Don’t Sleep On These Post Hypers

by
August 18, 2015

NL West Edition

We’ve all been there and done that, our dynasty/keeper league(s) haven’t gone as planned. Perhaps you went for it in the offseason, ditched your prospects for grizzled productive vets and it all went south from there. No matter your story, the rebuild can be difficult in the sense of valuing the players you want. You could fall into the “shiny new toy trap” and end up with a bust or broken player (envision a Joc Pederson type in an AVG league instead of OBP). In this upcoming series, I will be highlighting players based on positions and pointing out whether I’d go for them in separate leagues (NL/AL only) or mixed.

So without further ado, here’s the first segment.

Diamondbacks—-
Honorable mentions: Yoan Lopez, Patrick Corbin, Rubby De La Rosa

 

  • Braden Shipley – Shipley has the makings of a solid #3, which in fantasy terms isn’t that highly noticeable but if you’re in an NL only dynasty or just plainly need an additional keeper, he’s someone to have on that good ol’ watchlist. Rating out at the higher end of the Snakes prospect list, Shipley doesn’t hold the flashy numbers to garner that much attention, think of Matt Cain this year but with a 3.– ERA for all you standard league-fanatics.
  • Brandon Drury- Expecting his first big league cup of coffee come next season, Drury still remains an after thought in the heralded Justin Upton trade. With some scouts pegging him around a peak .275/.335/.450 slash line, he’s worth a shot in the dark for the deepest of mixed, or NL only leagues. For reference, that triple slash isn’t that far off of 270/.330/.470, which is Maikel Franco’s projected peak.
  • Chris Owings- One of my favorite targets this summer is Owings, holding that intriguing duo of power and speed at a prime middle infield slot. The problems, however, are in the plenty. Upon seeing his .314 BABIP I became saddened realizing it’s not bad luck rather he just can’t make solid contact all that often. Even with that, his power and speed makes an interesting play for deep mixed dynasties and NL only leagues.
  • Archie Bradley- With a FIP, xFIP, and ERA coinciding with reason that he should have a 4+ era, there isn’t much here to first look. However with some luck and some Jo Bu, perhaps he can establish what made him a prominent prospect for so many years.

Rockies—-
Honorable mentions: Jon Gray, Trevor Story, Tom Murphy (Somebody hear the hype train?)

 

  • Ben Paulsen- With Morneau out, and possibly retiring at years end, Paulsen seems to hold the inside track to being the next in line to start at first. Plus, playing half his games at Coors will only help his power play up, don’t expect that near .300 average though, he’d survive with .250-ish. Deep NL leagues, if you can get him for cheap at 1$ keeper, go for it.

Dodgers—-

 

  • Austin Barnes- Without massive homer power and no real position, Barnes should come cheap enough you might turn a nice profit. Holding C and in some leagues, 2B eligibility, the catcher has 10/10 HR/SB potential and in the C world of NL only when you could be stuck with Ruiz and god knows what else platoon, he’s worth a shot.
  • Enrique Hernandez- Your typical universal utility man, Hernandez reminds me of the years back when I took Martin Prado off the waiver wire and he went on to help me win the league, plugging into any position of need down the stretch and on his first breakout year. Hernandez holds 2B, SS, 3B, LF, CF, RF all as possible homes in the near future, and if the Dodgers end up moving Turner, perhaps some team goes insane wanting him, he’d be the next in that same spot that made him sign.

Padres—-
Honorable mention: Casey Kelly (A part of me still holds out hope)

 

  • Jedd Gyorko- A year removed from a 23 homer season at 2B, Gyorko burned some of us in NL leagues, and yes the signs were there that he’d have no value in the AVG department, but 20+ bombs from the MI slot is pretty handy. If he gets shipped out of dodge this offseason, and more notably to a homer friendly, or even just fair park, the 2B eligibility will make me spend that buck.
  • Rymer Liriano- Nothing too flashy here, Liriano simply put is the best defensive CF for the Padres next year if they don’t make a move. With the ability to go 15/15 HR/SB, he could be worth at the least, a last round pick or week 1, 1$ pickup.

Giants—-
Honorable mention: Andrew Susac

 

  • Hunter Strickland- Ah yes, the deadly game of “Pick The Next Closer!”, Strickland has taken me into his realm of fantasy love. Holding a high K/9 ratio and solid ERA/WHIP, he’s become one of my favorites to slot in the RP role with the likes of Pedro Strop, Will Smith, and Caminero. If you wish to play Russian Roulette and go for a cheap closer, or relatively cheap, go Strickland.

 

Some teams held more and others held less, but the NL West has some prime buy lows and cheap keepers. Keep tabs on these guys in the final months if you need that last keeper or just want depth in case of the dreaded injury bug. So, until the next one, happy bargain bin shopping, gang!





 

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