The 2017 Major League Baseball season is upon us, as pitchers and catchers report to spring training in less than two weeks. In order to ease the drafting process, The Game Haus presents you with its’ second installment of our fantasy baseball tips and tricks series: players to avoid in 2017.
The following players are being valued too high compared to other players at their position, and should be passed on in drafts.
This specific guide is for re-draft leagues only, and does not discuss any keeper or dynasty league strategies.
Adam DuvalL CIN OF
In his first full season, Duvall tallied thirty-three homeruns, with 103 runs batted in, while batting .241. He participated in the 2016 homerun derby after hitting twenty-three homeruns in the first half of the year. The twenty-eight-year-old will be the everyday left fielder and cleanup hitter for the Cincinnati Reds come 2017.
He is a proven power threat, as he mashed 130 bombs in six minor league seasons, although the hit on Duval is his ability to get on base. His major-league career on base percentage of .291 is a red flag. According to FanGraphs, a player’s OBP should be sixty points higher than their batting average, where Duval’s is only fifty. Also, Duvall will see more off-speed pitches in the cleanup spot. This is a concern as he already sports a poor career walk to strikeout ratio of .24.
Another thing to consider is, the more at-bats he accumulates, the more information pitchers will have on him. I predict a severe drop off in batting average as pitchers gain an understanding of how to approach Duvall.
Finally, we must consider alternative options. According to couchmanagers.com , two players who are being selected after Duvall, are Kole Calhoun and Jay Bruce.
Calhoun offers a solid power upside with much higher floors regarding batting average. He will also bat ahead of Mike Trout in 2017, which gives him a great opportunity to score ninety runs for the third time in his short career.
Bruce offers similar power upside to Duval, as he hit thirty-three homers in 2016, and has a similar career batting average of .248. Although, the major difference between the two is experience, as Bruce has nine seasons under his belt, with 241 homeruns and 737 RBI’s.
Matt Harvey NYM SP
2010 first-round pick, Matt Harvey, will enter his fifth MLB season come 2017. After three seasons of a sub three earned run average, he ended his 2016 campaign with a 4.86.
The major risk with Harvey is his surgically repaired elbow. He underwent season ending surgery to fix thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS). TOS can cause a painful, swollen, blue arm, and can also lead to eye problems and vision loss. These symptoms were the prime causes of his lack of production in 2015. The procedure consists of removing one rib to release pressure off of the entrapped nerves in his neck and shoulder.
The only pitcher two pitchers to reach 1000 innings pitched post-surgery are Kenny Rodgers, who underwent the surgery at thirty-six, and Aaron Cook, at twenty-five. Other than Cook, some notable pitchers who underwent TOS surgery before they turned thirty include Kip Wells, Jeremy Bonderman, Alex Cobb, Matt Harrison, and Jamie Garcia.
Harvey’s risk is too high based on where he is being drafted. Pitchers being selected after him include Julio Teheran and Tanner Roark.
Teheran is coming off of his fourth straight 180 plus inning season, while nursing a career 3.39 ERA. The Atlanta Braves’ twenty-six-year-old is a two-time all-star, and a trade to a contending club could sky rocket his value.
Roark is coming off of his second sub three ERA season in three years. He will slot in as the third starter for the heavy favorite in the National League East, the Washington Nationals.
Javier Baez ChC 2B
The ninth overall pick in the 2011 draft had his first season of significant playing time in 2016. He finished the year with fourteen homeruns, twelve steals, and a .273 batting average in 450 plate appearances.
If Baez can amount 600 plate appearances, he has twenty-twenty upside, but 2017 will not be the year. With the excessive amounts of talent in Chicago, the at bats will have to be spread equally. World Series MVP Ben Zobrist will take away playing time at second base when Jon Jay and Albert Almora start in the outfield; as well as when Wilson Contreras moves to left field and Miguel Montero mans the backstop.
When he is in the lineup, the NLCS MVP will bat at the bottom half of the order, limiting his opportunity to score runs and produce RBI’s. Second basemen being selected after Baez include Jonathan Schoop, Logan Forsythe, and Dustin Pedroia.
Schoop, who hit twenty-five homeruns in 2016, will bat in the heart of the Baltimore Orioles lineup behind Manny Machado, Chris Davis, and Mark Trumbo. This will give him ample opportunities for RBI’s come 2017.
Forsythe and Pedroia both project to bat leadoff, which, barring injuries, guarantees them each 600 plate appearances. Both will bat ahead of MVP candidates, in Corey Seager in Los Angeles, and Mookie Betts in Boston, which gives them a high chance of scoring over 100 runs.
David Dahl COL OF
Like Baez and Harvey, Dahl was a top ten pick in the first round. He was called up for sixty-three games in 2016, finishing the year with seven homeruns, five steals, with a .315 average. If he continued the season at that pace, he would finish with eighteen homeruns, twelve steals, and sixty-one RBI’s. Although he batted primarily in the five hole in 2016, he will move down to the seven spot with the acquisition of Ian Desmond.
One issue with Dahl is that he will be battling for playing time with eight year veteran Gerardo Parra. Parra, the two-time gold glover, struggled in 2016 as he dealt with a lingering ankle injury. Now that he is healthy, he is sure to take some playing time away from Dahl.
Another problem with Dahl is his average draft position. Dahl is selected as a top twenty-five outfielder, which is much to high for a seventh hitter who may share time with a veteran.
Other options in the outfield are Stephen Piscotty and Lorenzo Cain.
Piscotty finished the season with twenty-two homeruns and eighty-five RBI’s in his first full MLB season. He will be the everyday right fielder and will bat cleanup for the Cardinals in 2017. Slotting in behind Dexter Fowler, Aledmys Diaz, and Matt Carpenter will give him plenty of RBI opportunities.
Cain looks to lead the Kansas City Royals back to the promise land in 2017. He will continue to bat third in a star-studded lineup that reached the world series only two years ago. Cain poses as a twenty-twenty threat who can also bat around .300. He is in store for a bounce back candidate after an injury riddled 2016 season.
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