Author: Michael Waterloo, Staff Writer
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if you look past the inches and inches of snow on the ground, you can almost see the outline of ballfields across the country getting ready for another 162-game marathon.
If anyone in your league says it’s too early for baseball, just know that you’re in a better position to win your league than they are. And if you’re in a dynasty league, your season never stops, and you should be looking to make your team better throughout the offseason.
If you’re an active owner, you should be looking for players whose stock is low that you can get cheaper than you could at this point last year.
Here are seven buy-low players in dynasty leagues that you should look to acquire before they bounce back.
Rougned Odor’s problems at the plate in 2017 were largely BABIP driven. AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez
Rougned Odor – In general, I’m drafting Odor anywhere I can this year. If the early indicators are what we should expect come draft season (Odor was drafted in the 10th round in our ongoing too early 15-team experts mock draft), Odor is going to return value in a big way. Never mind that Odor is still just 23 years old, but he posted the worst BABIP in baseball last year at .224. Looking at Odor’s numbers, his groundball rate was only a tick higher, while his fly ball rate was exactly the same at 42.2 percent. What did spike last year was his IFFB%, which went up from 8.2 percent in 2016 to 15.5 percent last year. Odor saw his strikeout rate and walk rate both increase slightly, but his power was the same. By all indications, it was an unlucky year for Odor. Buy him now in your dynasty leagues if you can, and you can expect him to revert back to the Top 5 option at the position that he was prior to last year. The strikeouts will always be there, but you can live with them.
Anthony Alford – Alford’s debut for the Blue Jays lasted all of eight plate appearances before he broke his left hamate bone. After that, the talk of Toronto’s top prospect dwindled down as Vlad Guerrero and Bo Bichette took the hype away. That’s fine, as you can use that to your advantage to acquire Alford in your league. If you haven’t noticed, Alford killed the Mexican Winter League this offseason, as he slashed .343/.373/.443. With names like Kevin Pillar, Steve Pearce, Ezequiel Carrera and Teoscar Hernandez standing in front of him in the Toronto outfield depth chart, it won’t be long before Alford is an everyday fixture in the Skydome. Now’s the time to make a move for him.
David Dahl – Spleen injury? Check. Back injury? Check. So far, the story of Dahl’s baseball career has been filled with unfortunate injuries. Sandwiched in between those injuries, though, was a hell of a 2016 season. But after missing the 2017 season with the back injury, Dahl seems to be a forgotten name. The injury label follows him around, but I’m not ready to call him injury plagued at 23 years of age with a 113 wRC+ season in the books. The Colorado outfield is packed as usual, and if Ryan McMahon starts at first base, that moves Ian Desmond to the outfield. Ultimately, you have to bet on talent. Outside of Charlie Blackmon, Dahl is the most talented outfielder on the team. Take on the so-called injury risk and take on Dahl.
Dinelson Lamet – For pitchers with at least 110 innings pitched last year, only seven had a higher K/9 than Lamet. There’s some bar trivia for you. Lamet, who leaned on his filthy slider (41.3 percent K rate), struck out 10.94 batters per nine innings. What’s Lamet’s ceiling as a Fantasy pitcher? Well, he’s a safe SP3-SP4, with the upside to be a Top 30 guy if everything breaks right. Add in the ballpark factor and the lack of competition for a spot around him, and Lamet is a solid value in redraft leagues in the 14th round or so. In dynasty leagues, he’s a nice get to add some stability to your rotation, even if he’s still trying to harness his control.
Kevin Maitan – At this time last year, there was talk of Maitan being the second pick in first-year drafts behind Nick Senzel. Right now, you can get Maitan as a throw-in in a lot of a deals. Welcome to the world of prospects in Fantasy Baseball, folks! Maitan, now with the Angels, failed to impress in his first taste of pro ball last year, but he’s still just 17 years old! If the excitement was with him last year, it should still be there this year … and next year … and the next year. Stop giving up on players too soon.
Tyler Glasnow – I know, I know. Glasnow dominates in the minor leagues and fizzles in the big leagues. It’s true. So far, Glasnow hasn’t been able to show the dominating stuff in the big leagues that made him arguably the top pitching prospect two years ago. He needs to continue to develop his changeup and to repeat his mechanics, which can be tough at 6-feet 8-inches. But we were ready to write off Jose Berrios and Luis Severino at this time last year, and look what they turned into. Practice patience with young pitchers.
Jackie Bradley, Jr. – Much like the Boston Red Sox, Fantasy owners seem eager to get Bradley off their team. OK, but why? He’s always been a streaky hitter, but are we really viewing him as an OF4 or 5 right now when he was viewed as a Top 30 outfielder last year heading into drafts? His batted ball data shifted slightly, but not enough to cause the overreaction this season. Bradley is still a third outfielder that can contribute 20 homers, a .260 batting average and steal close to double-digits.
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