It's never too early to dream about next year. Whether you're looking for the perfect sneaky keeper or dynasty stash, or you're already eliminated from contention from your playoffs, there exists a smorgasbord of underowned players at every position ripe for the picking.

The premise is simple: identify players with very low ownership rates who have the potential to gain relevance in standard mixed formats. Low ownership rates serve as a proxy for general interest in players heading into next season; the lower the ownership rate, the lower that player will likely slip on draft day 2017.

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It's Never Too Early

This week will feature a shortstop, third baseman and outfielder. Next week will feature three starting pitchers. Each of the following players are owned in 10 percent or less of fantasy leagues, according to FleaFlicker.

 

Shortstop

Chris Owings, ARI
2016 stats: 4 HR, 48 R, 42 RBI, 18 SB, .274/.316/.415 in 439 PA

Owings isn't the gold standard of excellence in on-base percentage (OBP) leagues. With an 18.7% strikeout rate (K%) and 4.6% walk rate (BB%), he has a Starlin Castro feel to him, albeit with the home run and stolen base columns swapped. Accordingly, Owings doesn't immediately project to be a special bat, despite his status as a former 1st-round pick. He looks a lot like the player he demonstrated he was in the minor leagues, which is actually a compliment -- guys like Owings frequently don't pan out with his skill set. But, with an 89 wRC+, he is a decidedly below-average hitter.

He does a few things well, though. He mitigates his aversion to free trips to first base by hitting the ball well when he makes contact, running a .320 batting average on balls in play (BABIP) through his first 1,400-ish plate appearances. His elevated line drive rate (LD%), above-average infield fly ball rate (IFFB%), decent hard-hit rate (Hard%) and plus speed all support his perennially robust BABIP.

Speaking of speed: it's the second time in two years that Owings has surpassed the 15-steal threshold. It's nothing exemplary, but with power more plentiful than ever, stolen bases have become relatively scarce. Owings' 17 steals place him tied for 6th among shortstops, making him something like a poor man's Elvis Andrus (owned in 69% of leagues; NFBC ADP 7th among shortstops) or a normal man's Alcides Escobar (16%; 15th).

(Note: Owings also qualifies at outfield. If you play in a league with single-position eligibility, he likely will only qualify for outfield.)

 

Third Base

Ryon Healy, OAK
2016 stats: 12 HR, 32 R, 33 RBI, 0 SB, .303/.336/.519 in 254 PA

It's hard to find sleepers at a position that runs so deep. Healy likely won't be starting fodder in shallow leagues or possibly even in deeper mixed leagues. He's showing a good deal of promise, though, especially as his Athletics teammates flounder around him, so it's difficult not to look his way.

Healy actually looks a lot like Owings in terms of plate approach, from his various swing and contact rates to his resultant plate discipline metrics (19.6% K, 4.4% BB). Healy is far from a burner on the base paths, though; at 6-foot-5, (allegedly) 225 pounds, he probably eats guys like Owings for breakfast.

So it won't surprise you, then, that he's on pace to hit 30 home runs over a full season. That'll play in shallow leagues, even if he doesn't walk and the league-wide power surge rolls over into 2017. With decent pull-side and fly ball rates, Healy at least swings it like a slugger. The hard-hit rate leaves something to be desired -- 28.6% is not only lower than league average, it's lower than Owings' -- so it'd be nice to see him barrel up a few more balls before buying into the 16% HR/FB rate.

With that said, even a little regression in that regard doesn't hurt his stock too much. A 23- to 25-homer pace will do from a third baseman I expected to drafted barely in the top-25 third basemen, if that high. And, again, despite the power surge this season, only a dozen third baseman have topped the 25-homer mark. It gives him the opportunity to be something like a poor man's Jake Lamb breakout, but for 2016. That's something of a discredit to Lamb -- his peripherals looked great last season, and he actually attempts stolen bases -- but next summer Healy could conjure fond memories of Lamb's incredibly first half of 2016.

 

Outfield

Alex Dickerson, SDP
2016 stats: 10 HR, 37 R, 37 RBI, 5 SB, .256/.228/.459 in 271 PA

I featured Dickerson last week at FanGraphs. It feels cheap to feature him again, but I like him so much more than other players in the same ownership range who will be wide-awake sleepers, such as Tyler Naquin and Keon Broxton. Frankly, I think Dickerson is better than both of them, if less flashy. He's far safer.

To touch on the finer points: outside of a suppressed BABIP, Dickerson looks a lot like an outfielding Kyle Seager. He might not have quite the power, but it's something he could (should) grow into, given it was his calling card when being drafted in the 3rd round of the 2011 draft. Meanwhile, the strong gains in contact skills he made at Triple-A this season carried over to the Major League level, resulting in an impressive power-plate discipline combination reminiscent of Maikel Franco. Franco has had his troubles this season, stemming mostly from a BABIP as equally marred as Dickerson's. But Dickerson's batted ball profile is much more authoritative and his speed much more impressive, which should help pull his batting average out of the depths.

His power pace right now is completely reasonable. Extrapolating his current line, and adjusting his BABIP to a league-average rate, we're looking at a player capable of slashing .280/.350/.470 with 20 home runs and a dozen stolen bases. If keep talking in terms of poor men: that's a poor man's (vintage) Michael Brantley.

 

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