Ahoy, all of youse that are apathetic about Michael Brantley, what follows is a one long love letter to said player, because, really, someone has to! I hide my Brantley love in a bunch of other players, but you can’t throw a puppy without hitting a 10 homer, 20 steal outfielder. There’s more than ten guys on this list (eleven), and I’d draft all of them, and have already in some leagues. It should work out well in (five outfielder league) drafts when you draft two outfielders before 100, then one between 100-150, then two somewhere in the next 150 picks. These are all the outfielders that being drafted after 200 overall. Now, this is a (legal-in-all-countries-except-Canada) supplement to the top 100 outfielders for 2014 fantasy baseball. Click on the player’s name where applicable to read more and see their 2014 projections. Anyway, here’s some outfielders to target for 2014 fantasy baseball:
Michael Brantley – I already wrote a Michael Brantley sleeper post which was received as well as a case of herpes. I get it, no one wants-slash-cares about Michael Brantley. Y’all a bunch of non-carers! It’s cool. With your hat on sideways and your gold fronts, you ain’t got time for a 15-homer, 30-steal guy. Prepare for a season-long campaign by yours truly to get you to pick up Brantley. Unless he gets hurt and/or sucks, then we’ll never talk about this again. Talk about what? Well played, Random Italicized Voice. No, really, I stopped reading at “Ahoy” in the first paragraph. Forget it. Forget what? I’m seriously lost.
Marcell Ozuna – (MDC 198, ESPN 445) Sky gave you a Marcell Ozuna sleeper post. To quote him, “I told ya I’d take it deep!…I’m butt-naked in front of my computer…I see your beef with my stance and it’s valid…” What on earth is going on in that post? I need to take a shower. I have Ozuna ranked 317, which is just about the middle of Mock Draft Central and ESPN. Grey’s in the middle! Where’s he at? In the middle! I don’t fully understand why Ozuna’s in the top 200; he’s a 15-17-homer, 5-10 SBs guy that could struggle to hit for a decent average (.255-ish). That’s around the stats of a player that should be in the early 300’s. To compare him to his 14-year-old teammate, Yelich is a 1o-ish homer, 20+ steal guy that should hit for a solid-enough average (.270-ish).
Christian Yelich (Yahoo 203) I already wrote a Christian Yelich sleeper post. For those excited about drafting Yelich this year, I have Brantley down for better projections. Is this just another ploy to get you to draft Brantley? Prolly. If people succumb, no relation to Heathcliff Slocumb, to my love for Brantley, I probably wouldn’t be as interested in pushing him.
George Springer (Yahoo 257, ESPN 259) October Grey wrote a George Springer fantasy and he thought he’d break camp with the club. As we move closer to the season, I think October Grey was drunk and/or high. He’s still capable of the stats October Grey projected for him 52/19/71/.254/22, but I think it’s unlikely the Astros aren’t cheap-as-fudge with starting his clock. Plus, they’re not pimps, trying to keep down Hoes. By the way, I’d love to see what Ron Jeremy could do with the title, Hoes In The Outfield.
Kole Calhoun (Yahoo 209, ESPN 336) Yup, wrote a Kole Calhoun sleeper post too. Unlike the other sleeper posts to this point, I was actually much more conservative about Calhoun’s projections. He makes sense in the leadoff spot. Unfortch, “makes sense” doesn’t always get its phone calls returned from The Sciosciapath.
Avisail Garcia (MDC 271, Yahoo 281, ESPN 312) And got an Avisail Garcia sleeper post in there, as well. De Aza, Eaton, Garcia, which sounds a bit like the kindergartner joke about why is ten scared of 7, is a mess of a outfield. I mean, it’s sexy, and I want to make love to it, but there’s just too much of a good thing with those three. Viciedo’s won’t be completely abandoned on the bench to rot and there’s gonna be weeks where they’re all slumping and fantasy owners are harumping. I like Avisail Garcia, but keep in mind that the White Sox might have too much of a good thing, with that good thing being upside.
Norichika Aoki (ESPN 201, MDC 254) Not sure why he gets no respect from the fantasy community. The fantasy community hangs out at comic book stores and has a weird laugh that is a by-product of its asthma. So, next time I see it, I’ll have to ask it.
Corey Dickerson – (Yahoo 278, ESPN 406, MDC unranked) Check out our Steamer projections for Corey Dickerson by clicking on his name. 18 homers, 14 steals and solid other-ma-jiggies. A’la Will Smith, “Gettin’ solid other-ma-jiggies wit it!” His projections are a thing of beauty for a guy that’s not even being drafted in most leagues. I do think Dickerson’s playing time is a bit more muddled than our Steamer projections are letting on, but our Steamer projections are also some of the best projections in the business, so it’s worth a flyer to see if Dickerson’s stat line comes — ain’t that right, boo? — true. Oh, and here’s what my dog, Ted, has to say…Everyone, Ted Talks.
Dexter Fowler (Yahoo 202, MDC 203, ESPN 244) Sometimes I don’t think I’m gonna be high on a player and then the other sites release their rankings, and I’m higher than they are on some guys. Fowler is one of those examples. Obviously there’s risk with him being outside of Coors, and because he hit 8 homers last April, then only four the rest of the way. He’s gonna be 28 years old, and I’d take the risk, for where he’s being drafted, he can produce a 10/20 season. Yes, everyone can produce a 10/20 season nowadays. I hear ya. Geez.
Junior Lake (Yahoo 286, ESPN 332, MDC 404) We’ll take Grey Albright, Fantasy Master Lothario out of the equation. Steamer projections have him down for 64/14/58/.257/22. He could steal 30 bags. Likely, he steals 15-20. In 64 games last year, he had 6 homers. That wasn’t an aberration like the Virgin Mary on the buttered toast I saw recently. Or the craving for buttered toast I had after drinking too many Virgin Marys. He could hit anywhere from 10 to 15 homers. Yes, everyone and Mother Jones can now hit 10 homers and steal 20 bases, but that doesn’t mean Junior Lake should go without being drafted.
Oswaldo Arcia (MDC 260, ESPN 373) Where’s Oswaldo on the Yahoo rankings? Good question. Steamer loves him: 70/22/77/.260/5. I’m not as sure about the batting average after he had a 31% K-rate last year, but he has been better in the minor leagues, so it’s not crazy. The power should definitely be there, something that can’t be said about a lot of sleeper outfielders and he will chip in a few steals. I’m liking Arcia more now, after seeing Steamer’s excitement. To tally our sleeper outfielders: two Marlins, a White Sox, a Cub, a Royal, two Astros, an Indian, a Twin…Yay, sleepers, kill me now.
