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.
For the rest of our fantasy baseball profiles and articles, please check out our Fantasy Baseball Guide Page.
It is slowly getting closer to that time of year. We are about a month from Fantasy Baseball drafts and many owners are looking through countless websites and draft guides wondering:
“Who are the Fantasy Baseball Sleepers of the draft?”
It is an age old question that many have an opinion on, yet few have a clue about. The first 4 rounds of a fantasy draft are usually predictable, #1 Mike Trout, #2 Miguel Cabrera, #3 Andrew McCutchen, etc. However, the true draft kings are the players who can strike gold in the mid to late teens to round out their teams and get value at their fifth pitcher, their fourth and fifth outfielder positions or possibly an MI spot.
Here are three position players and two pitchers you can draft late and receive solid production from during the 2015 season and steal your draft, and maybe, a crown:
Khris Davis, OF, Milwaukee Brewers — Avg. Draft Position 206.0
Through 200 games in his ML career Davis, 27, has a slash of .251/.311/.797. Last season he regressed in terms of batting average but doubled his home run total from 11 in 2013 to 22. He may not be as good as his .949 OPS from 2013 but we don’t believe he is a below .800 OPS hitter either. Somewhere in between these totals seems likely. He will not steal many bases but a guy with 25-30 HR potential in a lineup with Ryan Braun, Carlos Gomez, Aramis Ramirez, Jonathan Lucroy and Jean Segura; you could do a lot worse with your back end outfielders.
Kole Calhoun, OF, Los Angeles Angels — Avg. Draft Position 105.0
Lost in the shuffle of his bigger named team mates, Calhoun was very productive in 127 games last season. The 27 year old lefty had 17 HR and 58 RBI and scored 90 R while hitting an above league average .272. As Josh Hamilton makes his way back from injury, the already potent Angels lineup provides a great opportunity for Calhoun to pile up valuable RBI and hit the 90 R mark once again.
Danny Santana, SS, Minnesota Twins — Avg. Draft Position 142.8
I am in a dynasty league of 11, and every off-season, there is always one player that someone is trying to deal that nobody wants yet everyone knows is good. This off-season for the Bangor Baseball league, that player was Danny Santana.
This guy plays shortstop, likely the shallowest position in terms of receiving production in fantasy baseball. He does strike out a lot. But, if you told me that if I can load up on pitchers and good corner players AND still get 10-15 HR, 20-25 SB, and 80 R from my shortstop position I have my hand raised and asking “where do I sign?”
Kevin Gausman, SP, Baltimore Orioles — Avg. Draft Position 268.8
The 24 year-old righty is currently penciled in as the Orioles #5 starter but has maybe the most potential of any pitcher on the staff. His ERA dropped over 2 full runs from 2013 to 2014 and while his K/9 ratio also dropped, he still averaged over 7 K/9 during the second half of last season. If he continues to develop, he could be the Orioles best starter by the end of the 2015 season.
Ken Giles, RP, Philadelphia Phillies — Avg. Draft Position 252.3
As the Phillies continually attempt to unload salary and rebuild the storied franchise, Jonathan Papelbon is one of the players most likely to wear another uniform. Standing in the shadows more than ready to take over the closing duties is electric righty Ken Giles. In 44 appearances (45.2 IP) the flamethrower struck out 64 batters while walking 11 leading to a 1.18 ERA and a 0.78 WHIP. While most of the answers to questions of the Phillies future are uncertain, the role of closer appears to be in very capable hands.
** Average Draft Position data found on fantasypros.com.
For the rest of our fantasy baseball profiles and articles, please check out our Fantasy Baseball Guide Page.
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