Last year, fantasy baseball managers paid a high price for a number of players who just never seemed to find their groove. With the 2016 season in the books, some of these busts will be looking to turn things around.
Here’s a look at a few players that figure to get back on track and provide their fantasy managers with the return they need to compete this season.
Bryce Harper (OF, Washington Nationals)
After his first four seasons in the majors, Harper became a big part of the debate for best player in the league. Then 2016 happened. For managers who paid a top five price for the prodigy, 2016 was filled with disappointment. It was only after the season ended that Harper revealed that nagging injuries played a big part in a season where he had a slash line of 84/24/86/.243.
Coming into this season, Harper reports he is healthy again. He looked great in spring training and popped a dinger in the first game of the regular season. While his priced dropped to an average draft position of #10, managers from keeper leagues will be looking for a return similar to the numbers he posted in 2015, 118/42/99/.330.
A.J. Pollock (OF, Arizona D-Backs)
It wasn’t that Pollock played poorly in 2016, it was that he hardly played at all due to injuries that limited him to 12 games. It was a high price for managers to pay after taking him off the board in the top 20-25 in most draft.
With the misery of 2016 behind him, Pollock will look to resume his ascension as one of the top outfielders in the game. With that unique combination of speed and power, Pollock has the ability to add significant value in most offensive categories. His slash line in 2016 read like this: 111/20/76/.315 with 39 steals. Anything close to that this year will help many a fantasy manager make it to the playoffs.
Giancarlo Stanton (OF, Miami Marlins)
For the third time in the last four years, Stanton missed a significant number of games in 2016. His enormous power is legendary. He knack for hitting the DL list is fast becoming legendary as well.
After five straight years of being a top 15 draft pick, fantasy managers treated Stanton with kit-gloves in 2017, dropping his average draft position to the mid-40s. This is a significant drop for a man who could easily hit 50 home runs and drive in 110 runs if he could just stay healthy. Maybe this is the year he will reward loyal fantasy managers with a top 10 season.
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