Mark Teixeira was written off by many due to his struggles in 2014

The following will be a list of five players and corresponding bold predictions in terms of how well they’ll wind up playing over the course of the season (player stats and fantasy league ownership listings from Yahoo will be from up to and including games from 4/25/15). These players will likely surpass most fantasy league owners’ expectations this year (I will not include players owned in at least 70% of all Yahoo fantasy leagues). With that said, here is my list.

1B – Mark Teixeira – NYY (owned: 66%)

The 35-year-old Teixeira is one of those players many fantasy owners had written off this season after a down year in 2014. It was clear that his wrist surgery in 2013 played a big role in his struggles last season. He is now another season removed from that surgery, and he’s recently been eating healthier and is coming off of a winter in which he said he conducted a workout regimen that has gotten him feeling better now than he has in years. Teixeira’s numbers so far this season are very encouraging. He currently has a 1.085 OPS, 8 HR and 18 RBI in 59 AB. Now is a good time to pick him up in fantasy leagues if he’s still available. He shouldn’t disappoint this season.

My Prediction – AB: 465, R: 82, BA: .250, HR 28; RBI 90

3B – Jake Lamb – ARI (owned: 21%)

Lamb is a player that a large majority of fantasy owners weren’t prepared to see hitting on all cylinders to start the season. He was on fire during Spring Training, and hasn’t let up. Before he got hurt and put on the 15-day DL on 4/21/15 (with a foot injury), he was hitting a robust .414, had a .514 OBP and a 1.204 OPS in 29 AB. While the sample size is small so far this season, and while he hasn’t had nearly as much success in his 2014 campaign with the Diamondbacks, it’s still been enough to turn some heads and make fantasy owners take notice of him. He’s also had success at every level of of the minors (career minor league stats: BA: .321, OBP .406; OPS .959), so his impressive start may be more sustainable that one would think. He’ll be back in a couple of weeks, so this gives fantasy owners a prime opportunity to pick him up via waiver wire (he’s still available in the large majority of fantasy leagues) and stash him away for now on their DL.

My Prediction – AB: 440, R: 80, BA: .280, HR: 21; RBI: 80

SP – Jimmy Nelson – MIL (owned: 43%)

If you’re surprised at how well Nelson is doing so far this season, well then, here’s something you should know about him. With the Triple-A Nashville Sounds in 2014, Nelson had a 1.46 ERA, 10 Wins, 114 SO and a 0.92 WHIP in 111 IP. It becomes a lot clearer as to why he’s having success so far in the majors. He seems to be more mature and polished now at 25 years of age and it’s been so far, so good for Nelson in the Brewers’ starting rotation (1.35 ERA and 17 SO in 20 IP). Now is the time to get a hold of him if you still can, because another solid start out of him could boost his Yahoo ownership up close to or above 50 percent. He’s looking more and more like a solid No. 2 starter for the Brewers, and he has potential to be an ace one day.

My Prediction – IP: 190, ERA: 3.10, W: 15, K: 175; WHIP: 1.25

OF – Alex Guerrero – LAD (owned: 30%)

The Cuban defector is finally getting a chance to show what he can do at the major league level, and hasn’t disappointed so far. While he’s off to a great start (.474 BA, 4 HR and 12 RBI in 19 AB), he still hasn’t been guaranteed steady playing time, unfortunately, but that may change in the near future. Now is the time to get him before the Dodgers finally wise up and give him a full-time position at either third base, potentially, or in the outfield. Juan Uribe is his only real competition at third and is the team’s starting third baseman still, technically, but it’s hard to envision the 36-year-old keeping that position all to himself for another season. While his .311 batting average was a nice surprise in 2014, it’s unlikely Uribe manages that again (a career .257 hitter). Starting left fielder Carl Crawford is another player who’s spot Guerrero could take eventually, because Crawford’s been as injury prone as they come in the past few seasons.

Guerrero has potential to fill up the stat sheets. The 28-year-old was one of the best players in all of Cuba from 2009-2012. He has the potential to play at least one corner (or maybe middle) infield position, as well as an outfield position, so multi-position flexibility is a possibility in Yahoo leagues. Snatch him up right now before he finally gets the steady full-time playing time he deserves.

My Prediction – AB: 415, R: 72, BA: .290, HR 20; RBI 75

OF/3B – Yasmani Tomas – ARI (owned: 44%)

The 24-year-old rookie Tomas (another former star player from Cuba) was expected to make Arizona’s Opening Day roster as the team’s starting third baseman, but teammate Jake Lamb outshined him by having an outstanding Spring Training. The Diamondbacks were more comfortable with giving its starting left field position (Tomas can play the outfield too) to other more experienced players in a platoon situation (but Ender Inciarte has recently been getting more playing time in left field than David Peralta). Fortunately for Tomas owners, a sudden injury to Lamb  has given Tomas another opportunity to show the team what he can do. There’s no telling who will be benched and/or sent down to the minors once Lamb is back, but there’s a good chance it won’t be Tomas as long as he continues to hit since being called up (he’s currently hitting .364 and sporting a .417 OBP in 11 AB). Even if he does get sent down again at some point, expect his tenure in the minors to be a short one. His six-year, $68.6 million contract should be enough incentive for Arizona to make sure he gets consistent playing time at one position or another at some point. He has shown pop before in his days of playing pro ball for Cuba, and clearly has the ability at the next level to potentially hit for a solid batting average, so get him now while he’s still being overlooked by most Yahoo fantasy owners.

My Prediction – AB: 401, R: 65, BA: .275, HR 18; RBI 68

CD Hill is a correspondent at FantasyPros. To read more from CD, check out his archive.