Welcome back to the 2015 Last Word on Fantasy Baseball Guide. Over the next several months we will be releasing player profiles, projections, position rankings, and a number of other articles that will help you dominate your fantasy league this season. Whether you play rotisserie or head-to-head; whether you have a standard draft, a snake or an auction league, and whether its keeper league or a one-year deal; we have all the fantasy information you need.
Eric Hosmer, 1B, Kansas City Royals
LWOS 1B Ranking 16, Captains Value $10.12
Much has been made of the KC/TB trade of James Shields & Wade Davis for Will Myers & Mike Montgomery and the importance it had on the Kansas City Royals run to the World Series. While that trade proved beneficial, for both the team’s bullpen and starting rotation, the improvement of the Royals young hitters such as Lorenzo Cain, Alcides Escobar, Salvador Perez, Mike Moustakas and Eric Hosmer had probably a greater effect. As an example of that improvement, halfway through the year, Eric Hosmer had one home run after 253 ABs. He missed August with a stress fracture in his hand but rebounded with 8 HRs in his last 250 ABs.
Hosmer’s second half average of .321 and surge in HRs in his last 250 ABs give Royals fans hope for a 15HR, 10 SB and .300+ batting average. Going back to 2011-2013, Hosmer averaged 17 HR, 76 RBI and 13 SB per year. The line-up has two major changes with Alex Rios replacing Aoki in RF and Kendry Morales taking over for Billy “Country Breakfast” Butler. The Royals have a good mix of left and right handers in the line-up which make match-ups difficult in the late innings. If the Royals hitters at the top of the order get on base to set the table and Ned Yost continues to let his baserunners run at will, I would look for Eric Hosmer to have another season similar to 2011-13. There are other more prolific power hitters at 1B, but few who can give you the combination of homeruns, stolen bases and batting average that Hosmer can. The Royals need to get three more good years out of Hosmer as the Scott Boras client will be difficult to sign when his arbitration years conclude. Post-hype SLEEPER PICK.
| Year | Team | Pos | G | PA | AB | R | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS |
| 2011 | KC | 1B | 128 | 563 | 523 | 66 | 19 | 78 | 11 | 34 | 82 | 0.293 | 0.334 | 0.465 | 0.799 |
| 2012 | KC | 1B | 152 | 598 | 535 | 65 | 14 | 60 | 16 | 56 | 95 | 0.232 | 0.304 | 0.359 | 0.663 |
| 2013 | KC | 1B | 159 | 679 | 623 | 86 | 17 | 79 | 11 | 51 | 100 | 0.302 | 0.353 | 0.448 | 0.801 |
| 2014 | KC | 1B | 131 | 547 | 503 | 54 | 9 | 58 | 4 | 35 | 93 | 0.270 | 0.318 | 0.398 | 0.716 |
| 2015 Projection | KC | 1B | 605 | 551 | 68 | 18 | 65 | 7 | 47 | 96 | 0.289 | 0.344 | 0.452 | 0.797 |
For the rest of our fantasy baseball profiles and articles, please check out our Fantasy Baseball Guide Page.
Do you play DFS? If you do try Fantasy Draft!!
Thank you for reading. Please take a moment to follow me on twitter – @jimbohorton. Support LWOS by following us on Twitter – @LastWordOnSport and @LWOSworld – and “liking” our Facebook page.
Have you tuned into Last Word On Sports Radio? LWOS is pleased to bring you 24/7 sports radio to your PC, laptop, tablet or smartphone. What are you waiting for?
KANSAS CITY, MO – OCTOBER 28: Eric Hosmer #35 of the Kansas City Royals slides into second base in the second inning against the San Francisco Giants during Game Six of the 2014 World Series at Kauffman Stadium on October 28, 2014 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)
