't go looking for an increase in his performance levels. Rather, given his age (even though he's in great shape) presume a slight drop in effectiveness and/or a potential stint on the DL; just like in real baseball, Finley's a better-than-average centerfield option for your 2003 fantasy team, but make sure you have decent fourth and fifth outfielders, because you'll probably have to use them at some point.