We (me) have gone over the catchers, 2nd basemen, shortstops and 3rd basemen to target, cause I have to do everything around here! Look at me, throwing shade like a beach umbrella! That makes sense…if you don’t think about it! That’s what I want my bumper sticker to say, and then when I step out of my car, I want my clever t-shirt to say it too, “That makes sense….if you don’t think about it.” How can I arrange my life so this happens? I need a personal assistant. “So, it says you worked as Kanye’s assistant and you bought mirrors for nine months straight….” That’s me checking the CV of my favorite imaginary assistant. Okay, so this post is all the outfielders that are being drafted after 200 overall that I have uber-sexy feelings for. Last year, I featured Joc Pederson, Khris Davis, Wil Myers and some guy named Delino DeSomething. No idea who that is! Now, this is a (legal-in-all-countries-except-Canada) supplement to the top 100 outfielders for 2017 fantasy baseball. Click on the player’s name where applicable to read more and see their 2017 projections. Anyway, here’s some outfielders to target for 2017 fantasy baseball:
Max Kepler (Yahoo 267) Obviously I’m crazy for Kepler this year. Honestly, I didn’t even know I was as crazy for him as it turned out I was. When I wrote the Max Kepler sleeper, I figured people would rank him around 150 overall, and I’d be slightly higher on him just inside the top 100 overall. Well, oopsie daisies because I’m not even close to most rankers. ESPN has him at 132 overall and that’s the closest I’ve seen to where I have him, and, after seeing his projections at ESPN, I don’t even know why they have him ranked that high. I know why I do. He’s a 25/10/.265 guy who will hit fifth and play every day. At least that’s what I’ve convinced myself. Here’s to delusions of Kepler’s grandeur!
Yasmany Tomas (ESPN 208) Here’s a weird one. If Yasiel Puig approached a season like Yasmany had last year (31 HRs, 2 SBs, .272), he’d be a top 40 overall pick. Yasmany, on the other hand which is actually a foot wearing a mitten, has a season better than anything Puig’s ever done and is still ranked after Puig. It’s that mysterious, elusive upside. And, in this weird world where we can only compare Cubans with Cubans, Yasmany is essentially on par with Yoenis and ranked 150 spots after him.
Joc Pederson (ESPN 220) Member the problem I had at shortstops and 3rd basemen to target? How I wasn’t super crazy happy with the options late? Not the case at all for outfielders. There’s a ton of late outfielders I love. I could even see waiting until after the top 200 to take a 4th and 5th outfielder and maybe utlity man. When usually I’d just take a 5th outfielder or utility man. Also, I wrote up a Joc Pederson sleeper, because it’s the preseason and what would a preseason be without a Joc Pederson sleeper post. Wouldn’t be a preseason, I tell ya. Somewhere my Brett Lawrie sleeper post is saying, “You used to talk real sweet about me too!”
Randal Grichuk (ESPN 214) What’s to love about Grichuk if you only have room for seven more words in your brain? I wrote a Randal Grichuk sleeper too.
Leonys Martin – (ESPN 269, Yahoo 312) Okay, yes, there was a Leonys Martin sleeper post too. Since the Martin sleeper, Dyson became a thing in Seattle, and, while I do believe the M’s think Dyson could be their leadoff man, I have my doubts on whether that will actually take hold. My guess at the top of their lineup will be Segura, Martin and Cano, then Dyson in the nine hole. The nine hole is also porn shorthand for the left ear. Little fun fact for you!
Nomar Mazara (ESPN 224) Recurring Theme Alert! I wrote a Nomar Mazara sleeper too. After I wrote that, Mazara potentially lost his full-time job, and might only face righties. There’s more righties than lefties, says Mr. Obvious, but I still love Mazara. When I start liking Rangers outfielders I don’t let up, huh? “We were once friends!” Shut up, Delino DeSomething.
Manuel Margot (Yahoo 302) Well, I didn’t write a Manuel Margot sleeper, but I did give you my Manuel Margot fantasy. Surprised that most places I look have Margot being drafted at about the right spot, near the beginning of the top 200, but even more surprised by how much I can see myself drafting four Padres hitters. This has me feeling nauseous, I need to sit down. Okay, who took my seat? Seriously! Bring it back! What’s even more obtuse, Padres pitchers are so awful this year. I drafted the first Padres starter in my NFBC league yesterday at around pick 500 overall. For the love of Hodgepadres, what has San Diego done?!
Hunter Renfroe (Yahoo 241) 2017 will be known as the year all of my hitters are either on the Rockies or the Padres and I’m not hoping for home games for half of them and away games for the other half. I need to sign into my TalkSpace account to ask a professional why I like so many Padres hitters. By the way, yes, I gave you a Hunter Renfroe fantasy too.
Carlos Gomez (Yahoo 216) I got about eleven guys into the outfielders being ranked after the top 200 and was like, “Okay, I’d draft all of these outfielders late, maybe I’ll draft only one outfielder early and draft four of them late, or…Hey, birdie on my window! Wait, what was I saying again?” As for Gomez, I have major doubts here, but after 200 overall feels like a decent price for a guy that could bounce back, and he was solid on the Rangers in the 2nd half last year.
Jorge Soler (ESPN NR, Yahoo 239) I have a feeling this is going to be you next year. “Why did I write off Soler going into 2017 when he was finally going to have an everyday job and he was only 25 years old?” Then you’re going to use your head to make your living room more of an open living space.
Aaron Judge (ESPN/Yahoo NR) I don’t know what this means, but Judge is the only guy here that plays east of the Mason-Dixon line if the Mason-Dixon ran north/south rather than separating north/south. Oh, and of course, I wrote an Aaron Judge fantasy too.
Mitch Haniger (ESPN/Yahoo NR) He had 25 HRs and eight steals between Triple-A and the majors last year, and hit .341 in Triple-A, while consistently hitting above .280 every year. Why hasn’t anyone talked about him? Because, and this is a guess, his name is Mitch. Who talks about a guy named Mitch? Can I spell his name M*tch?
Domingo Santana (ESPN NR, Yahoo 217) Wow, someone I actually didn’t write about previously. I did, however, write about his teammate at the Keon Broxton sleeper post, but he’s not ranked after the top 200 at Yahoo or ESPN. By the way, in this ‘to target’ posts, I always say something like ‘these guys are being drafted after the top 200,’ but that’s not entirely true. They’re simply ranked after 200 at Yahoo or ESPN, where they’re actually being drafted, I don’t know. Any hoo! Sunday Santana’s been a fave of mine for a few years, which you can take to mean: he’s underperformed for a few years now. Yes, you sayer of nay, that is true. He’s underperformed like Villar underperformed for a few years prior to last year. Snap! I snapped you! Sunday doesn’t have a ton of speed, so it’ll leave you slightly wont for more, but who the hell says ‘slightly wont for more?’ Who are you, Scarlett O’Hara? Grow a pair!
David Peralta (Yahoo 221) Fine, one more! The David Peralta sleeper. I told you I love a lot of outfielders late! Just so happens I’ve written about most of them previously. Somewhere along the line since I wrote that post, I now see Peralta being labeled a platoon outfielder. The ol’ cleanup hitter a platoon player, huh? Um, yeah, platooned with who? Jeremy Hazelbaker? Daniel Descalso? How about he just blahtoon with Eric Byrnes while he’s at it? Seriously, this year in outfield might be like last year in middle infield. A ton of late round sleepers that make out really well while guys like Adam Jones, McCutchen, etc. finally ride off into the sunset.
