Will One-Year Gamble Pay Off For Matt Wieters And Orioles?

Matt Wieters accepted a one-year qualifying offer from the Orioles this past November, which places his quest for a long-term contract on hold until next offseason. While he certainly cashed in (to the tune of $15.8 million for 2016), Wieters has clearly placed the onus on his back to deliver a productive campaign and to […]

Sean Doolittle Still Oakland Athletics' Ninth Inning Guy

Sean Doolittle just recently announced that he is fully healthy and ready for spring training. This news has put a smile on every Bay Area resident wearing a Green Collar, and for good reason. The Oakland Athletics’ closer has amassed 224 strikeouts in 192 2/3 innings over the course of his Major League career. Throw […]

Billy Burns Will Give Fantasy Owners Balance in 2016

In his first near-full major league season, Billy Burns made a great impression on the Oakland Athletics’ front office and fans alike. He proved himself to be a contact hitter who gets on base and uses his speed to score runs. After getting called up from the AAA Nashville Sounds, Burns started to turn the […]

Strikeouts Contribute to Most of Raisel Iglesias' Value

When it comes to the Cincinnati Reds’ pitching rotation, it can be tough to fully commit to any of its members when trying to form a reliable fantasy SP roster. Aside from Homer Bailey, who is still a question mark in his own right, there is an unproven track record from top to bottom. Raisel Iglesias […]

Marcus Semien is a Big Question Mark Heading into the 2016 Season

Whether Marcus Semien has made a good or bad name for himself in Major League Baseball is still up for debate. Semien is one of the least disciplined infielders in all of Major League Baseball. In the 2015 season at shortstop with the Oakland Athletics, Semien had a mind-boggling 35 errors. Thank goodness errors do […]

Mark Canha's Progression as a Viable 1B

Mark Canha’s career has taken a lot of twists and turns. The Florida Marlins selected the former UC Berkley Golden Bear in the seventh round of the 2010 Junior Amateur Draft. In 2014, the Colorado Rockies swiped Canha from the Marlins in the Rule 5 draft and just moments later, traded him to the Oakland […]

Travis d'Arnaud A Top Five Backstop For 2016?

Travis d'Arnaud had his season cut short by injuries in 2015. Bad news for him, but good news for owners who can take advantage of any discount this might lead to in upcoming drafts. d'Arnaud finished with the third highest OPS among qualified catchers, behind Buster Posey, and Kyle Schwarber. In 239 ABs, d'Arnaud recorded […]

Can Marco Estrada Repeat Production in 2016?

Marco Estrada is another Blue Jay who found success during his first season playing for Toronto. In 28 starts, Estrada went 13-8, putting together an impressive 3.18 ERA and 1.01 WHIP. He struck out 131 batters while only relinquishing 134 hits in 181.0 innings pitched. There is, however, unfortunately much to nitpick about Estrada’s career […]

Pablo Sandoval Wants a Better Sequel For Kung Fu Panda in Boston

Pablo Sandoval bid a sad farewell to San Francisco after the 2014 season after signing with Boston. He didn't bowl anyone over during his first season in a Red Sox uniform. His numbers were a far cry from his best days: .245 with 10 homers and 47 RBIs, which came NOWHERE near his '09 line […]

Evan Longoria Deserves One More Chance from Fantasy Owners

Evan Longoria is the Tampa Bay Rays' all-time leader in home runs and runs batted in, but has failed to live up to the expectations he set for himself with his early-career production. Longoria has struggled to stay healthy throughout his career, but over the last three years, he has constructed moderate stat lines, despite […]

Which Rubby De La Rosa Will We See in 2016

Rubby probably rubbed a lot of fantasy owners the wrong way last season, particularly in the second half. After posting a 1.14 WHIP, and 8.3 K/9 rate over the first two months, De La Rosa regressed mightily. He still finished with a 14-9 record, but, much like with new teammate Shelby Miller, wins and losses […]

Gregory Polanco A Break-Out Candidate

Pirates leadoff hitter Gregory Polanco slashed a .256/.320/.381 line last year during his first full big league season, improving on the .235/.307/.343 line he posted in his 89 game rookie campaign. Belting nine HRs and accumulating 27 SBs during 2015, Polanco also demonstrated the plate discipline of a seasoned veteran. Maintaining an excellent 8.4 BB% […]

Will Roberto Osuna be the Blue Jays Closer in 2016?

Roberto Osuna looked to be the clear favorite to resume the role of ninth-inning man in 2016, but the recent acquisition of reliever Drew Storen makes you wonder what the Blue Jays really have in store for Osuna. Osuna collected 20 saves and seven holds in only 68 games of his 2015 rookie campaign, and […]

Kevin Pillar 2016 Outlook

Kevin Pillar played in 159 games last season; his first full slate in the big leagues. Although known for his speed and glove in the outfield, Pillar’s production at the plate was relatively impressive as well, and should be given a look as a fantasy option in deeper leagues. Pillar posted a .278 batting average, […]

Javier Baez Will Be The First Man Off The Bench

If Javier Baez played for nearly any other organization besides the Cubs, this would be a big year for him. A second baseman/shortstop, the 23-year-old Puerto Rico native showed improvement in his short, 28-game stint in the majors last year, recording just 14 fewer base hits than in 2014, despite playing in 24 fewer games. […]

Chris Colabello Needs At-bats to Reach Fantasy Value

After two forgettable seasons with the Minnesota Twins, Chris Colabello let himself be known in a Blue Jays uniform. In only 333 at-bats last season, Colabello batted .321, hit 15 home runs and drove in 54 RBI’s. Colabello was not penciled into the lineup as often during the second half of the season but was […]

Tyler Glasnow To Debut In 2016?

Pittsburgh Pirates GM Neil Huntington recently said it’s “extremely doubtful” top pitching prospect Tyler Glasnow begins 2016 in the big leagues. Having dominated the minor league competition since being drafted in 2012, the right-handed starter has posted a 2.15 ERA and 1.09 WHIP in 402.2 innings of work. His 11.8 K/9 is supported by a […]

Marcus Stroman to Lead a Leaderless Blue Jays Pitching Rotation

Once dubbed as the most Major League ready player to come out of the 2012 MLB draft, Marcus Stroman began his career bouncing around the minors, and getting suspended 50 games for taking a banned substance. He later spent time in both the minors and majors in 2014, and was suspended another five games for […]

Edwin Encarnacion a Top 20 Fantasy Pick

There's something really appealing about designated hitters in fantasy: All they have to do is swing a bat. Encarnacion is likely to see time at first base, but the Blue Jays would be wise to give a huge chunk of the starts to Chris Colabello. When penciled in as the DH last season, Encarnacion cranked […]

Russell Martin Has Found a Home in Toronto

After finding success on three other teams prior to 2015, Martin fit perfectly into an already staggering Blue Jays lineup. The Toronto-native hit a career high 23 home runs in his first season on the Jays. While Martin's average dipped .50 points from his 2014 campaign with the Pittsburgh Pirates, his RBI, runs, and extra […]

Clay Buchholz Sees No Shame in Being No. 2 Starter in 2016

Ever since he got that final out in his no-hitter against Baltimore in 2007, Clay Buchholz has been chasing something. He looked like he was on track in '10, finishing sixth in the American League Cy Young voting. Then he backslid badly, suffering from depression/anxiety in '11 and various injuries over the years, though he […]

Troy Tulowitzki to Succeed in First Full Season with Blue Jays

Despite a drop in production once he was traded to the Blue Jays midseason, Tulowitzki’s presence in Toronto’s lineup ignited the club’s late season run, when they sped by the Yankees into first place. When healthy, Tulowitzki has the potential to be one of the best offensive shortstops in all of baseball. When healthy. His […]

Controlling The Strikeouts Will Be Key For Addison Russell

Now that the Cubs have traded Starlin Castro away, Addison Russell has been given the starting shortstop position, which he should carry all season. Last year, Russell was called up at the end of April and struggled at the plate. He finished with a .242 BA, striking out 149 times to only 115 hits. The […]

Josh Harrison Looks To Rebound In 2016

Josh Harrison had a career year in 2014 but failed to replicate that success in 2015. Missing six weeks of action in 2015 due to a thumb injury, the Pirates utility man saw his HRs drop from 13 to four. Going 18/25 in SB attempts in 2014, Harrison went a meager 10/18 on the base […]

Wade Davis Looks to Entrench Himself as the Best Closer in 2016.

Wade Davis is poised to be one of the top, if not the top, closers in the game in 2016. Greg Holland is no more, as he is a free agent during his recovery year from Tommy John surgery. Wade Davis was given the keys to the ninth inning after performing very well in the […]

Kelvin Herrera: Not Just a Handcuff in 2016?

Kelvin Herrera might not be as impressive a setup man as Wade Davis was to Greg Holland, and he won’t rack up strikeouts like Carter Capps or Dellin Betances, but he’s still a very solid middle relief option that warrants ownership in deeper 5x5 leagues. Obviously the biggest piece is that he would get the […]

Ian Kennedy Poised for Strong Year with Kansas City in 2016?

Ian Kennedy’s 2015 was disappointing by many standards, as a subpar San Diego team led him to a 9-15 record with a 4.28 ERA and 1.30 WHIP. He is usually a very durable pitcher, though he did have a brief DL stint with a hamstring strain early in the year, leading to his lowest innings […]

Yordano Ventura: What Will His 2016 Look Like?

Yordano Ventura averaged the second fastest fastball in the league last year (just a tick behind Garrett Richards), but he still can be guilty of being a thrower rather than a pitcher for streaks. We’ve seen him lose command and rack up walks on his way to a blow up game, and we’ve seen him […]

Edinson Volquez Looks to Lead KC Rotation in 2016

Edinson Volquez came over to the Royals and has taken over as the de facto number one pitcher. Volquez doesn’t have #1 stuff, but he pitches for a team that can produce runs, has a good catcher in Salvador Perez, and has a great defense behind him. This is not to say that Volquez is […]

Can Kendrys Morales Repeat His Strong Year in 2016?

The Kendrys Morales renaissance was real in 2015 after a horrible 2014. Morales enjoyed hitting in the heart of the order for Kansas City to the tune of 81 runs, 22 homers, 106 RBIs and a .290 average. He should hit out of the five hole again for the Royals, perched around that sweet spot […]