Fantasy Baseball: Under-the-radar players

The MLB regular season officially begins today with three games, and from there, the rest of the majors follows Monday with the start to their seasons. The start of the baseball regular season also means the start of the fantasy baseball season, which means competition amongst friends will be on the horizon as well.

For many, it is easy to elect the superstars to a fantasy team, like Bryce Harper of the Washington Nationals, Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels, or from a pitching standpoint, there is Clayton Kershaw of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

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Now, here is the best part of fantasy baseball … finding the hidden gems to add to your roster, either as starters or stashing them away for depth on a roster. There are more than a few good, solid players to be had on a roster, whether they play in the field, are starting pitchers, or even a good part of having a winning fantasy team is having a couple solid relief pitchers.

With that said, here are five under-the-radar players who you might want to add to your fantasy roster, as these players could potentially provide solid points that could be the difference from having a winning week or having to hear a friend boast about defeating your squad.

Next: Under-the-radar: Travis Shaw

Travis Shaw, third base, Boston Red Sox

With his promotion over Pablo Sandoval as the Boston Red Sox starting third baseman, Travis Shaw enters the season with some MLB experience under his belt, but on ESPN’s fantasy leagues he’s still listed as a first baseman, where he played last season.

Shaw is owned by just 20 percent of ESPN fantasy owners but has seen a jump of +11.1 percent since being named the starting third baseman for Boston. Last season at the plate, Shaw had 61 hits (226 at-bats) with 31 runs, 10 doubles, 13 home runs and 36 RBIs. He also walked 18 times.

In his short amount of time in the majors in ’15, Shaw batted .270 with a .327 on-base percentage. Digging a little deeper into his numbers, Shaw finished with a .487 slugging percentage and .813 OPS+, along with 110 total bases.

This spring, the numbers of Shaw are very intriguing with a .339 average in 21 games (59 at-bats) before Saturday’s game. In his at-bats, Shaw has collected four doubles, two home runs and 10 RBIs, enough to out-play Sandoval for the starting role.

It will be exciting to see how Shaw progresses with more at-bats under his belt in the early portions of the ’16 season, but as he’s done throughout his entire career up to this point, he’ll have no problems taking on competition, and I believe he’ll be able to have success in his current role with the Red Sox.

Next: Under-the-radar: Wil Myers

Wil Myers, 1B/CF, San Diego Padres

This could be the season that Wil Myers finally brings all of his potential and ability to play baseball to the forefront and become the player many thought he could be early in his career, though he needs to stay off the disabled list to do so.

Last season, Myers plated in just 60 games, and in his 225 at-bats, he finished with a .253 batting average, with 40 runs scored and 57 hits. Within those hits, there were 13 doubles, one triple and 29 RBIs. Even Myers had a positive WAR last season at 1.1, better than his ’14 WAR of of -1.0, so there is potential for Myers to provide productive fantasy numbers for a roster.

Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune wrote the following of Myers this week, as the Padres first baseman is ready to move on from his injuries:

“Fact is, we don’t know how good Myers can be. He simply hasn’t been healthy for sustained stretches since initially injuring his wrist two months into the 2014 season.”

Myers is only owned by just 64.7 percent of fantasy teams on ESPN.com, so he is most likely available to add to a roster, and he too is undervalued as the season begins.

Next: Under-the-radar: Brock Holt

Melky Cabrera, LF, Chicago White Sox

The Chicago White Sox left fielder had an offseason compared to his past numbers, leaving him being owned by 66.9 percent of ESPN fantasy teams, but for the numbers he put up for his career, Cabrera has a chance to bounce back in ’16.

Last season, Cabrera had a batting average of just .273 with a .314 on-base percentage and .394 slugging percentage in 158 games in his first season with the White Sox, numbers lower than what he had become accustomed to in recent seasons, especially in ’14 with the Toronto Blue Jays where he batted .301 with 171 hits, 35 doubles, three triples and 16 home runs.

The questions with Cabrera is was last season a fluke, or was it a sign of things to come?

This spring in 17 games (before Saturday), despite only having a .222 batting average, Cabrera’s slugging percentage is at .333 with an on-base percentage of .308. What really makes Cabrera undervalued is the fact the White Sox lineup is much better than last season, and batters in the order should see better pitches with the addition of Brett Lawrie and Todd Frazier in the lineup, along with Jose Abreu leading the way.

In the past five seasons, Cabrera has batted over the .300 mark three times for a season, and he plays in a lot of games, so he’ll keep a roster spot occupied on a fantasy roster as well, as the past two seasons he played in 139 and 158 games.

Cabrera is a player to watch to have an upswing statically in ’16, and he could (or should) bring more value than expected to a lineup once the season begins.

Next: Under-the-radar: Jeremy Jeffress

Jeremy Jeffress, RP, Milwaukee Brewers

The right-handed reliever of the Milwaukee Brewers should see some time as the closer, and he’ll also be a late-inning relief man as well, at least to start the season. In his 72 appearances last season, Jeffress pitched 68 innings, finishing with a 5-0 record (no starts) and a 2.65 ERA. He only allowed five home runs in the 285 batters he faced and only walked batters 22 times.

Jeffress’ WAR was solid last season at 1.5. For fantasy purposes, he’s a great option to have on your roster, as he did tally 63 strikeouts and allowed only 17 earned runs in 65 innings pitched. Get this … Jeffress is only owned in just a little over half the fantasy leagues on ESPN, but has seen a surge in ownership, with an increase of 27.6 percent.

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Jeffress is being projected to have 31 saves this season with a 2.35 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP. Since his ownership is so low right now, if you are in need of a relief pitcher, Jeffress should be available, which means he’s being undervalued headed into the season.