2. 1. Mike Trout
It’s tough to believe this 23 year old only has 3 full MLB seasons
under his belt. He had a “down year” in 2014 as far as WAR
(only 7.9), Average (.287, down from .323 in 2013), and OBP
are concerned, but he’s still a no-brainer as far as the #1 OF and
#1 overall fantasy pick go. If you’re lucky enough to get the first pick,
take Mike Trout with confidence.
6
9
12
2012 2013 2014
WAR by Season
Mike Trout Next Highest OF
3. 2. Giancarlo Stanton
Stanton finds himself in the middle of a suddenly developing Marlins lineup. With some guys
ahead of him to get on base (Yelich, Ozuna, Gordon) and some protection around him (Morse,
McGehee, Saltalamacchia) it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the hitter formerly known as “Mike”
have another monster year for the Marlins. I would expect something along the lines of .300+, 40+
hr’s, and 110+ rbi’s as he seemed destined for in 2014 prior to taking a fastball to the face in early
September.
In other words, 2015 could be another MVP-caliber season for Giancarlo Stanton.
2010
16.3 AB per
HR
2011
15.2 AB per
HR
2012
12.1 AB per
HR
2013
17.7 AB per
HR
2014
14.6 AB per
HR
4. 3. Andrew McCutchen
It was tough to drop McCutchen
to 3. I fully anticipate another
big year out of the Pirates’
franchise player 2015. “Cutch”
does it all for the Bucs. In 2014
he scored 89 runs, batted .314,
hit 25 hr’s, stole 18 bases, and
drove in 84 runs en route to a 3rd
place NL MVP finish. Expect him
to put up even better numbers
in 2015 as he begins to enter his
prime.
5. 4. Michael Brantley
Brantley had a career year in 2014.
Experts are all over the place on where to
rank him heading into 2015. While it
might be unfair to expect him to repeat
his stat-line from last season (.327 BA, 20
HRs, 97 RBIs), his patient approach at the
plate and knack for stealing bases (23
steals, 1 caught stealing) should lend itself
to another big offensive year for the
Indians.
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0-0 0-1 0-2 1-0 2-0 3-0 1-1 1-2 2-1 2-2 3-2
BATTING AVERAGE BY COUNT
Batting Average
6. 5. Carlos Gomez
Gomez is near the top of the list of
professional athletes you wouldn’t
want to meet in a dark alley. He’s
also one of the most talented
outfielders in the game today. At 29,
Carlos is just beginning to enter his
prime. Gomez is a virtual lock for
20+ HRs, 30+ steals, and a .270+
average in 2015. That kind of fantasy
value doesn’t come cheaply. Expect
Gomez to go early in fantasy drafts.
7. 6. Adam Jones
Over the past 7 seasons,
you would be hard pressed
to find a safer OF pick than
Adam Jones. We see no
reason to expect anything
less from Jones in 2015
BA HR RBI Steals
2008 .270 9 57 10
2009 .277 19 70 10
2010 .284 19 69 7
2011 .280 25 83 12
2012 .287 32 82 16
2013 .285 33 108 14
2014 .281 29 96 7
8. 7. Jose Bautista
Over the past 5 seasons, Jose
Bautista has transformed himself
into one of the premier outfielders
in the game. Since 2010, his average
season has been:
.270 average
34 HRs
94 RBIs
.389 OBP
.555 Slugging %.
Fantasy owners would be thrilled
with another “average” year out of
Bautista in 2015. It should be noted
that Bautista turns 35 this year and
is probably at the tail end of his
prime.
9. 8. Yasiel Puig
There isn’t a huge sample size
with Puig, but there is enough
to figure out that this kid is
extremely talented. If he can
continue to put the
immaturity questions behind
him, he could easily develop
into one of the top outfielders
in the game. We look for Puig
to take a step in that direction
and improve on last year’s
numbers in 2015.
G PA BA HR RBI OBP SLG OPS SB
2013 104 432 .319 19 42 .391 .534 .925 11
2014 148 640 .296 16 69 .382 .480 .863 11
10. 9. Ryan Braun
2011
.332
33 HRs
111 RBI
33 Steals
2012
.319
41 HRs
112 RBI
30 Steals
2013*
.298
9 HRs
38 RBI
4 Steals
2014
.266
19 HRs
81 RBI
11 Steals
Braun had a rough
season in 2014.
Between injuries
and struggling to
find his signature
swing, he looked like
a shell of his former
MVP-candidate self.
With his thumb
injury seemingly
behind him, it’s safe
to expect a bounce
back year from the
Brewers’ slugger. He
will be a good guy to
keep an eye on as a
potential value pick.
11. 10. Justin Upton
It’s crazy to think that Justin
Upton might just now be
entering his prime. The 8 year
MLB veteran does not turn 28
until August. That said, we’d
expect Upton’s power numbers
to decline slightly as he moves to
the cavernous Petco Field in San
Diego. He will, however, be apart
of a solid lineup thanks to an
impressive offseason by the
Padres. Somewhere around 25
HR’s, 85 RBI’s, and a .270 average
feels about right for Upton in
2015.
12. 11. Bryce Harper
Harper is yet another extremely talented young OF
who has yet to live up to his enormous potential.
Harper has the tools to be a 30/30 guy, he just needs
to stay healthy long enough to do it.
Harper appears to be fully healthy heading into 2015
and will be hitting towards the top of very strong
National’s lineup. Bryce seems primed as a likely
“breakout” candidate in his 4th big league season.
13. 12. Hunter Pence
Hunter Pence is one of the most
remarkably consistent players in
major league baseball today. You
can just pencil him in for ~.280, 20-
25 HRs, and ~80 RBIs every single
year. He doesn’t do any one thing
spectacularly but he is above
average at just about every aspect
of the game. There is no reason to
expect him to deviate from his
normal numbers in 2015.
07-09 Average Season
BA: .289
2B: 30
HR: 22
RBI: 75
10-12 Average Season
BA: .283
2B: 31
HR: 24
RBI: 97
13-14 Average Season
BA: .280
2B: 32
HR: 24
RBI: 87
14. 13. Jacoby Ellsbury
A fully healthy Jacoby Ellsbury
can be much better than the
#14 fantasy outfielder in 2015…
but health hasn’t always been a
given for Ellsbury. He’ll turn 32
this season, so it’s reasonable
to expect that he’s on the tail
end of his prime years. He still
has plenty in the tank for now
though. We expect Jacoby to
have similar stats to his 2014
campaign. He’ll be a high end
OF2 in standard fantasy leagues
and should remain a great
source of steals.
145
153
18
158
74
134
149
50
70
7
39
14
52
39
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Games Played Steals
15. 14. Jason Heyward
Heyward never quite lived up to his full
offensive potential in Atlanta. This is the
kind of kid (yes, he’s still only 25) that has
“star” written all over him. A move to a
stronger lineup in St. Louis should give his
numbers a boost. Jason will also be batting
in the middle of the lineup for the
Cardinals as opposed to the leadoff role he
suffered through in Atlanta. I’d look for
Heyward to improve upon his 2014
numbers (.271 ave/11 HRs/58 RBI/.351
obp) and have a big season for the
Redbirds.
Did I mention 2015 is a contract year?
AveragePerLineupSpot
1st .282
2nd .255
3rd .243
4th -
5th .252
6th .313
7th .230
8th .351
16. 15. George Springer
The sample size on Springer is tiny,
but impressive. This 25 year old
will rack up the HR’s at Minute
Maid Park if he can stay healthy. In
2014, Springer was averaging a HR
in every 14.75 at bats. That’s
Giancarlo Stanton-like power. The
low batting average is concerning
(.231) but we’re excited to see
what the youngster can do over
the course of a full season.
Springer could end up being a
steal in 2015 fantasy drafts. Keep
a close eye on him on draft day.
