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. […]

Andrew Heaney Could be Worth Shot as Late-Round Flyer

The ninth-overall selection by the Miami Marlins in the 2012 Amateur draft, Andrew Heaney had to fight to win a rotation spot with the Angels in 2015, and was able to string together a solid season, posting a 3.49 ERA in 18 starts. Heaney was touted in the minor leagues as a strikeout artist, as […]

Strong Second Half Bodes Well for Justin Verlander in 2016

There was a time when Justin Verlander was untouchable. After being one of the most dominant SPs in the American League from 2009-2012, things took an unfortunate turn. He saw a drop in velocity in both 2013 and 2014, and battled health issues for a good part of both seasons. Many detractors thought Verlander's best […]

Don't Overpay For Zack Greinke in 2016

Zack Greinke cashed in big time on his impressive 2015 campaign. After posting the lowest regular season ERA since Greg Maddux in '95, Greinke signed a six-year, $206.5 million dollar deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks. The question now becomes, will he perform at a level that justifies the deal? More importantly, is he worth burning […]

Can Jeurys Familia Repeat in 2016?

When Jenrry Mejia went down in April the Mets turned to Familia to close out their games. They never looked back. Familia's nickname should be the Family Stone, because he was solid as a rock. He introduced a splitter into his arsenal to compliment his high octane fastball, and the combination was just devastating for […]

Homer Bailey Will Return With a Vengeance

With the departure of Jonny Cueto to San Francisco for greener pastures, the Cincinnati Reds view Homer Bailey as their ace. Many would view this as a tough spot, considering that his 2015 season was a complete nightmare; he began the season on the DL, started two games, and proceeded to go under the knife […]

Please Leave Carlos Santana in the Middle of the Lineup, Terry Francona

Indians manager Terry Francona admits to contemplating using Carlos Santana in the leadoff spot reports Nick Camino on Twitter, presumably to take advantage of baseball's best walk percentage over the past two seasons rather than his two straight years of .231 batting averages. Santana would make a strange leadoff hitter as his mix of power […]

Josh Tomlin Signs 2 Year Extension, Inside Job on 5th Starter Job

Cleveland.com's Zack Meisel is reporting that the newly extended Josh Tomlin is currently expected to be a part of the Tribe's rotation. Indians GM Mike Chernoff said, “he is going to play a meaningful role on this team and he'll have every opportunity to be in the starting rotation.” Tomlin and the Indians are banking […]

Cleveland's Top Prospect Bradley Zimmer to Debut in 2016?

On MLB Network's MLB Tonight, Peter Gammons predicted that Indians' prospect Bradley Zimmer will be roaming the Cleveland outfield sometime this year. Outside of injured left fielder Michael Brantley, the Tribe's outfield picture is murky for this season--let alone into the future--so Gammons might not be as far off as that apparently overambitious statement suggests. […]

Francisco Lindor Looks to Avoid Sophomore Slump After Successful Rookie Campaign

Lindor exceeded everyone's expectations last year as he slashed .313/.353/.482 over 390 at-bats as a rookie. His 12 home runs were a professional high and his OPS grew each of the four months he was in the majors. A consensus top 10 prospect coming into 2015, the Indians took their time in waiting for Lindor […]

Which Jason Kipnis is Going to Show Up in 2016?

In a year where he was an All-Star for the second time and hit a career best of .303, Kipnis disappointed fantasy owners by seeing his home run and stolen base totals continue to trend downward. After hitting 31 home runs and stealing 61 bases from 2012-2013, he has hit only 15 home runs and […]

Does Mike Napoli Have Anymore Bread in the Oven?

The Indians signed Mike Napoli to a 1 year deal as their starting first baseman after his overall disappointing 2015. His difficulties with right-handed pitchers caused him to become a liability as a full-time starter while he slashed .191/.283/.320 against them. Power is about the only useful stat Napoli cooks up for fantasy owners anymore […]

Can Corey Kluber regain his Cy Young Award winning form in 2016?

After winning the AL Cy Young Award in 2014, Corey Kluber failed to maintain an award-winning pace as he finished with an above average line of 9-16 with a 3.49 ERA and 245 strikeouts in 222 innings. This pales in comparison to his Cy Young winning line of 18-9 with a 2.44 ERA and 269 […]

Michael Brantley's Recovery Continues To Progress Well, Targeting June Return

Indians' President Chris Antonetti shared on MLB Network's High Heat with Christopher Russo that outfielder Michael Brantley continues to be on track to miss the first couple months of the regular season as he recovers from off-season surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder. After having speaking with him minutes before the […]

Billy Butler Fading From Fantasy Relevance

“Country Breakfast,” better known as Billy Butler, has surely seen better days. In six of his eight seasons with the Kansas City Royals, Billy Butler was as reliable as it gets. He could split the gaps, he could hit for power, and he could get on base when he needed to. This all culminated in […]

Shawn Tolleson Emerges as Solid Closer Option

Shawn Tolleson was handed the reins in the ninth inning for the first time in his career last season as a result of the struggles of Neftali Feliz, and didn't disappoint, notching 35 saves in 37 opportunities. Tolleson's 2.99 ERA represents a slight rise from the 2.76 he posted in 2014, but the 28-year-old may […]

Brett Gardner Outlook for 2016

Gardner has all the tools to be a solid leadoff hitter. What he lacks is consistency when using them. He is undoubtedly one of the fastest players in baseball, yet always appears to be hesitant to take off from first, which resulted in only 20 stolen bases in 2015. Gardner hasn't stolen more than 25 […]

John Lackey's National League Renaissance

Following a subpar 2014 season that saw him get traded from the Boston Red Sox to the St. Louis Cardinals, 37-year-old John Lackey had a terrific 2015, although the numbers won’t immediately show you that. His record barely changed, going from 14-10 to 13-10, but his ERA was over a run lower, going from 3.82 to 2.77. […]

Noah Syndergaard Ascending the Pitcher Rankings

The young fireballer known as Thor was absolutely electric in 2015. On a rotation that featured Matt Harvey and Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard was actually able to one-up them in terms of his K/9 rate. Thor struck out 10 batters per nine innings, while deGrom and Harvey struck out 9.7 and 8.9 batters per nine […]

Gerardo Parra: Now a Full Time Player in Coors

Well, well, now it's starting to make sense! Corey Dickerson is off to Tampa Bay and Colorado did not get an outfielder in return, so Gerardo Parra now gets to step into a clear starting role with the Rockies. Parra's 2015 was a tale of two halves, as the first one, in Milwaukee, saw him […]

2016 Will Bring Continued Decline For Jay Bruce

When Jay Bruce hit 30+ home runs in three straight seasons (32 in 2011, 34 in 2012, and 30 in 2013), other teams took notice. In those three years, Jay Bruce’s average was .257; not spectacular, but also not horrendous, especially considering his RBI production. Since 2013, Bruce’s has production dropped substantially. His slash line […]

No More Coors for Corey Dickerson

Okay folks, Corey Dickerson is now a Tampa Bay Ray and there are plenty of questions surrounding the fallout. What does this mean for Dickerson? How valuable is he? Which is a nice way of putting “how much of a hit does his stock take leaving Coors”? Well, outside of copping out with a “no […]

Delino DeShields Jr Provides Value With Legs

Delino DeShields Jr. hit just two home runs with a .261 batting average in 121 games last season, but he is worth taking a look at ahead of the 2016 campaign because of what he does well. DeShields has a chance to be an elite stolen base threat over a full slate, as he swiped […]

Starlin Castro: More Risk Than Reward at 2B

Some may worry about Castro moving to second base permanently since his natural position is shortstop. However, playing for the Cubs last year, his offensive numbers jumped after making the switch to second. Castro batted .353 and hit six home runs over the last six weeks of the season. There shouldn't be any doubt about whether […]

Anthony Rizzo Readies for Prime Years

Anthony Rizzo will be 26 years old for the majority of this season, right at the beginning of what can be considered his “prime years”, when a player posts the best numbers he’ll ever have. Although this is usually the norm, Rizzo might be an exception, as he's already been a two-time all-star. With the […]

Xander Bogaerts Looking To Add More Power In 2016

Boston is still very high on Xander Bogaerts... and with very good reason. He won a Silver Slugger award in 2015, hitting .320 and driving in 81 runs. The thing that was missing was homers - he hit all of seven, below his target of 10. The Red Sox brain trust thinks he'll get more […]