You’ve spent numerous hours reading article after article, listened to podcast after podcast about draft strategies and you were more than ready for your draft. Once the draft was over, you thought you could just sit and wait until the season began to see how good your team really was. But during that time, things happened. Players got hurt in ways you couldn’t imagine and some even lost their jobs to someone else who tore up spring training pitching. That’s where I come in. I’m here to help those owners who need to make moves before the season begins. Here are some of my favorite additions if you fit into that category!
10-team leagues
Junior Guerra, MIL SP (45% ownership), FAAB Bid - $5 – This may have been the easiest call I’ve made here, based on last year’s numbers and the fact he’s headed into 2017 as the Brewers ace. And yet he’s not even 50-percent owned in Yahoo leagues. Where should I start first? How about his 2.81 ERA for the entire season? If you’re not sold on the idea of ERA as a relevant stat, and there are plenty of haters, can I interest you in a 1.12 WHIP? Which would have ranked him 16th in the entire league had he been a qualified starter. This is no longer a suggestion; this is an order! Do everything in your power to pick him up!
Max Kepler, MINN OF (36% ownership), FAAB Bid - $3 - There are always a few mid-level prospects who reach the big leagues and completely bust out, which is definitely the category Kepler slots in following his 2016 campaign. In just 393 at-bats he belted 17 home runs, which allowed him to amass a .424 slugging percentage. The only worrisome part about Kepler’s game is that same slugging percentage was all the way up to .481 before the All-Star break, so that shows you how much his production dropped off. Nevertheless, we still saw his raw power during the dog days of the summer when he crushed 13 home runs between July and August. Kepler’s entering 2017 the everyday right fielder and will bat right in the heart of the Twins order. We will definitely see his production rise given 500-plus at-bats.
12-team leagues
Aaron Judge, NYY OF (24% ownership), FAAB Bid - $4 - This pickup is very specific to one’s need. Although a lot of people are going to reach for Judge in 10 and 12-team leagues, he’s still gone under-owned up to this point. He’s also officially been announced as the team’s everyday right fielder, so he’s going to have every chance in the world to prove he’s the real deal. If you’re telling me Judge will get 500 at-bats this season, his home run floor should be set at 25. Note..FLOOR! That will play in any format.
Lucas Duda, NYM 1B (10% ownership), FAAB Bid - $2 - Everything about Duda’s 2016 campaign was extremely disappointing and that’s obviously the primary reason as to why he’s available in almost 90-percent of all Yahoo fantasy leagues. With that being said, the Mets husky first basemen should be in line for another 20-plus home run, 70 RBI campaign. First base is a stacked position, I get it. But adding depth for a corner infield spot never hurt anyone. Duda hit 27 home runs in less than 500 at-bats (471) back in 2015, which is probably a similar number of at-bats he’ll see again in 2017 barring he stays healthy.
15-team leagues
Adonis Garcia, ATL 3B (4% ownership), FAAB Bid - $1 – So what if I told you there was only one National League third basemen who had more hits than Garcia after the All-Star break in 2016 and his name was Nolan Arenado? What if I also told you among NL third basemen who had 200-plus second-half at-bats in 2016, only three names – Arenado, Bryant and Turner – hit for a better average than Garcia? Would that surprise you? Because if you tuned in to what he was doing after the break, it wouldn’t. If Garcia can stay healthy for another 500-plus at-bat season, he could approach the 20-home run mark. If he’s putting up those power numbers while hitting .270-plus and driving in a decent amount of runs, he can be a viable corner infield piece. I’d even consider taking a chance on him in 12-team formats, but let’s wait and see how he starts the season before doing your best Wile E. Coyote impression in your leagues waivers.
Luis Perdomo, SD SP (2% ownership), FAAB Bid - $1 - Since my suggestion is to bid low, like $1 low, here’s somebody worth taking a flier on. Looking at Perdomo’s numbers as a whole last year will do absolutely nothing for you. As a matter of fact, you’d probably never read anything I wrote ever again if you did. So good thing we can split the season into two halves, because the Padres righty made significant strides after the All-Star break. He induced the most double-plays out of all qualified pitchers, walked the seventh fewest amount of batters and had the third highest strike percentage in the league in the aforementioned time frame. Perdomo’s first game on the mound this year will come at home against what should be a fairly weak San Francisco Giants offense.
*ownership percentages courtesy of Yahoo
** FAAB bids based on $100 budget