Can the Royals make it to three straight World Series?
Here’s a look at a burning question for each MLB team, starting with the American League.
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Baltimore Orioles
Can Yovani Gallardo be a solid pitcher for both the Orioles and your fantasy team?
When the Orioles signed Gallardo he stepped in right away to be the No. 1 guy in the rotation. Those expectations come with a heavy burden on a team that has not been known for starting pitching. The question is, can he be the guy to carry them? In Gallardo’s best year, in 2011, he went 17-10 with a 3.52 ERA and 207 strikeouts in 207.1 innings. Those numbers, while solid, are not ace worthy. On top of that, based on 2015 park factors, Camden Yards is the third best for hitters. If you throw all these facts together, as much as we might like to think Gallardo is a pitching savior for the Orioles he probably will not top his 2011 numbers. He could still be useful for fantasy purposes since he will likely get plenty of run support with the Orioles’ lineup, but he’s likely to start the season on your waiver wire.
– Israel Katz (Orioles Correspondent)
Boston Red Sox
Can Mookie Betts become a fantasy superstar?
With an average draft position of 22, Betts cannot be considered underrated. He is getting drafted for his potential to become a superstar. But can Betts join Mike Trout, Bryce Harper, and Paul Goldschmidt as the elite fantasy studs in baseball? His stats from last season show that Betts is a dynamic player. Betts was a popular breakout pick last spring, but a slow start made it look like he may not live up to expectations. In mid-June, Betts was hitting .234 with a .659 OPS. Things clicked after that. From that point on, he hit .329 with a .925 OPS. Betts is coming into 2016 with the potential for 25+/25+ in steals and home runs with a .300+ batting average. If Betts can do this at the age of 24, bigger seasons should be on the horizon for the center fielder. As Boston rebuilds their lineup, Betts leading off will also give him the opportunity to lead the league in runs. For fantasy owners drafting in keeper and dynasty leagues, Betts should be considered a first-round pick. Elite contact with impressive power and big-time speed is a fantasy dream.
– John Aubin (Red Sox Correspondent)
Cleveland Indians
Where is the offense going to come from?
It is no secret that the offense failed to provide the support that the Indians’ pitching deserved last year. On 57 occasions, they failed to score more than two runs and they hit just .212 with the bases loaded. The Tribe need both Carlos Santana and Yan Gomes, who combined for 48 home runs in 2014 but just 31 last season, to get their power stroke back, and there is good reason to believe they will. Gomes was injured in a home-plate collision but was back to form at the end of the season (.757 OPS in September). No-one has taken more walks than Santana over the last two years, and his patient approach has netted 27 home runs in two separate seasons. He is only 29 years old and has already hit his first home run of spring. New acquisitions Mike Napoli and Juan Uribe could also provide another 30-35 home runs, so the Indians should see significant production from C, 1B, 3B and DH compared to 2015.
– Gavin Tramps (Indians Correspondent)
Chicago White Sox
With the addition of Todd Frazier, can the White Sox generate runs in 2016?
The White Sox finished the 2015 season with 622 runs, which ranked them 28th out of 30 teams. The team had the talent on paper, but the lack of timely hitting and consistency caused them to finish fourth in their division. During the offseason, the White Sox went out and acquired a solid third baseman in Todd Frazier. The problem here is that the White Sox have a history of bringing in guys who look great on paper, but are on the opposite side of their prime. Frazier is only 30 years old, which means the hope is that the White Sox are finally bucking that trend. However, does the signing of Frazier mean that the White Sox can score more runs? The ballpark should not make a difference since the Great American Ballpark and U.S. Cellular Field are ranked seventh and eighth among the league’s most hitter-friendly stadiums. The downside of Frazier is that for the last two years he has started out strong, but has fallen off after the All-Star Break. That said, the White Sox now have a guy at third base that has hit 64 HR and 65 doubles in the last two years. Combine that production with Adam Eaton, Melky Cabrera and Jose Abreu at the top of the order, and the White Sox will once again enter the season with expectations of fielding a run-producing lineup. Frazier should also have more RBI opportunities with the White Sox than he did with the Reds. He will be following the likes of Adam Eaton, who has averaged an OBP of .361 the last two seasons; Melky Cabrera, who has a career OBP of .336 and Jose Abreu, who is one of the top hitters in the league. The catch for the White Sox will once again be producing on the field and not just looking good on paper.
– Rob Schwarz Jr. (White Sox Correspondent)
Detroit Tigers
How will Jordan Zimmermann handle the American League?
After compiling a 3.32 ERA in his career in the National League, Zimmermann will make the transition to the American League, the league that traditionally adds to a starter’s ERA. Zimmermann had a good year in 2015, but his ERA ballooned to 3.66. He will be 30 in May, which is the starting point typically that pitchers can deteriorate. It will be interesting to see how he’s able to manage both age and the new league. The fact that he will be pitching in one of the friendliest pitcher’s parks in the AL is a good thing. Hopefully starts like the one last season against the Baltimore Orioles, where he lasted just 2.1 innings and gave up seven earned runs, is not foreshadowing his 2016 season.
– Nick Tasso (Tigers Correspondent)
Houston Astros
Do the Astros have enough depth for a playoff run in 2016?
The Houston Astros were a Cinderella story in 2015, bouncing back from a 70-win 2014 campaign to make the playoffs, even taking the 2015 World Series Champions Kansas City Royals to five games in the Divisional round. However, a repeat performance is going to depend not on the stars like Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa, and Dallas Keuchel, but rather on the depth in the lineup and rotation. The ‘Stros have a number of question marks in their lineup, from whether Carlos Gomez can bounce back to how bad the plate discipline of Evan Gattis will be. The bottom four of the lineup are a complete mess, with Luis Valbuena and Colby Rasmus being merely competent at best, and Jon Singleton and Jason Castro being below replacement level, potentially being upended by prospects such as A.J. Reed. The rotation outside of their Cy Young winner is also mostly uncertain. Will they get the solid 2014 Collin McHugh, or the average pitcher we saw in 2015? Can Lance McCullers make the leap to ace/No. 2 SP, or will he fall back to earth? Finally, how many innings (and what kind of quality) can we expect from the Scott Feldman/Doug Fister/Mike Fiers group? How those questions get answered as the season goes along will determine whether the Astros sink back to the bottom of the AL West, or make a run at a World Series. I, along with other Astros’ fantasy owners, hope it is the latter.
– Eric Townsend (Astros Correspondent)
Kansas City Royals
Can the Royals make it to a third straight World Series?
Despite the fact that they were one game away from winning the World Series in 2014, many in the media had the Royals finishing in third place in their own division entering 2015. Now that they have been vindicated by their impressive 2015 World Championship, do the Royals have enough for an encore? With the core of their team remaining and the addition of Ian Kennedy, this team is set up for another strong campaign. If you take a look at Kansas City’s young stars like Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas, you will see that they are just coming into their prime years. That presents a case that we have only seen the beginning of what this team can do. That being said, going to three straight World Series’ would be an amazing, and difficult, accomplishment.
– Brad Pitzl (Royals Correspondent)
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
Can the Angels fix their black hole in left field?
The Angels are expected to start the season with a platoon of Daniel Nava and Craig Gentry in left field. Both are coming off down years, and the Angels will hope that at least one can bounce back. Nava had a career batting average of .273 before last season when he hit .194 between the Red Sox and Rays. Nava will be a good bounce-back candidate this season, as he has a clear shot at a starting job, and is not lost in the crowded Red Sox outfield. Gentry is also coming off a down year where he spent most of the season in Triple-A. He only played in 26 games with the A’s, where he hit well below the Mendoza line at .120 and only had a .196 on-base percentage. The Angels are hoping for him to play like he did his five years in Texas, where he hit .280 and reached base in over one-third of his plate appearances. The Angels may also see production in left field from Rule 5 pick Ji-Man Choi, speedsters Quintin Berry and Rafael Ortega, waiver claim Todd Cunningham, and prospect Chad Hinshaw. Third base prospects Kaleb Cowart and Kyle Kubitza may also see time in left field.
– Dylan Brunnenkant (Angels Correspondent)
Minnesota Twins
Can the Twins find their way back to the playoffs in 2016?
Though the Minnesota Twins did not have an ace pitcher in their starting rotation in 2015 (with starters posting a 4.08 ERA collectively), they still managed to score runs, win games and make it to the Wild Card playoff game finishing a solid 83-79, which was good enough for second place in the American League Central. Looking ahead to the 2016 season, there really is no clear favorite to win in the AL Central as all teams in the division have made improvements to help their chances. As for the Twins, they do lose the veteran leadership of Torii Hunter to retirement and Aaron Hicks who joined the Yankees this offseason. They also lose veteran starting pitcher Mike Pelfrey who signed with the Tigers. Despite the subtractions, the Twins have a lot to look forward to. First off, they are anticipating the first full seasons for rookie sensations Miguel Sano and Byron Buxton, both expected to fill in the vacated outfield spots left by Hunter and Hicks. Buxton, rated the No. 1 overall prospect by MLB.com in 2015, has the chance to be a 20/20 player. The hope for Sano is that the slugger can make the transition from 3B to right field and hit 25 to 30 home runs. The Twins also added Korean slugger Byung Ho Park, who had whopping back-to-back 50+ home run seasons in 2014-15 for the Korean Baseball Organization. Park is expected to DH most of the time, but could see some playing time at first base. On the pitching side, the Twins are looking forward to a full season from Ervin Santana after his 80-game suspension last year for violating the league’s steroid policy. They will also depend on rookie right-hander Tyler Duffey to fill the void left by Pelfrey in the starting rotation. Duffey was the fifth overall pick for the Twins in the 2012 draft and posted a 2.54 ERA between Triple-A Rochester and Double-A Chattanooga in 2015, then went 5-1 with a 3.10 ERA for the Twins late last season. A combination of good production from rookies and similar 2015 numbers from Brian Dozier, Eddie Rosario and Joe Mauer, and I believe we will see the Twins in the postseason once again in 2016.
– Kevin McGuire (Twins Correspondent)
New York Yankees
Can the Yankees stay healthy?
The Yankees have the talent to make a run into October, but it remains to be seen if their stars can stay healthy. The meat of the lineup consists of Mark Teixeira, who’s coming back from a foot injury and hasn’t played a full season since 2011, Alex Rodriguez, who is 40 years old and needs to prove he can repeat last year and Carlos Beltran, who is 38 years old and has had knee issues throughout his career. They already lost Greg Bird for the season to a shoulder injury. Bird wasn’t going to start often but would have helped bolster a strong bench. The Yankees also have injury questions on their pitching staff starting with their ace Masahiro Tanaka. Tanaka is coming back from surgery on a bone spur in his right elbow. Nathan Eovaldi started strong last year but battled elbow issues during the end of the season, and C.C. Sabathia is coming back from alcohol rehab and still has lingering knee issues. Sabathia has been pitching with a knee brace and is still not guaranteed a starting spot to begin the season. The AL East is extremely tough, and the Yankees will need everyone to be healthy all year if they want to contend.
– Jamison Malasko (Yankees Correspondent)
Oakland Athletics
Who will step up behind Sonny Gray in the Oakland rotation?
While Sonny Gray is an unquestioned stud, everyone behind him in the Oakland A’s rotation is a bunch of question marks. Three of the other six options are dealing with or coming back from injury and will likely have innings caps (Henderson Alvarez – shoulder, Jesse Hahn – forearm, Jarrod Parker – elbow). Parker has already been lost for an extended stretch due to injury. One other option (and the projected No. 3 starter) is the 35-year-old former RP Rich Hill who hasn’t started for an entire season since George W. Bush was in office. The final two candidates are the ones with the most upside, Kendall Graveman and Chris Bassitt. While they possess potential, neither has pitched more than 115 innings in major league season. If the A’s are going to go anywhere but the bottom of the AL-West it will be because at least three of these question marks work out. The odds are not in their favor entering the season.
– CD Hill (Athletics Correspondent)
Seattle Mariners
Will Ketel Marte carry forward his 2015 momentum and provide fantasy relevance at SS?
In the spring of 2015, the Seattle Mariners appeared to have two top candidates for the shortstop position; Brad Miller and Chris Taylor. Fast forward one year, and Miller is in camp with the Tampa Bay Rays, while Taylor is fighting with his similarly light-hitting teammate Luis Sardinas for a roster spot as a utility infielder for the Mariners. Instead, Ketel Marte, a physically impressive but somewhat overlooked prospect, at least at the shortstop position, grabbed the reins for Seattle, and the 21-year-old switch-hitter posted an impressive .283/.351/.402 in 247 plate appearances over 57 games in 2015. There have been concerns about Marte’s power, but his plate discipline has improved at every level and he stole eight bases as well last season, an area that new Mariners manager Scott Servais has said he wants the team to excel in this season. Nori Aoki is likely to be the Mariners everyday leadoff hitter, but Marte is expected to hit in the two-hole, giving him a good chance to score runs with Robinson Cano, Nelson Cruz, and Kyle Seager coming up behind him. A sophomore slump is always possible, but Marte is a cheap option who looks capable of having a strong first full season. He could give a nice edge to owners who don’t want to splurge on Carlos Correa or Francisco Lindor.
– John Trupin (Mariners Correspondent)
Tampa Bay Rays
Was Erasmo Ramirez’s 2015 season for real?
The 2015 season was a frustrating one for the Rays as a whole. They endured a myriad of key injuries, especially at the position they covet the most, starting pitcher. When the team figured out that they were unable to use Mike Montgomery in any sort of meaningful way, they decided to trade the young lefty for Erasmo Ramirez just before the 2015 season got underway. Ramirez had always flashed the ability to throw three pitches consistently in the minors, but struggled to put it all together once he’d been called up in each of the prior two seasons. When Jim Hickey and the Rays acquired him, they refined his approach, and he became one of the most valuable players on the team. The results were profound, as Ramirez ended up winning 11 games (second most on the team) and hurling a career-high 163.1 IP (third most on the team) to go along with a 3.75 ERA and 1.13 WHIP. Naturally, people would question whether such a spike in production is repeatable when the player in question hasn’t done it before. The short answer is yes. First off, his 3.75 ERA he posted was supported by a 3.76 xFIP. He retained his excellent 11% swinging-strike rate from the year prior, and didn’t have an insane BABIP inflation. He posted career-highs in groundball rate, first-pitch strike rate, and home run/flyball rate. The metrics that will be most crucial for Ramirez to have prolonged success are his ability to limit home runs, and continuing his gains that he saw in walk rate in 2015. All in all, Ramirez is only turning 26 this season, possesses a devastating change-up, and pitches in one of the best ballparks in the league for home run suppression. His current ADP at 305th overall (81st starting pitcher) is amazing value for fantasy players, especially when you consider that he ended up as the 43rd best pitcher in 2015 according to ESPN’s Player Rater. Even if a few of the underlying metrics regress, there’s no reason to think that a season very similar to last year isn’t in the cards.
– Mike Werner (Rays Correspondent)
Texas Rangers
Can the Rangers rotation be effective until Yu Darvish returns?
Thanks to a season-ending injury during Spring Training to Yu Darvish, and a nearly season-long injury to Derek Holland, the Texas Rangers rotation in 2015 was primarily filled with past-their-prime veterans or youngsters who probably belonged at Triple-A. In late summer, with the Rangers eight games out of first place, and many baseball people believing they would be “sellers” at the trading deadline, the Rangers instead traded for All-Star southpaw Cole Hamels. Hamels cost the Rangers four top prospects, but the key to the trade was that it wasn’t a short-term rental. Hamels returns to the rotation in 2016, and with Holland appearing healthy (for now, at least), Martin Perez fully recovered from Tommy John surgery, and 17-game winner Colby Lewis back in the fold, the Rangers should be just fine until Darvish returns in late May. If he is anywhere close to his former self (39-25, 3.27 ERA, 680K over 545.1 innings), then the Rangers might end up with one of the top rotations in baseball from top to bottom. Add in Chi-Chi Gonzalez (4-6, 3.90 ERA as a rookie), Nick Martinez (7-7, 3.96 ERA), and Anthony Ranaudo along with others such as former A’s starter, A. J. Griffin (14-10 in 2013), and the rotation will be as talented as it is deep.
– Mitch Cox (Rangers Correspondent)
Toronto Blue Jays
At 35 years old, is Jose Bautista heading for a decline?
There have been very few Toronto Athletes as polarizing as Jose Bautista. A man who plays the game with a chip on his shoulder, and isn’t afraid to celebrate a home run. This was never more prevalent than his game five ALDS game-clinching bat flip heard round the world. Bautista made his debut in 2004, bouncing between four different teams over five years before settling in with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2008 after a trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates. It wasn’t until 2010 that Bautista began to make a name for himself, finishing the year with an astounding 54 home runs, 124 RBI and 109 runs scored, good enough for fourth in the MVP race. The ’10 breakout season earned him a five-year, $65 million contract which is set to expire after the 2016 season. At age 35 with just 1,403 games played at the Major League level, Bautista is rumored to be seeking a contract that exceeds five years and $150 million. Bautista may have priced himself right out of Toronto, however what makes his case so interesting is that he has far less miles on his body than most 35 year old sluggers in the game, as well as the fact that very few players take care of their body as well as Jose does. Jose employs his own personal nutritionist, personal trainer, a physical and massage therapist, as well as his own personal doctor that is trained in acupuncture. Blue Jays president and CEO Mark Shapiro remarked that he treats his body like a fortune 500 company. His injury history is not a cause for concern as he has only missed time due to wrist inflammation in ‘12, a left hip bone bruise in ’13, and the other being a shoulder injury caused by over-extending himself on a throw from the outfield in ’15. Since his 2010 breakout season, Joey Bats has amassed 227 HR (Miguel Cabrera is second with 199), with 542 RBI over 828 games played, not to mention having one of the best commands of the strike zone as evidenced by his 574 walks during that span. Bautista finished his ’15 campaign with 40 HR, 114 RBI and 108 runs scored at the age of 34. With no signs of slowing down offensively, the question still begs whether or not he can maintain his high level of production entering the “declining years” of his career. Taking into consideration his rigorous health regimen and the argument that he has far less miles on his body, as a fantasy owner I would invest with confidence that he will remain productive offensively for another three to four years, especially if he were to move to DH at some point down the road. But, is it worth a $150 million investment by the Blue Jays? That becomes another argument altogether.
– Marc Walton (Blue Jays Correspondent)
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