March 30, 2016

Fantasy Staff Picks

Breakouts, Busts, and Bold Predictions

by BP Fantasy Staff

With Opening Day right around the corner, it’s prediction time! The fantasy staff at Baseball Prospectus thought we’d take a crack at trying to make some predictions of our own. Feel free to come back and laugh at the ones we got ridiculously wrong six months from now, while ignoring the ones we got right.

	George Bissell	J.P. Breen	Ben Carsley	Matt Collins	Mike Gianella	Craig Goldstein	Scooter Hotz
Player You Own In Most of Your Leagues	Marcus Stroman	Jacob deGrom	Troy Tulowitzki	Justin Upton	Jean Segura	Danny Valencia	Matt Moore
Favorite Player Outside NFBC Top 75	Billy Hamilton	Patrick Corbin	Cole Hamels	Gregory Polanco	Jacoby Ellsbury	Yasiel Puig	Hanley Ramirez
Favorite Player Outside NFBC Top 300	Javier Baez	Michael Saunders	Leonys Martin	Ben Paulsen	Ben Paulsen	Jonathan Villar	Nathan Eovaldi
First Round Player Who Will Earn The Least	Kris Bryant	Giancarlo Stanton	Giancarlo Stanton	Nolan Arenado	Carlos Correa	Miguel Cabrera	Giancarlo Stanton
Best Veteran Bargain (34+)	Shin-Shoo Choo	Alex Rodriguez	Alex Rodriguez	David Ortiz	Mark Teixeira	Alex Rodriguez	Fernando Rodney
Biggest Sophomore Bust	Miguel Sano	Jerad Eickhoff	Addison Russell	Francisco Lindor	Corey Seager	Randal Grichuk	Delino DeShields
Pitcher Who Will Lead Baseball in Wins	Clayton Kershaw	David Price	Jon Lester	Max Scherzer	Adam Wainwright	Clayton Kershaw	Max Scherzer
First closer to lose his job	Steve Cishek	David Hernandez	Every Phillie	Fernando Rodney	Brad Ziegler	Shawn Tolleson	JJ Hoover
Reliever most likely to get 20 saves who isn’t closing on Opening Day	Kevin Jepsen	Corey Knebel	Ryan Madson	Keone Kela	Tony Zych	Joaquin Benoit	Hunter Strickland
Highest Earnings for Player Who Starts 2015 in Minors	Jurickson Profar	Jose Berrios	Blake Snell	Jose Berrios	A.J. Reed	Bradley Zimmer	Tyler Glasnow
	J.J. Jansons	Wilson Karaman	Jeff Quinton	Bret Sayre	Dan Strafford	Greg Wellemeyer
Player You Own In Most of Your Leagues	Carlos Carrasco	Dan Vogelbach	David Ortiz	Hanley Ramirez	Robinson Cano	Jose Ramirez
Favorite Player Outside NFBC Top 75	Ender Inciarte	Rougned Odor	Hunter Pence	Gregory Polanco	Maikel Franco	Michael Brantley
Favorite Player Outside NFBC Top 300	Leonys Martin	Cory Spangenberg	Martin Prado	Leonys Martin	Aaron Sanchez	Jake Lamb
First Round Player Who Will Earn The Least	Nolan Arenado	Giancarlo Stanton	Kris Bryant	Anthony Rizzo	Carlos Correa	Anthony Rizzo
Best Veteran Bargain (34+)	Alex Rodriguez	Matt Holliday	Brandon Phillips	Matt Holliday	Ben Zobrist
Biggest Sophomore Bust	Miguel Sano	Kris Bryant	Anthony DeSclafani	Francisco Lindor	Carlos Correa	Addison Russell
Pitcher Who Will Lead Baseball in Wins	Jake Arrieta	John Lackey	Jake Arrieta	Max Scherzer	Carlos Carrasco	Clayton Kershaw
First closer to lose his job	Shawn Tolleson	Hector Rondon	Sean Doolittle	Whatever sad soul the Phillies drag out there	Santiago Casilla	Santiago Casilla
Reliever most likely to get 20 saves who isn’t closing on Opening Day	Arodys Vizcaino	Joaquin Benoit	Ryan Madson	Joaquin Benoit	Sergio Romo	Hunter Strickland
Highest Earnings for Player Who Starts 2015 in Minors	Trea Turner	Trea Turner	Trea Turner	Lucas Giolito	Tyler Glasnow	Jose Peraza

Bold Predictions, Hitter:

George Bissell – Danny Valencia is a borderline top-five third baseman.

J.P. Breen -- Keon Broxton goes 15/15 for the Brewers.

Ben Carsley -- Xander Bogaerts will hit 20 homers and steal 10 bases.

Matt Collins – Victor Martinez will be a top 125 hitter.

Mike Gianella – Billy Hamilton steals 80 bases.

Scooter Hotz – Neither Lorenzo Cain nor A.J. Pollock finish among the top 20 outfielders in mixed formats.

J.J. Jansons -- Eugenio Suarez will earn more than Corey Seager.

Wilson Karaman – Delino DeShields leads Major League Baseball in stolen bases.

Jeff Quinton – Troy Tulowitzki plays more than 135 games and is a top-25 player.

Bret Sayre – Hanley Ramirez will be more valuable in 5x5 leagues than either Mookie Betts or Xander Bogaerts.

Dan Strafford – Eugenio Suarez is a top-five SS.

Greg Wellemeyer – Javier Baez will earn more than any Cubs position player except for Kris Bryant.

Bold Predictions, Pitcher:

George Bissell – Carlos Carrasco is the most valuable fantasy starter in the AL.

Ben Carsley -- King Felix becomes mortal.

J.P. Breen -- Martin Perez wins 15 games for the Rangers.

Matt Collins – Sean Doolittle is a top-five closer.

Mike Gianella – Shelby Miller finishes 2016 with a lower ERA than teammate Zack Greinke.

Scooter Hotz – Matt Moore is a top-20 pitcher in mixed leagues.

J.J. Jansons -- Cody Anderson will finish as a top-75 starting pitcher.

Wilson Karaman – Mychal Givens is a top-10 reliever despite only logging a couple of random saves.

Jeff Quinton – Chris Archer strikes out over 275 batters and is a top-10 pitcher.

Bret Sayre – Carlos Martinez will not only be the most valuable Cardinals starter, he will be a top-10 pitcher in mixed leagues.

Dan Strafford – Carlos Carrasco is AL Cy Young.

Greg Wellemeyer – Kyle Hendricks will earn more than every other Cubs pitcher except for Pedro Strop.

BP Fantasy Staff is an author of Baseball Prospectus. 
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