The key objective in fielding a winning fantasy baseball team is to be competitive in as many categories as possible. It doesn’t matter what format you play in either. Head to head, points, roto, re-draft, dynasty/keeper, it doesn’t matter.
That’s where this article comes into play. Unless you play in a league with obscure settings, there’s a 99.9% chance that your league uses batting average or on-base percentage as one of the offensive categories.
We all know which hitters in the early rounds can help you out in average or OBP. You don’t need me to tell you that Mike Trout and Joey Votto are elite in these categories. However, if you find yourself in the middle or later rounds and your team is lacking in average or OBP, the players below can help stabilize that.
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Batting AVG Targets
Dustin Pedroia (2B – BOS)
Don’t forget about the little guy. Pedroia might not be the MVP candidate or perennial all-star like he used to be, but when he’s on the field, he’s still a very productive hitter. Excluding his 89 at-bat debut in 2006, Pedroia has never hit below .278 in a season and has hit .300 or better in five of his 11 full seasons. For his career, he’s hit a clean .300. With his debut this season not scheduled until around June 1st, the price has never been lower on Pedroia. If you can afford to stash him for two months, he’s an intriguing late-round target that can be a valuable batting average asset and chip in some power and speed as well.
Michael Brantley (OF – CLE)
It’s really a shame that Michael Brantley can’t stay healthy. He’s arguably one of the best pure hitters in the game, but injuries have killed his value over the last two seasons. Even last season, Brantley performed quite well despite being limited to 338 at-bats. If you project his stats out over the 562 at-bats he averaged from 2012-2015, Brantley would’ve had 15 home runs, 18 stolen bases, 86 RBIs, and 78 runs scored with a .299 average.
For his career, Brantley is a .292 hitter and hit a combined .319 over his last two full seasons in 2014-15. There’s no luck involved with his batting averages either. Brantley has never had an overly high BABIP and always ranks among the league leaders in contact percentage with numbers annually around 90%. There aren’t many more reliable batting average assets in the game, especially ones that can be found in the later rounds of drafts. Just keep your fingers crossed that he can stay healthy.
Adrian Beltre (3B – TEX)
Don’t forget about old man Beltre either. The soon to be 39-year-old is entering his 21st Major League season and still remains one of the best batting average assets in the game. It’s amazing to think that when this man made his debut, I was around one month shy of my 8th birthday. But hey, he’s still a productive hitter, so why not keep going. The tank isn’t empty yet.
Beltre didn’t really turn into a batting average asset until he left Seattle. In his one season with Boston in 2010 and the last seven with Texas, Beltre has combined to hit .310, including his .312 mark last season in 340 at-bats. Those 340 at-bats were the fewest he’s had in a full season for his entire career and has opened up a good buy-low window in draft’s this spring.
On average, Beltre is going off the board after pick 150. If he can return to his usual 500+ at-bats, there’s a good chance he returns top-100 value, thanks to his high batting average and 30/100 upside.
OBP Targets
Dexter Fowler (OF – STL)
He might not be the flashiest player around, but Dexter Fowler is one heck of a leadoff hitter. What’s the main objective of a leadoff hitter? To get on base. That’s exactly what Fowler does year in and year out. For his career, he has a .366 OBP and has been above .360 in six of the last seven seasons. On top of that, you can usually expect double-digit home runs and speed from Fowler with a plethora of runs scored when he’s playing. But there’s the problem. Fowler has a hard time staying on the field for a full season, averaging 459 at-bats per season and only topping 500 at-bats once back in 2015. However, you’ll be hard-pressed to find another OBP asset like this well after pick 200.
Matt Carpenter (1B – STL)
He might not be the most interesting fantasy pick around, but if your team is lacking in the OBP department, there aren’t many better options in the middle rounds to give you a boost than Matt Carpenter. Over his six seasons, Carpenter’s lowest OBP is .365 in both 2012 and 2015. That’s his LOWEST. He doesn’t get his lofty OBPs from winning batting titles either. Carpenter is one of the most patient hitters in the game and routinely finishes with 80-100 walks a season.
Just take last season for example. Carpenter hit a mere .241 but still finished with a .384 OBP thanks to a career-high 109 walks, which was the third-highest total in the Major Leagues behind only Joey Votto and Aaron Judge.
When you get on base as frequently as Carpenter, high runs scored totals usually follow. Over the last five years, Carpenter has averaged 99.6 runs scored and has even started hitting for more power, too, bopping 20+ home runs in three-straight seasons. Don’t expect high RBI totals or more than a couple steals, but Carpenter is still one of the most intriguing OBP targets in the middle rounds.
Shin-Soo Choo (OF – TEX)
If you find yourself needing a boost in OBP in the late-rounds of your draft, you might want to take a long look at Shin-soo Choo. All he’s done over the last decade is record six .370+ OBP seasons, top .400 twice, and have a .380 OBP overall. Like with Carpenter above, Choo gets on-base by working plenty of walks and even lead the Major Leagues with 26 HBP back in 2013. Whatever it takes, right?
In addition to being an OBP asset, Choo can help out statistically across the board. He’s averaged 88 runs, 19 home runs, 73 RBIs, and 15 steals per every 550 at-bats over the last decade. Most of those steals were from earlier in that decade span, so don’t expect more than the 12 he swiped last year, but regardless, Choo is steady across the board contributor that will be one of the best OBP contributors on your team. He provides good value in the later rounds of fantasy drafts.
Players to Target for RBIs
Players to Target for Steals
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Eric Cross is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Eric, check out his archive and follow him on Twitter @EricCross04.
