Taijuan Walker (SP, SEA) - 2016 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers

BALLER MOVE: Target ~130

CURRENT ADP: 155.7

ANALYSIS: Taijuan Walker got a fair amount of hype heading into 2015, but unfortunately for fantasy owners who paid an expectant price, Walker absolutely face-planted in the early going, carrying a hideous 7.33 ERA through his first nine starts. Then, something clicked. Walker stopped living up to his surname and cut down drastically on the free passes while also raising his strikeout rate. In his final 20 starts, Walker posted a sparkling 1.04 WHIP and a 6.94 K/BB.

Walker had also struggled with keeping the ball in the yard during his early scuffles, and that problem didn’t resolve so neatly. Only seven other qualified starters allowed a worse HR/9 than Walker’s 1.33, which was the main reason he still finished the season with a lousy 4.56 ERA. Still, he is a former top prospect who showed demonstrable improvement as the season wore on and will only be 24 in August. A breakout season could mean incredible value at his current ADP.