Some view boring as an insult. Nobody wants to watch a boring TV show, read a boring book, or especially live a boring life. Boring gets a bad rap, but it’s not always a bad thing.

For an introvert like myself, bingeing Netflix on a boring Friday night is the perfect antidote to a hectic week. Boring can often lead to safety and stability, concepts that hardly carry the same negative connotations. In a fantasy baseball draft, just the right sprinkle of tedium can help produce a championship.

Chasing a high floor and ADP value at every turn will likely result in a middle-of-the-pack finish, so a shrewd drafter will strike the right balance between upside and steadiness. If you can’t resist the temptation to pick Vladimir Guerrero Jr. over Eugenio Suarez, at least take Mitch Haniger over David Dahl later.

Everyone touts the flashy names, so let’s pay some love to the dull mainstays. While there are no strict guidelines for this squad, a couple of clear patterns emerged. Once they’re done progressing, veterans get overlooked for flashier new prospects. As you can see from last year’s inclusions, there’s risk in productive veterans aging ungracefully, so drafters will often pass a year or two early to avoid suffering such a fate.

Others players, meanwhile, don’t have skills that pop off the page. For hitters, that often means a lack of eye-popping power or speed accompanied by a solid plate approach. The considered starting pitchers, meanwhile, don’t brandish massive strikeout potential due to diminished velocity and underwhelming stuff. None of these guys are league-winners, but rostering a couple will fortify your team and present more peace of mind for you to reach for the sky in other spots.

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Catcher: Yadier Molina (STL)
For the second straight year, Molina beat out Salvador Perez as the All-Boring backstop. Despite missing a month with a pelvic injury, he finished as Yahoo’s second-best catcher behind J.T. Realmuto in standard five-by-five scoring. The previous year? Third behind Gary Sanchez and Buster Posey. Don’t expect the 36-year-old to belt another 20 long balls, but he should offset some regression by repairing his lowest batting average (.261) since 2006. As the eighth catcher off the board, Molina represents the last chance to snag a reliable starter at the desolate position.

First Base: Eric Hosmer (SD)
Calling Hosmer boring feels like a compliment after his last season. Other words to describe his 2018 is “bad,” “dreadful,” or even “I didn’t even know it was possible to hit for a negative launch angle.” Yet despite swindling San Diego with -0.1 fWAR in the first of an eight-year mega-deal, he also hit .253 with 18 homers, 69 RBIs, 72 runs, and seven steals in 677 plate appearances. That’s a productively boring corner infield in deeper leagues. He’s a career .280 hitter who has logged at least 677 plate appearances and 157 games in each of the last four seasons. The durable first baseman will also get more run-producing opportunities alongside Manny Machado. Most projection systems have him batting around .265-.270 with 21-22 homers and six or seven steals, which makes him a solid depth piece typically available after pick 150.

Second Base: Adam Frazier (PIT)
Frazier feels like a placeholder who is relevant only because he possesses a starting job, or maybe he’s a sleeper with sneaky upside. Despite mustering a .269 wOBA in 137 Triple-A plate appearances, he returned from his minor league demotion a new man. In 55 second-half games, Frazier batted .306/.357/.533 with 20 doubles and seven homers. He traded ground balls for line drives and fly balls, and his hard-hit rate skyrocketed from 21.4% to 45.3%. He finished the season regularly batting leadoff for the Pirates, and Roster Resource projects him to occupy the same role as the starting second baseman this season. He also routinely swiped double-digit bases before settling for one apiece in the majors and minors last year, so the 27-year-old may contribute more than most managers expect across the board. However, few competitors will reach because his limited ceiling is still fueled more by contact and run-scoring potential than power and speed.

Third Base: Asdrubal Cabrera (TEX)
Cabrera also could have made the team at second base or shortstop, but he slides in at the hot corner because: 1) that’s where he’ll play this season, and 2) it was the spot with the least alluring alternatives. He has offered at least 14 long balls in each of the last eight seasons with 23 in both 2016 and 2018. An above-average hitter in each of the last four years now gets a starting gig in Texas, one of the best spots for hitters. The switch-hitting Cabrera could hit .260-.270 with 20 homers for the Rangers. Unfortunately, the ADP (224) has caught up to his actual value.

Shortstop: Andrelton Simmons (LAA)
One of the few players highlighted yet to turn 30, the 29-year-old Simmons doesn’t get enough recognition for his underrated skill set. Fantasy managers, of course, don’t receive credit for his Gold Glove defense at shortstop. They did, however, benefit from the secure playing time and a .292 batting average fueled by MLB’s lowest strikeout rate (7.3%) of all qualified hitters. Don’t expect much of a drop, as xStats credited him with a .313 xBA due to a career-high 10.3% value hit rate. Rostering him over a full season will often feel like watching paint dry, but there’s value to attain from a middle infielder who pairs a high average with double-digit home runs and steals. It’d especially be nice if he can split the difference between last year’s 10 steals and 2017’s 19.

Outfield: Justin Upton (LAA)
You know you’re getting old when someone you remember as a hotshot prospect is suddenly the boring old value pick. As the first pick in 2005’s amateur draft, Upton drew comparisons to Ken Griffey Jr. While he never met the mountainous hype, Upton has averaged 29.7 homers and 11 steals in each of the last six seasons, a span in which he has always exceeded 600 plate appearances and at least 145 games played. The strikeout woes (28.7%) limit his batting-average capability, but an 87 consensus ADP is nevertheless awfully low for a career .268 hitter who has popped at least 30 homers in three straight seasons. Everyone got tired of Upton once they realized he’s a borderline All-Star who will never develop into a true superstar. Accept him for who he is, and you got a darn good second or third outfielder.

Outfield: Andrew McCutchen (PHI)
Even in a down year, McCutchen reached 20 homers for the eighth straight season with double-digit steals (14) for the ninth time in 10 years. His career worsts in batting average (.255) and strikeout rate (21.3%) are both far from bad, and they come with a 13.9% walk rate and career-high 43.4 hard-hit rate. After playing most of 2018 in San Francisco, he’ll enjoy a substantial park and lineup upgrade (even if the Phillies don’t sign Bryce Harper) in Philadelphia. Steamer and THE BAT each project 26 homers and 11 steals with around 77-78 runs, 80-81 RBIs, and batting averages of .263 and .264. That makes him a spectacular get in five-outfielder formats at his 133 consensus ADP.

Outfield: Shin-Soo Choo (TEX)
He’s not nearly as boring in OBP or points leagues, but Choo often slips through the cracks in a standard roto or H2H format. The 36-year-old has settled into a .260 hitter who likely won’t top his personal best of 22 home runs. The steals have also dried up; he swiped six bags in seven attempts this season. Yet drafters often don’t pay enough credence to runs, and Choo’s terrific batting eye has led him to touch home plate 94, 96, and 83 times over his last three full seasons. He looks poised to lead off Texas’ lineup again, so he’s a solid depth piece if his body can hold up one more season. Yet given his age and alarming second half (.217/.329/.316), this could be a case where a steady producer finally falls off the clip.

Starting Pitcher: Kyle Hendricks (CHC)
Amid a sea of young breakout hurlers with tantalizing strikeout upside, few drafters want a finesse pitcher whose fastball rarely reaches 90. While everyone else is waiting for the bottom to fall out on Hendricks, take the value on a boring SP3 if already brandishing two power pitchers. Over the last two years, the Cubs righty is one of nine qualified starters to post an ERA below 3.00. He’s in pretty nice company:

 
His 21.3 K% (7.7 K/9) during that time frame is hardly spectacular, but it’s also far from a liability. Especially since superb command has prevented his WHIP from ever expanding beyond 1.19. Drafting Hendricks also makes it easier to round out the rotation with flashier breakout arms.

Starting Pitcher: Alex Wood (CIN)
A 28-year-old with a career 3.29 ERA and 3.36 FIP, Wood could be considered an odd inclusion. Yet despite a move from the Dodgers to the Reds solidifying a rotation spot, drafters have focused more on the park downgrade. There’s also the matter of the righty continuing to lose velocity, a trend that started late in 2017. Although his strikeouts have declined, he still managed 135 in 151.1 frames last year with a 10.6% swinging-strike rate and the fifth-highest first-pitch strike rate (69.1%) of all starters with at least 100 innings pitched. The velocity and venue changes cap his ceiling, but Wood could parlay the steadier gig into a 3.75 ERA and solid strikeout rate over 175 frames. He’s a perfectly boring No. 4 or 5 SP available beyond the top 50.

Relief Pitcher: Cody Allen (LAA)
Boring closers are a dying breed, as a reliever with middling skills almost never gets handed a secure ninth-inning job these days. Shane Greene could fit that description, which puts him in grave danger of losing the role to Joe Jimenez in April. Allen, however, is an interesting case. The 30-year-old had posted a sub-3.00 ERA in each of the last five seasons before unraveling (4.70) in 2018, and a 10.75 K/9 actually represented a personal nadir since 2012’s brief debut. He has first dibs on the Angels’ closing gig, so he could return a massive profit by shedding over a run on his ERA. That’s far from a given in light of last year’s bloated 50.4% fly-ball and 38.4% hard-hit rates, but he’s a safer source of saves and strikeouts than anybody else available in the 15th round.

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