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
Fantasy Profile: Billy Butler, 1B, Oakland Athletics
Position rank: 19, Captain’s value: $8.67
From his call-up in 2007 to 2013, Billy Butler was one of the most consistently above-average hitters in the AL. He was always good for at least a .280-.290 batting average with about 15-20 home runs and was one of the most solid designated hitters in the league. Then 2014 happened. He saw his normally respectable walk rate drop from 11.8% in 2013 to 6.8 % in 2014, the lowest of his career. This had a lot to do with his OBP dropping 51 points from .374 to .323. He also became a much more aggressive hitter in 2014, but to no avail. He had the highest SwSr% (swings that were strikes) of his career thanks to the highest swing percentage of his career. He swung at more pitches out of the strike zone than he ever had in his career, but didn’t improve his contact rate. Plus, he had the lowest ISO and HR/FB % of his career, by far.
All of this combined for Butler’s worst full season as a pro: a .271 batting average (still not too shabby though) and 9 measly home runs. Billy Beane may have overpaid for a DH who is at post-peak age, but Billy Butler could be a nice bounce back candidate for 2015. Like I said, he’s been a model of consistency his whole career, so to me his 2014 looks an aberration. I think his 2015 numbers will look more like his 2013 numbers rather than the horrid stat line from 2014. Butler will get you your money’s worth in fantasy drafts and auctions and will put up top-20 1B stats while playing mostly DH.
| Year | Age | Team | G | PA | HR | RBI | R | SB | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS |
| 2012 | 26 | KC | 161 | 679 | 29 | 107 | 72 | 2 | .313 | .373 | .510 | .882 |
| 2013 | 27 | KC | 162 | 668 | 15 | 82 | 62 | 0 | .289 | .374 | .412 | .787 |
| 2014 | 28 | KC | 151 | 603 | 9 | 66 | 57 | 0 | .271 | .323 | .379 | .702 |
| Projected 2015 | 29 | Oak | 155 | 640 | 17 | 84 | 63 | 0 | .287 | .350 | .425 | .775 |
For the rest of our fantasy baseball profiles and articles, please check out our Fantasy Baseball Guide Page.
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