Some guys are obvious they’re going to be overrated, other guys don’t reveal themselves until I start seeing where others are ranking them. Freddie Freeman fell into the latter category. I wasn’t expecting to see people rank him that much higher than I had him. I mean, I knew people love to love players that are good in real life. It’s the Poseyitis Syndrome again. The general population knows Freeman is a good real baseball player, so if some ‘perts rank him too low or say anything negative on him, then people get upset. As a general rule of thumb, people don’t want to upset other people. I grew up Jersey, so if you’re not upsetting someone else, you’re doing something wrong. You need thick skin to get by. Preferably thick, bronzed skin. When I saw some people ranking Freeman in the top 20 overall and even in the top 15 in some instances, my toes began to tingle and I knew there might be something schmohawky here. Of course, I hadn’t moved off the couch in three months, so I might’ve just lost circulation to my lower extremities. “Get off the couch, Fantasy Master Lothario!” That’s me yelling at myself. So, what makes Freddie Freeman overrated for 2015 fantasy baseball?
Potatoes to chips, Freeman is coming off a season where he hit 18 homers and .288 with a .351 BABIP. Usually a BABIP that high would raise my “You gotta be freakin’ kidding me” flag, but his career BABIP is .338 and he regularly busts a nutty BABIP. To go with the inflated BABIP, he had the best line drive rate since they started collecting batted ball data in 2002. You filter batted ball data and Freddie Freeman is the best. So, yeah, he hits the ball well. Before we start reaching around on each other, number two for line drive rate? Mark Loretta in 2003 when he hit 13 HRs and .314. The top line drive rates is a who’s who of who cares: Loretta, Brian Roberts, James Loney, Nick Castellanos last year, Daniel Murphy last year, Joe Mauer’s on there… I mean you could prescribe the reading of the top line drive rates of the last twelve years as a sleep remedy. Mark Loretta was actually the closest to Freeman for similar fly and ground balls with last year’s Castellanos as a close second. Castellanos hit 11 homers last year and .259 because his BABIP was only .326. Only .326. Freeman’s already had a year when he hit .259 too, way back in 2012 when he didn’t have an insane BABIP. Something I still haven’t mentioned, but with a sentence opening like that you have to figure I’m about to mention it. The Braves switched offenses with the 1969 thru 2014 Padres. If the Braves sign Bip Roberts to play 2nd base, I’m calling “No Foolsies” on them. The Braves are actually considering starting Terdoslavich in the outfield, and his claim to fame prior was that he needed to change his name so he wouldn’t be confused with an Eastern European toilet. Freeman had 78 RBIs last year, and might not break 70 this year, or the same as Salvador Perez. Oh, and that <sarcasm>huge RBI total last year</saracasm> came in 162 games and 708 plate appearances. If he misses only 15 games, his stats might look like Billy Butler, who is being drafted about 250 spots later. Freeman is a great real baseball player, but if you want to play real baseball, lose 75 pounds and the sweatpants. If you want to play fantasy baseball, ignore Freeman.
