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: NEIL WALKER, 2B, PITTSBURGH PIRATES
LWOS 2B RANKING: 12, CAPTAIN’S VALUE: $5.98
Neil Walker is somewhat of a late bloomer. He earned a full-time gig at age 24 when he finally stuck at second base with the Pirates after bouncing around different positions in the minors. In the 4 and 2/3 seasons since, he’s been a model of consistency. He had a career year in 2014 and finally flashed that 20 homer power they told us about when he was a young prospect. His 23 dingers were 7 more than his previous career-high of 16.
The homers, helped by a career-high (although not by much) 13.9% HR/FB%, made him a top-10 option at the keystone position, as for his other numbers, it was business as usual for Walker. He doesn’t walk much (which is a shame because “Walker walks a lot” would be fun to say), but he makes up for it by having a decent strikeout rate, great contact rate, and is usually among the league leaders in getting hit by pitches. He’s always good for a .270-ish average with 65-75 RBI, 65-75 R, and while he doesn’t have the double-digit stolen bases speed he once had, he can still get a few. The only thing that kept this guy from being a 20/10 player during his peak years was a string of freak injuries that would cause him to miss a few weeks here and there, and he has been quite unlucky in that regard. Just last year he missed about 2 weeks due to an emergency appendectomy.
Walker is by no means a sexy pick, despite what the ladies (or gentleman, no judgment here) of Pittsburgh might say, but he is a great fantasy value at what is considered a thin position. Normally you expect speed rather than power from your middle infielders, but with home runs as scarce as they are these days, I’ll take power wherever I can get it, I’ll worry about steals later. Don’t expect Walker to hit 23 homers again, but anywhere in the 15-20 range is a good bet, and that’s pretty awesome for a second baseman that will probably be drafted in the 8-12 range at his position.
| Year | Age | Team | G | PA | HR | RBI | R | SB | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS |
| 2012 | 26 | PIT | 129 | 530 | 14 | 69 | 62 | 7 | .280 | .342 | .426 | .768 |
| 2013 | 27 | PIT | 133 | 551 | 16 | 53 | 62 | 1 | .251 | .339 | .418 | .757 |
| 2014 | 28 | PIT | 137 | 571 | 23 | 76 | 74 | 2 | .271 | .342 | .467 | .809 |
| Projected 2015 | 29 | PIT | 133 | 550 | 18 | 66 | 66 | 2 | .276 | .340 | .440 | .780 |
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DETROIT, MI – MAY 20: Neil Walker #18 of the Pittsburgh Pirates hits a solo home run in the sixth inning during the game against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park on May 20, 2012 in Detroit, Michigan. The Tigers defeated the Pirates 4-3. (Photo by Leon Halip/Getty Images)