Oakland Athletics and Fantasy Owners Alike Hope Jed Lowrie Can Stay 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 […]

Danny Valencia Hoping to Stick in Oakland

Don’t be like the Minnesota Twins, Boston Red Sox, Baltimore Orioles, Kansas City Royals and Toronto Blue Jays who have all passed on Danny Valencia’s abilities. The 3B was drafted in 2006 and it has been hard for him to find a true home since then. We can bet that he is hoping to find […]

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 […]

Glen Perkins' Stock Trending Downwards

Glen Perkins was once an elite relief pitcher for the Minnesota Twins, having posted an earned run average below 2.60 in 2011, 2012 and 2013. However, he has fallen off a bit since that time, with an ERA above 3.30 in each of the last two seasons. Perkins, now 32, is still a serviceable closer […]

Despite 20/20 Potential, Steven Souza Comes with Risks

Steven Souza displayed strong power and speed in his first year with the Tampa Bay Rays. In 373 at-bats, he posted 16 home runs and 12 stolen bases, but struggled to get on base consistently. He finished the season with a .225/.318/.399 slash line and an outrageous 33.8% strikeout rate, the third highest among players […]

Job Security Guarantees Fantasy Value for Brad Boxberger

Brad Boxberger spent the 2015 season as the closer for the Tampa Bay Rays, and nailed down a league-high 41 saves. His 3.71 earned run average and 1.37 walks plus hits per inning pitched are far from sensational, but those numbers were much more impressive before an ugly, four-run outing in mid-September. Eleven of his […]

Byung Ho Park Worth the Risk on Draft Day

It's never easy to evaluate a player who has never played in the United States, but it's hard not to be enticed by the 105 home runs Byung-ho Park smashed over the last two seasons in the Korean Baseball Organization. He knocked in 270 runs over that span, and hit over .300 in each season. […]

Corey Dickerson's Value Suffers from Move to Tampa Bay

Corey Dickerson, 26, was acquired by the Tampa Bay Rays in January after a 2015 campaign plagued by injury. In 224 at-bats, he hit 10 home runs and slashed .304/.333/.536. He had a breakout 2014 season in which he hit 24 HR to go with a .312/.364/.567 slash line. However, having played half of his […]

Can Jason Hammel Bounce Back From Second-Half Slide?

33-year-old Jason Hammel is coming off a roller coaster 2015 campaign that saw him start strong before spiraling downhill in the final three months of the season. Now entering his 11th year in the majors, he finds himself at a crossroads. With possible free agency awaiting him next offseason, does he have what it takes to […]

Can Logan Forsythe build on his 2015 success?

Logan Forsythe had a surprise breakout year in 2015 at age 28. He hit 17 home runs, stole nine bases and posted a .281/.359/.444 slash line in his first season with at least 350 at-bats. Over the first four years of his career, Forsythe smacked a total of 18 HR, so it's easy to question […]

Alexei Ramirez Offers Little Upside at Shortstop

After an eight-year run with the Chicago White Sox, veteran Alexei Ramirez signed a one-year, $3 million deal in the offseason to become the San Diego Padres' every-day shortstop. The move does little to help the durable Ramirez's fantasy stock, though. The power that Ramirez flashed early in his career has largely diminished over the […]

Hunter Pence is Ideal Buy-Low Outfielder Option

Last season was a lost year for San Francisco Giants right fielder Hunter Pence. He suffered a fractured left forearm in spring training that derailed his entire campaign, limiting the previously ironman-like Pence to a career season-low 52 games. It's easy to overlook that Pence's numbers, if projected over a full season, would have looked […]

Drew Smyly is a breakout candidate for 2016

Drew Smyly came up with the Detroit Tigers in 2012, and the biggest issue he has faced in developing into a top-of-the-rotation starter is staying healthy. He won the fifth starter job in Detroit in 2014, but was shipped off to play with the Tampa Bay Rays at the deadline as part of the David […]

James Shields' Production Won't Match Reputation

James Shields has been one of fantasy's more reliable starting pitchers over the last five seasons, offering 200-strikeout and 15-win potential with the Tampa Bay Rays, Kansas City Royals and San Diego Padres. But the man known as "Big Game James" threw up some red flags in his 2015 debut season in Southern California that […]

Johnny Cueto Offers Top-20 Pitcher Upside

It's a small sample size, granted, but Johnny Cueto sure seems to be a better fit in the National League than the American League. In 19 starts with the Cincinnati Reds last season, Cueto went 7-6 with a 2.62 ERA and 0.93 WHIP. After a July trade to the Kansas City Royals, those numbers ballooned […]

Fantasy Sleepers: Patrick Corbin

When searching for sleepers in the fantasy universe, it is important to remember that players recovering from injury often make the best candidates. The reason for this is prospective owners are sometimes hesitant to believe a player coming back from an extended absence will be able to replicate their past success. While this is a […]

Carson Smith Could Be Invaluable Part of Bridge to Craig Kimbrel for Boston

Carson Smith looked like he could be the closer in Seattle in 2015 after Fernando Rodney faltered. Instead, he was part of the Wade Miley deal in the off-season and he's now behind another uber-closer: Craig Kimbrel. All is not lost, though. Bullpens are constructed to lock down the later innings before turning the ball […]

J.T. Realmuto Will Be a Bargain Catcher For Fantasy Owners This Year

J.T. Realmuto had a solid rookie season for the Miami Marlins in 2015 where he finished with a .259 average, 10 HR and a .290 OBP. Like most of the Miami Marlins last year, Realmuto was inconsistent for most of the season, though he did have a couple of months where he looked like a […]

Wei-Yin Chen Looks To Continue Success With Miami Marlins

The Miami Marlins received a much-needed boost to their starting rotation after they landed lefty Wei-Yin Chen from the Baltimore Orioles. Chen was a solid complement to Ubaldo Jimenez in Baltimore and should fare just as well alongside Jose Fernandez. Chen’s 3.34 ERA was tops for the Orioles in 2015 and seventh-lowest in the American […]

Justin Bour Should be Considered a Top-15 First Baseman

Justin Bour only played in 123 games last season, but he made the most of his opportunity. Lost in the fanfare of Giancarlo Stanton, Jose Fernandez and Dee Gordon, Bour is a powerful, left-handed slugger playing first base in Miami. But don’t let the lack of name recognition fool you. He finished 2015 with a […]

Eduardo Rodriguez Looks to Have Strong Sophomore Season

There was a time during the 2015 season that the Red Sox brass was concerned that rookie southpaw Eduardo Rodriguez was tipping pitches. Pitching to a lineup like Toronto's, with Troy Tulowitzki, Josh Donaldson, Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion is terrifying enough - but if they have an idea of what's coming? It might as […]

Christian Yelich Looks to Build Off Strong 2015 Campaign

Miami Marlins outfielder Christian Yelich put together a solid 2015 despite a pair of mid-season DL stints. In 2015, Yelich finished with a .300 average and 143 hits in just 126 games after a lower back strain caused him to miss time in April and May, while a knee contusion kept him out of the […]

Can Jon Niese Bounce Back?

After putting together the weakest season of his career in 2015, starting pitcher Jon Niese was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for Neil Walker. Pittsburgh’s newly acquired left-hander, who will be 29 this year, posted a 4.13 ERA and 1.40 WHIP along with 113 Ks in 176.2 innings last season. Sustaining a partially […]

Yu Darvish Could be Worth the Risk

It's difficult to know what to expect from Yu Darvish after the 29-year-old missed the entire 2015 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery. Darvish posted a strikeout rate of over 30 percent in each of his last two seasons. He also brought his HR/9 rate down to 0.8 after if had risen to 1.12 […]

Doug Fister: Late Round Steal

I wouldn’t exactly call Doug Fister a sleeper this year because he has established himself in the past, but I do think he is being overlooked. After a disappointing 2015 season, for not only him but the Washington Nationals, Fister will benefit from a change of scenery now with the Houston Astros. He has already […]

Cameron Maybin's Speed Makes Him A Depth Option

Cameron Maybin is rated in the seventh tier of outfielders according to our RotoBaller staff, and is listed as the 61st outfielder overall. It might not seem like there's much value to be had there considering Maybin's career numbers--.251/.313/.366 with very little power and a 21.9% K rate that isn't exactly low--but Maybin's speed makes […]

Jose Iglesias Provides Value and Depth

In his short MLB tenure, Jose Iglesias has dazzled baseball fans with his defensive prowess. Unfortunately, fancy glove-work doesn't exactly translate to fantasy value, so Iglesias is often overlooked as a viable option in most leagues--he was owned in just 11% of Yahoo! leagues last season. Still, as an option providing depth at the shortstop […]

Luis Valbuena's 2016 Fantasy Outlook

Luis Valbuena also benefited from a change of scenery in 2015. Despite a drop in certain categories from his final season in a Chicago Cubs uniform, Valbuena’s power numbers increased, reaching career highs in both home runs and RBI’s. His 25 long balls and 56 ribbies last season deserve him a mention in fantasy talks, […]

Ken Giles is a Top Ten RP in 2016

Ken Giles could very well be the final piece of Houston’s puzzle to success in 2016. Swiping him away from the Philadelphia Phillies in the offseason, the Astros will now likely swipe away the closer job from Luke Gregerson and hand it over to Giles. With the Phillies last season, Giles posted a 1.80 ERA, […]

Colby Rasmus: Late Round Outfielder

Colby Rasmus recently announced that he wants to be an Astro for the rest of his career. What that tells me about a 29 year old is that his head is in the right place, dedicated to proving that he belongs in Houston. I like Rasmus because he’s a guy that you don’t expect too […]