Julio Teheran Is A Risky Buy in 2016

Julio Teheran took a few sizeable steps back in 2015 after an impressive first two full years in the majors for the Braves. Many people could see that the regression police was hot on Teheran’s trail after last year. It’s one thing to have your surface stats catch up to your peripherals, but his peripherals […]

Nick Markakis: A Deep League OF Option In 2016

Nick Markakis’ 2015 was his first season not in an Orioles jersey, and his first year for the Braves saw him barely able to hit a home run. In every season of his career Markakis had hit double digit home runs, and last year for Atlanta he hit a grand total of three. He had […]

Ender Inciarte Is Set To Leadoff For The Braves In 2016

An exciting addition for the Braves, Ender Inciarte comes over from the Diamondbacks after he hit six homers and stole 21 bases while hitting .303 in 561 plate appearances in 2015. Inciarte put the ball in play more last year, bringing his strikeout rate down from a healthy 11.9% to an improved 10.3% while also […]

Erick Aybar: Cheap MI Option in 2016

Erick Aybar has really settled into a role, seemingly unflinching in his quest to hit a few home runs every year alongside 15 steals and a .270s average. Of course he now comes to the Braves instead of playing for the Angels, so his counting stats may take a step back, but for now he […]

Are The Gloves Finally Off For Patrick Corbin in 2016?

Don't deny it, you all loved Patrick Corbin in 2013. The southpaw flashed a mid-90's heater along with a nasty slider that led to more swings and misses than a Little League team facing a suspiciously mature looking 11 year old pitcher. Okay I'm exaggerating a bit, but you get the point. He was impressive. […]

Adonis Garcia: Sneaky CI Power Bat For 2016?

If you scoured the web for 2016 Braves’ projections and saw Adonis Garcia slotted in at third base and batting fifth behind Freeman, your reaction may have been one of shock and dismay. From a “real life” baseball perspective, plenty might agree with you as his glove at third is subpar. What is keeping him […]

Hector Olivera Looks To Grow In 2016

The Braves traded for Hector Olivera from the Dodgers at the deadline last year, and after Olivera recovered from a wrist injury he was called up for the month of September in Atlanta. In a minuscule 24 game, 87 plate appearance sample, he hit two homers with 11 RBIs with a .253 average. While it […]

Carlos Beltran: Bench Value in Deeper Leagues

If it wasn’t for his horrific start to 2015, batting .162, while tallying 21 strikeouts and only 11 hits, Carlos Beltran would have posted a season average of a lot closer to .300. Beltran is inching up there in age, but after hitting 19 home runs and driving in 67 runs at 38 years old, […]

Mike Trout Remains Candidate for Top Pick

Mike Trout lost headlines as the result of Bryce Harper's unbelievable season, but put together a fantastic campaign in his own right. The 24-year-old quieted concerns regarding his escalating strikeouts, lowering his whiff rate by three percent en route to a career-best 41 home runs. Prospective fantasy owners would likely take that number and run, […]

Jace Peterson: A Buried 2016 Deep League MI Option

Jace Peterson is slated to be the Braves’ second baseman again in 2016, but he doesn’t look to have much relevance outside of deep leagues that require a MI slot. He goes on streaks, but he’ll never be a guy who hits double digit homers and it doesn’t seem like his speed has translated to […]

Freddie Freeman: Top 10 First Baseman in 2016

Freddie Freeman’s first three years in the league (2011-2013) saw him seemingly establish a safe 20 home run floor, with 2013 looking like a huge growth year as he also posted a .319 average to go with 23 bombs and a career high 109 RBIs. Now that average isn’t likely to come again (he had […]

Luis Severino to Build Off of Impressive Rookie Season

In August of last year, Luis Severino stormed onto the scene, into a short-handed New York pitching rotation, and into the good graces of Yankees fans. Amidst a team of several aging stars nearing their expiration date, Severino spells future. And his 2015 performances proved so. Although pitching into the seventh inning only once in […]

Michael Pineda: Inconsistent Brilliance in 2016

It would be nice if every Yankees pitcher didn’t have some type of concern attached to their name. Michael Pineda is certainly one of them, as he’s been plagued by injuries year after year. Big Mike pitched well in April and May of 2015, posting a 6-2 record and a 3.37 ERA, and although struggled […]

Hector Santiago Looks to Rebound After Inconsistent Season

It was a tale of two seasons for Hector Santiago in 2015. After allowing just 28 earned runs in 108.1 innings prior to the All-Star break, the 28-year-old went on to post an unsightly 5.47 ERA in the second half. Those watching Santiago's stock can find encouragement in the fact that his strikeout rate (21%) […]

Will Kris Bryant Live Up To The Hype Again?

Kris Bryant had some debut season in the Windy City. First, the Cubs stirred up controversy by keeping him in the minors for the first 12 days of the season so they could retain him an extra year. Then he had a tremendous rookie season, smashing 26 HR to go with 99 RBI, while slashing […]

Mitch Moreland Could Bring Power and RBI at Cheap Price

Mitch Moreland was something of an underrated contributor in the power department last season, slugging 23 home runs and notching a .204 ISO while totaling 85 RBI over 132 games. While his high strikeout rate (21.7%) and low walk rate (6.2%) can make him look like a one-note player, he isn't a complete liability when […]

Cole Hamels Should Translate Well to American League

Cole Hamels put an exclamation point on his time in Philadelphia by throwing a no-hitter in his final start before being traded to the Texas Rangers at the end of July. While no similar theatrics followed the 32-year-old to Arlington, he was largely able to hold on to his consistency, notching an ERA just 0.02 […]

Rougned Odor Will Need to Sustain Power to Justify Price Tag

Rougned Odor was sent back to Triple-A after opening the 2015 season with just 13 hits in his first 27 games, but set Round Rock ablaze over 108 at-bats with a .352/.426/.639 slash line, prompting his recall to the big club in June. Odor continued his impressive display of power in the major leagues, finishing […]

Clayton Kershaw Unanimously #1, Obviously.

It doesn’t get much better than Clayton Kershaw. In 2015 he posted 232.2 IP, 2.13 ERA, 301 SO, and my personal favorite--a 1.99 FIP (which points to his level of dominance and disregards possible defensive issues). Kershaw is the best there is, arguably the best there was, and possibly the best there ever will be; […]

Can Sonny Gray Build on His 2015 Success?

After finishing third in AL Cy Young voting last season, Sonny Gray is starting to look like the weapon the A’s hoped for when drafting him in 2011. With a 2.73 ERA, a 1.08 WHIP and a 169/59 K/BB ration spread across 208 innings in the 2015 season, some fantasy owners are in agreement. Others […]

Huston Street Could Provide Reliability in 2016

Huston Street has been worth every bit of the price the Los Angeles Angels paid when they acquired him from the San Diego Padres for two top prospects in 2014, as the 32-year-old has notched 57 saves while allowing just 27 runs in 88.2 innings since joining the squad. Street tallied a 3.18 ERA last […]

Robinson Cano Still Elite Fantasy 2B For 2016

Robinson Cano did not have an MVP-like season in 2015, but he still proved he was one of the top fantasy second basemen in the game. His batting average dipped to .287, which was his worst in seven seasons. The 33-year-old was fourth in homers at the position (21), which was seven more than he […]

C.J. Wilson May Struggle to Produce After Elbow Surgery

C.J. Wilson made just 21 starts for the Angels last season before having season-ending elbow surgery in August, and while it may be tempting to chalk his struggles after the month of May up to pitching through injury, it is worth noting that his strikeout rate (20%) HR/9 rate (0.9) and ERA (3.89) all fell […]

Ryan Howard May Take A Seat Against LHP In 2016

Phillies 1B Ryan Howard may be platooned against LHP in 2016. That’s the word from Phillies manager Pete Mackanin, who indicates that while no final decision has been made, a decision will be forthcoming this spring. The veteran slugger managed only three HRs and a .418 OPS against southpaws last season, a precipitous drop from […]

Can A.J. Pollock Duplicate His 2015 Performance?

In 2015 A.J. Pollock was drafted after players like Jayson Werth, and he vastly outperformed them. The two-hole hitter for the Diamondbacks batted .315 with 20 long balls, 76 RBI, and 39 steals. He has improved every season so far and looks to do the same in 2016. This year Pollock is projected to be […]

Prince Fielder Shows Flaws in Comeback Season

Prince Fielder's .305/.378/.463 slash line may seem like a rebound year after he played just 42 games in 2014 due to injury, but it wasn't all wine and roses for the soon-to-be 32-year-old. He logged the lowest home run total (23) of his career over a full season, while his walk rate (9.2%) reached its […]

Ryan Braun Still A Top Fantasy Baseball Outfielder

Ryan Braun is still owed $106 million through 2021, and it's unlikely that any team will take on that contract. Therefore, the 32-year-old slugger will remain in Milwaukee for another season. Braun finished with another All-Star season in 205, pumping out a .285 BA, 25 HR, 84 RBI and 25 SB. He’s still one of the […]

Paul Goldschmidt a Gold Standard Pick in 2016

After missing the final two months of the 2014 season, many fantasy players got Paul Goldschmidt at a discount in their drafts. "Goldy" quickly put those injury concerns to bed in 2015, and was the number one fantasy hitter for a large portion of the season. For those fortunate enough to get first pick in […]

Jimmy Nelson Has Big Upside Heading Into 2016

Jimmy Nelson did improve overall during his first full season in the big leagues, but it had its ups and downs. The Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher burst onto the 2015 scene with three great starts in a row, allowing just four runs in 20 IP. He continued to roll until June, in which he racked up a 5.56 […]

Kole Calhoun Could Return Nice Power at Cheap Price

Kole Calhoun was touted as a sleeper option after logging 17 home runs over 127 games in 2014 and was able to pay dividends for those who saw the prediction through, as the 26 homers he launched last season put him in a three-way tie for the seventh-best mark in the league among right fielders. […]