At just 24 years old, Jose Ramirez can contribute in multiple categories and is still improving

If you haven’t noticed, some of the baseball commissioners have opened up and when that happens, we start getting a glimpse into how people are drafting thanks to a little thing called… wait for it… Average Draft Position (ADP). Okay, that was pretty anticlimactic, but it’s it’s just another sign that we’re getting closer to the baseball season, and that my friends, is something to be excited for.

We realize it’s early in the season still, but if you are drafting around this time of year, it’s likely that there are some steals available to you. After all, all those sleeper and hype articles aren’t out yet to pump up values. So when we asked our featured experts below to name hitters and pitchers they felt were being undervalued based on our ADP, it was no surprise that they had no problem giving us names.

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Q1. Using our ADP Composite, what Hitter is currently the most undervalued in fantasy drafts?

Jose Ramirez (3B/LF – CLE): Overall ADP #131 | Positional ADP #14 (at 3B)
“At No. 131, Ramirez jumps out at me as an excellent bargain. Just 24, he’s one of those up-and-coming young players fantasy owners always seem to be looking for. Perhaps it’s because he only hit 11 home runs in a year that saw so many of them, but Ramirez makes excellent contact (88% career) so he has a high batting average floor, plus he stole 22 bases last season. Throw in dual position eligibility and a Cleveland offense that should be even better than last year and you have someone worth targeting when Round 10 arrives.”
– Steve Gardner (USA Today)

Andrew Benintendi (LF – BOS): Overall ADP #138 | Positional ADP #38
“In the middle rounds of the draft, I start looking for players who, if they reach their upside, can be a key reason I win my league. This year, I see that with Andrew Benintendi. By the time we get closer to the season, the hype will probably push his price up. But considering he could be ticketed for the No. 2 lineup spot in Boston and could be a .300 hitter who contributes across the board, he’s a steal at any price outside the top 100.”
– R.J. White (CBS Sports)

Andrew McCutchen (CF – PIT): Overall ADP #59 | Positional ADP #17
“McCutchen had a miserable 2016 by Andrew McCutchen standards. Folks are understandably down on him, saying that he’s now over the hill and in decline. I disagree with that notion and refuse to believe that turning 29 was enough to knock 50 points off of his wOBA. That’s not what decline looks like. That’s what playing through an injury or losing his mechanics looks like. McCutchen finished the year with solid months of August and September. Expect that success to carry over to 2017. McCutchen is being drafted at the end of the 5th round, but I’d be comfortable taking him in the 3rd.”
– Tim Young (Brewer Rat)

Yasiel Puig (RF – LAD): Overall ADP #270 | Positional ADP #68
“The most undervalued player is going to be a guy I don’t dislike as much as most people do. I’ve got Yasiel Puig valued around the 17th round and his ADP  is in round 23 in a 12-team league. Look, his OPS+ has gone down every year and he is risky, but he’s 26 years old this year and with two years to go on his contract, it’s time to go to work. We’ve seem him do work before. And, by the way, if you want to hear about a guy I actually do like, try David Dahl. ADP of #100 is straight-up theft. The only reason for it being that low is a short MLB track record.”
– Dave McKay (The Fantasy Sports Brain)

J.T. Realmuto (C – MIA): Overall ADP #129 | Positional ADP #7
“Realmuto is being drafted in the late 13th round of standard 10 team drafts. For someone who is just entering the prime years of his career, it doesn’t make much sense to expect such significant regression from what he accomplished a year ago. We are almost certainly talking about a catcher, in a weak catcher’s class, mind you, that will hit .285 with double-digit steals all while being one of the most durable players at the position.”
– Bobby Sylvester (FantasyPros)

Q2. Using our ADP Composite, what Pitcher is currently the most undervalued in fantasy drafts?

Aaron Sanchez (SP – TOR): Overall ADP #102 | Positional ADP #27
“This one surprised me, but Sanchez’s ADP of 102 puts him considerably below where I have him ranked. He made the transition last season from the bullpen to the rotation with flying colors, racking up 15 wins with a 3.00 ERA and 1.17 WHIP. Perhaps his pedestrian strikeout rate (7.6 K/9) is what turns drafters off, but with an innings cap no longer an issue, the 24-year-old Sanchez should be one of this season’s top 20 starting pitchers (he was 16th last year), not the No. 37 he’s ranked by the ADP composite.”
– Steve Gardner (USA Today)

Blake Snell (SP – TB): Overall ADP #268 | Positional ADP #78
“Deep in the 200’s, around relievers like Joe Biagini and Pedro Strop and just ahead of starters like Michael Wacha and Jason Hammel, sits Blake Snell. He had a lot of issues keeping the ball in the strike zone in his rookie year, walking 51 batters in just 89 innings. But he also brings an elite strikeout rate to the table, so if he can control his pitches just a little bit better, his upside is immense. If his ADP stays at end-game levels in standard leagues, I’m taking him every time.”
– R.J. White (CBS Sports)

Dylan Bundy (SP/RP – BAL): Overall ADP #236 | Positional ADP #72
“Park factor and injury history are worrisome, but here is a guy that was the #1 prospect in all of baseball a few years ago and he survived 2016 without any relapse. Wait, “survived”? He thrived. Well, much of the time, anyway. He was nearly untouchable for stretches last year. And, guess what? He’s going to start throwing the cutter again. Why is that important? It’s only his best pitch, if you’re into that sort of thing. It’s like Bundy’s been pitching with one hand tied behind his back. At 24 years old, he makes for quite the lottery ticket at the end of your draft.”
– Dave McKay (The Fantasy Sports Brain)

Lance McCullers (SP – HOU): Overall ADP #160 | Positional ADP #42
“This will almost certainly change in the coming weeks because every sleepers list I’ve seen has Lance McCullers at the heart of it. Get him at ADP #160 while you can because a month from now, his stock should rise to around 130 and I’d argue that is still lasting too long. When the 23-year-old McCullers has been healthy the past two seasons, he has been among the best pitchers in baseball, so if he stays healthy, we could be talking about him being drafted in the top 50 this time next season.”
– Bobby Sylvester (FantasyPros)

Matt Harvey (SP – NYM): Overall ADP #119 | Positional ADP #33
“Harvey is being drafted based on results from a season lost to injury. We’re talking about a top ten pitcher going into last season, and he’s nearly dropped out of the top 50. Any time we’re talking about a player recovering from a somewhat uncommon injury like thoracic outlet syndrome, there’s a risk involved. That said, Harvey’s being drafted in the 9th or 10th round. That’s a great place to take a risk.”
– Tim Young (Brewer Rat)

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Thank you to the experts for naming players who are currently undervalued. Be sure to give them a follow on Twitter and check out our most recent podcast below. Subscribe to get updates each time a new episode is available.

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