Hamels gets $15 million deal: CBSSports.com baseball insider Jon Heyman reports Phillies SP Cole Hamels avoided arbitration Tuesday by agreeing to a $15 million contract for the 2012 season. (Updated 01/17/2012)
Injury Report
Elbow - Probable for start of spring training (Updated - 10/8/11)
Fantasy Analysis
Hamels will be a free agent in 2013, so the Phillies could still work on a long-term contract for the left-hander. Regardless, Hamels will still be highly motivated to have a big season in 2012. Hamels had one of his best seasons in 2011, throwing for a career-low 2.79 ERA and winning at least 14 games for the third time in his career. He also had a career-high three complete games. Hamels continues to pitch as well as fellow Phillies aces Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee, so feel confident with drafting him as the ace of your Fantasy staff. (Updated 01/17/2012).
02/10/2012 13:27 2012 Draft Prep: 12-team, mixed H2H draft
Which picks stood out in our initial 12-team Head-to-Head mock draft for 2012? Check out the results and read what Scott White has to say about some of the more interesting selections.
02/02/2012 12:21 2012 Draft Prep: Our 12-team, mixed Rotisserie draft
It's time for owners to start looking ahead to Draft Day. We get you off and running with our 12-team Rotisserie mock draft. Check out the results!
02/01/2012 13:21 By the Numbers: Pitchers with a new look
Why should owners have even higher hopes for Cole Hamels in 2012? Could Homer Bailey finally be able to deliver on his potential? Our Al Melchior profiles four pitchers to remember of Draft Day.
Cole Hamels may have been the ace of the Phillies' 2008 World Championship team, but he was the third wheel in teammates Roy Halladay's and Cliff Lee's race to second place in NL Cy Young voting last year. But Hamels finished fifth in Cy Young voting himself and was arguably the team's best pitcher before the All-Star break, going 11-4 with a 2.32 ERA. So why wasn't he the one nipping at Clayton Kershaw's heels come season's end? Well, he missed a couple weeks in August with shoulder inflammation and endured a dead-arm period immediately before it. He also needed surgeries to repair a hernia and remove loose bodies from his elbow in the offseason. Apparently, he doesn't quite have the durability thing down like Halladay and Lee do, only once pitching as many as 220 innings in a season. Halladay has reached that number in each of the last six seasons and Lee in three of the last four. Still, you can't argue Hamels is anything less than an ace, and at age 28, he seems to be getting better. Over his last 40 appearances (39 starts) dating back to 2010, he has a 2.57 ERA and 0.98 WHIP. Hamels may not be the No. 1 starting pitcher for the Phillies, but you'd be thrilled to have him as the ace of your Fantasy team. (Updated 1/5/12)
Actual 
AccuScore Projections) Note: Points are rounded down.
= probable start