It’s always nice to win in DFS, but the baseball season will seem like years if your seasonal leagues are suffering. The food won’t taste as good, the drinks won’t be as cold and you just won’t be a happy camper. When it comes down to it, winning in DFS is awesome, but losing to your friends in a week-long matchup is something that will haunt you for a long, long time. With that in mind, we are going to take a look at some guys, who at least in the short term, can provide you a spark in some categories.
Over the course of the season, I’m going to provide you with some guys who are flying under the radar that can help you climb up the boards in a few categories. Some of these guys may be close to breaking out and you’ll want to pick them up before it’s too late. Other recommendations may be guys who are playing extremely well, but if available, you need to go pick them up. Keep in mind that some of these players may only be on your roster for a week, but if they help out, that’s all that matters.
Trevor Story, SS COL—What a story Trevor's opening day was. Yes, it was much better than that pun. He took Zack Greinke deep twice, becoming the first player to ever homer twice in his professional debut on Opening Day. The second home run traveled 428 feet. I was all over this guy at the start of the season and he showed why yesterday. There is plenty of pop in his bat and he’s showed it throughout his career. He hit 29 homers in between 717 Double-A and Triple-A at-bats, good enough for a bomb every 24.7 at-bats. When it comes to his position, that’s going to be tough to find. Sure, when Jose Reyes comes back, what’s the team going to do? Well, they are going to need to find a way to keep this kid in the lineup because he is too good not to playing every day. Oh yeah, if that’s not enough incentive to draft the kid, his home park is Coors Field. Hello, launching pad! Oh yeah, and between you and me, during his time in the minors he accrued an 88 percent success rate when it comes to stealing bases (96-for-109). Do yourself a favor and go pick this guy up.
Zack Cozart, SS CIN—Cozart was easily on pace for his best season of his professional career last year, but an injury derailed those plans, limiting him to just 53 games. Well, he returned atop the Cincinnati order yesterday and smacked three hits, including two doubles. He isn’t your prototypical leadoff hitter, but there isn’t really anyone else on this team to contend him for that spot. What about Billy Hamilton? Yeah right. It’s very early to the season, but at the very least for your team, he could serve as a viable backup at the shortstop position. He has some tough matchups coming up in the next week or two, but for the most part, he fares pretty well against the teams he will be facing. If he can continue to get on base, hitting atop the order gives him a great chance to break his career-high of 74 in a season.
Keon Broxton, OF MIL—If you need steals, Broxton is your guy. He stole 150 bases during his time in the minors, including 28 in just 88 games at the Triple-A level. Do we have another Billy Hamilton on our hands here? I don’t think so. Yes, Hamilton’s career minor league average was about 30 points higher than Broxton’s 75 minor league homers are way more than Hamilton and the former recorded double the extra-base hits Hamilton tallied. He will likely split time with Kirk Nieuwenhuis early on here, but soon enough, the team should deploy him on a regular basis. He started the spring off really well, but unfortunately faded at the end. There is some risk here, but if you need speed, he can produce for you.
Jeremy Jeffress, RP MIL—Cheap saves is the name of the game, right? Well, Jeffress is your guy. He was named the closer after Will Smith hurt his knee taking off a shoe and he definitely has some upside in the closing role. In 72 appearances last season, he recorded a 5-0 record with a 2.65 ERA, a 1.26 WHIP and an 8.87 K/9. He also does a great job of keeping the ball in the ballpark, serving up just five home runs in 149 big league innings. Sure, save opportunities may be few and far between serving as the closer for the lackluster Brewers, but hey, even Francisco Rodriguez managed 38 saves each of his last two seasons with the team. With everyone likely searching for saves and a reliever to improve the ratios, you don’t want to miss your chance on this guy.
Michael Taylor, OF WAS—About a week or so ago, I mentioned this guy as someone who was flying up the draft board. He had an incredible spring, hitting .453 with five home runs, 16 RBI and three stolen bases. All he needed was a chance to play in the Washington outfield. Well, Ben Revere left with what is believed to be a rib cage or an oblique injury. Revere said that he doesn’t plan on missing more than a few games, however, if it’s an oblique, he’s definitely going to miss more than a few games. When one door closes, another opens and in this instance, Taylor’s door is cracked open. There is plenty of upside here and he is definitely worth the add, especially if Revere, or any Washington outfielder goes on the shelf for an extended period of time. In 138 games last year, Taylor hit 14 homers and swiped 16 bags. That average should be much higher this season, but at the very least, he can give you some cheap pop and speed.
Scott Schebler, OF CIN—Let’s start with the bad here. Yes, he struck out 24.4 percent of the time during his six-year minor league career. Yes, he only hit .241 at the Triple-A level. Yes, he’s currently in a platoon in left field with Adam Duvall. In a small sample size last season, though, he hit .281 with three homers in just 33 at-bats. Sure, he struck out 11 times, but he stuffed the entire stat sheet. He homered, on average, every 22 at-bats between Double-A and Triple-A, while going 25-for-31 on stolen base attempts. The guy has some pop, he’s got some speed and when the team is facing a right-hander, expect him to be out in left field. He has the ability to do a lot of good things for your team and he could be even better if he can learn to hit lefties.
If you have any questions, follow me on Twitter (@colbyrconway) and best of luck to you and your teams.