Brad Miller (SS, TB) - 2016 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers

TARGET: 245

CURRENT ADP: 277

ANALYSIS: Steamer only projects Miller to rack up 475 plate appearances, though I really can’t see Tim Beckham pushing Miller out of the way that much. Last year for Seattle he hit 11 bombs and swiped 13 bags in 497 PAs. Safeco Field was 27^th in Park Factor for runs in 2015, whereas the Trop was 17^th. Not an insane upgrade, but to go to neutral from bad will certainly play.

A versatile player who logged games at 2B (11 games played-5 started), 3B (2-1), SS (89-83), LF (15-9), CF (20-20), and RF (6-1) now gets to play on the Rays who certainly value guys who can provide flexibility (Zobrists). I’d say his plate appearances should approach 550 so long as he doesn’t fall on his face even if it takes some outfield looks to do so.

He had an abysmal 2014, hitting only .221 as his fly ball rate really shot up and his strikeouts mounted. Last year he walked more, struck out less, and just seemed to be putting better contact on the ball. His soft contact rate dropped and he hit the ball the other way 7% more as opposed to just trying to get out ahead and lift.

At the heart of it you’ve got a middle infielder who has a decent power/speed combination to his name. The Rays were 13^th last year in stolen bases while Seattle was 22^nd, his opportunities should be there to break 15 steals. With a 15-15 season well within reach, you would do well to take Miller as a later SS option or a good middle infield option.