Fantasy Profile: Manny Machado 3B, Baltimore Orioles

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.

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Fantasy Profile: Manny Machado 3B, Baltimore Orioles

LWOS Ranking 11, Captain’s Value: $10.11

Before his devastating knee injury last year, Manny Machado was turning into a household name. His eye-popping defense, long throws across the diamond, and frozen ropes into left field, were commonly featured in many of ESPN’s highlight packages. A few months and a knee surgery later, Machado has dropped to a 12th round selection in Yahoo! leagues.

Third base has a lot of talent this year, but I believe Machado represents tremendous value given his current average draft position compared to his potential. Consider that before his injury Machado was starting to really heat up, with a line of .333/.356/.565 in July and .378/.429/.511 in August before he went down.

While certainly a tremendous defensive player as evidenced by a 4.3 dWAR in 2013 and a 1.0 dWAR in 2014, Machado is a growing talent who has shown signs of quality offensive talent at the plate. He has had an above-average OPS+ during the last two season. Despite the injuries, his ADP is so low in relation to his potential that he has got to be a targeted player in early drafts.

photo credit: Manny Machado via photopin (license)