Scott Kazmir (SP, OAK) - 2015 Fantasy Baseball Sleeper

BALLER MOVE: Draft Target in Mid-to-Late Rounds

ANALYSIS: With a current ADP of around 195 Scott Kazmir finds himself on our list of ADP draft sleepers for starting pitchers, and is in a position to return a healthy return on his draft day investment. Kazmir had practically fallen off the face of the baseball earth before joining on with Cleveland in 2013. He had been the lone bright spot for a miserable Tampa Bay Devil Rays team (that’s right, Devil Rays) until he was traded to the Angels for Sean Rodriguez in 2009. There in Los Angeles, his career tapered off and he was soon released by the Angels in 2011.

After a comeback year in 2013 with Cleveland, he signed a two-year, $22 million deal with Oakland and at the time it seemed like an overpay. Now it looks like a bargain. Kazmir was extremely sharp for Oakland last year, pitching to his lowest ERA since 2008 (3.55) and allowing his fewest walks (2.36 BB/9) and home runs (.76 HR/9) of his career in the 190.1 innings he threw.

While he took a step back in strikeouts, Kazmir still has good fastball velocity (average speed of 91.0 mph) and mixes it well with his changeup and slider which will help him maintain a level of dominance moving forward. He is likely to build off his great 2014 campaign, and is definitely worth a mid-to-late round draft pick at the very least for fantasy baseball owners. Pitching in the spacious Oakland A's ballpark never hurts either, so don't sleep on Kazmir in your drafts.