2017 Fantasy Baseball: Prospects to Target
Who are some prospects to targets for 2017 fantasy baseball?
As the NFL gets closer to ending it’s season and the NHL and NBA are in the middle of their seasons, it means it’s time to prepare for 2017 fantasy baseball. Obviously a good draft and your players staying healthy can springboard you to a championship season, but its the moves that you make during the season can really propel you forward. It’s not just about picking up the guy who breaks out out of nowhere.
Prospects are a part of that and picking up a top prospect or two can really help you. Drafting Kris Bryant in 2015 and picking up guys like Michael Fulmer and Gary Sanchez last season could have been a key for your team over the past couple of years.
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In 2017, there are plenty of prospects who should be able to help you win a championship. Not on this list are guys like Sanchez and Alex Bregman who aren’t really prospects anymore. You saw what they can do last year and you know that they are impressive.
This list is more about guys who had a little taste of action at the big league level or maybe guys who haven’t made it yet, but should be up in 2017 and make some sort of impact.
So who are some prospects that you should be targeting at some point during your draft? What young players can help you win your league in 2017? Let’s take a look.
Anytime you can add a big strong kid who throws 100 MPH to your rotation and your fantasy team it’s probably a pretty good idea. St. Louis Cardinals right-hander Alex Reyes is someone that you should take a look at in your drafts this year.
Reyes was suspended the first 50 games of 2016 for marijuana use so he started a bit late for his minor league season. He went 2-3 in AAA with a 4.96 ERA in 14 starts, however, he struck out 93 hitters in just 65.1 innings. That plays.
It certainly did play once Reyes got the call as a weapon out of the bullpen and in the rotation. Reyes went 4-1 with a 1.57 ERA in 12 games, including five starts and a save. He struck out 52 batters in 46 innings, but walked 23, which is a bit too much.
Reyes should slot into the rotation with Michael Wacha and Lance Lynn coming back from arm injuries and Jaime Garcia now a member of the Atlanta Braves.
Reyes should give you a ton of strikeouts, but he may end up frustrating you with walks and may not always go deep in games. Nonetheless, he is someone who you should target, probably later on to give you some rotation depth.
SS- Dansby Swanson
A lot has been made about the quality (and quantity for that matter) of the pitching prospects that the Atlanta Braves have, but you have to have some hitting as well. Dansby Swanson should be the shortstop in Atlanta for a very long time and he got the chance to show his stuff a little bit last season.
Swanson started the season at High-A but ended up coming to the major leagues and played in 38 games for the big club. In 145 plate appearances he hit .302 with an .803 OPS for a Braves team that played much better during the second half of the season last year.
The Braves got Swanson in the controversial Shelby Miller deal before last season as the Braves continued their rebuild. Now, as they move into their new ballpark in 2017, Swanson can be a face of the franchise type player and join the group of young shortstops in the majors like Corey Seager, Carlos Correa, Addison Russell, Francisco Lindor and others.
Swanson is someone to target if you miss out on guys like that, or even play in league that has a middle infield spot in later rounds.
The Pittsburgh Pirates have had a top farm system for years and now those prospects are starting to come up and bloom at the major league level. One of those players that should fully bloom in 2017 should be starting pitcher Tyler Glasnow.
Glasnow got into 23 innings at the major league level last year and made four starts with not a lot of success. However, his AAA numbers were quite encouraging last season.
In AAA, Glasnow went 8-3 with a 1.87 ERA in 20 starts last season. In 110.2 innings, he struck out 133. Glasnow was a fifth round pick but emerged into a top prospect beginning in 2014.
As the Pirates attempt to contend and rebuild Glasnow should find himself as a part of the rotation behind former top prospect Gerrit Cole and Jameson Taillon.
Glasnow will be on a team should be pretty competitive, probably pitching as the fourth or fifth member of the rotation next year. A perfect place to get some wins and some K’s out of a late round draft pick. Watch Glasnow in Spring Training and then target him in the late rounds of your draft as someone who can give you rotation depth.
OF- Aaron Judge
If you’re looking for an outfielder with some power to take a chance on late, look no further than New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge. Judge came up for a bit as the Yankees moved on from older players like Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira but had his season cut short due to an injury.
The 24 year old only hit .179 in 95 plate appearances at the big league level, but hit four homers including one off the restaurant windows in center field at Yankee Stadium.
If you look at Judge’s minor league numbers, he tends to struggle when he gets to a level, makes adjustments, and then does better. For example, in AAA in 2015 he hit .224 in 61 games with just eight homers. Last season in AAA, Judge hit .270 with 19 homers in 95 games, earning the promotion to the bigs.
Judge is going to have to fend off Aaron Hicks, Tyler Austin and Rob Refsnyder for right field during spring training, but Judge should be someone you keep your eye on while drafting your team this season.
As the San Diego Padres rebuild (yet again), one player who should get plenty of playing time for a team that can use some offense is slugging outfielder Hunter Renfroe (no he did not catch the game winning touchdown for Clemson that’s Hunter Renfrow)
Renfroe was rewarded for a great season in AAA El Paso with a brief callup to the majors. Renfroe hit .306 with an .893 OPS, 30 homers and 105 RBI. In 11 games at the big league level, he hit .371 with four homers.
Renfroe is clear cut right fielder for the Padres and even though there isn’t much else in the lineup, he should get plenty of opportunities to play and be a part of the team moving forward. Renfroe has a ton of power and can be a cheap power bat to draft and stash.
Next: Schwarber catching in 17?
There are plenty of other prospects to watch for 2016. Lucas Giolito and Andrew Benintendi have already made the majors while guys like Clint Frazier and J.P. Crawford could very well find themselves in the show at some point during 2017.
Drafting and stashing players is a great way to fill out your roster. When you draft, don’t forget to target prospects. Those guys can help turn your fantasy season into a great one.