Raul Mondesi (2B, KC) - 2017 Fantasy Baseball Draft Sleepers & Values

BALLER MOVE: Draft Late in Deeper / AL-Only Formats

CURRENT ADP: ~375

ANALYSIS: Kansas City Royals manager Ned Yost made it official on Monday when he announced that Raul Mondesi would be the starting second baseman for his team in the 2017 season. Mondesi has put together an impressive spring in which he has hit .367/.380/.612 with three home runs and four stolen bases. Could this be the beginning of a sleeper candidate at second base?

If Mondesi is going to find success, he will have to make a drastic improvement from last season. He really struggled with the bat, making contact on only 66.6 percent of pitches and chased pitches out of the zone at a rate nearly 12 percent above league average. Now that was in a relatively small sample size of only 147 plate appearances, but Mondesi has a track record of struggling at the plate. Though he has demonstrated lightning-quick speed in the past, he has never at a level above Rookie league hit above .261 (min. 100 PA) and has always struck out at least 22 percent of the time.