Adam Ottavino Could Still Be Useful Late In 2016

Ottavino was just getting started on what looked to be a promising 2015 campaign when his UCL crapped out after 10.1 innings. Pending setbacks, the hope here is that he will return around midseason. Having high expectations for a pitcher in his first stretch back from TJ surgery is usually an awful idea, so I […]

Chad Bettis: Deep League NL Pitcher For Your Consideration In 2016

Chad Bettis won’t ever be the stud of your pitching staff, but in deeper or NL-only leagues he could prove to be a solid back-end guy. In 2015 he finally managed to bring his modest strikeout stuff from the minors to the major leagues. His K/9 was 7.67 after barely scraping 6-even in years past […]

Do We Still Care About Eddie Butler In 2016?

His minor league track record has been quite impressive, but it hasn’t translated to major league success in any tangible way. He’ll have just turned 25 when the season starts so it isn’t like he’s some old coot who can’t grow, but he really needs to wrangle in those walks and tweak some pitches that […]

Kyle Freeland Looks To Continue His Growth In 2016

Freeland has some fantastic raw talent, but he has suffered some durability setbacks along the way thus far and might be headed for bullpen duties as a result. What we know about Freeland is that he has a plus fastball, slider, and changeup, but that he has some issues putting it all together with command […]

Ryan McMahon Looks To Grow Into Colorado's Next Big Infielder

McMahon has been shooting through each level of the minors with a healthy power bat. His profile appears to be very clear as a prototypical powerful corner infielder who strikes out a lot, but also walks enough to compensate a bit. His OPS figures haven’t dipped below .860 for a season, though his BABIPs have […]

Raimel Tapia Looks To Start Strong In Double A for Colorado

Tapia is an intriguing young name who has been in the Rockies system since he was 17 (he just turned 22). He has extremely impressive contact skills, hitting for great averages pretty much every step of the way and flashing plus speed. The power hasn’t manifested yet, though it could be in the pipeline as […]

David Dahl: Top Rockies Prospect Heading into 2016

Dahl is one of the, if not the best, Rockies prospect right now. An outfielder that has some nice speed, he saw his 2015 cut into after his spleen had to be removed. I doubt that happens again. Dahl’s current bat seems to be a fantastic line drive/gap type hitter, but he isn’t down on […]

Tony Watson Looks to Continue Dominance

Pirates relief pitcher Tony Watson will once again serve as the set-up man for Mark Melancon in 2016. The southpaw has excelled in the role, leading the league with 75 holds over the past two seasons. Pat Neshek finished a distant second during that time with 53 holds. To further illustrate Watson’s dominance, the hurler […]

Gleyber Torres Still Years Away

At 19 years old and hailing from Caracas, Venezuela, Gleyber Torres is the Chicago Cubs’ lone top 50 prospect on Baseball America’s top 100 prospects of 2016 list. In his first full season of minor league baseball last year, he slashed .287/.346/.376, picking up 140 hits and 64 RBI. While the numbers are solid, especially […]

Concussion-Free, Joe Mauer Could Bounce Back in 2016

Joe Mauer had, by far, the worst season of his 12-year career in 2015, not just from a fantasy standpoint, but in real life, as well. The permanent move to first base has negated the defensive skills he showed behind the plate for so long, and his career batting average and on-base percentage dipped significantly. […]

Steve Pearce Will Play Home Games in his Favorite Stadium

Steve Pearce signed on with the Tampa Bay Rays in late January, and is expected to play in a platoon of sorts in the designated hitter slot with the potential to see some at-bats at first base and in the outfield. After a breakout 2014 campaign, Pearce disappointed fantasy owners with a .218/.289/.422 slash line […]

In Kevin Kiermaier's Case, Defense Paves Way for Offense

Kevin Kiermaier made history in 2015, finishing with the fourth most defensive wins above replacement in baseball history and the second most since 1920. He is undoubtedly one of the best defensive players in the game, and that helps him from a fantasy standpoint more than most people would think. Kiermaier brings mild offensive production, […]

Desmond Jennings in Jeopardy of Losing Playing Time

Fantasy owners were infatuated with Desmond Jennings' 20 home run/30 stolen base potential just a few years ago, but he has struggled to reach his ceiling. After a 2014 season plagued by mediocrity -- 10 HR, 15 SB, .244/.319/.378 slash line -- he missed most of the 2015 season with a knee injury. Jennings was […]

Chris Coghlan's Bad Luck Continues To Haunt Him

Remember back in 2009 when Chris Coghlan, as a member of the then-Florida Marlins, won the NL Rookie of the Year Award? Neither do I. It’s been quite an interesting career for the center fielder since then. In 2010, he injured his knee celebrating a walk-off victory, needing surgery. In 2011 he struggled, eventually getting […]

CC Sabathia Battles For The Fifth Spot in Yankees Pitching Rotation

CC Sabathia enters his 16th season competing for a rotation spot for the very first time. Following a stint in rehab, Sabathia heads to spring training healthier and confident, with an abundance of support from those around him. Andy Pettitte believes Sabathia can adjust to his declining velocity the same way he did later in […]

Wait and See With Didi Gregorius

Didi Gregorius went from being the guy failing to replace Derek Jeter, to a shortstop finding his groove later in the season. Now that some of the pressure of filling Jeter’s shoes has waned, Gregorius will look to build off a 2015 second half where he batted .294. His 3.3 WAR was fourth best among […]

Chase Headley Too Untrustworthy to Roster

The difficulty with drafting Chase Headley is that he’s unpredictable. Playing a full season, 156 games in 2015, Headley posted only 11 home runs and 62 ribbies. The Yankees, hopeful when they traded for him, are still waiting for shades of the 2012 breakout star, when he hit 31 home runs and drove in 115 […]

Does Ryan Vogelsong Have Anything Left?

Starting pitcher Ryan Vogelsong is expected to open 2016 in the Pittsburgh Pirates’ rotation. How long he stays there is a mystery. Breaking out in 2011 as a 34-year old, Vogelsong spent the last five seasons in San Francisco, where he benefitted from one of the best pitchers’ parks in baseball. Over 135 innings in […]

Pedro Strop Doomed To Remain Setup Man

In his second full season with the Chicago Cubs, 30-year-old Dominican Pedro Strop emerged as one of the best setup relievers in the league. In 76 appearances, he recorded 28 holds in 68 innings, finishing tied for fifth in the category. He also had a shot at closer, as Joe Maddon implemented a closer by […]

Wil Myers Overdue For a Breakout Season

Remember when Wil Myers won the American League Rookie of the Year Award back in 2013? Really, we swear he did. What began as a career seemingly destined for All-Star nods and other superlatives has sputtered for two years due to injuries and inconsistency. Myers was limited to 60 games in his debut season with […]

Brandon Crawford an Underrated Option at Shortstop

Quick quiz -- how many shortstops had more home runs than Brandon Crawford (21) last season? That would be just one, Houston Astros wunderkind Carlos Correa. And how many had more RBIs than Crawford (84)? Well, zero. You get the point. The San Francisco Giants infielder enjoyed a breakout season in 2015, establishing career highs […]

Andrew Cashner Could Cash in During Contract Year

Last season was a mixed bag for San Diego Padres starting pitcher Andrew Cashner. The right-hander saw his ERA and WHIP balloon from 2.55 and 1.13 in 2014, respectively, to 4.34 and 1.44 in 2015. That's bad, but there was some good, too. Cashner started 31 games, eclipsing the 30-start plateau for the first time […]

Brandon Belt's Upside Clouded by Injury Concerns

When healthy, San Francisco Giants first baseman Brandon Belt offers something every manager would like to see in their lineup -- a left-handed hitter with some pop. The "when healthy" qualifier, however, seems to be all that's holding Belt back. For the second straight season, Belt battled concussion issues. He also had surgery to repair […]

Aaron Hicks' Ability to Hit Lefties Earns Him a Fantasy-Nod

Upon trading for Hicks, it seemed that the Yankees would ship Brett Gardner. Even though that hasn’t happened, yet, Hicks could very well see a lot more playing time than that of an ordinary platoon outfielder. Hicks posted a .870 OPS and .307 average against lefties last season and will likely start against all south […]

Adam Warren's Value Hinges On Spring Training Battle For Rotation

Traded from the New York Yankees for Starlin Castro, Adam Warren arrives in Chicago as an interesting project. He spent the majority of his first three seasons as a reliever with the ability to pitch extended innings, but he became New York’s fifth last year in the wake of Ivan Nova’s injury. His season can […]

Jed Lowrie Carries Value if he Stays Healthy

Jed Lowrie’s injuries have caused headaches for front offices and after four seasons with the Boston Red Sox where he never played more that 88 games in a season, Lowrie began getting thrown back and forth between the Houston Astros and the Oakland Athletics. After his best season yet in 2012 with the Astros, Lowrie […]

Contact Pitching and Subpar Defense Raise Questions for Kendall Graveman's 2016 Outlook

Kendall Graveman came to Oakland in the blockbuster deal that the Athletics and the Blue Jays organized for Josh Donaldson. The 2015 season was our first chance to see what Graveman could do on the mound. After being thrown to the wolves in the powerful American League West, Graveman held his own to compile a […]

Can Henderson Alvarez's New Shoulder Be Trusted?

In May of 2015, Henderson Alvarez was placed on the disabled list with shoulder problems and never returned. At the time, the Miami Marlins were upset about this development. “Here is the disciplined middle-rotation starter that we need,” the front office thought after landing him in the blockbuster Jose Reyes trade. After just 51 starts […]

Veteran Rich Hill is An Intriguing SP Option

At the age of 35 and having played for five different teams, we can file Rich Hill under the “Grizzled Veteran” category. In the early days of Hill’s career, we got a good look at what he could do on the bump while making 57 starts with the Chicago Cubs. He dazzled fans with an […]

Steer Clear of Devin Mesoraco in 2016

Devin Mesroraco has been all over the place in recent years. Even in a career year (2014) in which Mesoraco hit .273 with 25 home runs, 80 RBI, and an All Star Game appearance, he was only able to play in 114 games. Granted, capable backup Brayan Pena was on-hand to give him rest, but injuries […]