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Connor McEleney’s 2018 Bold Predictions

Bold predictions aren't meant to be taken too seriously, but all of these are plausible in my mind.

They’re bold and hot take-esque, but I really believe that all ten of these predictions could come true.

Let's wrap up RotoBaller's bold predictions series for 2018 as we prepare for first pitches across the country.

Be sure to check all of our fantasy baseball lineup tools and resources:

 

Connor's Bold Predictions for 2018

Andrew Benintendi finishes the season as a top-10 fantasy player

Benintendi is ascending rapidly and you should’ve been targeting him in every draft. This guy has real five-category ability, so predicting a top-10 finish for him isn’t terribly bold. I’m just not seeing any articles about him and his pick 40 ADP. The nice thing about Benintendi is that he’s guaranteed to improve as he ages into his prime. Last year he was a 2 win player for the Red Sox after performing well during his 2016 premiere tour, chipping in a .295 BA in 118 plate appearances. He’s an advanced batter for his age. He’s an elite talent. You need to roster young players like this.

Ohtani struggles in first half, has top-five second half as a pitcher

If you’re like me, you’re thrilled to see Ohtani’s fantasy stock plummeting heading into Opening Day. I want Ohtani in every league.

I think we can chalk up Ohtani’s struggles to his age and professional playing experience in the U.S., of which there was none before this season. I’m willing to bet that Ohtani’s issues are related to self-doubt and confidence. Can you imagine how tough it would be to go from being utterly dominant to sub-replacement level in only a few months? Ohtani will work through his mental issues by going out and stringing together a few excellent performances during the regular season. Once that happens, get off the tracks. The Ohtani train will be barreling through the league at full speed.

Miguel Cabrera hits .310 and returns fourth-round value

Miggy was wildly unlucky in 2017. Health issues routinely plagued him, the Tigers sold their best players, and a .292 BABIP helped drag his batting average down to .249. Here’s what’s encouraging to see: he had a .289 xBA and a .382 xwOBA, rates well above his actual output. Nearly everything on his profile points to positive regression. Now is the time to ask about his availability, but if you have him already, good job.

Nomar Mazara hits .290 and 30 HR

I’m anointing myself as one of the leaders of the Nomar Mazara Truthers movement. He has two full seasons under his belt at 22-years old. He drove in 101 baserunners at 22-years-old. Steamer and ZiPS love him for 2018. He’s also only 22-years-old. Have I made that clear enough? He’s ONLY 22 YEARS OLD. A Mazara breakout campaign is bound to occur one of these years. If you don’t think it’ll be this year, that’s reasonable. But make sure you acquire him in dynasty. It’s all about age-adjusted production, and if you love owning young studs who produce early in their careers, Mazara is a perfect fit for your team.

A season hitting .290 with 30 HR is probably Mazara’s ceiling. I’m saying he’ll hit that point this year.

Carlos Martinez wins the NL Cy Young

I’ve been trying to acquire C-Mart in all of my leagues this offseason. He’s a bonafide ace entering his age-27 season on a revamped Cardinals team. The wins will be there and the strikeouts will keep rolling in. Best case scenario: his HR/9 drops, his BB/9 drops, he wins over 15 games, and he tacks on a few more strikeouts than usual. Oh, and he needs to stay healthy all year. If all of that happens, Martinez will win the NL Cy Young. He’s so close.

Trevor Bauer ends the year as a top-five pitcher

This is happening, y’all. Hop on board now. Bauer was lights-out in the second half of 2017. I hate to do that first half/second half analysis, but it’s worth noting that Bauer made a real adjustment last year. His fastball zone rate increased and he whipped batters with his slider. The second half result was a 3.01 ERA, 10.0 K/9, and a 2.80 BB/9.

He’s still just 27-years-old. Combine a decreased walk rate with a bunch of strikeouts and 15+ wins, and you have a fantasy ace. This prediction really isn’t as crazy as it sounds.

Eloy Jimenez is 2018’s Rhys Hoskins, only better

There’s a Rhys Hoskins breakout seemingly every season. A player gets called up, torches opposing batters or pitchers, and leads fantasy teams into the playoffs. Hoskins did it last year, Jimenez is doing it this year. His 80-grade raw power will be enough to dizzy pitchers at first, but Jimenez will not peter out like Hoksins did last year. Jimenez will maintain dominance through September.

Garrett Richards doesn’t get hurt, almost wins the AL Cy Young

What’s the bolder prediction? Richards doesn’t get hurt or he almost wins the Cy Young? If you’re familiar with his injury woes, the former prediction is probably bolder. Basically all Richards has ever done is dominate when healthy. He looked fantastic when pitching late in the season last year and I expect him to carry that into 2018. A high strikeout rate, low walk rate, good peripherals all factor into this prediction. He won’t win the Cy Young, but he’ll be in contention for it. If he actually does win the AL Cy Young after I said he’ll almost win it, I’ll be pretty pissed off. I should go all the way with this prediction, but I’m not going to.

Travis Shaw almost wins NL MVP

A full, healthy season from Travis Shaw in his age-27 would certainly be MVP material. Assuming he actually improves, a high batting average and 30+ HR is not out of the question here. Shaw is locked into a stacked Brewers lineup that’ll result in him loading up on runs and RBI. Since I’m saying he’ll almost win NL MVP, that means I think he’ll be a top-three fantasy third baseman.

That’s right. Bryant, Arenado, Shaw. That’s your end-of-the-year order.

Trea Turner proves doubters wrong by hitting by hitting .305, 20 HR, 60 SB, with 110 runs

I was really glad to see the Trea Turner anti-hype train pass me by this offseason. I waved to the passengers as they headed towards the consolation bracket.

“Bye, guys! Thanks for all you’ve done to lower Turner’s draft stock!”

This’ll be the full Trea Turner breakout season. We haven’t seen Turner play a complete year yet, but it’ll happen this season. When it comes, you’ll want to own him. I honestly believe that no one other than Mike Trout has a higher fantasy ceiling.

 

More RotoBaller Predictions




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REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

Brandon Aiyuk

49ers Officially Place Brandon Aiyuk on PUP List
Nathan Eovaldi

Likely Done for the Season
Tyreek Hill

Remains Out of Practice
Najee Harris

Moved to Active Roster
Yordan Alvarez

Activated and Starting on Tuesday
Oneil Cruz

Back From Injured List
New York Mets

Jonah Tong Promoted to Major Leagues
Spencer Rattler

Saints Name Spencer Rattler as Starting QB
MarShawn Lloyd

Packers Leaning Toward Placing MarShawn Lloyd on Injured Reserve
Tyjae Spears

to Begin the Season on Injured Reserve
Nikola Jović

Heat Have High Hopes for Nikola Jovic
Golden State Warriors

Cody Martin Drawing Interest From Warriors
Minnesota Timberwolves

Timberwolves Interested in Reunion With Bones Hyland
Kylor Kelley

Joins Lakers
Colin Castleton

Links Up With Magic
Brock Bowers

Pete Carroll Classifies Brock Bowers Among His Best Players Ever
De'Von Achane

Lingering Calf Injury Poses Concerns for De'Von Achane
Adam Thielen

Vikings and Panthers Struggling to Finalize Adam Thielen Trade
Malik Monk

Kings "Not Actively Engaged" in Trade Discussions Involving Malik Monk
P.J. Washington

Mavs Likely to Offer P.J. Washington a Contract Extension
Kenny Pickett

Raiders Acquire Kenny Pickett From Browns
Cincinnati Bengals

Bengals Give Trey Hendrickson a Raise
Amari Cooper

Signs One-Year Deal With Raiders
NHL

Jan Rutta Lands in Switzerland
Kirby Dach

Skates on Monday
COL

Tyson Barrie Retires From NHL
Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Back in Toronto's Lineup
Joe Mixon

to Start Season on Non-Football Injury List
Jaylen Wright

Not Expected to Play in Week 1
Jakobi Meyers

Requests Trade
Jauan Jennings

Not Practicing on Monday, has Avoided IR for Now
Matthew Stafford

Taking 11-On-11 Reps on Monday
Zhang Mingyang

Suffers His First UFC Loss
Johnny Walker

Gets Back In The Win Column
Brian Ortega

Loses Back-To-Back Fights
Aljamain Sterling

Proves Too Much For Brian Ortega
Chris Sale

Penciled in to Start on Saturday
Waldo Cortes-Acosta

Suffers Unanimous-Decision Loss
Sergei Pavlovich

Wins Decision At UFC Shanghai
Terry McLaurin

Signs Three-Year Extension with Commanders
Kevin Borjas

Drops Decision At UFC Shanghai
Sumudaerji

Wins Back-To-Back Fights
Kiefer Crosbie

Still Winless In The UFC
Taiyilake Nueraji

Gets His First UFC Win
Ryan Blaney

Earns his Second Daytona Cup Series Win
Tyler Reddick

Locks Into the 2025 Playoffs Despite Underwhelming Daytona Performance
Erik Jones

Misses the 2025 Playoffs Despite Top-Five Run at Daytona
Justin Haley

Best Performance of 2025 Falls Short of Victory at Daytona
Chase Burns

To Throw Bullpen on Tuesday
Kyle Larson

Enters Playoffs As Co-Points Leader
Alex Bowman

Advances to Playoffs Despite Crashing at Daytona
Cole Custer

Finally Shows Signs of Life at Daytona
Daniel Suarez

Lame-Duck Daniel Suarez Delivers Clutch Second-Place Finish
Logan Gilbert

Punches Out 13 in Victory
Randy Rodríguez

Randy Rodriguez Battling Arm Soreness
Marcus Semien

Out 4-6 Weeks, Could Miss Rest of Season
Ranger Suárez

Ranger Suarez Strikes Out 11 in Win
Cal Raleigh

Sets Catcher Home Run Record
Yordan Alvarez

Likely to Return on Tuesday
Jacob deGrom

to Start on Monday
Kyle Tucker

Homers Twice in Win
Chris Sale

Likely to Return Next Weekend
Brian Robinson Jr.

to be RB2
Najee Harris

to be Ready Week 1?
De'Von Achane

Making Good Progress
Marcus Semien

Placed on Injured List
Jackson Merrill

Heads to 10-Day Injured List
Brice Turang

Absent on Saturday, "Touch-and-Go" With Wrist Injury
Chase Elliott

Despite Being Winless at Daytona, Chase Elliott is Probably the Best DFS Option
Ryan Blaney

Will Likely Lead a Lot at Daytona
Kyle Larson

a Poor DFS Option at Daytona
Christopher Bell

Consistent Enough to Consider for DFS
Chris Buescher

Now Must Win His Way Into Playoffs
Ryan Preece

Being One of the Slowest-Starting Fords Makes Ryan Preece a Strong DFS Option
Ross Chastain

Leads a Lot on Drafting Tracks
Daniel Suarez

Now in Desperation Mode With his Career on the Line
Chase Briscoe

Tendency to Finish Better Than He Runs May Reap Dividends at Daytona
Carson Hocevar

Hard to Forecast Since He's Rarely Given 100 Percent at Daytona
Michael McDowell

has a Solid Drafting Record
AJ Allmendinger

A.J. Allmendinger Arguably Starting Too Well for Place-Differential Points
Austin Dillon

Will Likely Be Too Conservative for DFS Consideration
Matt Chapman

Activated and Starting on Saturday
Moses Moody

Warriors Not Interested in Trading Moses Moody
Kevin Durant

Rockets Expected to Agree on New Contract
Trey Murphy III

Warriors, Spurs Interested in Trey Murphy III
Zack Wheeler

to Undergo Season-Ending Surgery
CAR

Luke Kunin Joins Panthers on One-Year Deal
Auston Matthews

Says His Health is "Good" Before Start of Season
Roope Hintz

"Feeling Good" Ahead of New Season
Matthew Tkachuk

Recovering From Surgery
Marco Rossi

Wild Re-Sign Marco Rossi to Three-Year Deal
NBA

Malik Beasley Now Drawing Interest from Teams
Zhang Mingyang

Set For UFC Shanghai Main Event
Johnny Walker

In Dire Need Of Victory
Brian Ortega

An Underdog At UFC Shanghai
Aljamain Sterling

Set For UFC Shanghai Co-Main Event
Waldo Cortes-Acosta

Looks To Extend His Win Streak
Sergei Pavlovich

A Favorite At UFC Shanghai
Kevin Borjas

Set for UFC Shanghai Main-Card Bout
Sumudaerji

Looks To Win Back-To-Back Fights
Kiefer Crosbie

Set To Open Up UFC Shanghai Main Card
Taiyilake Nueraji

Set For His UFC Debut
Connor Ingram

Clears Player Assistance Program
Frank Nazar

Inks Seven-Year Extension With Blackhawks
COL

Victor Olofsson Signs One-Year Deal With Avalanche
Dru Smith

Aims to Be Healthy for Training Camp
Jayson Tatum

Provides Injury Update
RJ Barrett

Considered a Trade Candidate
Golden State Warriors

Warriors "Remain Very Confident" About Signing Al Horford
Jahmir Young

Agrees to Deal With Heat

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