The big question for fantasy baseball owners entering the 2015 season is who will be the biggest sleepers of the season. After you get past those first few rounds of you fantasy draft the big name stars will start to come off the board. This is where draft preparation as well as landing a few of those sleepers will make you stand out from the rest.

Now everyone classifies a sleeper a little different and sometimes you might have a few different classes. For example let’s take a look at first baseman Chris Davis and outfielder Jay Bruce. Both had down seasons last year but we expect to have bounce back. Each of these players should fall in drafts opening up the door for a fantasy owner to cash in with them.

After the bounce back sleepers we are looking for someone who might not be on many fantasy baseball owners radars. This sometimes includes a rookie who might make the jump to the majors or a veteran who has struggled in his first few seasons. A guy we really like is Travis Snider of the Baltimore Orioles who has a chance to be the team’s everyday right fielder. He also brings a left handed bat to the Orioles lineup in a stadium with a short porch in right field.

More 2015 Fantasy Baseball sleepers

Didi Gregorius, Short Stop

The New York Yankees newly acquired short stop will look to bounce back after a down season in 2014. Gregorius will not get to use his ability to hit left handed as an advantage hitting in Yankee stadium. Last season Yankee Stadium finished as the second best ball park in baseball for left handers to hit in.

Drew Smyly

Smyly will start his first full season with the Tampa Bay Rays in 2015 after coming over in a trade that would send Davis Price to the Detroit Tigers. The Rays starter finished strong pitching to a 2.20 earned run average over the second half of 2014.

Avisail Garcia, Outfielder

The Chicago White Sox outfielder managed to only play in only 46 games after dealing with injuries. That being said, Garcia still finished with seven home runs and 29 runs batted in during that stretch. If you multiple that out for an entire season those numbers would break down to around 25 home runs and 102 runs batted in.

Kris Bryant, Third Baseman

Typically I wouldn’t put a rookie on this sleepers list that didn’t appear in the majors last season but Bryant has the makings to be a great player. The Chicago Cubs third baseman will enter spring training with a real chance to break camp with the team giving the team another potential power hitter in the lineup. That being said I wouldn’t gamble early on him unless you are joining a keeper league.

 

Good luck to everyone in there 2015 Fantasy baseball leagues!

The 2015 Major League Baseball is just around the corner as fantasy owners prepare for the upcoming season. This gives us a chance to start looking at our lineup from top to bottom with what hitters to focus on. That list includes some of the best hitters in the game over the past three or four years including Mike Trout, Giancarlo Stanton and Miguel Cabrera. The list also includes some up and coming stars like Jose Abreu, Chris Carter and Anthony Rizzo.

As we move around the infield the catcher position is headlined by a few big named stars such as Buster Posey. The two catchers that might slip under the radar of some is Matt Wieters and Russell Martin both playing in the American League East. Wieters who missed most of last season was putting together his best season at the plate will be entering his final year of his contract. Martin on the other hand now has the opportunity to hit in the friendly hitter ball park at the Rogers Centre.

Here are a few of the other key players to keep an eye on for you fantasy roster at each position.

Fantasy Baseball Infielders

This list is star studded across the board but here are a few key players to consider rounding out your infield in 2015. Starting at first base Anthony Rizzo of the Chicago Cubs looks to build on a terrific 2014 campaign that resulted in a National League best 32 home runs. This season the Cubs lineup looks to be even deeper in talent which should provide protection for Rizzo.

Moving on to second base the top option on the board will be Robinson Cano and his stock rose after the team added another big bat to the lineup in Nelson Cruz. If you are considering a later round pick at the position consider someone like Kolten Wong as well as Jedd Gyorko.

On the left side of the infield the one guy we expect to have a bounce back season with the bat is J.J. Hardy of the Baltimore Orioles. Hardy finished the season with just nine home runs after finishing with at least 22 homeruns in three straight seasons in Baltimore. At third base we stay in the American League East with Josh Donaldson of the Toronto Blue Jays. Donaldson moves out of a pitchers ball park in Oakland to a much more hitter ball park in Toronto.  These infielders would all be a great addition to your fantast lineup.

Fantasy Baseball Outfielders

In the outfield you will have a ton of great options depending on the round you might be drafting and the pick. In the early rounds Mike Trout is the best outfielder in the game while someone like Adam Jones continues to put up big seasons year in and year out. Another name to monitor this season is Yoenis Cespedes who is entering a contract season and will more than likely be plugged into the Detroit Tigers lineup right in front of Miguel Cabrera.

In the later rounds a few names to monitor include Jay Bruce for the Cincinnati Reds, George Springer of the Houston Astros and Mark Trumbo of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Good luck to everyone and have a great 2015 Fantasy Baseball year!

OK, Fantasy gamers draft day is around the corner and you are likely still licking your wounds from last season, which piles on the anticipation even more. There’s a good chance you are blaming your pitching staff for your team’s over all failure, and are currently contemplating going with offense for as many consecutive picks to start the draft as humanly possible. So here’s the challenge: Don’t write off pitching this season, whether you are in a head to head or rotisserie league, simply pay attention, make better value picks and keep that line up balanced.

The top 10 fantasy pitchers are just as valuable to your line up as any hitter, and the drop off after the top 10 is significant. Make sure and grab a top 10 pitcher, regardless of who it is – Felix Hernandez, Clayton Kershaw, Corey Kluber, Chris Sale and Max Scherzer are all capable of anchoring your staff. Don’t overpay for Madison Bumgarner if you are in an auction draft especially if you think he’s going to piggy back his playoff performance with a season long stat line that is better than the 5 mentioned above.

Stay away from injury prone pitchers like Masahiro Tanaka, Matt Harvey, CC Sabathia, Fernandez, and Brandon Beachy. Even though one of those guys is likely to bounce back and kill it this season, its too tough to call which one. So be conservative, look for value and target pitchers who have averaged 28 starts or more over the last 3 years. Guys like John Lester, Gio Gonzalez, James Shields and Zack Grienke have been pillars on their respective staffs.   What makes a serviceable pitcher effective is that he doesn’t hurt your stat line by missing starts.

If you have to take risks, or are wanting to reach early on certain guys, take a look at Alex Wood, Justin Verlander and Mike Fiers. You can count on exceptional value from all three, and if you can land two of them with a top tier pitcher you’ll be off to the races.

Don’t forget relief pitchers. Saves is a category you can win if you want, but keeping with the theme of balance, make sure to nab a top 3 closer – it doesn’t matter which one. After that 4-20 are statistically negligible. Jonathon Broxton is going to be the best value as he has potentially the clearest path to keeping his job. Don’t draft more than 2-3 closers and be sure to hand cuff your picks. Closers will pop up all season long so be patient. Good luck gamers.