Kenley Jansen Pitching for Payday

After hearing about the potential Aroldis Chapman trade to the Dodgers, Kenley Jansen was reportedly upset about ultimately losing his role as closer. Fortunately for Jansen, and those drafting him, that deal fell through, and he will indeed be the Dodgers closer once again. Jansen managed only 52.1 IP last season due to a minor […]

A-Gon Shouldn't Be Gone Too Early

In any fantasy baseball draft the pool of players at first base is always the deepest. This provides ample time to fill other needs before settling on a lesser player when unable to draft Paul Goldschmidt or Miguel Cabrera. There are a surplus of first basemen that are capable of hitting over 25 homeruns and […]

Michael Wacha's Poor End to 2015 May Indicate Problems to Come

Taken as a whole, Michael Wacha's 2015 was a huge success. Unfortunately, there are several factors that indicate the good times about to go off the rails again, not unlike a certain train of crazy. If you saw him pitch in September and October, his ranking as our 31st-overall starting pitcher might seem a little high. In […]

Yan Gomes Looking For Redemption After Rough 2016

Following the 2014 season, Yan Gomes seemed primed to become one of the game's top offensive catchers after hitting .278 with 21 home runs and 74 RBI. Instead, he stumbled out of the gate in 2015 and finished with a disappointing 12 home runs and .231 batting average. Gomes had as rough a first half […]

Carlos Carrasco Justifies Last Spring's Big Extension, Looks to Repeat in 2016

On April 7th of last year, the Cleveland Indians and Carlos Carrasco agreed on a 4-year, $22 million extension. He wasted little time justifying the Indians' faith as he rewarded them, and fantasy owners, with 14 wins and 216 strikeouts. It was a long time coming for the centerpiece of the 2009 trade that sent Cliff […]

Matt Shoemaker Looks to Reestablish Relevancy

Fantasy owners were excited about Matt Shoemaker's potential over a full season after he posted a 3.04 ERA in 27 games (20 starts) in 2014, but the 29-year-old wilted under the bright lights, notching just a 4.46 ERA in 135.1 innings. Shoemaker's home run rate exploded in his bid to build on the excellent campaign, […]

Can Lucas Duda Find Consistency in 2016?

Lucas Duda was easily one of the most maddening players to own in fantasy in 2015. He could win you a week single-handedly sometimes, or he could go ice cold for weeks and months at a time. Then naturally just when you cut him, someone else would pick him up right before he exploded again. […]

Is Jacob deGrom a Top Five Pitcher in 2016?

Jacob deGrom was the bomb dot com in 2015. After coming out of nowhere in 2014, he was absolutely electric in his second year. deGrom's coming out party was made official in the All Star Game with a 10 pitch, three strikeout effort. It's hard not to get excited about just how high his ceiling […]

Miguel Montero, Backup Extraordinaire?

After his first season with the Chicago Cubs, 32-year-old catcher Miguel Montero enters the 2016 campaign as the hitter with arguably the least fantasy value in the lineup. That’s certainly not a knock on the Venezuelan veteran, it’s simply a matter of this lineup's strength, which will relegate him to the bottom third of the order. One […]

Will Jean Segura's Change of Scenery Yield Positive Results in 2016?

This just in! Jean Segura has been traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks in a five player deal with the Milwaukee Brewers. His fantasy value was low with the Brewers, as it seemed likely that Orlando Arcia would take over at some point in the season. However, he could now have a chance to return to […]

Will Shelby Miller Have Better Luck in 2016?

Despite having his best year in terms of ERA, Shelby Miller was stuck on a Braves team that had virtually no offense. Because of that, Miller ended up with a 6-17 record which really hurt his fantasy value. So how will this translate in 2016? Miller is now in Arizona where he will have the […]

Will Jason Heyward Reap The Rewards Of His New Lineup?

Chicago’s biggest acquisition this winter was Jason Heyward, the 26-year-old outfielder who left St. Louis for the rival Cubs. Heyward is widely considered the final piece to this powerful lineup, but what exactly will he provide in terms of fantasy value? Chicago has a solid core in the middle of the batting order with Rizzo, […]

Jung Ho Kang: Value Pick In 2016

Jung Ho Kang only accumulated 421 ABs in 2016, but he produced enough to warrant a third place finish in the NL ROY voting. Turning 29 in April, Kang will look to build on the .287/.355/.461 slash line and 15 HRs he posted last year. No easy task, Kang has momentum on his side. Though […]

How Will Steven Matz Perform in 2016?

Steven Matz burst onto the scene in Flushing in 2015. In his MLB debut, Matz displayed the fastball/curveball combo that made him such a highly anticipated prospect. Not only that, but Matz also showed he's rather adept at swinging the bat. Unfortunately, pitcher generated offense doesn't help fantasy owners. Nonetheless, Matz has enough upside just […]

Craig Kimbrel Bringing Heat to Red Sox Bullpen

The Red Sox and Yankees made it a really interesting off-season with their bullpen additions. Boston acquired Craig Kimbrel from San Diego to be their closer... and New York got Aroldis Chapman from Cincinnati. Coincidence? Maybe. Sure, Boston got Kimbrel because Koji Uehara got hurt last year and he's also 40. But they also got […]

Starling Marte HRs To Dip In 2016?

Coming off a 2015 campaign that produced a career-high 19 HRs, Starling Marte will find it difficult to match that output in 2016. Marte’s HR per fly ball (HR/FB) rate in 2015 was 18.6%, meaning for every 100 fly balls he hit, 18 left the yard. This efficiency was a significant increase from Marte’s 12.2% […]

Arodys Vizcaino: Cheap Closer Comes With Skills

While no one actively roots for injury, when Jason Grilli went torn with a torn Achilles as he shot off to cover first base it meant that there was a void to be filled in the Braves’ ninth inning. This was initially filled by Jim Johnson, whose trade value was built up enough to then […]

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 […]