Five Deep Sleepers at Catcher For 2016

Welcome to the war room. We’re investigating which deeper catchers could turn a nice profit for only the savviest of fantasy owners going into 2016. Catcher is an extremely volatile position, with most of them putting their bodies through the ringer during the course of the season. It isn’t a particular deep position, but rest […]

2016 Fantasy Baseball Draft Values: Byung-Ho Park

Okay, so you’ve heard some chatter about this Korean power hitter who the Twins signed this offseason, but you still aren’t sure what he brings to the table. Now it’s hard enough to project how minor leaguers will adjust to major league pitching, but to then add this international wrinkle to it means there’s no […]

Joakim Soria Rejoins Kansas City To Be Strong Holds Option In 2016

Soria was lights out in 2014, so it was pretty sensible that the regression police were gunning for him last year. He still did well, striking out nearly a batter per inning (64 Ks in 67.2 IP) and posting a 2.53 ERA/1.09 WHIP alongside a 3.26 SIERA. He had his best swinging strike rate since […]

Kyle Zimmer Out To Establish Himself For KC In 2016

Zimmer has been very impressive in the minor leagues since his pro debut in 2012. Blessed with electric strikeout stuff (thank you mid-to-high 90s fastball and sweet looping curveball), he’s always done better than a strikeout per inning in every pro year. Zimmer’s momentum has been slowed by various arm/side issues along the way, with […]

Kris Medlen's 2016 Prospects: What To Expect?

Kris Medlen has put together some decent stretches in his career, but he has also undergone two Tommy John surgeries and been forced to cut seasons short. Being able to have a constant routine is important, having a set role can lead to increased productivity and an easier mindset. Having the interruptions that Medlen has […]

Danny Duffy: Back-end AL Only Rotation Option For 2016

Danny Duffy’s K-rate was about the only thing that was sustainable about his gorgeous 2014 campaign. His SIERA (4.31) was nearly two full runs higher than his ERA (2.53). His 2015 was much more in line with his underlying peripherals, as his SIERA was an awful 4.63, he had a 4.43 FIP, and his ERA […]

The Royals Hope Bubba Starling Can Blossom In 2016

Starling has been a touted prospect for a few years now, as he has yet to really kick it into a major-league ready gear in his four years in the system. He’s a big guy, standing at 6’4” and 210 lbs, and is a really strong outfielder, but he’s struggled putting together a healthy swing. […]

Raul Mondesi: Much More Than That Young Guy Who Played In The World Series

Mondesi was put on the public grid by virtue of getting his first major-league AB in the World Series, and naturally there’s a reason for that. Mondesi will turn 21 in July, so he’s still quite the youngin’ out there, but his speed is very real. It makes for an asset that Kansas City values […]

Omar Infante: Middling Middle Infield Option In 2016

Infante is the “black hole” of the Royals lineup. In 455 plate appearances he could only muster two homers, two steals, and a .220 batting average. Even Omar Infante probably isn’t bad enough to post consecutive seasons of back-to-back sub-.240 BABIP seasons (it was .238 last year, yuck). He’ll be 34 years old this year […]

Jordan Guerrero: Another Promising Pitching Prospect For The White Sox

Guerrero has excellent strikeout stuff, posting K/9’s that hover around a batter per inning and a raw K% around 25%. That is a fantastic starting block for a very young pitcher to start developing with amongst a professional organization and coaching. He throws strikes while keeping the ball down, as we all know what happens […]

Spencer Adams Is A Strong White Sox Prospect Worth Knowing

Adams will turn 20 at the outset of this season, yet he already has shown great promise with a four pitch repertoire (fastball, slider, curveball, and changeup) that scouts mark as 50+ or higher potential pitches. If he can continue to fill out physically as he nears his peak years (he’s 6’3”, 171 lbs.), he […]

Tim Anderson: White Sox Shortstop Of The Near-Future

Everyone likes to see a shortstop prospect who can hit, and he has profiled so far as the middle infielder with plus speed and a good swing. Not the most powerful swing necessarily, though he has potential to tap into more down the road as he fills out. He is very athletic and doesn’t really […]

Nate Jones Could Be A Great Setup Man In 2016

Jones is entrenched in the setup role for the White Sox despite having barely pitched in the past two years. Normally we shy away from risky pitchers, but Jones shouldn’t cost you a thing on draft day and if he stays healthy the returns could be fantastic. In his 19 innings pitched last year he […]

Carson Fulmer Should Be Prospectors' Radars Entering 2016

Fulmer is 22 this year, and even though he’s had only one year in the system, he showed a strong arm in A+ ball while striking out over a batter per inning and posting a 2.05 ERA and 1.04 WHIP in the 22 innings he pitched. His fastball and curveball both have scouts feeling good […]

Tyler Saladino Is A Decent AL Only Shortstop For 2016

Well, as of now Tyler Saladino is still penciled in to be the starting shortstop for the White Sox in 2016. Ian Desmond is still out there with water cooler chatter around baseball painting Chicago as a likely destination, but that draft pick looms large and so for now it’s Saladino’s spot to field. Gordon […]

Dioner Navarro: Deep League Catcher Consideration In 2016

Navarro enters his age-32 season with a freshly pressed White Sox jersey. He’s been kicking around the past several years, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t a serviceable option. Navarro won’t blow anyone away, but he’s actually a quietly good hitter who should see his numbers improve with the proper platooning situation. That’s what is […]

Alex Avila Looks To Be Serviceable Platoon Bat In 2016

Alex Avila was in line to get the bulk of the starts for the White Sox in 2016 for a little bit, but it wasn’t long before they also brought in Dioner Navarro to form a platoon. Avila is your typical lefty swinger who has performed much better against right-handed pitching, whereas Navarro hits lefties […]

Jake McGee Poised To Be Colorado's Closer In 2016

McGee now brings his lively lefty electricity a mile above sea level for a 2016 campaign in Colorado. His fastball is his bread and butter (throwing a two or four seamer 90.5% of the time last year), though it is worth noting that his average velocity had sat above 96 MPH in ’13 and ’14 […]

Jason Motte: Reliable Rockies Setup Man For 2016?

Motte isn’t going to re-discover his pre-Tommy John form, but he did show improved control in his second year removed from TJ surgery. His K/9 used to sit around 9.00, and now it appears to have settled around 6.00. He can’t toy with hitters anymore, but he posted the best walk rate and lowest pull […]

Adam Ottavino Could Still Be Useful Late In 2016

Ottavino was just getting started on what looked to be a promising 2015 campaign when his UCL crapped out after 10.1 innings. Pending setbacks, the hope here is that he will return around midseason. Having high expectations for a pitcher in his first stretch back from TJ surgery is usually an awful idea, so I […]

Chad Bettis: Deep League NL Pitcher For Your Consideration In 2016

Chad Bettis won’t ever be the stud of your pitching staff, but in deeper or NL-only leagues he could prove to be a solid back-end guy. In 2015 he finally managed to bring his modest strikeout stuff from the minors to the major leagues. His K/9 was 7.67 after barely scraping 6-even in years past […]

Do We Still Care About Eddie Butler In 2016?

His minor league track record has been quite impressive, but it hasn’t translated to major league success in any tangible way. He’ll have just turned 25 when the season starts so it isn’t like he’s some old coot who can’t grow, but he really needs to wrangle in those walks and tweak some pitches that […]

Kyle Freeland Looks To Continue His Growth In 2016

Freeland has some fantastic raw talent, but he has suffered some durability setbacks along the way thus far and might be headed for bullpen duties as a result. What we know about Freeland is that he has a plus fastball, slider, and changeup, but that he has some issues putting it all together with command […]

Ryan McMahon Looks To Grow Into Colorado's Next Big Infielder

McMahon has been shooting through each level of the minors with a healthy power bat. His profile appears to be very clear as a prototypical powerful corner infielder who strikes out a lot, but also walks enough to compensate a bit. His OPS figures haven’t dipped below .860 for a season, though his BABIPs have […]

Raimel Tapia Looks To Start Strong In Double A for Colorado

Tapia is an intriguing young name who has been in the Rockies system since he was 17 (he just turned 22). He has extremely impressive contact skills, hitting for great averages pretty much every step of the way and flashing plus speed. The power hasn’t manifested yet, though it could be in the pipeline as […]

David Dahl: Top Rockies Prospect Heading into 2016

Dahl is one of the, if not the best, Rockies prospect right now. An outfielder that has some nice speed, he saw his 2015 cut into after his spleen had to be removed. I doubt that happens again. Dahl’s current bat seems to be a fantastic line drive/gap type hitter, but he isn’t down on […]

Mat Latos: A Fresh Chance in Chicago Means Fantasy Relevance

The White Sox just signed Mat Latos to a one year deal, shoring up the back end of their rotation. It’s a low risk maneuver from the Chi-Sox here to bring in Latos after a horrid end to 2015. Latos used to be good for 185 strikeouts in a full season (he's only 28), and […]

Wade Davis Looks to Entrench Himself as the Best Closer in 2016.

Wade Davis is poised to be one of the top, if not the top, closers in the game in 2016. Greg Holland is no more, as he is a free agent during his recovery year from Tommy John surgery. Wade Davis was given the keys to the ninth inning after performing very well in the […]

Kelvin Herrera: Not Just a Handcuff in 2016?

Kelvin Herrera might not be as impressive a setup man as Wade Davis was to Greg Holland, and he won’t rack up strikeouts like Carter Capps or Dellin Betances, but he’s still a very solid middle relief option that warrants ownership in deeper 5x5 leagues. Obviously the biggest piece is that he would get the […]

Ian Kennedy Poised for Strong Year with Kansas City in 2016?

Ian Kennedy’s 2015 was disappointing by many standards, as a subpar San Diego team led him to a 9-15 record with a 4.28 ERA and 1.30 WHIP. He is usually a very durable pitcher, though he did have a brief DL stint with a hamstring strain early in the year, leading to his lowest innings […]