RADIO
BALLER MOVE: Target ~ 250
CURRENT ADP: 281.7
ANALYSIS: Travis d’Arnaud was a popular sleeper pick heading into 2016, as his .268/.340/.485 line with 12 dingers in 268 plate appearances had fantasy owners interested. A shoulder injury bit into his playing time and limited him to a .247/.307/.323 line with four homers, however, removing him from the fantasy radar. He is expected to be fully healthy by Spring Training, giving him some post-hype sleeper appeal.
A mechanical flaw in d'Arnaud's batting stance has also been cited as a potential reason for the nose dive in FB% (41.7% to 30.8%) and spike in IFFB% (16.3% to 19.4%). The Mets are aware of the problem, and plan to correct it during Spring Training. If these rates return to 2015 levels, 2017 fantasy owners will turn a significant profit on their investment.
Finally, TDA faces little competition for his lineup spot. Kevin Plawecki looked like a disaster in 2016, while Rene Rivera is nothing more than a glove. If nothing else, d'Arnaud will play.
Check out RotoBaller's entire fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups and sleepers list, updated daily!
