2015 In Review

August had finished and fall baseball had begun. It was the first month that Jose Iglesias batted below .290 after a surprisingly hot and consistent start to his season. The Detroit Tigers were about to taste an October without playoff baseball for the first time since 2010, looking up at the Kansas City Royals very, very high up in the standings. With the likes of Max Scherzer and David Price already long gone, and the return of Justin Verlander from the disabled list failing to restore dominance in the Motor City, more bad news followed for the Tigers.

Nine at-bats into September, Iglesias suffered a small chip fracture in his right middle finger after being plunked by a pitch, and with Detroit out of contention, he was shelved for the remainder of the 2015 campaign. Iglesias finished the season batting an even .300 in 416 at-bats. His power numbers aren't worth mentioning but he did collect 125 hits and a career high 11 stolen bases.

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Prior to hitting only .247 in August, Iglesias was quietly breaking out, solidifying his importance in the Tigers lineup. The young shortstop batted .377 in April, .299 in May, .293 in June, and .315 in July, mainly in the eighth or ninth spot of the order. It was enough to earn him a reserve spot on the American League All-Star roster. On the season, he crushed lefties, batting .354 against south paws, while fairing well against righties also with a .284 average.

Iglesias also dazzled in the field with his acrobatic range and barehanded maneuvers, making an appearance on MLB Tonight's Web Gems quite often. His glove is the main reason the Boston Red Sox gave him an opportunity upon drafting him, ranking Iglesias as the organization's tenth best prospect and 96th in the league overall in 2013. But his bat recently turned heads as well, considering he missed all of 2014 with stress fractures in both legs.

2016 Outlook

Based on his aforementioned defensive play and his career high performance on the base paths, there appeared to be no lingering affect from the prior year's injury. Iglesias now looks to bounce back from injury in the same away heading into 2016.

"It was tough, especially at the end of the season to not finish on the field," Iglesias stated, according to Detroit Free Press. "Nothing I could do much about. I had a broken finger, but I'm good now."

Short, simple, positive.

There is much to still be cautious about regarding Iglesias' fantasy value, however, there is much to like about him as well. Our guys at RotoBaller have him ranked 24th among shortstops, but that number could very well jump if he starts the 2016 season the way he did in his last. Iglesias' ceiling is not very high nor does he provide much threat in other categories beside average, hits, and potentially stolen bases, but he could also prove to be a late round steal, taking up very little inventory on a bench in deeper leagues.

In 2015, Iglesias batted .302 at home and .299 on the road. He impressively logged a .313 average when falling behind 1-2 in the count and .316 when facing a 2-2 count. He was also very affective early in the count, batting .405 in 42 at-bats when jumping on the first pitch. Iglesias is also part of one, if not the, best double play combination in the league with second baseman Ian Kinsler.

Conclusion

A healthy Iglesias means the 2015 All-Star's heavy presence on the field and at the plate. It will be interesting to see if Iglesias can stay healthy and string together consistency in all six months of the season. If April through August is indication of anything it's that he is, in fact, capable of hitting for average on a week-to-week, month-to-month basis. As for the rest of his fantasy value, and if he's able to replicate 2015, remains to be seen. Regardless, Iglesias is among the top potential sleepers to keep on an eye on, to again hopefully breakout when the long awaited April finally arrives.

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