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OWNED IN: 41% of Yahoo leagues
ANALYSIS: Michael Brantley might never return to his 2014 near-American League MVP season, but Friday's Cleveland home opener shows just how valuable to the team he is. Slotting right into the five spot in the Cleveland order, Brantley swung at the first pitch he saw and blooped a single to right field, driving in two runs. Don't expect a ton of power from Brantley, but in this offense, singles score runs. Brantley will be hitting behind Edwin Encarnacion, and in front of Yonder Alonso, providing RBI and run opportunities respectively.
Last year in only 90 games, Brantley posted 4.1 BsR to compliment a .357 on-base percentage. He gets on base and makes smart plays on the basepaths. A career 10.9 K% hitter with .444 SLG in 2017 again adds value to the profile. The one downside to his 2017 campaign was a 9.1 IFFB% which limited his impact potential with the bat, but as the numbers show even with this wrinkle he drove in 0.58 runs a game. Imagine a full year when he regresses to his career average of 6.5 IFFB%. Wherever he is unowned, Brantley is a must-add.
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